Over the weekend, I played around with a collection of old 8-track tapes. I felt like I was treasure hunting as I came across various different classics in 8-track form. I was listening to the tapes with my band and friends on the roof of my building on an awesome speaker system, listening to the different artifacts and warm tones hidden in the tapes.
8-tracks are a very unique method of playing sounds. Unlike their compact, two-spooled counterparts, 8-tracks rely on one magnetic spool to contain all the information. The electrical signals are stored on the tape. Inside the cartridge, they are split into eight tracks or four stereo programs. The tape reads two sides at once to create a stereo playback. As the tape moves through the player, a playback head reads the magnetic information and converts it to sound. When one program ends, the player automatically switches to the next track, creating a pause between songs. The tape continuously loops, so after all four programs play, it loops from the beginning of the tape.
When the tape gets pulled from the center, the spool turns. The tape then wraps around the outside of the spool. This allows for the tape to basically be wound and unwound all at once.
The tape has graphite on it so it doesn’t get too loose or slippery as it plays. However, tapes have been criticized for self-destructive tendencies because they do get pulled over time. 8-track maintenance includes splicing, snipping, and pulling. They are a lot harder to maintain than cassettes.
One of the best tapes we found wasn’t an official one. It was a self-recorded version of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here,” recorded over top of an official copy of The Allman Brothers Band’s “Eat a Peach.” I was pretty bummed when I realized someone recorded over the Allman Brothers, but it ended up being the start of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” part 1. The warmth contained on the tape was extraordinary, and the crackling small artifacts sounded beautiful in addition to the music. As it played, I remember most of my attention turning towards the way it sounded. The saxophone specifically sounded perfect on the tape, with a graininess that blended perfectly with the timbre of the saxophone. I actually enjoy the sound of the program changing mid-song as it adds to the experience.
Another great addition was a self-made Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) tape that was recorded over another self-recorded disco fever compilation. This made for a very interesting listening experience. As “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” played, you could hear joyfully obnoxious disco brass and funky hi-hat hits as the singer sang runs over the top while the entire CCR tape had disco in the background. When the last person recorded over the tape, they didn’t erase anything and just tried to record louder over the disco, leaving pieces of whatever was there before.
8-tracks, though they lost the war to cassettes, are still a really fun method to listen to music. They have their own characteristics and qualities that make them special. Digging through the old collection opened up a lot of curiosity about analog music. I have really only been collecting records, but recently I’ve started making my own tapes, collecting CDs, and looking into the less popular methods for music listening.
