This makes a change - a Boombox with a unique feature
A shorter and simpler video this week consisting of a look at an unusual boombox from 1986.
I was hoping to have recorded a Patreon update video by now but I blinked and the week was over. I’ve already got a list of topics to cover in it - so I’ll aim to get myself in gear and shoot something this weekend.
Technical issues:
Yes there are some sound issues in this video and no, this is as good as I can get it but yes I do sound rather blocked up too and yes this is one of the reasons behind my rather low output week.
Regardless of any shortcomings, I hope you enjoy this video - I doubt you’ve seen one of these before, I certainly hadn’t and hopefully I’ll have a new video for your soon.
Have a great weekend.
UPDATE
I’ve performed a quick snip and re-up due to making a boob in the first version. The updated version is now the one embedded and linked to above.
Comments (49)
I very much like the look of this. It also seems to be in very good nick, so Jamie must have packed it well for the trip over the Atlantic.
Wow. I'd have loved that as a kid! I'm sure it sounds no worse than other boxes of the era.
But Mat, is this boombox known for taping the hiss?
If you used it with a Sinclair Spectrum then it would be a "game changer" :)
As always, enjoying watching your show!
Another great video -- long or short, I really enjoy your content. Just as a side note, when I bring this up on YouTube it shows a "LIKE"/"DISLIKE" option but doesn't show numbers of either. Not sure if that's something you have any control over...
Yes I’ve chosen to disable the option to view the stats until the videos go live.
Not VINTAGE vintage, but I bought a Yamaha KX-630 of a library when they ditched them from on-site listening in the mid 90's. It was an absolut workhorse and probably still works well, if it has been taken care of. Now I regret I sold it of course, but at the turn of the millenium CDRs made way more sense for band demos.
Have you used any vintage Yamaha cassette equipment? Any good? I have seen them for sale, and I normally equate the brand name with motorcycles and pianos.
Yamaha does studio equipment as well. If you find one of their rack mounted cassette decks from the 80s (https://www.cassettedeck.org/yamaha/c300), we're probably talking Nakamichi levels of greatness.
Ive got a Mitsubishi amp from the 70’s and absolutely love it. Great find!
They made some very nice video recorders too - especially HiFi ones
There are several Mitsubishi companies; they all used to be part of the Mitsubishi zaibatsu that was disbanded after WW2. I suspect the AV kit was either Mitsubishi Electric or Mitsubishi Corp. (They share the trademark and branding rights)
I never knew that tape changes were a thing until I started watching the channel. This mechanism is quite interesting to me as the mechanics are more complicated than the carousel style. As we’ve transitioned to digital there’s no need for engineers to think of ways to create access to the physical media, or shuffling it around to give the listener variety etc as the former is just 1s and 0s. In our rush to reduce everything to the lowest common form I guess that’s why consumer electronics manufacturers can’t make a decent tape or record player anymore?
What happened to the new intro, Mat?
I swapped back to the old one because I prefer it - I like the transition at the end.
Thank you Jamie.
Seems to be a casseiver cosplaying as a boombox. Simply stick a speaker on either side and there you go.
A very interesting machine! Thanks a lot for sharing!
Maybe I missed it, but what does the “special” indicator light represent in the tape section?
Chrome tapes - that’s the bit I took out because I erroneously stated it was for metal tapes.
The music choice during the reveal was perfect. Great video!
An interesting phase of design, for sure. It's probably not easy for later generations to understand the concept of a boom box with a big, prominent handle that wasn't really intended as, or used as, a portable stereo. They were just decent, cheap stereo systems that you could put anywhere, and the "boombox" context made their cheapness more palatable.
Goodness, I never knew cassette changers like that existed. Very cool. Great video, Mat.
What a shame they spent so much on the changer mechanism and so little on the other aspects of the unit. The John Cusack scene reminded me of a TV commercial in Australia which emulated that, plus had a really cool 80s sounding song. https://youtu.be/-7o4IyoYjjQ Thanks Mat.
Those duck fillets look surprisingly edible.
I've never seen or even heard of tape decks with this feature before. Thanks for sharing.
What an odd mishmash of designs, I can see elements from several mid/low range systems I had or saw in the 80's. Pretty funky though, but somehow missed the mark imho. Was wondering what happened to our private videos from you... Shall look forward to it.
I wonder what it would sound like with different speakers. Maybe the amp is decent.
It’d probably sound fine over headphone too.
Added to Watch Later. Get well soon, Mat! 👍
Although it's incredibly unlikely I really hope there was a very limited car stereo version of this, it sounds daft enough for them to do it.
It took me 20 seconds of Googling to find one by Alpine https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/automotive-parts-accessories-sale-wanted/293051-f-s-alpine-6-cassette-changer.html I wonder how many man decades of engineering went into designing changers of different kinds. When Mat runs out of cassette changers he could look at CD changers. I have a Panasonic midi system with one in and still don't really understand how it works internally.
I didn't know what secret this boombox would have, so when that Ludwig Van started up, I literally LOLed and gasped.
Wow this would be great for audiobooks the kind that use to come on 14 tapes. Great video
I don't like to sound ungrateful, but this is the kind of content I like the most. I love these unusual audio devices :) I really hope you still have some on your list, I know it's going to end sometime.
I’ve got quite a few left yet - and hopefully some more yet to discover.
The cassette symbol on the front of the draw, looks so sad.
Perhaps it’s just got a cool 70’s ‘tache.
It would have been nice to see the insides in action those mechanical cams and levers always look so quaint now. The tape holder coming back out of the front when it changes tapes looks like asking for trouble though - imagine if you left a cup of tea in front of it.
I had a very very strong feeling that if I opened this one up that it would never work ever again.
Too cool. Too cool. Sadly with digital music (which is great and all) we just won't see clever devices like this ever again. I am a fan of Electra-Mechanical Pinball machines (as you are with Fruit Machines) because of the clever designs without chips and transistors. When I see robotic food systems (and some Japanese vending machines) I get that same "that's cool" feeling since we have yet to able to digitize food and beverages. And my thanks to Jamie too for finding this piece of technology.
I remember in the 80s my parents had a similar Mitsubishi DA-L70 home 'stereo'. It had a 7 cassette changer and they also had the matching turntable. I found the motorized and programming functions pretty fascinating (for the time).
I tried to find a product picture of the DA-L70 because it's their most well known model with a changer, but I could only find pictures that people had taken of their own machines so I didn't want to re-post them.
Long video, short video...I'll take whatever. This was a great machine to see demonstrated; and if Jamie is reading this thank you, too. I've seen those Mitsubishi changer tape decks online at outrageous prices; but not the boombox. Oh and...my goodness...look at 6:45...some nebulous character that looks nothing like you is doing something dangerous with that Sharp GF-777 in your garden. 😲 Edited: LOL, I missed this from 2017. That nebulous character really is you! https://ibb.co/XxRQRT6
Very neat boombox. And cool seeing the Planet X3 soundtrack sitting there front row!
For a second I thought it was a copy of the game itself! That would’ve sounded… interesting
How strange! A curious mixture of facilities and quality. Interesting, Mat.
How is it that you always wind up uploading a Patreon video while I’m already watching a video on your YouTube channel. Cheers Mat