Wow! Are cassettes still readily available?
Yeah, there are tape houses online where you can get hi-q tape relatively cheap.
The 688 only uses one side of the tape, as it puts all eight tracks across the surface of the tape. Also it records at double-speed (for better quality) so you can only get 7-1/2 minutes recording time on a 30-minute cassette.
Years ago I had a 4 track cassette recorder, that was the same deal used the whole tape on one side at double speed. I upgraded from that a long time ago, 4 tracks just isn't quite enough. But a couple years later a friend came over with a tape that we had made using it years before and wanted to transfer it to something he could listen to. That was nearly impossible without the original machine.
On the 688 there are 8 tiny record heads that are offset across the tape at a diagonal to avoid splatter across the tracks. So it really sounds fucked up in a regular cassette player.
But if you want to add backwards vocals or guitar to a song, just flip the tape over.
(post is archived)