At some point during the pandemic, it occurred to me that I didn’t have an 8-track deck in my stable of stereo components. Inexplicably, a Pioneer RH-65 became available on Craigslist a week later for $40. In fact, it was coupled with another 8-track deck that made the deal impossible to ignore, despite my (questionable) better judgement.
Plus, rarely do I ignore universal interventions.
Since I had a pair of decks and no tapes, I began to troll CL and FB Marketplace for 8 tracks. Shortly thereafter, I found myself driving a little too far up north to purchase about 400 tapes for about $100. I often regale my wife with these tales of pickups and deliveries resulting from online marketplace/classified “hook-ups”.
She’s rarely amused.
This was yet another transaction where I was directed to come/go/drive “around back” and was summarily ushered into a dank garage with a single dangling 40W bulb featuring an abbreviated pull chain “ignition switch”. It was one of those situations where I could have easily found myself in a scene right out of Buffalo Bill’s basement.
When I find myself in these surreal quandaries, I oft think, “If I was a woman, would I even…” Invariably, I think…probably, but only if I was armed.
Since I’m chronicling the acquisition, I obviously closed the deal, unscathed. And like 99.9% of sellers, regardless of my sketchy profiling skills, the dude was a sweetheart and just wanted the stuff out of his garage (and life). To his credit, he threw in a 1976 Panasonic RS 833S Red Swiss Cheese Portable Stereo 8 Track Player. I just sold it for $99 on eBay.
At the end of the day, everything works out.
Since that fateful day, I’ve likely attempted to listen to just over 200 of the aforementioned tapes. Here are my “lessons learned” at the halfway point of this particular audio odyssey…
- Of every 10 tapes you jam into the Pioneer RH-65, 8 will snap at the sensing strip on the very first play.
- Of every 10 tapes you jam into the Pioneer RH-65, 1 will snap at the sensing strip on the very first play and wrap itself around the capstan until you can sprint over and yank it out. I’ve taken the screws off the case for easy access for this very reason.
- Some tapes sound really friggin’ amazing.
- Some tapes sound like the singer is singing from the pit in Buffalo Bill’s basement (it puts the mic in the basket).
- It’s pretty obvious which tapes spent the greater part of their lives on the floorboards of a ‘76 Town & Country Station Wagon w/ faux wooden panels, and which ones were neatly tucked away in a travel caddy.
- The fact that there are at least a dozen different labels/tape colors for ABBA’s “Voluez Vous” is kinda great.
- 50% of all 8-tracks ever produced were Elvis comps.
- Some artists—I’m looking at you C.W. McCall—we’re just meant to be heard on 8-track.
- Have you checked the SOLD prices for Motley Crue’s “Shout at the Devil” 8 track on eBay. WTF!?!?!?
- I don’t care what YouTube says, repairing the sensing strip and replacing the pressure pads is a colossal pain in the ass. I mean, you gotta ADORE this format to put in that amount of time. Or, have a “Shout at the Devil” 8-track that needs repair.
- Forget winding loose tape back onto the spool…don’t. Even. Try!
But, it’s been fun to conquer the last frontier of mainstream music media. I mean, I don’t have any wax cylinders or a player, but I gotta draw the line somewhere 🤪
Napa Valley Wood Co. be like: “Damn right we got a display rack for that!”
—
© 2020 – ∞ B. Charles Donley
Waxing Phonographic 