3M 996. 1/2" on 10.5 ampex reels. NOS.

[minorkeylee]

I bought a 1/2" machine recently. Like a newb, ha. Anyways, after I REALLY inspected it, I saw the flat spots on the guides. I tested the machine with some old tape I had (and some other tape he threw in), and it MOSTLY worked. But after I saw the gnarly wear on the guides, I decided that this tape doesn't deserve that kind of abuse.

The guy I bought the machine from runs a jingle studio. He gave me 2 sealed pancakes of the 3M 996 which I promptly put on some old (decent) Ampex reels I had. He also gave me a reel of Quantegy 499 that was used, and I DID try it....It worked excellent and had no signs of shed or stickiness when I cleaned the machine afterward. I believe that this would indicate that the pancakes were also stored properly and/or in great condition.

I have these listed on ebay, but wanted to offer it to you guys too. Contact me if you are interested via PM here or minorkeylee at gmail dot com.

here's the listing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dl ... CA:US:1123

[Mix413]

On many tape machines you can rotate the guides. What type of machine is it?

[minorkeylee]

Perfect. Asked this in "gear talk" and haven't heard anything. Its a Fostex E16. Thanks for chiming in.