TME Leader Tape Open Reel Audio Opaque White 1/4 Inch x 500 Ft with Splicing Tape and GEM Media Blade AC1LWH500R-A

It's a good value. The tape is of high quality, and doesn't seem to stretch easily. If you use open-reel tape, it's a good investment. 'Nuff said.

Easy to use and perfect as a lead.

I'm glad to find leader tape is still available. I have plenty of old reels of tape, some recorded to the very end that lack leader, and my current recorder loses tension several feet from the end so that part of the tape can't be played. I could complain about the cost, for just plain leader tape, but given what open-reel tape prices have reached the amount isn't excessive. My drop of the rating to 4-stars, rather than 5, has to do with the splicing tape provided, which while it seems to perform adequately, is too narrow for applying across the splice, as most splicing devices almost require. Attempting to attach it lengthwise, getting good alignment between the 1/4 inch splice with the 1/4 inch tape is almost impossible, and if it doesn't land correctly it can't be removed from the magnetic tape, especially the thin Mylar variety, without damage to the end, causing potentially a slight loss of the original recording. Fortunately an accurate, perfectly aligned splice is not required to attach leader to the ends of a tape, but I wouldn't want to try any precision editing with it. As for the leader, it is plain white, no markings. It tends to have "static cling" which, while helping to keep the tape from unwinding, makes the end hard to find when trying to thread the tape. Adding an end mark to the leader with a "Sharpie" solves this issue.

This stuff is really nice. I got a R2R to play a bunch of old tapes and the leader tapes on almost all of them just fell right off. The adhesive tape had failed after 30-40 years. This stuff works awesome and got them all back to being able to be loaded and spooled. It's getting harder to find leader tape so I might grab another pack just to be safe. Only time will tell if the adhesive lasts, but it seems very high quality. It was a nice bonus to get a razor blade as well.

Back in the day I always used wider tape attached at an angle across the tape and leader I was splicing.However, this narrow splice tape works fine also. Strongly recommend getting a proper splice block to go with though.The leader tape is first rate.

This is a great combo set to add lead ins to your open reel tapes.I have some pre recorded old tapes that were getting damaged because they didn’t have a lead in.Not only do these protect the tape and make it easier to set on the machine, it also sticks to itself from static, so the tape is not coming off the reel when it is not being played.

If you have an old reel to reel tape deck, and feel like going back and editing your old tapes, this is a must have solution. It includes the leader tape to use at the beginning of reels and between takes, as well as the splicing tape and the razor blade to make the edits.

I am glad that someone is making this for an old media format. There are still many of us using it - some as a hobby or passion, others like myself, are converting it to digital, but need to repair the media to use it or archive it. This product is exactly what you would need it to be.

As advertised