Re: [ARSCLIST] On the beaten 8-track...

[steven c <stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

See end...
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Lennick" <dlennick@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> There were definitely standalone 8-track recorders and blanks available
for
> them, and didn't those turntable-AM/FM-8 track combo units (Candle etc)
have
> recording capability? As recently as the late 80s, someone needed to have
a
> commentary he was doing for an exhibit at the Canadian National Exhibition
> recorded on 8-track so it would play continuously, and a collector friend
was
> able to oblige. A listener once sent me an 8-track of old recordings he'd
taken
> off the air (I don't think I ever did find a machine to play it on).
>
> dl
>
> Rob Bamberger wrote:
>
> > Is my recollection mostly correct that there were few, or essentially no
> > consumer market 8-track decks that permitted people to record their own
> > 8-track compilations for use in the car (or elsewhere)?
> >
> > When acquaintances remarked to me in the 1990s that they did not see
> > the cassette being displaced entirely by the CD, my response was that
> > the introduction of a recordable CD would be the end of the cassette
> > once the economics became comparable to cassette feedstock and
> > technology.
> >
> > Similarly, is it correct to surmise that the ability (eventually) to
> > make reasonably decent recordings of one's own LPs to cassette, or
> > custom compilations, was the major reason for the format's disappearance
> > in the early 1970s?
> >
> > (The 8-track format had a number of things going against it, and would
> > have passed from the scene at some point. The question here is why did
> > it disappear when it did.)
>
There WERE 8-track recorders for home use...in fact, I don't think there
were ever any "high end" 8-track recorders, since the fidelity of the
format wasn't anywhere near good enough!

As far as the format's demise...this essentially came about because
it was replaced by the cassette for automobile use. 12-volt in-car
8 track players were among the earliest (excepting the short-lived
4-track cartridges!) machines that allowed one to hear recorded
music in one's car, since in-car record players turned out to be
impractical. At the time, cassettes existed...but automotive players
were none too common. Once those were readily available, the 8-track
quickly fell from grace due to its faults.

As well, the cassette format isn't TOTALLY dead yet...blank cassettes
are still being sold all over the place!

Steven C. Barr