8-track cartridge

At Greatbear, we carefully restore and digitise 8-track (aka Stereo 8) audio cartridges.

We offer a range of delivery formats for our audio transfers. Following International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives TC-04 guidelines, we deliver 24-bit / 96 kHz high resolution Broadcast WAV files, together with MP3 audio file or audio CD listening versions. We're happy to create any other digital audio files, according to your needs. We can also digitise to 24-bit / 192 kHz, if required.

We can provide the appropriately-sized USB delivery media for your files, or use media supplied by you, or deliver your files online. Files delivered on hard drive can be for any operating system - MacOS, Windows or GNU/Linux and filesystems (HFS+, NTFS or EXT3).

8-track cartridges can vary in duration and in the extent of physical tape degradation, so we always assess tapes before confirming the price of a transfer.

We offer free assessments - please contact us to discuss your project.

Thorpe Grenville TD 145 8-track stereo cartridge player and others.

8-track and NAB cartridges use ¼ inch analogue magnetic recording tape just like reel-to-reel tapes. This tape is joined as an endless loop with conductive tape between sections or splices for easy and quick access. Because of this, many of the issues that arise with reel-to-reel tape can and do arise over time with 8-track cartridges.

These include mould growth if the tape has been stored in damp or humid conditions, sticky shed syndrome and general oxide shedding. Fortunately these issues are treatable and most tapes can be recovered, but it is a process that is complicated by the endless loop design in the cassette shell.

The best way to recover problem tapes is to remove the tape from the cartridge shell and play it on a ¼ inch reel-to-reel machine with a specially-made repro head for the 8-track format.

Eight-track cartridges were a consumer market magnetic tape sound recording technology popular in the United States from the mid-1960s through to the early 1980s. Relatively unknown in many European countries it was, however, popular in the United Kingdom during this period.

The popularity of the highly portable 8-track cartridges grew with the booming automobile industry. Ford fitted the first 8-track tape players in their cars in 1965, and optional 8-track players were available in many cars and trucks through to the early 1980s.

Eight-track players became less common in homes and vehicles in the late 1970s when audio compact cassettes were used more widely. The last eight-track cartridges were phased out of retail stores in the US by 1982.

The eight-track format maintains a cult following with avid collectors even after its demise on the open market.