Just got a tape machine (MSR-16) Tips? Pointers? Links?Tape?

[deadair]

After many years of using only an Alesis hd24, I decided to pick up a pretty cheap, and pretty damn mint MSR-16 Tascam machine on craigslist. From what I can tell and was told, it may have seen less than 20 hours total of use in its life. It also came with an unopened reel of RMG Studio Master 911.

My novice questions are this:

Are there a good resource online for cleaning/info etc? Or, a single outstanding resource that I should be aware of?

How immediately concerned with its complete bill of health should i be?
In other words, should I call up a tech and have them look it over before I consider doing anything? Should I just go for it and start recording on it and see if it seems to have any issues, etc that stand out to me? Could this approach be potentially detrimental to the machine?

If anyone is using this specific machine, is there a specific tape you would recommend?


Even a 'duh, read this other thread, dude' post would be helpful. Thanks!

[A.David.MacKinnon]

Just jump right in. Any issues will become obvious once you get to know the machine.
I have the same machine and haven't had any problems with it.

I have a PDF of the manual if you need one. PM me with an e-mail address and I'll send it your way.

[A.David.MacKinnon]

Nevermind. Here it is - http://www.tascamvintage.com/Tascam_MSR-16.pdf

[deadair]

Thanks David, it actually came with a mint manual as well!

What tape are you using with your machine?

[A.David.MacKinnon]

I'm using 499 or GP9.

[Tragabigzanda]

This:

http://www.analogrules.com/

and this:

http://tapetape.com/

Have fun!