I have seen...and was part of...8-Track Nirvana!!!

[retrokeeper]

I had the great pleasure,thanks to Gordon at Innovative Audio in Surrey B.C. Canada,to see and to sort thru,what has to be,the most 8-track tapes I HAVE ever seen in my life!!! There must have easy been 4-6 THOUSAND tapes at his shop.He had aquired them,from what he describes as a "horder" type person,and there were so many tapes,I just could not believe my eyes when I walked into his back room at the shop.There is no photo I could take to even give you a sense of this huge collection of tapes.There were cardboard boxes full,carrying cases full,holders full,just so many cartridges.Gordon had told me when I visited the store for it's re-grand opening back on Feb. 1st,that he had come upon this "stash",and would I be interested in sorting thru them for him,to kull out some of the more interesting titles for his store stock,and then the rest I could look thru and see what I might want,and then the rest he had a buyer for.The buyer will have to bring a small U-haul truck,because there are that many!! I also would have some help Gordon stated,and sure enough Jamie (was that his name Gordon?) from Apollo Music Record Store showed up to assist in the momental task of sorting thru this mountian of 8-tracks.I was there promptly at 10am,and began with just standing in awe,how in the hell was I going to do this,there were just TONS of tapes.Gordon outlined what titles/artist he wanted set aside,and I began looking thru the piles of tapes and putting them in on a nearby rolling display rack.Found many,many great titles/artists,and started setting aside for myself all Classical and Easy Listening titles.I wasn't really interested in the early rock stuff (I had a good collection of that genre,plus I already have a healthly collection of about 500 8-tracks),but there were hundreds of them.Also found a small stash of 4-channel tapes for Gordon,and there were a ton of blank tapes,both sealed and recorded on.Also a few 4-tracks tapes were in there also.So I was there all day long,past closing at 4pm.Jamie came along at 2pm,and his help was much appreciated,I would have had to return another day just to finish up.

If you get by Innovative,check with Gordon about his recent 8-track plunder,it's truly the largest I have ever seen.Below are photos of my finds...got a good selection of Classical,and Easy Listening,I think I found every 8-track for James Last & his orchestra,there were quite a few of them!! All's I know is I was witness to a great 8-track moment,that I will never forget...and now the cleaning/re-padding/re-splicing begins!! Thanks again to Gordon for this once in a lifetime opportunity!! Rob

[Elite-ist]

Hi Rob,

I'm glad you were able to make it, as promised. Gordon was disappointed I couldn't be there on Saturday to help. This weekend didn't work out for me being there. It's great Jamie was there to assist. Perhaps, you recognize him: he had a booth set up at last year's Innovative Audio Garage Sale selling records from his store's stock. I've purchased records from him several times, and he offers the best deals amongst some of the used record stores I have visited.

Had you scooped any Realistic 8-track Supertape blanks? Apparently, there were many sealed tapes available. How about the CB equipment?

Nando.

[Scorpion8]

I'd never seen a Deutsche Grammophone on 8-track!

[R.Daneel]

You guys must be having some serious fun over there! I am so jealous, err happy for you.

[retrokeeper]

Hey Nando!! yes,the sealed Realistic Supertape blanks were very,very plentiful,couldn't believe how many there were.And there were alot of other brands too.If I didn't already have so many blanks I would have picked up a few.They probably will have to be re-foamed/re-padded to get the best out of the tape,the existing foam is long gone for proper head/tape contact.I seen a couple of CB pieces,not really interested in that stuff,I already have a few boxes of CB intall parts/antennas/etc. than I need. Rob

[Larry N]

What a way to spend a day Retro. I would love to spend a day there at Innovative checking out all the players and 8 track carts. Just to far away *fit*.

[Iavscanada]

As an owner of a business, it was humbling to have friends like Rob helping out in what can only be described as one of the most daunting tasks to ever take on. Hour after hour, box after box, Rob plowed through thousands of tapes. The smile never left his face, not a single complaint left his lips, and even after Jamie showed up his pace never waned.
Rob, from all of us here I would like to thank you. You are truly a great friend and a heck of a nice guy.
If there is anything we can ever help out with, just let us know.

BTW - In two weeks we are getting a load of 40,000 - 50,000 reel to reel tapes...interested?

Gordon

[Elite-ist]

As an owner of a business, it was humbling to have friends like Rob helping out in what can only be described as one of the most daunting tasks to ever take on. Hour after hour, box after box, Rob plowed through thousands of tapes. The smile never left his face, not a single complaint left his lips, and even after Jamie showed up his pace never waned.
Rob, from all of us here I would like to thank you. You are truly a great friend and a heck of a nice guy.
If there is anything we can ever help out with, just let us know.

BTW - In two weeks we are getting a load of 40,000 - 50,000 reel to reel tapes...interested?

Gordon

Hi Gordon,

Over 40k of reel tapes! They, definitely, didn't come from one household. You know, at times, the story behind the purchase is as good as the purchase, itself. I can hear of Tapeheads readying to scramble a coach to make the trip north from California. Why not, we have Vegas trips heading south from Vancouver for aspiring gamblers!

Nando.

[Iavscanada]

I would have no problems having the shop open late one night a month for Tapehead members. Heck, I'll even supply the food and drink!*bigthumbup*
Gordon

[Warped Bezel]

I've never left the country but I've been to Seattle and Priest Lake, Idaho. Don't even have a passport. Not even sure I can afford the fees.

Oh well.

[retrokeeper]

Hell Yes Gordon,I'd be very interested in going thru those reel tapes!! The reasons were many for the continuous smiles on my face that Gordon mentioned...1st was all those 8-tracks tapes,just freakin' amazing what I got to witness...2nd was being in Innovative's "Back Room"..the vintage audio "atmosphere" is stifiling,just seeing the audio gear stored there is audio nirvana of my mind/dreams,the showroom upstairs matches it also,and downstairs,along with the record room,but just being in the heart of it all this is true/pure bliss...3rd was the being there and "listening" to the store do what it does best,hearing what an vintage audio store sounds like doing business,just being there hearing Gordon and the sales people talk to customers,the systems being auditions with various music playing thru the speakers in the rooms,upstairs and downstairs,hearing the technicians doing their thing in the service dept....the sounds are simply priceless,it was just amazing sitting there sorting thru those tapes and listening to the business run and being in what I can only describe a time-warp of vintage audio!! Do you know what it feels like to be in a place like that,the smells/sights/sounds of vintage audio...there is no other feeling that I can think of...unless I was to go back in time,to say,the late 70's or early 80's,when in fact I did visit audio stores in their hayday,and experiance what I did & taking it all in,all the senses,sights,sounds...truly an amazing place there in Surrey B.C.. Rob

[mackamster]

As an owner of a business, it was humbling to have friends like Rob helping out in what can only be described as one of the most daunting tasks to ever take on. Hour after hour, box after box, Rob plowed through thousands of tapes. The smile never left his face, not a single complaint left his lips, and even after Jamie showed up his pace never waned.
Rob, from all of us here I would like to thank you. You are truly a great friend and a heck of a nice guy.
If there is anything we can ever help out with, just let us know.

BTW - In two weeks we are getting a load of 40,000 - 50,000 reel to reel tapes...interested?

Gordon

I was also lucky enough to see the mountains of boxes and cases of 8 tracks in the warehouse part of the store. Words cannot describe how many 8 tracks there were - it was truly amazing. Glad I got to see it and thanks Gordon.

- John