Sony's 360º cassette player from 1982
One final video at the end of the week, featuring everyone’s favourite pastime.
https://youtu.be/tfXnOHewsDo
Have a good week/end. Take care.
Comments (46)
Sorry I didn't catch this one to comment on earlier, but the issue surrounding omnipresent "bingo" is that it remains the standard party game in Japan (mostly work/office parties: Xmas/new-years, new arrivals/personnel transfers, and prizes given out are paid for by the company itself or employee pool). This was the case twenty years ago, and by the looks of the brochure, even twenty years before that.
Thanks for the info. I had no idea bingo was that ingrained.
Since no one else has said it, I want to second what Mat said about the Tech. I love the tech solutions for Karaoke. I recently read a section in a book about all the things the Japanese invented, or re-invented and released to world including tin toys, kawaii (think "Hello Kitty") and Karaoke. Karaoke tech is a great example of making a solution out of whatever is available at the time. If karaoke was really popular in the US in the 70's we would probably still have 8-Tracks to kick around. But what is the "paper" you speak of for holding the lyrics?
You mentioned in your latest oddcast about the video looking more orange than usual. I didn’t notice it at the time but the difference here between the colour of the player in the background vs up close is significant. I thought it was orange until it cut in close for the first time. Might be just different lighting conditions etc but I thought it was worth mentioning.
You know, if you hadn't pointed out the focus issues, I wouldn't have noticed. Great performances! :)
You got me good on this one! Loved the puppet reaction. I think this should kick off a series of "K-Trap" videos, where you only reveal halfway through that the device or format is for Karaoke. Be funny to see if undercover Karaoke vids get more views than titled ones...
Bless you Mat!
Puppets!!! <3 <3 <3 No, I just got something in my eyes, I'm not crying
More Karaoke fun may be found here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/404851561979
That was fun. Thanks, Mat. :)
Mat I bet that Japanese man does not know what hit him! Sudden English comments. So I sent a comment in Japanese.... イギリスの「Techmoan」が送ってくれました！ (It says "Techmoan" from UK sent me!)
Look great next to the yellow Sound Burger, mind you. Wonder if it could be routed through it? The original 80s one, possibly.
Nice video from a non karaoke lover.
Wonderful video - fascinating and terrifying in equal measures. I love the tech on that cassette player - really interesting. As to your singing - well, don't give up the day job.....
Technically the singing is part of his day job, as it's featured for the purposes of making the video.
I think my favourite karaoke rendition of yours is undoubtedly Daft Punk's "We're Up All Night To Get Lucky"! Maybe you should give it another go! I have to say the YTP 8 Bit Guy feat. Techmoan spoof videos are absolutely hilarious! 🤣
I like 'Walking On Sunshine' because it's so intentionally deadpan and anything but sunshiny. 😅
What a cool design! Would look great as a contemporary BT speaker. I think the reverb is OK? It sounds like a spring unit - those are always sensitive to tapping on the enclosure, which will make them ring a bit.
Karaoke!!! It's been far too long. LOL Love it. So odd that this was a mustard shade as opposed to their 'sport' line yellow.
I can never get too much of your Karaoke singing please do more
What a lovely bit of kit. It amazes me that here is a cassette deck with AMS in 1982 and yet it never became a standard feature on future cassette decks. The tech can’t have been that expensive can it?
I did wonder if AMS had been created specifically to facilitate better Karaoke functionality with cassettes. Unfortunately I hit a brick wall when trying to find what the first cassette player was with track skip functionality. However I still think it might be a possibility that we wouldn’t have had AMS and the like if it wasn’t for Karaoke.
My first thought was the educational market. Being brightly coloured, robust and mono, I could see this being used in classrooms. But of course it's karaoke, because Japan.
First thing I thought: construction site radio? They usually also use a yellow/black colour scheme. But then: it doesn't have a radio (and your average construction worker doesn't want to run down the scaffolds to change the tape). And always hilarious to see your "demonstration" of karaoke 🤣. Also wondering if you secretly enjoy it (with a "secret better voice" as Drs. P called it, some Dutch people might know what I mean by that 😅)
It perhaps inspired the yellow color of Sony's line of "Sports" electronics that were introduced a few years later.
Excellent video, Matt. Love the quick puppet segue - genuine ‘lol’ moment. In fact this video has loads of brilliant comedy moments in it - a nice way to start the weekend. Thank you!
Absolutely frightening when you were looking into the camera singing at me. Real psychopath vibes. I have 2 comments: I had totally forgotten my sister had a karaoke machine with two cassette decks which had a music search and playlist function and we never figured out how it worked. We were also both under 10 at the time. April still uses that machine as vice amplification when she pulls up karaoke videos on YouTube. She has always been a fiend for it and my parents really did her a solid buying her that machine. Comment 2: this is without a doubt the coolest cassette player I've ever seen in my entire life. Nothing has ever been cooler than this. I'm going to buy one.
I didn't think I missed the puppets until I saw them again in this video.
How do you find these amazing products? I wonder if TDK's Life on Record Sound Cube (TP6701BLK) copied this Sony.
SNAP - I have the same books. I have 4 others of that series also... https://i.imgur.com/Xg6OzxG.jpeg
Damn, Sony somehow pioneered the Bluetooth Speaker aesthetic decades before
I thought exactly this. Also the fact that it's mono.
It was nice to see the return of the muppets!
Kind of a nice looking little machine. Because of the its high-vis yellow color, large carrying handle and the shape being closer to a cube than a rectangle, I guessed it was one of those units for people to use at construction sites. Then Mat revealed its true identity--and Dad recoiled from his laptop in horror.
The yellow matches the Walkman Sports models. The Sony would be great for Aqua Aerobics or similar. Philips did a unit with a similar unit with a built in cool-box (aimed at the Australian market ? :-) ).
It might not look that way on the video but the colour is really half way between brown and yellow - like tobacco stained teeth.
I think karaoke is some kind of ancient Japanese torture device which has somehow been transformed into entertainment. I have zero interest in watching it and even less in participating, but I could watch videos of you demonstrating karaoke tech all day.
The older viewers may remember a comedian named Jasper Carrott, who did a wonderful (and entirely fictional) skit that insisted Karaoke was a Japanese phrase meaning "you pillock". If only that were true...
The design and colour choice would fit in much better with Braun/Rams kitchen appliances from the 1970s.
Something that amaze me is that you need a mic to sing on this device while everyone is able to hear you as well around that device without that mic. ...but that disaster audio feedback at the end of your performance is priceless ! 🤣
Nice to see the pedant puppet cameo.
A great video, Matt. Not that I have any experience in the Japanese culture, but this seems to be the perfect consumer product for Japan. It seems well-made, ruggedly built, and cleverly thought-out. This would be the perfect companion for a day at the beach. Thanks for the video.
I haven't been able to watch the entire video, but it's nice to see Dad Moan 😀. My TC-D5M also struggles to rewind and fast forward, poor thing. I like the color of this item and the LED track selection indicator. Looking forward to hearing your vocal performance after work today.
...after work referring to the local pub that you secretly karaoke at 😅. I've viewed the rest of the video and it's very entertaining. Most people avoid karaoke except for your videos. Thanks for the chuckles. As for the device, I am definitely going to check out the refurbish video you referenced. Take care 🤍🤍
Love the singing!
Great, just great Matt. Now I want one.