<great_story>
When I bought my MS-16 in 2018, I drove the ~1-1/2 hours to where it was located. The seller was living in one of those Golden Sunset retirement communities. The machine had been found in a friend's storage facility after that friend passed, and the friend had lived in Nashville.
Anyway, the guy had a matching M520 to go with it, which I could have gotten for as little as an additional $125. It was large and heavy, and I didn't need it - still don't, but it was so cheap, I still regret passing on that.
A reel of tape came with the MS-16, with general rambling on it. A few weeks later, the seller emailed me saying he'd found another tape, marked "Merle - Do not erase".
Wanted to know if I was interested in it.
Now, obviously, he thought there was some lost Merle Haggard recording on it, and he wanted me to make an offer for it, unheard. I told him I'd be happy to come get the tape or he could send it to me, and I'd let him know what was on it, and if it was something good, I might be interested.
Never heard from him again.
</great_story>
But the MS-16 is a great machine, esp. if you get it with a rolling cart and the noise reduction units, as I did. I just needed a little cleanup, and it was ready to rock.