15. What about 4-track tapes?
Description
This article is from the 8-track Tapes FAQ, by Malcolm Riviera malco@interpath.com with numerous contributions by others.
15. What about 4-track tapes?
[From "You Really Got Me," copyright 1994 by Doug Hinman] Four-track
and 8-track cartridges coexisted on the marketplace for some time, with
the 8-track format eventually defeating by attrition its look-alike
cousin (before in turn being overtaken by the cassette format).
Although extremely similar in appearance (the only obvious difference
between the two being a large hole in the top left underside of 4
tracks), the two formats were not at all compatible, having been
developed and marketed by two different and competing factions. The
4-track system was refined and marketed as a car accessory by
Madman Earl Muntz, a west-coast used car dealer looking for something
he could offer as an accessory to boost his used car sales. His
marketing and distribution arrangements were spotty at best, relegating
the 4-track format to the inferior (when compared to 8-track) status of
a regional phenomenon, most popular in such locales as California
(Muntz's home base) and Florida, but unpopular or unknown in many other areas.
Originally developed in 1956 (also in conjunction with Ford Motors), the
4-track format was originally forsaken as unmarketable, and lay dormant
until the early '60s, when enterprising Earl Muntz saw its potential.
He acquired rights to the format and began marketing both
hardware (players) and software(prerecorded tapes), licensing music
from major record labels. It was perhaps Earl Muntz's
initiative that rekindled Ford's interest in offering an in-dash tape
cartridge system. The development of the 8-track format took the basic
4-track technology and refined it, making changes designed to make the
tape less likely to jam while playing, and to increase accessibility to
individual selections on the tape. In the 4-track format, the pinch
roller (the wheel that moves the tape along as it plays) was housed in
the player. In the 8-track system, the pinch roller was housed in
the cartridge itself. The two programs of the 4-track format were
like the two sides of an LP, each holding roughly half the total
program material. For the next few years, the two
configurations contested for consumer allegiance. New titles continued
to be released on both, and the two look-alike formats were often
marketed side by side in retail outlets. Despite 4-track's potential to
deliver better sound quality, it was the 8-track format that eventually
dominated. Not the least reason for this was Ford's de facto
endorsement. The physical similarity between 4- and 8-track cartridges
permitted the development of converters that fit into the increasingly
obsolete 4-track players and enabled them to play 8-tracks.
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Ad Copy from a 1968 Muntz Ad for 4-track car players: "The bold and
powerful new 1968 Muntz M-45 car stereo system is one for the road --
anytime, anywhere! Muntz M-45 has a lot more going for it than great
looks. It's got tomorrow's great automatic features, including
convenient controls for separation, track selection, volume, tone and
reject. And, maximum performance is guaranteed by the increased power
of the new, twin solid-state amplifiers. Here's full-range response for
you in a strong, masculine unit that is set in a brilliant chrome finish
and is accented by the recessed black-grain panel surface. It's groovy!
Muntz also spotlights the world's greatest cartridge entertainment --
100,000 titles featuring the greatest stars in music. Today's greatest
sounding cars have been stereoized by Muntz, and we've fixed it so that
you can drive home with The Beatles, The Mamas and The Papas, Buck
Owens, Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra, Dean Martin, The Beach Boys,
Petula Clark, or any one of today's brightest stars.
It boils down to this: Muntz is the best sound on wheels."
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