Bel Canto | Stereo Demo Tape Cartridge (not open reels) | ST-DX | Scarce Item

$

46

Will work out any issues the buyer may have if this 45 is not as advertised.     Customer satisfaction guaranteed.       Sales tax: Minnesota residents add 7.625%.

Description: Those who have a player for this type of tape will know what this is but for the rest of you:

This is one of those unique predecessors to open reel to reel tapes and other tape formats. The reels in this case are enclosed in a tape cartridge which was inserted into a machine that would automatically play it. The tape had to be flipped over to play the opposite side. It was not necessary to thread the tape through the heads and rollers prior to playing it. The tape cartridge had a built in mechanism to prevent either reel from rotating when the cartridge was removed from the player.

The machine used to play this type of cartridge was first introduced in 1958 by RCA. They manufactured a player and cartridges but bel canto became one of the biggest manufacturers of these cartridges. The whole idea of a player like this became like a fading star and went away in 1964, the last year that RCA sold the machines for playing the cartridges.

The tape cartridge is 7-3/16 inches wide and about 5 inches high. Thickness is slightly less than 1/2 inch.

This tape is very clean and the box is pretty decent also. The box rear is heavily yellowed (see scan) bit the interior is clean. None of the corners of the box are broken. The front is a little dirty but not obscene. There is an insert in the box listing a list of 45 other bel canto stereo cartridges that were available for purchase at the time this demo tape was issued. The flip side of that insert includes on opening the cartridge to splice the tape if that were to become necessary.

This tape came in the same size box as the open reel to reel tape version but the reel to reel  box had a label stating it was 4 track. The label added to this one to differentiate it from the open real stated "Tape Cartridge" with the issue number and speed on the same label.

It is 3.75 IPS, Stereo, 4 track.

Side A states: For the ultimate in stereophonic reproduction we present a stereophonic tour of the city of Los Angles by Jack Wagner.

Side B: Siboney - All God's Chillun - Slow Freight - Easy Street - High Noon Cha Cha Cha - Around the World - 76 Trombones - Nothing Like a Dame - Little Bird