Just question about the old 4 track tapes...

[fabpab]

Do any of you guys remeber the old 4 track cartridges you could get? i was digging round my flat and i found 2 Led zeplin 1 dark side of the moon and one blank one!!

i wonder how much these could be worth?? they are genuine 1970's tapes i belive....

a ebay sell possibly?

[Bastiaan]

I always thought those where called 8-track.....

[silence_of_stone]

Oh man... I hated those things. You're listening along to your favorite song and then KA-CHUNK the program changes.
I dont know why they called them 8 tracks, except that maybe because there are 4 programs, 2 tracks stereo each.
The probably arent worth a whole lot, unless you find someone who has a sentimental value for them. I threw all mine away. Might be intersting to see what they go for on e-bay.

[da BaSsTaRd!]

8 track tapes on ebay - very cheap. there's one for $10 that comes with 24 tapes in a case...

[B.Ray]

I always thought those where called 8-track.....

4-track and 8-track cartriges are similar in size but look a little different. 4-tracks usually have clear tops but the most distinguishing factor is the hole on the bottom of the cart. This hole allows the capstan (wheel) of the player to press the tape against the drive motor. 8-track carts have the capstan built into the cartrige itself. 8-tracks also had small indentations on both sides of the carts. These allowed small guide wheels to press the built-in capstan against the drive motor. 4-track carts have straight-even sides.

4-tracks were marketed only in a few American states in the early-to-mid 1960's whereas 8-tracks were sent to much larger markets and were adopted by major record labels (hence, the demise of 4-track carts in cars).

Even though the two formats were not directly capatible, a few manufacturers made machines that played both formats (Pioneer was one - if memory serves). Those machines were not very reliable. To be honest, neither format was as reliable as the Compact Cassette.

Being a teenager during the 1960's, I had both formats in my cars at one time or another but I prefered the 4-track over the 8-track. (One of my high school buddies owned a small record shop and he had a 4-track recorder in the store. Needless to say, I got a lot of free music on 4-track ). I even had a 45 RPM record player in my car in 1966. As you might imagine, that didn't work out too well (the pressure required to keep the needle on the record quickly wore out the records).

For those interested in a little blurb on 4 & 8-track carts, check out this site: History of 8-track carts.