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The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced – 7½ IPS 4-Track Reel to Reel Tape – Reprise RST 6261-C
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Description

Original U.S. 4-track stereo reel-to-reel of Are You Experienced by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, issued on Reprise (RST 6261-C), 7½ IPS. Manufactured by Stereotape Division / Greentree Electronics Corp., a Bell & Howell company.

This tape has been fully play-tested front to back. It plays exactly as it should with no issues detected. No dropouts, no transport problems, no shedding noted during playback. Sonically, it delivers that raw Hendrix attack with the presence, punch, and natural analog saturation that only tape gives you. It is not an “audiophile” recording in the modern sense — it is gritty, alive, and real. The tape format gives it dimension and air that absolutely challenges the quality of the black plastic death disc. There is weight to the guitar, body to the midrange, and a very immediate, in-the-room feel.

If you want Hendrix the way it was meant to hit — unfiltered and physical — this is it.

Physical Condition
Box: Original textured outer box with expected vintage wear. Light edge wear and minor aging visible, but structurally solid and fully intact. Spine text is clean and readable.
Cover slick: Clean with normal age-related toning. Graphics present well.
Reel: Original labeled reel. Label is clean and fully legible.
Tape: Cleanly wound. Leader intact. Fully play-tested and confirmed to perform properly.

Details

Album: Are You Experienced?

Artist:

  • Jimmy Rushing

Label: Reprise Records

Year of Release:

Duplicator:

Country: United States

Genre:

  • Rock

Reel: 7 1/2 IPS 7 inch Tape,

Condition Notes:

  • Box: Physical Condition Box: Original textured outer box with expected vintage wear. Light edge wear and minor aging visible, but structurally solid and fully intact. Spine text is clean and readable. Cover slick: Clean with normal age-related toning. Graphics present well. Reel: Original labeled reel. Label is clean and fully legible. Tape: Cleanly wound. Leader intact. Fully play-tested and confirmed to perform properly.
  • Sound Quality: Very Good
Track List

Side 1
Purple Haze
Manic Depression
Hey Joe
Love or Confusion
May This Be Love
I Don’t Live Today

Side 2
The Wind Cries Mary
Fire
Third Stone from the Sun
Foxy Lady
Are You Experienced?

Tape Review

Released in 1967, Are You Experienced didn’t just introduce Hendrix — it reset the vocabulary of electric guitar. Fuzz, feedback, controlled chaos, studio experimentation — all of it pushed forward in one explosive debut. From the psychedelic punch of Purple Haze to the controlled burn of Fire and the cosmic drift of Third Stone from the Sun, this record changed rock production, guitar tone, and arrangement permanently.

The rhythm section of Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell gives the album its elasticity, while Hendrix bends time and harmony over the top. It is aggressive, strange, melodic, and innovative all at once. More than a debut, it is a line-in-the-sand moment in recorded music.

Tape Review
On reel-to-reel at 7½ IPS, this tape preserves the raw character of the master far better than most later consumer formats. You get analog depth, strong center image, and natural compression that complements Hendrix’s overdriven tone. The top end has bite without harshness, and the low end carries real physical weight.

Again, this is not a polished audiophile spectacular — it is a visceral late-60s rock recording — and on tape it feels alive. Exactly how it should.

About Four Track Tapes

Two-track stereo reels grew out of early post-war tape, when consumer releases were mostly mono (often with a “flip the reel” second side). Once in-line two-track (half-track) became standard, big tracks at 7.5 ips made great jazz and classical sound incredibly real. The industry eventually moved to 4-track because it was cheaper and offered more playing time- learn more here.

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