Thursday 23 January 2020

BLIMEY, THAT'S TECHNICAL!

I was thinking about how I used to copy cassette tapes for my friends back in the day. I used tape to tape on my Matsui cassette player. Here are a few more 'technical' words from my youth. Please add more in the comments!

Taping
tape to tape - taping from one cassette to another. it could be done at twice the speed too
graphic equaliser - getting the music tone right using five sliding buttons
bass boost - boosting the bass
dubbing - not sure what this was
counter - it counted where you were on the cassette tape, which we then wrote down religiously on the tape card sleeve i.e. timings.

Video
Tracking - trying to get the picture right using the remote
Cue - I was never sure what this was
Letterbox - a frame around the picture
V2000 - early video format that lost out to VHS
Betamax - early video format that lost out to VHS
Clamshell - puffed plastic video case that opened like a book
Big Box - early and larger plastic video cases, often clamshells


Record Player
Separates - different components of the system from different makers
Wharfdales - the best speakers around
Run out groove - the smooth collar at the end of the record
Stereo - either referred to double sound or the type of device - a stereo may have had a record player and a cassette player in it too.
music centre - record player, cassette player and record rack
gramaphone - old version of music centre
stylus - needle
Emitex - top brand of record cleaning cloth

6 comments:

  1. Good Morning all from South Wales! This posting certainly brings memories back from before the madness started...

    So in answer to your question;
    Dubbing = Essentially its copying something to tape. These days the term is used when [usually] audio is copied to a computer.

    Cue = Setting something up to playback at the touch of a button. It's a DJ or studio term, and usually involves winding the tape or record back a fraction.

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    1. Sorry for the late reply. I hibernate at night Bill. Thanks for the technical insights. I still see Cue on my VCR. Yep, I still watch videos!

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  2. Think gramophone was just another name for a record player, not a music centre.

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    1. Doh! I meant stereogram Andy! Youre right.

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  3. Wharfdale speakers!
    I remember that if you didn't have THEM your hi fi set up was rubbish.

    Do they even exist now ?

    Mish.

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    1. I bet you can get them at Richer Sounds Mish, modern ones. Otherwise a big City Charity shop that sells electricals maybe.

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