A tape drive for reading both new technology tapes and legacy tapes. The tape drive includes a three bump head with two outer read bumps and an inner write bump. The outer read bumps include readers for reading data from tracks of a first width on a first storage tape while the inner write bump includes writers for writing data in tracks of the first storage tape. Legacy readers are provided in the head to read data from tracks of a second width that is greater than the first track width on a second storage tape. The legacy readers are provided by piggybacking or merged-pole techniques in the inner write bump or are provided in one or both of the outer read bumps. The tape drive includes control circuitry with channels for processing data signals from the narrower readers and channels for processing data signals from the wider legacy readers.