@@draketungsten74 but they kind of do. Japanese FM frequencies start at 76MHz and go up to 95MHz, where European FM frequencies don't start until 87.5MHz, so a European radio wouldn't understand more than half of the Japanese spectrum.
I must say, the Sopic looks incredibly modern for a device from '76! The LED, the design itself, that clear cover for the bottom, the manual, the case, all of it looks like it was designed in the 2010s or later.
Classic design is timeless. Look how modern the Eames Chair still looks. And the Villa Savoi, as long as you dont look at the bathrooms. The taps and bathroom suite are solidly early 20th century.
1976 and looks like something a modern electronics company would make. Incredible design aesthetics and beautiful font. I was expecting to see bluetooth and USB at points. :D
The only problem is that they packaged it in a solid wooden box with brass buckles. Today it would be sold in a horrid nylon zipper bag or a thin plastic case.
Yes, I agree. I was surprised it dated back to mid 70s. I liked the combination of miniature electronics, mechanics and the beautifully designed and made wooden box.
I agree. It was surprising to me when I actually saw the record playing device. The slick shape and font used evoke modern electronic devices to me. This thing is decades ahead of its time from a visual design perspective.
I love the honesty. Most RU-vidrs say "I'm not that good at painting, but I'll give it a go" and then produce a Caravaggio. But when Matt says he's not that good at accents, he's not lying.
6:07 i was in that village in Serbia visiting my grandmother and when i arrived home, got notified about you new video, and when i opened it, well, i was a pleasant surprise. Greetings from Serbia.
17:39 - Ah yes, those old classics like "Sorrowful Stop," "That Person," "I Love You Without Seeing You," "Memories of Green Glass," "Memories Pillow," "Crust Champs," "Manufactured By Name," "You're Crowned Too Much," and "The Sun Is Hot."
@@emusunlimited Or it could just be glass coloured green - like in wine bottles (Memories of getting totally drunk??) But here it is definitely green grass - Techmoan uses it as an example in the beginning of the video
This set is kind familiar my grandma generation. They carry those set to “Ohanami” party -Cherry blossom party- and drink and sing. And words written in tape’s side edge is Korean. Almost those generations are gone now. They are almost around 90. My grandpa was past away 3years ago. edit :side edge is just number sorry. Those items were sold via infomercials. or in adv in news paper.
Waterloo Road brings back memories...I remember learning Les Champs-Élysées in my high school French class, but had no idea it was originally in English.
Champs-Elysees sung by Joe Dassin was a golden oldie and an instant party sing along in Russia all through the 80s, 90s and probably still is for old millenial farts
I was about to say, the industrial design of this thing is WAY ahead of the curve for a device of that time: you could release a modern Bluetooth speaker with identical aesthetic design and it'd still come across as suitably modern. The most aged element of the whole aesthetic is the brownish-gray power button: otherwise, I'd have never guessed this device was 45 years old.
This was my first thought.... but I was like, no one else will think Jupiter Minning Corp..... what if... this was the minning company's initial business?
Sound quality is pretty decent also, as well as build quality Never expect that from nah-looking plastic thing, more like cheap chinese crap)))) P.S. Hi, Fran!) being your subscriber (btw from Russia ))) ) never knew you also watch Mat, thats fun)
I have a 1975 LED calculator (Rockwell International/Anita/ House Of Fraser model 30F), but true that it was towards the start of LEDs becoming mainstream.
Amazing! I never realized that the Joe Dassin song was actually a cover of an English original. I was two years old when the French version came out, and by the time I was five it was almost everywhere. It's good to know that the Brits suffered it, too.
@@jmi5969 It wasn't just the Brits who suffered. We, the Dutch, had our own version. Have a look: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-NIcX74xM46M.html The "Waterlooplein" was a very famous second hand market in Amsterdam, a little like Petticoat Lane. The single never charted, but everyone in The Netherlands knows it, it's that famous...
@@kane2742 well you’d be surprised That comment reminded me of a tale from Guadalcanal. The marines captured a bunch of Japanese supplies including lots of 1 litter brown bottles and complain ‘this is the worst beer ever’ And intelligence officer looks at it and says ‘I’m not surprised it’s mosquito killer
Uncle Dougie is the best uncle, Uncle Mat just is the rich uncle who impulse buys a bunch of random junk and justifies his purchases by taking them to family gatherings.
@@fayelinae When I was 5 or 6, we sang it as "Oh scheiß in den See" (oh, shit in the lake) because we obviously didn't speak French and these were the more funny words that we found to fit the French ones ;-) But I'm very happy to hear, that this song is not totally forgotten by youngsters like you.
@@fayelinae :D :D:D My dad was best, when he sang "It's a fine old downtown" to the tune of Europe's "Final Countdown"... seems to make sense to him to write a hymn to a nice place to have a walk and go sightseeing
It was only a matter of time before he sang.. This is RU-vid gold. Yet another cracking piece of tech nostalgia, expertly presented with the unique Techmoan charm and humour. Thanks for everything you do, Mat. 👍😊
"I'm not an inventor. I simply put things that already existed together, which is completely different. I took a car stereo, a coin box and a small amp to make the karaoke. Who would even consider patenting something like that?" Man, these humble Japanese people!
Incredible really, what patent doesn't contain pre-existing inventions or technologies? I'm sure some smart-ass will volunteer something, but it would certainly be an outlier!
@@carlhartwell7978 Old ones like lightbulbs and stuff. I don't imagine anything recent does, mind you. Just incremental improvements on earlier technologies. Even the proto-"internet" dates back to the 60's or 70's!
Yes, my in-laws are Filipino. They love to sing My Way at home. You will be stabbed in the Philippines if you sing it poorly there. They won't even let you sing it in Manila, it's just flat-out banned.
It took me a while to figure out what this reminded me of, physically, but it finally hit me: the case with the discs in it looks like something a character on the original _Star Trek_ would have carried an assortment of data cartridges in. It has that same "23rd century going on 1965" aesthetic as a lot of the props on that show. (Except the Starfleet-issue one would have that black crackle 1960s camera case finish on it.) Also, I feel like the thumbnail is not period-complete without a giant bottle of Suntory. :)
The property master for ST-TOS was Irving Feinberg. The props he came up with were affectionately known as Feinbergers. Dr. McCoys medical scanners started out life as salt shakers.
I believe Matt has mentioned several times that he's a fan of Hip Hop and he's dropped more then a few references across all his videos. And it is a beautiful reality check against preconceptions.
All this thing looks like perfect system to take it to the park, drink sake and sing you heart out using small transistor radio. And i bet that setup would be pretty portable and have decent battery life
@@pyeltd.5457 japan caps tend to go bad? All capacitors tend to go bad. Some old 70's Japanese (grey or blue elna's, some Matsushita blues) seem to retain there spec very well and not leak which is downright remarkable. Btw 'bad' for caps is a sliding scale. They can be out of spec a bit, out a lot, or the magic smoke is escaping.
@@someonebald2022 Rimmer would have complained why it does not have any "classical" music such as Britney Spears or why there are no Morris Dancing tracks available
I absolutely LOVE your content mate, it really hits the spot. Very interested in vintage stuff so it's like Christmas morning, every time you come out with a new vid! Life can sometimes be humdrum and I suffer from debilitating anxiety at times. Not looking for sympathy just wanted to say that your videos really helped me through some bad times. I really appreciate how interesting and informative they are..........Keep up the great work mate.....Cheers!!
I echo your comment; after a trying day at work, this channel immediately cheers me up. I'd go so far as to say that it has made me feel more alive and aware in recent months, wanting to do more things and be more active, etc. I don't know why, but it has been amazing.
It's always nice to see devices like this, that were not put together to get the most production in a short time, but to get the best product to last a lifetime. I can just imagine all the hours of fun this gave to family and friends. It would be nice to see things like this come back, and get people off their social media.
That was some fantastic singing Mat! Just in case the audio gets muted by a copyright strike, I recorded just to save it to my personal collection of you doing some akin to singing. My favourite is when you sing along to Get Lucky. :D
Why would you ever not carry on watching when theres a chance Mat will sing some karaoke! And how glad I am to hear that beautiful version of Waterloo road!
I can imagine things like this were party hits in Japan in the 1970’s. Sometimes it’s the simple things. Also, Mat, are you sure your last name isn’t Sinatra? 😊👍
Pardon me while I run off to add "Crust Champs," "Memories of Green Graph Scan," and "This Chest Crush" to my audio playlist. Thanks very much, Big Bro Mat.
Hah, that village in Serbia 6:07, visited it a couple of days ago, couldn't dream of it being mentioned in Techmoan video 😄 Btw, there is a flea market being held there, every Friday and Tuesday if I'm not mistaken. Never seen ancient Japanese karaoke machine though 😄
I love the content you put out, i really admire how your genuine passion can make me, as well as many other people who started the video with 0 interest in old karaoke machines, be excited for the technology and the craftmanship of the objects. It’s such an incredible quality in a storyteller - 22 minutes well spent! props to you!
Loved it, it's your interest and coverage of 'older' and obscure media types and players that brought me to your channel many moons ago. Also goes to show how items were properly built, there'd be so much plastic in a modern version that it probably wouldn't survive the 40 odd years for Techmoan 2 to review ;o)
The Japanese are the masters of electronic equipment. As you can see, this 1976 model looks up to date. I wish the market was still flooded with Japanese electronic music equipment.
I feel so smart knowing that I can read ヒット・メロディ (hitto merodi) and understand that it means "hit melody". (Who would've thought) I almost feel like I know something. Almost.
This thing is so futuristic looking for the 70s, I would have never guessed 70s just by looking at it. The text sort of gives it away but that's it, what a cool little device.
This simply is my most favourite Techmoan video. What a wonderful little device. And such a good example of Japanese engineering and culture. I also love the Japanese music from this time it's so full of pathos, makes me want to sing along too, though I don't understand a word.
