So it started so innocently: about 3 years ago, I came across a quad 8 cartridge sitting all alone and forgotten on a thrift store shelf. I didn't have a player, wasn't really interested, but it intrigued me so I picked it up. 'Imagination' by Gladys Knight and the Pips. Cost: Ten Cents.
Then last summer, I was at an antiques place and saw a Sony TC-248D quad player. Again, I didn't really have an interest in getting into 8-tracks, so even though I had Gladys at home, I passed it by. Lord only knows if it even worked (it was being sold "as is"). Saw it again in fall. Then in December, I saw it was still there but now shoved back behind newer merchandise. Finally took the plunge. Cost: $10.
Took it home, used up a lot of isopropyl alcohol cleaning the remnants of the old belt that had basically melted away, and getting everything else as shiny as I could. Ordered new belt from TurntableNeedles.com, took only about four days to arrive. Cost of belt and cleaner: $16.
I initially tested it with some regular 8-tracks (25 cents each) in case something went crazy. Good thing I did: the tape in one of the cartridges got stuck and unspooled all over. But another cleaning job and positive tests later, I finally installed the Gladys Knight tape. Sure, the dynamic range wasn't amazing (this is an 8-track after all) but the clarity of separation was everything I hoped for.
I still don't plan on going 8-track crazy, but I have just one that I'm dying to hear: Switched-On Bach. We all know how much Wendy Carlos hated what the quad album sounded like, but her complaints were all about the SQ encoding/decoding. With the 8-track, there's no matrix involved, so I can at least get an better idea of what it sounded like in the studio.
For less than a $27 investment, I think I did OK.
Then last summer, I was at an antiques place and saw a Sony TC-248D quad player. Again, I didn't really have an interest in getting into 8-tracks, so even though I had Gladys at home, I passed it by. Lord only knows if it even worked (it was being sold "as is"). Saw it again in fall. Then in December, I saw it was still there but now shoved back behind newer merchandise. Finally took the plunge. Cost: $10.
Took it home, used up a lot of isopropyl alcohol cleaning the remnants of the old belt that had basically melted away, and getting everything else as shiny as I could. Ordered new belt from TurntableNeedles.com, took only about four days to arrive. Cost of belt and cleaner: $16.
I initially tested it with some regular 8-tracks (25 cents each) in case something went crazy. Good thing I did: the tape in one of the cartridges got stuck and unspooled all over. But another cleaning job and positive tests later, I finally installed the Gladys Knight tape. Sure, the dynamic range wasn't amazing (this is an 8-track after all) but the clarity of separation was everything I hoped for.
I still don't plan on going 8-track crazy, but I have just one that I'm dying to hear: Switched-On Bach. We all know how much Wendy Carlos hated what the quad album sounded like, but her complaints were all about the SQ encoding/decoding. With the 8-track, there's no matrix involved, so I can at least get an better idea of what it sounded like in the studio.
For less than a $27 investment, I think I did OK.