He came from Sacramento on a cross-country trip he could barely dream of; a trip arranged by someone he'd never met. He had no idea what to expect when he got to his destination. As a matter of fact, he's still not sure, although he's gotten a small taste of what his new life could be like.
Thus begins the story of the newest addition to my collection.
It's a Yamaha PC-8 won online. I'd never seen a Yamaha boombox before so I was compelled to take the plunge. I prize boxes that sound good and/or have unusual features, and this one turns out to check both boxes. So I put in a bid and hoped for the best when I found out I was the winner.
Well, it didn't exactly make it to me in one piece.
It came in three instead.
What they'd done was detach the speakers so they could do a packing job I'd gladly have paid twice the handling fee for, if not more. The main unit and each speaker were wrapped in foam paper and bubble wrap all tighly taped together, then boxed up in a sandwich full of styrofoam peanuts. The cord was in its own little baggie on top. Yo mama ain't pack heat the way they packed this box.
This unit has held up well over the past 35 years: only a few little cosmetic imperfections. Antenna is nice and straight, all the knobs and sliders work. The biggest issue is dust, a fine coat of which has gotten into the nooks and crannies, and which I've FaderLubed out of the sliders. Speakers each had one cam on the side that was a little shy and didn't want to pop out, but a little strategic razor-blading fixed that issue.
Plugged in and turned on, all I can say is wow. This thing KICKS. It's up there with the Kaboom box for overall pun loudness. Tuner really latches on to some stations. Everything Yamaha makes is good, and the PC-8 was no excpetion. Interesting to see 2 headphone jacks, a phono input and a keyboard input. Gonna be trying that all out this weekend as I listen deeper and we get to know each other better.
One thing I won't be trying out is the cassette deck. Already did that, and it failed. Forwards and rewinds, but doesn't play. Buttons make a weird 60-hz noise like Scotty beaming someone up. Being a logic-controlled deck, this concerns me. Cassette compartment looked kinda dusty, so a deep clean may help, or maybe a new belt, but I fear there's more to it than that.
But as it is, there's a lot to the PC-8, and I like it a lot. It's my boy.
Thus begins the story of the newest addition to my collection.
It's a Yamaha PC-8 won online. I'd never seen a Yamaha boombox before so I was compelled to take the plunge. I prize boxes that sound good and/or have unusual features, and this one turns out to check both boxes. So I put in a bid and hoped for the best when I found out I was the winner.
Well, it didn't exactly make it to me in one piece.
It came in three instead.
What they'd done was detach the speakers so they could do a packing job I'd gladly have paid twice the handling fee for, if not more. The main unit and each speaker were wrapped in foam paper and bubble wrap all tighly taped together, then boxed up in a sandwich full of styrofoam peanuts. The cord was in its own little baggie on top. Yo mama ain't pack heat the way they packed this box.
This unit has held up well over the past 35 years: only a few little cosmetic imperfections. Antenna is nice and straight, all the knobs and sliders work. The biggest issue is dust, a fine coat of which has gotten into the nooks and crannies, and which I've FaderLubed out of the sliders. Speakers each had one cam on the side that was a little shy and didn't want to pop out, but a little strategic razor-blading fixed that issue.
Plugged in and turned on, all I can say is wow. This thing KICKS. It's up there with the Kaboom box for overall pun loudness. Tuner really latches on to some stations. Everything Yamaha makes is good, and the PC-8 was no excpetion. Interesting to see 2 headphone jacks, a phono input and a keyboard input. Gonna be trying that all out this weekend as I listen deeper and we get to know each other better.
One thing I won't be trying out is the cassette deck. Already did that, and it failed. Forwards and rewinds, but doesn't play. Buttons make a weird 60-hz noise like Scotty beaming someone up. Being a logic-controlled deck, this concerns me. Cassette compartment looked kinda dusty, so a deep clean may help, or maybe a new belt, but I fear there's more to it than that.
But as it is, there's a lot to the PC-8, and I like it a lot. It's my boy.
