Hi Mark,
I recently saw one of these tapes on a Japanese auction site and it led me down a bit of a Google rabbit hole, but I have a little more information about these tapes. I was originally going to put it in the big JVC/RCA Q8/QR thread I did, but I think maybe it's better to keep it here because these tapes seem to all be branded either National, Panasonic or Technics. From the
Wikipedia page about Panasonic:
"The company used the National brand outside North America from the 1950s to the 1970s (the trademark could not be used in the United States because it was already in use).The inability to use the National brand name led to the creation of the Panasonic brand in the United States.Over the next several decades Panasonic released additional products, including black and white TV's (1952), electrical blenders, fridges (1953), rice cookers (1959), color TV's and microwave ovens (1966). The company debuted a hi-fidelity audio speaker in Japan in 1965 with the brand Technics."
The tape I discovered was labelled PRT-9405 and is an English-language one, which presumably came with Technics US quad reel decks RS-740US and RS-741US at least. Maybe someone who knows more about QR decks can say if there were other US models. This is the image of the tape I found:
I also found a slightly better quality version of the tape in your first post:
and another image of possibly the same tape (or possibly another tape, the label looks like a different shade of green) in the series:
I believe PRT-9401 (and probably 9402-9404 if they exist) were included with the Technics-branded Japanese-market QR decks made by National Panasonic, RS-724U, RS-728U, RS-744U and RS-745U, as seen in this brochure:
I also noticed in your Quadraphonic Discography - Anthologies and Samplers list, you have a few of these Panasonic National sampler Q8s listed, which presumably similarly were included with their Q8 decks. I have images of another unlisted one (which I'll include below) that was part of
@bigbillquad 's Japanese Q8 from last year - I thought maybe it would be wise to assemble a numerical list of these Q8s and QRs in the hopes that it might bring the other ones out of the woodwork.
PRT-9001 (QF T80GNAA) National 4ch Demonstration Tape 'Best Music'
Q8 Samplers
PRT 9001 - National 4ch Demonstration Tape 'Best Music' (QF T80GNAA)
PRT 9002 -
PRT 9003 -
<this may be the catalog number of the Akai ACT-4D sampler that came with the CR-80D-SS deck>
PRT 9004 - National 4ch Demonstration Tape 'Best Music' (QF T80GNAB)
PRT 9005 -
PRT 9006 - Panasonic 4 Channel Demonstration Tape (QF T80GPAB)
PRT 9007 -
PRT 9008 - Technics by Panasonic '4ch Tape' (QF T80GPTADZ)
QR Samplers
PRT 9401 - National Panasonic 4 Channel Demonstration Tape
PRT 9402 -
PRT 9403 -
PRT 9404 -
PRT 9405 - Technics 4ch Demonstration Tape (QF T72GNTAAZ)