Howdy fellas, I rescued this bad boy from a garage of a friend of mine. This unit probably sat for a good 25 years and possibly more. Nonetheless, I fearlessly fired it up tonight when I got home from work.

It took awhile but finally the black roller on the left begin to whirl and it was up and running, with the tape doing is weird twisty dance through the loop. I've got plenty of volume (yeah!) but just a faint echo (boo!).

Of course, she is a keeper, so I have a few questions.

1. Should I clean the heads with rubbing alcohol and see if it starts working?
2. If that fails, does anyone know of a reputable place to get this serviced in the San Diego, Orange County or Lost Angelust areas? (prefer San Diego)

Last of all, I need to make a fair offer to my friend for this unit. What would be the value range in it's current condition? It's a solid state Maestro Echoplex serial number 35255, has echo and sound on sound, is all original in fair condition (a little worn, dirty, dusty and the handle is broken and missing), original cord and working foot switch.

As always, thanks for all the help!!

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The most important maintenance on these things are new tape cartridges and pinch rollers. Even if it hasn't been used they dry out. The new pinch roller will eliminate most of the warbling. I sent my old one to be rebuilt to this guy:

http://www.terrysrubberrollers.com/ He's the best from what I'm told.

Cartridges are available on ebay and elsewhere. If you're real handy you can try loading you're own tape into the cartridge, but it requires a special self-lubricating style tape.

I'd also download the manual (they're still around) and most of what you need to know are in those.

I'd say in the current market an EP3 in fair condition is worth around $200-250.

Danny Snyder

Latest project - Now That's What I Call SURF
_
"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo

I'm back playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta

Speaking of echoplexes.... I found that in the heat of battle i.e. live shows it was hard to keep track of whether the echo was on or not. What I did was drill a hole in my footswitch and wire in an LED to go on when the echo was activated, works great.

Danny Snyder

Latest project - Now That's What I Call SURF
_
"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo

I'm back playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta

nice unit. In its current shape I would say $200 is a good price needing a little help.

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I have an ep3, and I don't think the tonal difference between the tube and solid state models is that great, the tube models sound a bit lusher, but the ep3 still sound great - better than any pedal thats for sure. The solid state ones are definitely more reliable, in fact it has never let me down on stage, and it's been around the world 3 times. As mentioned by others, regular cleaning and maintenance is the key, the motors on these thing almost never fail, just keep it clean. The heads are equally indestructible, and as long as they are not worn out unevenly, they last a lifetime.

I make my own loops since I have a ton of empty cartridges an loads of 1/4" tape.
$250 is a good price for an ep3, I've never paid more than that.

The biggest drawback of an Echoplex is finding someone who understands how they work enough to fix them - which boggles my mind since it's basically a tape recorder.

I use to use an old tube Revox reel to reel for echo. It sounded great, but you could only get three speeds on it. Great way to go if you want to experience tape echo on the cheap, as reel to reels can be had for a song these days.

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As a side note. The actual tape is unlikely to be the cause of your dissatisfaction with ant particular echo tape, unless they were damaged by the unit or some other source. They (Fulltone) do use mastering quality tape and we're not talking about high-fidelity devices throughout the signal chain anyway. More than likely one or a combination of the many possible issues discussed would be the source. I have a stack of the old cartridges too, but after using the newer versions that deploy ball bearings between the spindle and the wheel, they just work a lot better and this is just an improved design over the former. In terms of differences between tube and non-tube, that's essentially the a preference between solid state and vacuum tubes I suppose.

I bought a Fulltone tape on Ebay. It was new. Low level of echo volume caused me to have to turn up the echo volume knob higher than any years old tape I've ever had. Different tape formulations will produce different sound, results. Ampex 456 sounds great, but, for me, ended up getting stuck to the tape head frequently. I have several carts with 456, not just one. The Orbit Electronics metal cart I bought sounds great with Ampex 406. I'm still using it after 2? years. It is a bit noisier mechanically than a plastic cart, but it's no big deal. They will reload carts for a few bucks.

The difference between a tube and solid state Echoplex is great. The tube models have a really nice natural compression, and very rich sound. They will clip like an amp when pushed. They are a bit overkill for rock when using a Marshall, etc. The solid state Echoplexes work better for that. They are also great, of course for roots style music, too.

I have three tube models. The one I drag around for gigs has a Fasco{?}motor as used by the solid state Echoplex's. This is a big improvement, but not so easy to install.

These are great for guitar, but, when I saw Led Zep in '74, there was a tube Echoplex sitting on the console in the back with a piece of tape on the front that said "Plant".

have fun with that thing!

~ dave

Orbit Electronix is carrying their metal echoplex cartridges again. I just bought one. Snap one up before they run out again, I've been waiting a long time til now to get one. http://www.orbitelectronix.com/

Not to mention I just broke my regular cartridge. I'll be sending it down to him for a refill too, always good to have a backup.

Danny Snyder

Latest project - Now That's What I Call SURF
_
"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo

I'm back playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta

SnorkelMonkey
Old topic is old I know, sorry about that. I just was thumbing through here and I saw that some are using mastering tape with your echo units. Like 406/456. This type of tape is hard on tape heads. Running constant loops like these machines do it's even worse on them. I'm not sure what tape heads the Fulltone TTE uses but I remember Mike Fuller touting that they were virtually indestructible and made to last a lifetime. Maybe so with the mastering tape he loads but not in your vintage Echoplex. Nortronics heads are great heads but that tape and the endless loop will take its toll.

These units were designed for lubed cart tape (very much the same formulation used in 8 track tapes). Mastering tape may sound better by comparison (that's subjective, ymmv) but you'll get a lot more use out of the machine in the long run running lubed. If you're compelled to run non-lubed tape invest in a bottle of head lube for sure.

Cool forum you got here guys, cheers!

Welcome aboard!, Always good to find another echoplex enthusiast!.. Good advice too.

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SlacktoneDave
I tried a Fulltone tape, and really did not like it. Worst I've used. Low audio level, poor sound...

The 406 may be harder on the heads, but life is short... go for the gusto....

I you need replacement heads for tube, or solid state models, try these guys: http://www.magneticheadcompany.com/

Hey thanks for the link! I'll add this to the link section over at the Echoplex group.

With any new tape you have to re-bias the unit to accept the new formulation that the tape uses if you're moving over to a different type.

Fulltone's (I suspect he uses 456) sound just as good as 406. You just have to re-bias the unit to accept it. I've tested his tapes and when I first put one in they sounded exactly as you described. After a proper bias they sound good and actually very loud, but neither formulation is what the original tape was meant to sound like. You can really tell on "runaway" repeats. But that's a whole nutter ball game and a good topic for another discussion.
I'm posting an easy how to on how to bias your unit for different tape up on the Plex group and I might do an audio demo of different tape formulations coming up soon if I can ever get the time to.

Life is short, but I suspect I'll outlive the heads on some of these tape units I own. At least I hope so!

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