ScuzzBlog: Diaries October 2022 Entry 18th October 2022: Post 1: PrinzSound TR 12 - So bad it's brilliant. PrinzSound TR 12 - So bad it's brilliant. I have been collecting PrinzSound RTR units this last few months and I hadn't intended widening my acquisitions to the tape recorder range, but this little baby I couldn't resist. The main auction was for the Alba CR 55 but sitting to its side was this little vinyl clad box labelled as a PrinzSound. I have no details on the Walkman style unit other than a date on the battery pack of 14/12/75 which I assume was a reminder of the date the batteries were installed. That would predate this before the Walkman and make it 47 years old. My goodness. OK to those features that make this so odd. The cassette recorder was made in Japan and rebadged in the UK by Dixons. Even though it's a small portable the designers couldn't resist the fake wood that was so typical of electrical kit of the era. The top most slide button may look a little elevated, well it is for a reason. The slide actually is on an arc and obviously turns a wheel inside. When moved left or right it drops closer to the top panel. The battery compartment is like one of those bullet magazines on a handgun, flicking out and then snapped back into place. The buttons on the top are the same as those on the radio cassette player and no attempt has been made to reduce their size. It all adds to the general feel of the player as a mini version of a full size cassette tape player. The whole package is wrapped up in a vinyl case that is skin tight and almost impossible to get back on after removal. At first I thought the thing looked dreadful, but having spent some time with it I have really grown to love it. I seriously doubt you will ever see anything quite like it and I'm real glad I won the thing. In addition to the PrinzSound I won in the same auction the Alba CR 55 which for all its crudeness is quite well built and works. This was an amazing little find and cost me just 13 quid. I hadn't intended collecting any more recorders or radios, but after this little adventure I'm having second thoughts. I just love the crude style of the early seventies, with its fake wood and gaudy buttons. It really takes me back to a time of Oxford bags, long side burns, and glam rock. I know I shouldn't, but I may just have another dabble in the past. PrinzSound TR 12 - So bad it's brilliant.

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Last updated 18th October 2022

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