8-tracks and Cassette Tapes
8Track Cassette Tape
8-track tapes and cassette tapes, otherwise known as compact cassettes, audio cassettes, or tapes, are quite similar in their components. Cassettes are the overall device that holds the magnetic audio tape within. 8-tracks preceded and laid the foundation for cassette tapes. Both were inexpensive to make and very successful commercially.
The differences between them were really in their physical design and quality. Physical differences in the design of the cassettes can be seen in the pictures to the right. Mainly, 8-tracks had one reel which supplied the music. Therefore, music could only be played or fast-forwarded. It could not be rewound, unlike the cassette tapes which offered both capabilities due to the two inner reels, the supply and take-up reel. Other major differences included quality. Problems with 8-tracks include that cassettes would jam in their tape players when they got dirty. In addition, 8-tracks cassettes had a high tendency to wow and flutter, which are the audio technical terms to describe pitch variation in the tapes. Sometimes older cassette tapes will have section of the audio that will be way too low or high in pitch. Both tapes are examples of magnetic recording, and the tapes acts as the storage device for the audio. According to Marshall Brain, founder of HowStuffWorks and who has master's degree in computer science from North Carolina State University, "The tape itself is actually very simple. It consists of a thin plastic base material, and bonded to this base is a coating of ferric oxide powder...another oxide of iron." What this means is that the ferric oxide coating is permanently magnetized if it is exposed to a magnetic field ("Tape Recorders"). Therefore, this ability gives tape two of its best features. 1. "You can recording anything you want instantly and the tape will remember what you recorded for playback at any time" ("Tape Recorders"). 2. "You can erase the tape and record something else on it any time you like" ("Tape Recorders"). Therefore, not only were cassettes tapes great for purchasing music, they made it possible for people to create their own custom mixes on cassettes. The tapes can be reused as long as the magnetic tape is still intact and in one piece. |