Gadgets

The Complications of Auto-Reverse Cassettes

I still have boxes and boxes of cassettes in the basement, relics from the years–decades!–that had a Walkman, a stereo cassette player attached to my sound system and, of course, the players I had in all my cars up until about 2000.

I’m totally done with cassettes. Despite the misguided romanticizing of the medium by some–usually people who didn’t have to deal with cassettes when they were around for the firs time–I will acknowledge that the format was once extremely important in the lives of music consumers.

Derek points us to this short film on a particular type of auto-reverse cassettes.

 

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 38031 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

One thought on “The Complications of Auto-Reverse Cassettes

  • I remember one such auto reverse deck that had the cassette mounted on the front, vertically. When the end of the tape was reached, the cover would slide up, and the tape would be projected out on an arm that made me think of the Alien tongue. The tape would be sounds around 180 degrees, then retract back into the deck, the cover would slide down, and start to play. Total time of 2 or 3 seconds, very fast. Whew!

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