I put a cassette player in my bathroom wall
I’ve always been intrigued by hidden compartments. I long saw them as out of reach, too expensive, yada.
And then for some reason I started becoming obsessed with tapes.
I’m a milenial who has dabbled in the magenetic arts, but mostly as a kid.
A friend had a small, simple tape player in her bathroom, and i got inspired to have something similar. A place dedicated to intentional analog listening. Nothing fancy, didn’t need to be hifi, just tactile. A place that forces you to make a choice and live with it.
I blocked out a weekend and knocked it out.
There’s a hole in my wall now.
The speakers are basic drivers designed to be mounted in a wall. They use the wall cavity as the baffle - if the speakers are just in open air, it’s silmilar to riding a bike on an ice rink, you’re not going far. But in the wall, they use the wall as sort of a big speaker box - the air is contained behind the speaker so it gives power to the driver.
I looked for months for the perfect tape machine. it had to be:
-vertically oriented
-shallow enough to fit inside the wall
-look cool
Unfortunately I couldn’t find one with auto-reverse. They didn’t have that tech in the 70’s yet, and I definitely prefer the silver faces of machines of that era. There really aren’t too many vertical tape machine models ever made, so I couldn’t be picky with features. Plus I kinda don’t mind switching the cassette side, it’s old school and part of the ritual.
I bought like 9 tapes from local LA label Leaving Records. They definitely came through with a nice set of ambient and ethereal music that’s great for making my own spa.
Among other adventures, dyring the install I had the thrill of realizing I had accidentally drilled into a drain pipe. Luckily it was just the air vent for the toilet drain, but wow I was in sheer terror for a hot minute there.
I hope this inspires you as Tatev inspired me.