This particular piece holds a dear place in the sentimental recesses of my mind. In the mid 1990s the shop sold this Fostex 260 to a Jamaican man, a few months later he returned claiming it was broken and he wanted his money back. The ensuing conversation was one of those instances when I wish I had been wired for sound and recording the proceedings around me. The satisfaction of seeing my boss called a thieving swine by an irate Jamaican was magnificent, and "Eit was brooken frum teh geat gwo" was instantly forged into our vocabulary when any ailing piece of shit crossed the threshold into our domain. The actual back and forth between this man and my boss dragged out for close to a year as we tried to make the man happy within the confines of not giving his money back, good times.


After being deposited in the bad amp room, much neglect and dust did ensue.

After giving it the exterior once over I power it up and began functional tests. Guess what. It actually is broken. The tape transport does register commands, but goes "clack clack clack clack clack" instead of moving tape. I haven't yet bothered with pushing signal through the mixer portion, because LED are far less satisfying to watch than VU meters.

The mixing capability on this deck is pretty impressive for a four track, allowing for two independent stereo mixes (Main and Monitor) in addition to two mono Aux sends and sweepable frequencies on both Bass and Treble ranges.

While the marketing sticker on the face isn't quite as unscathed as that of the 250, the head is in similar condition.


I fudged my depth of field position a little bit, but the mirror finish of the head is evident.