Are you new to vintage audio? I certainly am. If so, then join me as we take an in-shallow look at interesting old hi-fi and audio equipment that I run across while thrifting and scouring estate sales.
I have no idea what I'm talking about so I figure that qualifies me to share my observations on the internet! Come on my journey and lets take a look at some neat hi-fi gear, do a little thrifting, and maybe we'll both learn something new.
I upload as often as I can.
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Trying to get through some of your older videos. The Tandy story is a good one - I managed a Radio Shack store for a while (more like I babysat inventory while it awaited being shoplifted). This was well after when Radio Shack was selling what some today would call “quality equipment.” And there are plenty of folks (me included) who would love to get their hands on an STA-2100 and a pair of Mach One speakers. Anyway, great video. Cheers
Thank you sir.
I remember alway wanting or thinking how cool the idea of both hte vcr and tv turning on at once I do not know why so I would set the tv in my room on top of the tv an try to turn both on exactky in sync using both hands on the respective power buttons lols,. And it iirc fairly likely did I know at least some times,. Have a hard time because the tv being heavy to not be a hinder to vcr movement inside.. thus if I went back I would prpbably take it from mysekf an state nah bruh you will just break it,. Risk wear out excessively on the vcr motor etc,, Lol pretending it was a combo unit lol.. but yeah I shoukd have for sure jept that tv vs buying one that was a flat panel or modern.. well pfft not a smart tv but a tv nonetheless from 2011 where its a singke hdmi but also a shared audio for component and composite so it needs a y adapter or two to be using both the yellow port and the component ports since only one red right audio in and one white audio left is beside the 4 same rca connector styel video ports for yellow and the component ie ypbpr or red green and blue.. the luminance green with sync on green so h/v inckuded for anything not sent in a blue or red is defaukt green by defacto in the picture.
no, i didn't just order one on amazon at 3:30am
hypothetically tho if i did buy one, do you know if there is a way to route the aux output into my daw? can i simply connect a 1/8 to 1/4 inch cable to my instrument in on my interface?
Ha. Nice!
Yeah, that's how I got the audio off of it. I hooked it to my audio recorder. I used a 1/8 to RCA but the 1/8 to 1/4 should work fine. It just outputs kinda loud so you just have to turn the cassette player volume down to prevent distortion.
@@AudioThrift okay sick thank you man!
You got the 1982A version. Nice!
This unit is from circa 1967. The little zipper case is an original accessory as I have it too. I'm unfortunately missing the microphone, though. Mine also has the original belts and works pretty well. How this thing has managed to continue working so well after 55+ years while every other audio component I've owned that's 20 years newer has failed.
I love that the case is original. That's so cool.
i came across one of these in blue. but the belt is busted. do you know where I can find a replacement?
I've found stuff on eBay and Amazon but be careful of knockoffs. The original belts are round and some replacements I see are square. I don't know if that makes a huge difference but I tend to err or the side of caution.
I have a bunch of national and Sony cassette recorders that still work fine... Mainly because the belts were made better and the units were meant for dictation so they were made to last. My Sony bm-10 from 1972 just had the belts break down. Not bad compared to modern machines.
I'm always impressed how many of the things I get that aren't considered "premium hifi" end up lasting forever.
Your counter weight is on backwards! The Numbers are supposed to be facing forward to see the numbers!
Good, I'm glad I'm not going crazy. 😁
@@AudioThrift No problem just helping out!
You found a beauty because you don't find turntables with a cover in that great of shape! Most of used turntables I've seen the cover is so scratched up! Again nice unit!
I have one, same brown box, the machine works perfectly. Nice
Nice, I have a very similar superscope. Hooked it to a stereo receiver honestly it has a good clean sound.
Wow, a fully functional device from the era when you not only _could_ but actually _had_ to change the batteries to make it work… Silliness aside, the fact that you managed to get _two_ exemplars with surviving belts is quite surprising. They may have used a different formulation to much of the competition, as most belts self destruct over the course of half a century.
One would think that many of these older cassette players, that it would be obvious to the user how they work. I guess people born say after 1995 simply don't have the grasp. If you have not already covered it, try and find an old PlayTape format machine. Interesting but short lived format.
I have a cassette boombox in my tattoo booth at work and a bunch of tapes. It's endlessly entertaining to let younger people try playing tapes and watch them try to figure out how to make it work. And it's funny you mention the Playtape. I just ran across one of those about a month ago but it was trashed. First one I've seen that actually had tapes with it. I didn't end up buying it but I really want to get one to show here.
In 1969, engineer David Hafler of Dynaco developed the synthesized four-channel playback system known as Dynaquad. In the industry, this was known as the Hafler circuit, and that's what Realistic used in this receiver as Quatravox (Q-Vox). A few other manufacturers offered Hafler-type synthesized surround sound in some receivers and all-in-one stereos: Sherwood, Superscope and Zenith come to mind.
Neat! Thanks for the info.
Wonderful video. Thank you.
Nice review. Worth mentioning is that the Realistic SA-10 speaker connectors use RCA jacks, not wires. While some lower-end speakers from the '60s and '70s have RCA jack inputs, most speakers will require an adaptor to connect the amp. I have the SA-10's big brother, the SA-155. I'm literally using it right now with my PC. It has a whopping 1.8 watts output, a very basic phono stage (with a switch between ceramic and magnetic), a tuner input and a "CD/Aux" input. There's even a front-panel 1/8" jack for connecting a CD player or smartphone. Neat stuff!
That's a good point. I found these old speaker cables that have an RCA plug on one side and bare wire connections on the other... I'm sure they're old because they're brown plastic and the RCA plug had little lobes on it rather than being a solid ring of metal. Plus they're really stiff. But for the life of me I have NO idea where I got them or what they were for. They just sort of showed up. If I remember right, I think that's what I used in this video.
Craig made some interesting stuff that's for sure
The "Automatic Level Control" doesn't try to adjust anything. It's simply a limiter.
Aaah. That makes sense. I'm just going by the wording in the manual. They probably figured people wouldn't know what a limiter is... but I'm sure you're right just based on the sound of it.
Do i have a portable cassette player? Yeah, too many of them! From brand new garbage to the holy grail of walkmans, the Sony WM D6C. I'm mainly focusing on late 90s stuff with slim bodies, auto reverse, dolby b etc. Although the D6C really has that 80s vibe with the VU meter. But was manufactured until the late 90s and my unit already is a newer unit with smd components, probably made at the end of the lifespan. Something like the Sony WM EX 674, Aiwa HS PX 310 for example is more like it to me. I also have a few Panasonic equivalents, but those didn't age well and are plagued by an very high wow&flutter, caused by a gear with microcracks and super small flywheels. I also do have a Sony WM DD11, one of the cheaper DD walkmans. As i was growing up in the early 2000s, i had a Sony WM EX 615, the only portable cassette player that survived until today. Everything else was thrown away at some point. I started collecting other models a few years ago, when i re-experienced cassettes with a proper 3-head HiFi deck and was literally blown away.
That sounds like a great collection!!
My brother and I had a second hand one of these in the mid 1970s, BUT it wasn't badged as a Craig, but as a Sanyo. Guess this makes sense, since it says Made in Japan on the bottom label, so I guess the Craig is a rebadged Sanyo for the US market - I should add that I live in Denmark and have never heard of the Craig brand. The microphone for our deck was also completely different, looking similar to the mikes you show at 8:41 - it had the same double-jack as your Craig mike, though. I'm also not 100% sure our Sanyo had the battery indicator, could be wrong, since it was so many years ago, but I guess it's also fully possible that they came in differently priced configurations, and a battery-indicator would be a typical thing to omit on a budget-version.
Awesome! Sounds like this is probably a Sanyo OEM then.
Hell of a find… and then when you showed the _second_ one, I was all, “whoooooooaa!” I’d have been happy just to find of these as a display piece, but in perfect working condition? Well! Loved the demonstration of the recording quality synced with your speech too, nice touch.
Thank you. I know the sound quality isn't perfect but I was really happy that I didn't have to do anything in post to adjust the audio for that recording except matching the volume. No speed changes or filters or anything. I was impressed that the speed was spot on! Not bad for a 4 dollar estate sale find. :)
@@AudioThrift wow, no kidding, four bux? I’m looking on eBay for laffs right now for a Craig portable open reel tape recorder, and I found the 2603 you just showed here, minus the carrying case, for $40 + shipping. I really gotta get out there and find some estate sales, dang. _[edit]_ haha I just checked the listing and it says they couldn’t test the recording capabilities because there’s no mic, but the photo clearly shows a mic… uh-oh, do they not know what they’re talking about?
Oooh... sounds sketchy. I recommend estatesales(dot)net That's where we find most of the best sales. If you're lucky, the sale companies will post pictures of what the houses have.
So I have 2 Craig 212 reel to reel tape recorders in box. My Mother and her father used to send tapes back and forth in the mail when she was in college. The design is similar with the same silver transmission stick. They were originally made by Sanyo, as I suspect that cassette recorder is as well.
Those little white earphones were ubiquitous all throughout the 50s through the 60s. My 1958 Silvertone transistor came new with one.
Yeah, the Ray Jefferson radio I did covered a few months back had one almost identical to this one. I'm definitely glad the technology has improved since those little things.
craigggggg!
CRAIG!!!!!
Its funny to me that i had never heard of craig until a certain ipod youtuber reviewed an mp3 player by them, and ever since then ive seen them everywhere and making all kinds of things, from any kind of era
The algorithm knows you saw that. lol I watched one pottery video and now I see ceramic videos everywhere. It's legit annoying.
Dankpods : well i was true at it's an old mate you can bring with ya
This model was made by Sanyo, Japan.
In the late 1970's to 80's Craig made a once popular in dash, car stereo AM FM auto-reverse cassette player model, It looked stylish and sharp with its unique backlit radio tuner dial, part insert cassette door feature, sounded great and was cheaply priced, until it later became known for being plagued with both electrical and mechanical problems and never lasted for more than a year or two. I had the misfortune of owning one when the 12 volt power input wire completely shorted cooking the entire unit. Many informed car stereo buyers of the day avoided that model new or used. I am sure it helped kill the Craig brand by the mid 1980's.
One of these days I'd like to explore some vintage car stereo stuff but I never find any at the sales.
looks a lot like it was OEMd from the philips EL3302- same gear-stick instead of piano keys, same meter, record button in the right sort of place. which means its DNA is all the way back to the birth of cassette in 1963.
yeah, the plastic sheet under the five c-cells is identical.
yep. kzread.info/dash/bejne/eYiO2MehZbK9htI.html
Nice. That's a confirmation. Good to know. 😁
I listen to cassettes and I listen to rock n. Roll And folk, rock But Cassette. player sounds great and And it's Ram by years.
What a beauty, thanks for sharing. my first tape recorder was a Philips 22RR482, which was given to me by my dad in non-working scrap condition. Repaired it, which included building a new power supply for it and enjoyed it for many years. This was in 1984-85.
That's rad!
now, we need to show it to dankpods.
That would be fun.
BEFORE YOU COMMENT: Many have informed me that the tape type was incorrect. Upon realizing that, I went back and tried using a type 1 tape and it was a little bit better. It seemed like the highs were a little brighter. While it was certainly noticeable, the difference was subtle and I submit that it's still capable of using both for the purposes of dictation. However, if you want to record music with this, you DEFINITELY should use the correct type 1 tape because you'll get a more accurate sound. It might be interesting to do a follow up video on this with all 4 tape formulations if I can find a type 3 cassette. Let me know if that's something you'd like to see because there are a few more experiments I would like to try with this thing, including hooking it to an old 8 bit computer.
you use the wrong tape type . you need a type 1 not type 2.
Yeah, several people have pointed that out now. I went back and tried it with a type 1 and it did sound a little better. The highs were a little more pronounced. Thank you.
@@AudioThrift after its a dictation machine. the issue you cna get is the ersing head be to weak leaving a mufled sound of the previous recording.
Wait a minute... you just gave me an idea! If I use a type 4 metal tape, is there a chance it would be even worse? Like, would the erase head be even less effective? Because if so, I wonder if I could make a sort of delay/echo effect by recording the same signal twice but slightly offset on the tape...
@@AudioThrift its realy depend of the erase head. i know comodore and amstrad dataset are incapable to erase them corectly. back in time echo was made in a more easy way. its was a tape loop using severals head .
Man, how cool is this? I got one for Christmas in 1971. My dad had the same model, and I would use them together to make "multi-track" recordings, feeding the "ear" output of the first machine into the aux input of the second (via a 1/8" to 1/8" patch cord), with the mic plugged into the mic input at the same time. (Yes, you could do that!) I was able to monitor everything via the earphone plugged into the second machine. By carefully adjusting the output of the first machine, I could get an acceptable blend. I have recordings where I bounced back and forth four or five times, adding a vocal harmony each time. This was an early step towards what would one day be my career. I'm impressed that your original AC adapter is in such excellent condition. (Actually, the whole thing looks great. I'm guessing that it didn't see a lot of use.) Those molded AC adapters were prone to failure, as the stress placed on the thin wires, particularly in the hands of a 12-year-old boy in a hurry 🤓, would cause the connections to eventually fail. You did a great job explaining all the functions, and I appreciate the amount of detail you covered. Subscribed!
Okay... THAT sounds fun, actually. I'm going to try that. It sounds like this little cassette player might just get a follow up video. lol
stuff was made better back then
I have the 1965 Craig 212 reel to reel a great performing unit
2:57 that's the wrong type of tape for this, it won't record well on that tape. You need a type 1 tape, you're using a type 2.
Thanks. Yeah, several folks have mentioned that. So I went back and tried it with a type 1 and you're right. The highs seemed a little brighter.
It uses the same 'gear shifter' control as their earlier reel-to-reel player. Neat! I love the engineering of that era. They truly took pride in the product. Beautiful stuff. I have a JVC Nivico reel-to-reel tape recorder from the mid-60s, and it is much the same. Still works perfectly too.
I had to Google the JVC. That's a cool-looking machine! Classic design.
@@AudioThrift Absolutely, and built like a tank. Had to have been expensive when new. The mic looks very similar to yours. That's what made me think of it. It's a Nivico TR-541. Didn't realize there were multiple units under the Nivico line. Anyway, I enjoyed the video. :)
Very cool machine - and a great video describing all the features (both design and function). Great job. Palm Springs metro area must be a great place for estate sales - the design aesthetic of the whole area seems to be pure Mid Century Modern. Anyway, I really enjoy watching your videos. Cheers.
Thank you. Yeah... this area is a ridiculous gold mine of estate sale treasure. I don't think I could ever move away now that I have the channel. lol
Must have been a different formulation on the drive belts back then. Newer models almost all have belts that have turned to goo. I have an ancient Panasonic cassette similar in size and layout to that Craig. A bit newer, but I got it out of storage a few months ago and it ran perfectly as well. No belt problems. The Panasonic I have has a built in condenser mic.
I really would like to know what they used in those belts that makes them turn into the black oil from The X Files. 😆
Nice video, looks to me similar to the early Philips cassette recorders, in fact I suspect was made by Philips.
Hmmm... I might be able to find out if I pull it apart a little more to see if there are any Philips-branded parts on the inside or if the boards/mechanics match the internals of other Philips products. Interesting.
@@AudioThrift I had the Philips EL3302, the innards of which look similar to your machine, also look at the earlier EL3300.
1 of those was my Music making machine in 4th-5th grade, brought back memories on getting the microphone in perfect distance from speaker. How many times I recorded "Focus" by Hocus Pocus The World will never know.
Oh man... it's funny, I did that with TV show theme songs on a microcassette recorder when I was a kid.
One quick point, the Maxell XLII is a high bias tape, meaning is isn't designed for normal bias Type I recorder like this. Using something like a Maxell UD or UR should give better results. The challenges of getting high fidelity from the compact cassette led to a lot of different new tape formulations that weren't needed in the days of the faster moving open reel tape. These new formulations required tape decks to have settings to accommodate their magnetic differences for flat response.
Oh, that's a good point. I hadn't really thought about that. I have some older tapes that I should try it with.
I tried it after you pointed this out. I can definitely hear a difference. The highs were clearer. A little more hiss but I think that was just because I used a cheap type 1 tape (that's all I could find lol) Good call. Thanks again.
You really make learning about older technology interesting and in a way where even I feel I could dabble into it.
Thank you. That means a lot.
You should try to pick up a wire recorder microphone. They are really cool. Bakelite with art deco design. They are the earliest consumer magnetic recording devices and the earliest widespread recording device. You would buy 5 or 10 thousand foot rolls of metal thread. It worked under the same principles as a tape recorder, but using a thread-thin wire. They had them in WW2 and I think just before WW2, but I'm not 100% sure. But they got very popular right after the war as personal recorders and office dictation machines. You can find many, many examples of them working on youtube. Even some with music recorded off the radio. The only other ones were special 78rpm recorders. But the blanks were not reusable. Instead of the groove vibrating the needle, the needle would vibrate cutting in a groove.
Man... I have been looking for one for a while. I would LOVE to get my hands on one.
I had a similar style one with the joystick but I can't remember the brand. I bought it for a buck at a yard sale when I was 10 and brought it to school to play I Love Rock'n Roll over and over at recess. When my mom found out how expensive batteries were for it I no longer got to use it and in the landfill it went.
That's so sad... :( But it's cool you got to do that for a while.
Pleather case was original with that model. Great video
Really? Wow, that's super cool. Then I'm glad I have it!!
I had a very similar one in the mid 70s, sane detachable lid. Craig rebadged Panasonic things IIRC, so mine would've been a Panasonic variant. Yours has the t-control whereas mine had piano keys, wish I still had it. I've made up for binning it over the years by now having 10 or 15 tape players :D
Interesting. I'm a fan of Panasonic gear. When was yours made?
No idea unfortunately, it was a bit battered when I had it so maybe late 60s? I've been trying to find a pic of it, not having much luck.