Magnetic storage system with canted hardbias magnetoresistive head

A magnetic storage system in which a magnetoresistive (MR) transducer utilizes a high coercivity magnetic material to produce a bias field for achieving higher signal output with low currents for narrow track width applications. Strips of high coercivity magnetic material contiguously contact opposite track-overlying edges of an MR layer. Each strip has a horizontal component of magnetization times its thickness that is at least equal to a horizontal component of magnetization of the MR layer times its thickness before the MR layer is biased by the strips, and each strip has its magnetization direction canted at an angle phi from its horizontal component. The MR layer is asymmetrically positioned between spaced magnetic shields and the MR layer is separated by a conductive nonmagnetic spacer layer from a shunt layer. Alternatively, the shunt layer is replaced by a reduced thickness soft film layer and the MR layer is centered between the shields and the strips also contiguously contact track overlying edges of the soft film layer.