*HELP* with judging tape head wear! (PICS)

[Jdonati17]

Hey guys! I have the opportunity to buy my first tape deck, a MS-16 @ 15ips. I'm just a total noob to tape head wear and what I should be looking for. He's asking $300 for the deck, auto located and some new grandmaster 456 tape. The deck seems to be in good shape but I can't tell yet. Here's what he sent me! Thanks in advance for your safe advice

[Nick Sevilla]

The only proper way to know how much a tape head is worn, is to send them to be tested to JRF Magnetics, and have them actually test them and analyze them the right way.

Many things can only be tested with specific equipment, which pretty much only those people have.

http://www.jrfmagnetics.com/

Other than this, all you can do is take it on faith that the heads work ok.

PS, the pictures as so tiny, there is not way to tell what is happening on even a basic level.

Good luck with this machine!!!

[kslight]

I can’t tell anything from these pictures.

When you say “first” tape machine, and ask these type of questions, that concerns me. I would respectfully back away right now if you don’t know what you are getting into...



With autolocator, $300 sounds like a reasonable price, if in good shape. Autolocators tend to be rare and expensive. I would be extremely weary of the used tape. Might as well throw it straight in the trash. In my personal experience.

As a former MS16 owner, and current owner of a couple other Tascam machines...I believe you should be aware that a new reel for that machine will set you back around $180+ Last time I shopped around, which you will certainly want because old tape...whether it’s new or used, sucks and is not worth the hassle and mess. If you want to align the machine, which you probably do if you are serious about recording...and if he isn’t providing an alignment tape, a new MRL tape is $475. It probably needs a new capstan belt, which are unavailable from tascam last i checked. You may find one on eBay. A pro servicing and alignment would be at least a few hundred...I don’t know the exact price on the MS16 heads but getting those relapped by JRF will set you back at least another $300-400.

So wait, this bargain machine really starts to look like a $1500+ money pit at the end of the day...and this doesn’t even include the mixer and wiring you will require to use it efficiently.

I’m not trying to be (too) discouraging, but there’s a reason that you can’t give these machines away today (i couldn’t give mine away, i ended up getting lucky and trading it off). Even when running well, I personally don’t think it’s a great sounding machine, at least not worth the running costs or dealing with the setup costs.




If you understand all that, and you go see the machine in person...I would not buy it if you cannot see it run with your own eyes, try ALL transport functions, try all channels...closely examine all rubbers and heads... If these machines are going to have problems it’s often going to be with the transport or the logic and anything in the tape path itself. If the machine chokes or displays any kind of faults or weirdness, the seller isn’t able to power it on, the machine is rusty...I would run away.

[TapeOpLarry]

kslight is dead on.

I think about this a lot, and I try to discourage the "uninitiated" from jumping into the tape world at this point. Parts are rare. Techs are expensive and/or rare. Tape is pricey. MRL's are not cheap and sometimes need to be replaced. I have 3 operational decks, and have 1 just for parts (MX-80) and am keeping an eye out for a cheap used MTR-10/12 for parts for my 1/4" deck. I have extra 24- and 16-track headstacks ($3500 for the first 16 - headstack only! - I was able to find) and I have piles of extra audio cards for both types of decks. And guess what, we turn these on every few months, and after all this expense there are other tape decks that sound better (Studer, Ampex, MCI [if you are lucky and it runs]).

Don't get me wrong, I love tape sessions. But I could stay just as busy without it, and though I like the subtle effect of tape, buying a BURL Mothership was cheaper by far than all my tape deck expenses, gets used all day, and makes tracks sound subtly better too. The MS-16 is not a pro machine, and was a stopgap for small local studios in the day. These were the places happy to adopt ADAT because the MS-16 sounded worse. Think about that concept! I should write a book... (time for old man Larry to shut up).

Oh yeah, decks always need new pinch rollers and this costs nearly as much as the deck: https://www.athan.com/store/p167/Tascam ... 16%29.html