Ormandy/ Philadelphia Orch- The Nutcracker QUAD 8-Track
Tape. Please read!
This tape was briefly tested—long enough to confirm that it
is not dragging or binding, that the existing foil changed the channel properly
and the splice (which has probably been there since the Nixon Administration)
held together—at least THIS time. But since different players have different
build quality, cleanliness and maintenance, it is NOT guaranteed to perform
similarly on your machine. Thus, ALL used 8-track tapes are sold strictly as
“As-Is” collectors/display/ novelty items, with no returns, refunds, or
adjustments. 8-track tapes were notoriously unreliable and trouble-prone when
introduced in the 1960’s, and have NOT improved with age. But almost every
problem tape can be inexpensively rebuilt (Message me. I’ll give you the name
of my guy—who is very good, very inexpensive, and guarantees his work). Since
this is a relatively low-value tape that seemed to play okay, I decided NOT
have it rebuilt—but unless you intend to do so, it is GUARANTEED TO FAIL at
some point. After 15 seconds? 15 minutes? 15 days? 15 months? I mention this so
that we’re on the same page regarding the utility of this tape—and to avoid any
hard feelings. Also, for best results, make sure your player is in good working
condition and is CLEAN. A great many “bad tape” complaints are actually
“bad/dirty player” problems. So for anyone inclined to send me a picture of
brown magnetic spaghetti spilling forth from the above-pictured cartridge, I’ll
be cutting and pasting these very words into my response—so you’ll get to read
them all over again.
Honestly. I love these things! I’ve been doing this for
close to a decade, and have sold thousands of tapes with an extremely high
level of customer satisfaction. If you are a serious collector, we’ve probably
done business before. The intent of this long-winded narrative is to reach the
person who just bought a $19.99 Sound Design portable at Goodwill, knows
nothing about 8-tracks, but figures he’ll order a few-- then Party Like It’s
1969. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always work out, and I’d honestly prefer a
such a person order elsewhere. Any negative feedback I’ve ever received
concerning 8-tracks have come from people who didn’t read the listing, didn’t
understand what they were buying or the notorious unreliability of this quirky
(but fun) format.
I’m happy to combine shipping. Just put all the tapes you
want in your cart and buy from there. If eBay charges you more than the actual
cost of the label, I’ll refund the difference. If you spend over $35 on
8-tracks, I’ll refund ALL the shipping on US orders covered by USPS Media Mail.
No need to even ask. I make the refund when I print the label. I sell a great
many tapes overseas, and am well aware how expensive shipping is. Sorry—there’s
not a thing I can do about it-- except to reimburse over-$35 orders the amount
eBay paid me to get the package to their international hub-- $3.91 per tape, at
this writing.
Happy Collecting! P.S.—If you love 8-tracks but haven’t seen
“So Wrong They're Right”, search YouTube for it. Epic 8-track documentary.
BX58
Leonard Bernstein’s Mass Vol. II QUAD 8-Track Tape.
Splice-Tested.
As pictured. In a brief test, it pulled smoothly and sounded
good. The splice remained intact and the existing foil strip changed the
channel properly.
Pads are missing. The tape
played fine for me without them, but replacement is recommended for critical
audiophile listening. This deficiency has been priced in.
The tape was tested a clean, well-maintained Pioneer H-R100.
But this is NOT a guarantee that any/every machine will yield similar
performance-- or for how long. Be aware
that different make/model players have significant variations in build quality,
cleanliness and maintenance and can yield vastly different results with the
same tape. Since there is no practical way for a seller to evaluate the
veracity of a reported ‘problem’ or guarantee that every 40 or 50 year old tape
is going to play perfectly on any machine a buyer might choose to pop it into—I
simply DON’T.
Since any used, unrestored tape that would likely benefit
from servicing/rebuilding. This one it’s sold STRICTLY as an as-is collectors/
display item with no returns, refunds or
adjustments. In fact, it is strongly suggested that this tape be carefully
evaluated and/or rebuilt before any playback attempt is made. Be aware that
just about every used 8-track on eBay is sold this exact same way.
Sorry for the lengthy disclaimer! Most 8-track guys are
quite aware of the legendary unreliability of this format, and probably keep a
splicing block, razor blade and sensing foil at the ready. But it gives me
something firm and final to paste into a return message from somebody who’s
shocked—SHOCKED!!-- that his 60 year-old Sears Silvertone consumed a 50 year
old 8-track tape and would like to return a bunch of magnetic spaghetti. No
thanks!
- SHIPPING NOTES-
Fast Shipping! Generally, orders received by 1PM Pacific get
to the Post Office the same day.
U.S. CUSTOMERS: A package of four tapes weighs under a
pound, so an order of up to four can ship via USPS Media Mail for the same
price as ONE! Thus, purchasing multiples saves you significantly over ordering
one at a time. Put everything in your cart, then order. Nonetheless, due to the
way eBay calculates combined orders, you will likely be overcharged for
shipping at checkout. But with multi-tape orders, I subtract the actual cost of
the label from the total you were charged for shipping—then promptly refund the
difference. If a domestic the order is for over $40 (not including sales tax),
I’ll refund ALL the shipping. Fair enough?
NON-U.S. CUSTOMERS: With most International orders, “one
pound and under” packages can be sent quite reasonably. Four well-packed
8-track tapes weigh just under a pound, so four can be sent for the same price
as ONE. However, given the way eBay calculates the weight of combined orders,
you will likely be overcharged for shipping at check-out. But with each
multi-tape International order, I subtract the actual cost of the label from
the total you paid for shipping—then promptly refund the difference. Often, I’ll
get an inquiry as to the cost of Internationally shipping a box 30 or 40 tapes,
but this never works out—since International rates tend to rise exponentially
with the weight and size of the package.
BX41