is 8 track still thing collective soul doing vinyl 8 track singed 200 limited

[chrislognshot]

do people still use 8 track any more. question and its weird one. saw that collective soul doing limited 200 vinyl and 8 track for album from live from print shop. is 8 track still a thing. also how does one go out and find a 8 track player for car or at home. thought did not make 8 track players any more

[Daltech]

They aren’t made they are repaired. 8 track is a gimmick to make record sales for nostalgia. 8 track is not common or produced with any regularity. I’m surprised they can still manufacture the chassis. The small productions of vinyl are more sought after. There’s a handful of 8track groupies and more audio tape groupies. It’s basically a group of people that use it to say “ I told you so” there’s no acoustic benefit to 8 track tape. It’s basically analog tape. Same same.

[Painthappy]

Ebay for 8 track players. I have a cool portable 8 track player. Let me get the brand.. brb...

Sound Design model 4962


Edit to add: They are quite pointless and you will get far more enjoyment out of a record player. I do have an 8-track to cassette tape conversion kit that plugs into my 8-track.

I still prefer my records.

[Junglepeanut]

I get the vinyl, 8 track makes absolutely no sense to me but if there is a market (no matter how small) somebody will fill that void

[AnarchicArctic]

8 tracks are definitely antiquated, but I suppose it’s fitting considering I didn’t know Collective Soul was still around

[Grendel]

As someone who used 8 Track back in the day, do not waste your time and money. It was a tech that was quickly supplanted by cassette tapes that were infinitely better. They were so bound by their structure there were albums that had to change tracks during the middle of the song. My 2nd car was a 70 Camaro with an 8 track player installed. I do not think that lasted more then a month before I just pulled it out and left wires hanging waiting on money for a AM/FM/Cassette radio to install.

[Chappy]

8 tracks aren’t a thing anymore but neither is Collective Soul so it works out.

I kid, sorta, I actually need to learn a collective soul song for one of my bands.

[SignOfZeta]

It’s absolutely not “still” a thing. 8 track well and truly died late 80s/early 90s and even then it was just truckers and church people.

Sacred Bones, a very good label, sent me an email today about their 8 track label. They are releasing sixty (60) copies of Jimmy Carter and Dallas County Green. Sixty copies. So no, it’s not a thing still and it’s not really a thing again because sixty copies ain’t squat.

Cassette is sorta back but the print runs are also very very small. The main issue with cassette is that there aren’t any good recording or playback units being made…nor is there any good mass production gear anymore and also no good actual tape. So what you’re getting at home with a new tape setup is utter crap compared to the peak of the format in the late 80s.

Vinyl never really died completely, it just changed roles from a mainstream format to a disco hiphop format for 20 years and then came back. Good gear has never totally disappeared although getting a quality fully automatic deck in 2024 is impossible for some reason.

[Deus Machina]

I don't get it.
Cheap Trick made a publicity thing a few years back sending a new album to radio DJs on 8-track, and maybe releasing them for the market. It made nostalgic sense for them.
But Collective Soul wasn't even around in a time where they could have reasonably released 8-tracks to the public.

Vinyls are still around for DJs and because the methods of making colored vinyl is more reliable and attractive, and because the covers are a good size to put in a frame. Proponents claim to like the distinctive sound, and yes vinyl has a 'warmth' that other formats don't. Which is just contact and audio degradation.
I like stuff with that 'lo-fi' sound, but I like it it produced that way so it doesn't get crackly and start skipping. And I don't want to spend hundreds on a fragile player I'll need to buy hard-to-find needles for.

That said, the stereo I inherited has a turntable I need to replace the belt in and play some of my parents' records just because I can.