A recently developed, advanced multi-track tape head for operation in a next generation, high performance tape drive is described. This head features full thin film write elements with high moment, cobalt-based pole materials for recording on high coercivity metal particle (MP) tape, together with narrow track, shielded, dual-stripe magnetoresistive ( D S M R ) read elements. This presentation will discuss the global design philosophy of the head with particular attention to the design and recording performance of the read and write elements in a tape environment. The head is capable of recording 288 tracks on half-inch, M P tape of 1625-1850 Oe coercivity at a recording density of 65 kfci. The system operates with 16 parallel data channels and includes full multi-element active track following servo. The head can be used in a full start-stop mode and read verify on the fly (read-while-write) bi-directional operating modes.