Redesigned Sony TC-510-2 Tape Recorder sports a new funky design that audiophiles will love

Built to embody the new Walkman aesthetic, this redesign of the vintage TC-510-2 slaps you with its sexiness. Although the analog tape recorder’s design still fundamentally remains the same, the entire device gets a new aesthetic treatment, with a stormtrooper colorway with a hint of orange accents, and a more premium Walkman-inspired black and gold colorway that absolutely elicits heavy breathing.

Designer: M MAO

Created as a CMF exploration of the original TC-510-2 reel-to-reel tape recorder from 1978, this modern rendition makes retro uber-cool by cleaning up its design and polishing it around the edges. The original had an undeniably futuristic look even by today’s standards, but took a few design directions that kept it in the past. For starters, all the knobs and dials were a brushed metal finish, while the device itself was bronze-ish on the top, black on the front, with that one hint of orange on the pause button. Designer M MAO cleans up the appliance by giving it two distinct colorways – one with a funky aesthetic and the other with a more serious audiophile energy.

Side by side, the white and black variants have completely different appeals. They’re both absolutely delicious to look at, but the white and orange variant captures a youthful, Teenage Engineering-inspired vibe. The black and cold variant feels much more high-end and refined. The gold creates just the right classy contrast against the black, while the orange screams loudly against the white in a way that’s much more rock and roll.

The Sony TC-510-2 was a portable reel-to-reel stereo tape recorder in the late 70s, also seen in Netflix’s psych-thriller series Mindhunter. Designed to work on a 12V battery pack or an AC-26 adaptor, the tape recorder could record both left and right channels (you can see the L and R mic inputs in the bottom left corner of the image above). The recorder was a viable alternative for professionals or semi-professionals who needed a high-quality portable stereo deck.

The black body and golden/brass accents are made even more eye-catching thanks to the transparent casing and frosted reel holders

The post Redesigned Sony TC-510-2 Tape Recorder sports a new funky design that audiophiles will love first appeared on Yanko Design.

Rare BioShock Audio Diary for Sale: Reel-to-Reel and Under-the-Sea

Now that everyone is playing Bioshock Infinite, it’s a good time to buy some interesting Bioshock collectibles – like this rare, functional BioShock audio diary that is currently for sale on eBay.

bioshock audio diary
According to gameshirts702, the seller, there are only four of these in existence. All were created as part of a viral marketing campaign for the release of BioShock 2. You can see this rarity in action in the video clip below:

Why would the seller ever part with something as cool as this? He has hit some hard times financially and hopes that this sale will help. The auction is up to $2,600(USD) as of this writing and I’m sure it will go higher. It’s a super nice piece of video gaming history. Get your bid in before March 31st when it ends.

[via Geek via Geekosystem]

Mini Lego Reel-to-Reel Tape Deck: You’re Going to Need Some Really Tiny Tape

I’m always amazed how LEGO builders can come up with accurate representations of items using just a handful of bricks. It’s sort of like low-res pixel art – if you stand back far enough, it makes sense. One of my recent favorite minimal LEGO builds has to be this tiny tape deck by customBRICKS (who also has an awesome LEGO Battleship game on their home page.)

micro lego tape deck

This miniature reel-to-reel tape deck is too small to actually record anything, and I can’t tell you if it’s a 2-track or a 4-track, but that doesn’t make it any less perfect. I’d love to see a whole miniature recording studio done the same way. In the mean time, I’m enjoying they’re other recent creation – a little LEGO movie projector…

lego movie projector

Check out more of customBRICKS’ LEGO builds over on their Flickr stream.

[via lego diem]