If you want to talk about downloading and ipods, make your own thread about it.

Back in the day, Stereo Equipment was just a big a status symbol as a new car. You would rearrange your living room to accomidate your equipment, more so to show it off, and that DID NOT include your TV!

G3000 said:

A few of my relatives had reel to reel tape players. They seemed a bit complicated to use to me, sort of like a film projector. But I was little then.

^^^^

yeah, but the sound was Incredible! Better than any cassette or any other form of home recording (at the time). I don't think the CD can come close to the sound of the reel to reel. You had a huge fat bottom sound that was warm and pleasing to the ear. Recordings & Transfers were rarely lost in the translation. Not the thin/tinny sound you get from CD's.

[Edited 7/18/12 11:09am]

Tape is still the best medium for recording. But it's pricey and it's not the most flexible

SavonOsco said:

I still have nightmares of splicing reel to reel tapes for editing in college...lol These kids will never know that before DAW, to edit a song, you had to physically cut and retape reel to reels.... And yes the sound quality was great, I miss that warmth and depth it would give a recording....

I sort of did this with cassettes. When one would break or get eaten up by the player, I would sometimes cut off the bad part, and tape it back together.

G3000 said:

^^^^

yeah, but the sound was Incredible! Better than any cassette or any other form of home recording (at the time). I don't think the CD can come close to the sound of the reel to reel. You had a huge fat bottom sound that was warm and pleasing to the ear. Recordings & Transfers were rarely lost in the translation. Not the thin/tinny sound you get from CD's.

[Edited 7/18/12 11:09am]

I never had a reel to reel player but from your description of the sound, I wish I had.

MickyDolenz said:

SavonOsco said:

I still have nightmares of splicing reel to reel tapes for editing in college...lol These kids will never know that before DAW, to edit a song, you had to physically cut and retape reel to reels.... And yes the sound quality was great, I miss that warmth and depth it would give a recording....

I sort of did this with cassettes. When one would break or get eaten up by the player, I would sometimes cut off the bad part, and tape it back together.

Cassettes were very easy to edit with the pause button. Hell, I used to master that button. I remember when I bought the "Controversy" album, like a fool I gave the 45 to a friend. Then, I wanted the 45 version back so I had to edit one from the album version myself because the stores no longer sold the 45. I did it to perfection and years later, I bought the 45 again from a used record store.

Also with cassettes, you could record records onto tape in a continuous flow using the pause button. I found that after you recorded one song, rewind the tape just a little bit and start recording the next song over the outro of the previous song. Certain tape brands did better than others. With TDK, you could hear just a hair of the previous song playing for a split second after the next song started and then it would fade down similar to the way they played them on the radio with two turntables. With Maxell though, there was no slight overlap and I didn't like that.

Cassette tapes were much easier to manipulate for recording purposes, but I found that when it came to sound and power, 8 tracks sounded much better than cassettes. Of course, neither of them could touch the vinyl though.

vainandy said:

Cassette tapes were much easier to manipulate for recording purposes, but I found that when it came to sound and power, 8 tracks sounded much better than cassettes. Of course, neither of them could touch the vinyl though.

Nostalgic but i hated that loud ass click in between tracks and i didn't

like how some 8 tracks split a song between tracks. You could be jammin

to a song and it fades out and continue on to the next track. I don't know

maybe the 8 tracks sounded better than some of the earlier cassettes but

i always found the opposite to be true especially when it came to recording

on both mediums.

I heard reel to reel was the shit. I wonder how much they charged for an artist

product on reel to reel. They also probably only made them for the popular

artists at that time.

[Edited 7/18/12 14:18pm]

2 open-reel multitrack units from my personal stash...

[img:$uid]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/jbodine/Music%20II/Gear/tascam38.jpg[/img:$uid][img:$uid]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/jbodine/Music%20II/Gear/teac_a-3440.gif[/img:$uid]

...safely boxed and stored in the garage.



Music for adventurous listeners


tA

Tribal Records

I used to work in radio, so I have experience with all the analog formats. I wasn't editing music, though. Since I worked in news, it was all pretty much spoken word - unless I was doing a special "package" that needed intro or bumper music.

Also reminds me of when I used to lay out a tabloid newspaper - getting halftones shot, having my copy typeset, using an Exacto knife and waxer to lay it all out.

Those were the days.

theAudience said:

2 open-reel multitrack units from my personal stash...

[img:$uid]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/jbodine/Music%20II/Gear/tascam38.jpg[/img:$uid][img:$uid]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/jbodine/Music%20II/Gear/teac_a-3440.gif[/img:$uid]

...safely boxed and stored in the garage.



Music for adventurous listeners


tA

Tribal Records

phunkdaddy said:

vainandy said:

Cassette tapes were much easier to manipulate for recording purposes, but I found that when it came to sound and power, 8 tracks sounded much better than cassettes. Of course, neither of them could touch the vinyl though.

Nostalgic but i hated that loud ass click in between tracks and i didn't

like how some 8 tracks split a song between tracks. You could be jammin

to a song and it fades out and continue on to the next track. I don't know

maybe the 8 tracks sounded better than some of the earlier cassettes but

i always found the opposite to be true especially when it came to recording

on both mediums.

I heard reel to reel was the shit. I wonder how much they charged for an artist

product on reel to reel. They also probably only made them for the popular

artists at that time.

[Edited 7/18/12 14:18pm]

Oh, I hated the fact that you had to wait so long to hear the song you wanted to hear on an 8 track. I'm just talking about the sound sounding better in general. The sound on an 8 track had more power and the bass seemed to thump harder than a cassette. I hated the way the songs were split and faded down between programs also. However, I wanted an 8 track recorder for years. On the homemade 8 tracks, there was no split between programs, just a slight click that you barely noticed.

Another reason was, cassettes players on a stereo back then were very expensive. If I recorded a cassette, I was confined to a little boom box to listen to it. However, with an 8 track recorder, I could record records onto an 8 track at my grandmother's house (that's where I kept all my stuff) and play the 8 track on my mother's thumping console stereo or in her car. I only bought one pre-recorded 8 track though and that was before I had an 8 track recorder. I found it rediculous to buy a tape, regardless if it was an 8 track or cassette, when you could buy the vinyl and record it yourself and have both. And wouldn't you know, when I finally got an 8 track recorder, then the damn 8 tracks went out of style about a year or two later.

.

.

.

[Edited 7/18/12 14:38pm]

phunkdaddy said:

vainandy said:

Cassette tapes were much easier to manipulate for recording purposes, but I found that when it came to sound and power, 8 tracks sounded much better than cassettes. Of course, neither of them could touch the vinyl though.

Nostalgic but i hated that loud ass click in between tracks and i didn't

like how some 8 tracks split a song between tracks. You could be jammin

to a song and it fades out and continue on to the next track. I don't know

maybe the 8 tracks sounded better than some of the earlier cassettes but

i always found the opposite to be true especially when it came to recording

on both mediums.

I heard reel to reel was the shit. I wonder how much they charged for an artist

product on reel to reel. They also probably only made them for the popular

artists at that time.

Sometimes the order of the songs were different on a pre-made 8-track than on the record too.

I always wanted one of these. My mother's best friend used to have one with the disco ball and mirrors and her's had flashing disco lights over the speakers. Hell, I still want one.

I hear ya. I preferred vinyl over both too and you could record and have the best

of both worlds. I think the only advantage you got with some 8 tracks is the various

artists compilations they would make with a lady with an afro on the front of the 8

track. My uncle used to have plenty of those joints.

phunkdaddy said:

I hear ya. I preferred vinyl over both too and you could record and have the best

of both worlds. I think the only advantage you got with some 8 tracks is the various

artists compilations they would make with a lady with an afro on the front of the 8

track. My uncle used to have plenty of those joints.

Oh yeah, the bootleg 8 tracks! My mother had several of those. They used to sell them in gas stations. She also bought the Michael Jackson "Off The Wall" 8 Track and I used to wonder why the picture on her 8 Track wasn't the same as the picture on my vinyl album. It was a couple kissing on the front of her tape.

vainandy said:

I found it rediculous to buy a tape, regardless if it was an 8 track or cassette, when you could buy the vinyl and record it yourself and have both. And wouldn't you know, when I finally got an 8 track recorder, then the damn 8 tracks went out of style about a year or two later.

Yeah, and if the tape broke or you lose it, just make another copy. Although 8-tracks went out of style in the early 80's, some albums were still released on them until around 1990. 8-tracks were mainly sold through mail order though, the stores quit stocking them.

MickyDolenz said:

vainandy said:

I found it rediculous to buy a tape, regardless if it was an 8 track or cassette, when you could buy the vinyl and record it yourself and have both. And wouldn't you know, when I finally got an 8 track recorder, then the damn 8 tracks went out of style about a year or two later.

Yeah, and if the tape broke or you lose it, just make another copy. Although 8-tracks went out of style in the early 80's, some albums were still released on them until around 1990. 8-tracks were mainly sold through mail order though, the stores quit stocking them.

The only 8 Tracks I saw for sale that late in the 1980s were the ones on those TV commercials to order gospel albums.

vainandy said:

MickyDolenz said:

Yeah, and if the tape broke or you lose it, just make another copy. Although 8-tracks went out of style in the early 80's, some albums were still released on them until around 1990. 8-tracks were mainly sold through mail order though, the stores quit stocking them.

The only 8 Tracks I saw for sale that late in the 1980s were the ones on those TV commercials to order gospel albums.

My grandmother bought a few of those. One was called Noways Tired. Wait 4-6 weeks for delivery. No COD's. Michael Jackson's Bad was on 8-track, one of my mom's cousins had it. It was like the record, and didn't have the extra song that is on the CD.

MickyDolenz said:

vainandy said:

The only 8 Tracks I saw for sale that late in the 1980s were the ones on those TV commercials to order gospel albums.

My grandmother bought a few of those. One was called Noways Tired. Wait 4-6 weeks for delivery. No COD's. Michael Jackson's Bad was on 8-track, one of my mom's cousins had it. It was like the record, and didn't have the extra song that is on the CD.

Oh Lord, I remember "Noways Tired". They used to wear that commercial out on TV. As for Michael Jackson's "Bad", I was shocked as hell when I saw on the internet that there was an 8 Track of "Purple Rain" because I don't remember seeing any 8 Tracks in the stores after 1982. I remember recording "Purple Rain" onto a 45 minute Memorex 8 Track so I could play it in my mother's car.

vainandy said:

MickyDolenz said:

My grandmother bought a few of those. One was called Noways Tired. Wait 4-6 weeks for delivery. No COD's. Michael Jackson's Bad was on 8-track, one of my mom's cousins had it. It was like the record, and didn't have the extra song that is on the CD.

Oh Lord, I remember "Noways Tired". They used to wear that commercial out on TV. As for Michael Jackson's "Bad", I was shocked as hell when I saw on the internet that there was an 8 Track of "Purple Rain" because I don't remember seeing any 8 Tracks in the stores after 1982. I remember recording "Purple Rain" onto a 45 minute Memorex 8 Track so I could play it in my mother's car.

vainandy said:

MickyDolenz said:

My grandmother bought a few of those. One was called Noways Tired. Wait 4-6 weeks for delivery. No COD's. Michael Jackson's Bad was on 8-track, one of my mom's cousins had it. It was like the record, and didn't have the extra song that is on the CD.

Oh Lord, I remember "Noways Tired". They used to wear that commercial out on TV. As for Michael Jackson's "Bad", I was shocked as hell when I saw on the internet that there was an 8 Track of "Purple Rain" because I don't remember seeing any 8 Tracks in the stores after 1982. I remember recording "Purple Rain" onto a 45 minute Memorex 8 Track so I could play it in my mother's car.

Wow I didn't realize 8 tracks made it that far in, I don't recall seeing any, but in this neck of the woods it's not unusual. That would be awesome to own one now of those albums.

MickyDolenz said:

vainandy said:

Oh Lord, I remember "Noways Tired". They used to wear that commercial out on TV. As for Michael Jackson's "Bad", I was shocked as hell when I saw on the internet that there was an 8 Track of "Purple Rain" because I don't remember seeing any 8 Tracks in the stores after 1982. I remember recording "Purple Rain" onto a 45 minute Memorex 8 Track so I could play it in my mother's car.

Okay now I've got that playing in my head. I actually loved that song back in the day when I thought I could sing.

morningsong said:

vainandy said:

Oh Lord, I remember "Noways Tired". They used to wear that commercial out on TV. As for Michael Jackson's "Bad", I was shocked as hell when I saw on the internet that there was an 8 Track of "Purple Rain" because I don't remember seeing any 8 Tracks in the stores after 1982. I remember recording "Purple Rain" onto a 45 minute Memorex 8 Track so I could play it in my mother's car.

Wow I didn't realize 8 tracks made it that far in, I don't recall seeing any, but in this neck of the woods it's not unusual. That would be awesome to own one now of those albums.

I didn't realize it either because Lord knows I didn't see any in my area after 1982 but they did exist because I've seen them on the internet in recent years.

morningsong said:

vainandy said:

Oh Lord, I remember "Noways Tired". They used to wear that commercial out on TV. As for Michael Jackson's "Bad", I was shocked as hell when I saw on the internet that there was an 8 Track of "Purple Rain" because I don't remember seeing any 8 Tracks in the stores after 1982. I remember recording "Purple Rain" onto a 45 minute Memorex 8 Track so I could play it in my mother's car.

Wow I didn't realize 8 tracks made it that far in, I don't recall seeing any, but in this neck of the woods it's not unusual. That would be awesome to own one now of those albums.

I had the "Controversy" 8 Track up until the year 2000 when I moved. I had an old tabletop stereo that I gave to my mother's boyfriend when I bought a component set and I had the 8 track in the drawer up underneath the stereo and it had just sat in there for years without being played. I placed it in the player and it wouldn't play. The player did work though because I tested it with a cassette that was in an 8 track adapter and it played. I don't know why the "Controversy" 8 track wouldn't play though. Maybe it rotted or something. I threw it away when I saw it didn't play.

vainandy said:

Cassette tapes were much easier to manipulate for recording purposes, but I found that when it came to sound and power, 8 tracks sounded much better than cassettes. Of course, neither of them could touch the vinyl though.

I remember having the Prince album on 8 track and cassette and now that i think about it, the 8 track sounded better. The same thing with the Bar-Kay's album, As One. Maybe it was the equipment.

As for Reel 2 Reels. My cousin has a Old School Yamaha Reel with some Bose speakers and that thing rocks.