u/LandonT00nz

It’s crazy to think about how much has happened since the EKT mystery began 5 years ago. I first heard about the search back in May 2023, and what started as a mysterious song I was really interested in eventually led me to discover the Booth Brothers and their work, meet them, and become part of a community that has meant a lot to me.

I’ve made so many memories because of this song, and I’m really thankful for every one of them. I never expected EKT to become such an important part of my life, but I’m very glad that it did.

I’ll always be grateful that I found this song and for everything that came from it.

Cheers to 5 years!!🥂💖📻

- Landon

I got this Spiderman movie on VHS from a thrift store, and for some reason the beginning of the tape sounds crunchy?

This VCR isn’t eating tapes, don’t worry. I’m just guessing some kid yanked the tape out and played with it. I did that to a Blues Clues tape once when I was a toddler.

Now is this damaging my VCR? Help me out here!

Thanks!!

I just got this anti-static record brush, and I have the bristles facing away from the stylus like in the picture. Is that the correct way to use it, or should the bristles be facing toward the stylus instead?

Thanks! :)

I just got this acrylic mat a couple of days ago, and I already noticed a couple of light marks on it. Is it normal for acrylic mats to get marks over time, even from just cleaning them? Will they damage my records, or are they just cosmetic?

Thanks! :)

Hey everyone,

I have an old 1/4-inch reel-to-reel master tape that’s really important to me. I got it from someone my dad knows. I think he found it under his bed, where it’d been sitting for decades before I got it.

For the past few months, I’ve kept it in its box inside a wooden cabinet. The room stays cool, it’s been lying flat the whole time with nothing on top of it, and I kept it near the front of the cabinet since it was easier to get to.

The only thing I’m worried about is the cabinet has one of those little magnetic catches that keeps the door closed. I also took the tape out a couple of times to take some pictures near the cabinet, and now I’m worried I might’ve gotten it too close to the magnet.

I looked into whether those cabinet magnets can alter or erase magnetic tape, and everything I found says they aren’t strong enough. But I’m still wondering if they could cause any distortion or affect the recording in any way. I just don’t want anything to happen to the tape.

The tape also has some mold on the outside from how it was stored over the years, so I’m already a little nervous about its condition. I’m getting it professionally cleaned and digitized soon, and the guy doing the transfer told me he can’t imagine there being any problems and said he’s never seen a tape get erased from being stored near a magnetic field.

Am I just overthinking this, or is this something I should actually be concerned about? I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone with experience working with old reel-to-reel tapes.

Thanks!

I’m planning to upgrade my black turntable with a Hudson Hi-Fi acrylic mat soon, but I cannot decide on the color. Here is how I am looking at the options:

White: I have seen people recommend this because it looks really good against a black turntable. It acts as a bright background, so translucent and colored vinyl looks much nicer and brighter while playing.

OrangeLit, GreenLit, or BlueLit: These look really neat and vibrant.

Transparent: Nice for when you want to put LEDs through it, I guess.

Black: Cool, I guess. Just a bit plain.

What do you think looks best in person? Should I go with the white for the nicer colored vinyl look or get one of the neat neon colors?

Hey everyone!

Now that the wonderful song by Jerry Deaton, Mark Leggett, and Michael Bradley is finally solved, I was wondering if we know how the creators actually spelled the title?

Is it officially "Somewhere in the Night" or "Somewhere In The Night"? I noticed the finder used lowercase on their YouTube channel title, but I would love to know the true name straight from the artists themselves!

Thanks so much!

Hey, I’m looking for my first button maker and want something cheap but still reliable and good quality. I found this one that has really good reviews and a lot of people seem to buy it: https://a.co/d/08xZHHyL 2.25” is what I’m looking forward too. Is this a good one to start with, or is there something better you’d recommend? Thanks!

I’m trying to adjust the playback speed on my JVC TD-W203 STEREO DOUBLE CASSETTE DECK. I stuck a small flathead into the rubber adjustment hole on the motor, tried turning it, but the rubber isn’t moving and the tape speed isn’t changing at all.

What am I doing wrong?