REWINDThe ’80 Portable: a silver brick with a pulsing speaker
The ’80 Portable is a portable cassette recorder in REWIND PRO, drawn from above as a flat silver brick. A speaker grille of hundreds of holes fills the top half and pulses with the bass. A smoked-lid bay in the middle shows the cassette with your song on the label.
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What was a portable cassette recorder in 1980?
In 1980 the portable cassette recorder was the family radio, the school recorder and the party speaker. It ran on batteries or mains power. A built-in microphone and speaker made it the stepping stone between pocket players and the bigger stereo systems that followed. Kids taped songs off the radio and talked over the intro.
What do you see on the ’80 Portable?
The machine is seen from above. The top half is a speaker grille made of hundreds of small holes, and the speaker pulses with the bass of your track. In the middle, a bay with a smoked lid shows the cassette, your song on its label and the spools turning as the tape winds.
A BATT LED, MIC holes and a volume wheel on the side complete the drawing.
- Speaker grille of hundreds of holes that pulses with the bass
- Smoked-lid cassette bay with your song on the label
- BATT LED, MIC holes, volume wheel on the side
What keys does the ’80 Portable have?
A row of keys runs along the front edge: a red REC key, then black PLAY, REW, F.F, STOP/EJ and PAUSE. They click down with haptics and a mechanical sound, and a swipe on the cassette winds the tape.
Which sound settings suit the ’80 Portable?
The small built-in speaker colored everything, so go for midrange. Saturation medium to high, wobble medium, hiss audible. In the equalizer, Vocal fits and Bass fills the small cabinet. Great for radio-style mixes.
Is the 1980 Cassette Recorder free or PRO?
The ’80 Portable is for those who remember the radio-recorder era. It belongs to REWIND PRO: weekly $2.99, yearly $19.99 with a 3-day free trial, or lifetime $24.99 once. Without PRO you still get 8 machines, plus analog sound and the equalizer on all of them.
Frequently asked questions
Is the ’80 Portable free?
No. It is part of REWIND PRO.
Does it record?
No. The red REC key is part of the drawing. REWIND plays your own audio files and does not record.
Is the speaker real?
The grille is drawn and pulses with the bass. Sound plays through your iPhone or headphones.
Keep exploring
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1978 Hi-Fi Cassette Deck App for iPhoneWalnut sides, smoked lid with your cassette, gray piano keys, counter and two amber VU meters. PRO.
Analog Sound on iPhoneFour sliders (saturation, wobble, hiss, crackle), automatic machine sound and a lo-fi radio filter, live on your own files. Free.
Tactile Retro ControlsSwipe to wind, finger to scratch, buttons that click, a real tape stop. Sounds are synthesized on device.