MX-5050-8 / 8D: the half-inch eight-track
½″ 8-channel
Designations
- MX-5050-8
- MX-5050-8S
- MX-5050-8SD
- MX-5050-8D
What it is↑ TOP
The eight-track is the first generation's wide-format machine: ½″ tape, eight channels, and the DC capstan servo "as standard" while the two-channel deck still listed it as an option (db, April 1976). Studio Sound's October 1976 survey lists it as the MX-5050-8 at $4,000 (Studio Sound, October 1976). By 1978 Otari's line-up ad calls it the MX-5050-8D, and in July 1981 the MARK III/8 replaced it.
The narrative — what it cost, who bought it, and why none of its prices apply to a silver-face Mini Pro — is on the 8-track page.
How to identify one↑ TOP
- Half-inch tape and an eight-channel head block: no first-generation quarter-inch machine has either.
- The rear plate carries "MX-5050-8" or "8D"; the faceplate reads "MX-5050" like every other machine in the line. See the face badge.
- A DC-servo capstan with no belt, fitted as standard.
Specifications↑ TOP
Only what the period press on this site states.
| Item | MX-5050-8 | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Tape | ½″ | Studio Sound, Oct 1976 |
| Channels | 8 | Studio Sound, Oct 1976 |
| Capstan | DC servo, standard | db, Apr 1976 |
| Price, Oct 1976 | $4,000 | Studio Sound, Oct 1976 |
Documents
Service training binder
Instruction and preventive maintenance manual (OIM-1004E)
Maintenance manual supplement (OMM-1002E)
Wanted
Eight-track maintenance manual (shared with the Mark II)
The 8SD is named on the cover of the book it shares with the two desk-top MARK machines, "MODELS MX-5050 MKII-2, QXD, MKII-4 AND 8SD", and no scan of that book has been located. It would document three machines at once.
Have one? Here is how to contribute.
In the period press
- db, April 1976 — Otari's own ad — and the maker's own answer to the DC-servo question: optional on the two-channel, standard on the eight.
- Studio Sound, October 1976 — The UK survey that prints "MX-5050 Mini-Pro" as the model name — alongside the 1-inch MX7308 and the half-inch, eight-track MX-5050-8.
- db, January 1978 — Otari's whole line on one page — and the proof that the MARK II shipped alongside the silver-face MX-5050-2S, with DC servo standard while the 2S still listed it as an option.
Sources↑ TOP
- The 8-track — the full history page.
- db, April 1976 — the DC servo "as standard" on the eight-channel machine.
- Studio Sound, October 1976 — the MX-5050-8 listed at $4,000.
- db, January 1978 — the line-up ad with the MX-5050-8D.
Have one, or paper for it?↑ TOP
The eight-track's earlier documentation is now here: the instruction manual and maintenance supplement that cover the 8SD alongside the 2SD₂, the QXD and the ½QXD. Filed under the QXD, because one shelf has to hold them.
Still wanted is the later book the 8SD shares with the Mark II and the QXD, "MODELS MX-5050 MKII-2, QXD, MKII-4 AND 8SD", of which no scan is online. A head-block photo or a rear plate would help too. See how to contribute.