im looking to replace the head unit in my 01 blazer but I don't want to lose the use of the cassette player by my center console. is this possible or am I out of luck.

 

The only way you'll keep it is if you replace the head unit with another Factory head unit that can accept the 2nd control plug. Basically, the player is just a player and you need a factory head unit that can control it. If you're more technically inclined than I am, you could possibly cannibalize the control portion from the head unit and somehow run it as an aux input... That's a lot of 'but maybes' though. I'm kind of surprised there aren't more cassette to USB players but I did see one advertised around Christmas time, otherwise the old 1/4" to 1/4" or 1/4" to rca if you have those inputs and a portable cassette player.