VHS Cassette Player as Audio Recorder

US 1982 machine expertly repurposed 08/05/23

People often get very sentimental about the appearance of VHS player - with their often warped playback, washed out colours, and visual glitches. We'll here's a project which does away with the visual aspect completely, using the full space on the tape for dedicated audio. Amazing idea and an incredible sound considering it's designed for video (hopefully you enjnoy computer generated counterpart voiceovers). Here's more:

This Hitachi VHS recorder was in my collection, from the beginning of 1982, give or take a few years. One of two machines. Not used for all that time, decided to fully overhaul the unit. New belts etc. Because it was somehow special. In my wild years, a converted this recorder to a HiFi audio machine. So designed and build the necessary electronics to use it, without video. The idea was; if you leaf the video out, there is more room for a audio track on the rotating drum. The head amplifiers will give more output, and the quality will be better. I was not disappointed in the results. And after 40 years, it still produces a clean and perfect sound.

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About the author [midierror]: midierror makes nifty Max For Live devices, innovative music hardware, award winning sample packs and hosts a podcast speaking to people in the music world.