The Fantastic Maestro Echoplex (and a few others)...
Tape delay is a precious enhancement to any live sound or reproduction. If you've experienced it you understand. The myth of "prone to fault" is greatly exaggerated by non-users. One could say they are high maintenance, yes. You'd have to include the guitar itself to that category (tuning, string change, bridge set up). It is what it is, a little maintenance and know how goes a long way.
If beyond your skills I highly advise one to find your best local tech for this work. Shipping is expensive and can be risky to such units. Repairs can sometimes require follow up visits and tune ups. In the event you have no local options you may email me to discuss availability and pricing. I've been through many units including Maestro Echoplex, Roland Space Echo, Korg Stage Echo, Univox, Bruno, Schober, WEM Copicat, Fender, Klempt, others. I won't tell you all units will easily work again though I do have about 90% success over 25 years.
Tape Echo
Service: I offer a detailed tune-up job
on tape echo units for $XXX (plus parts/shipping) including what I see fit to
bring the devices to full capacity.
This may or may not include the following:
*Clean
and degauss heads
*Rejuvenate
rubber parts
*Head
alignment/azimuth if needed
*Replacement/reloading
of lubricated backcoat tape (I do not sell cartridges, and F*Tone tapes do not
work, I've seen countless numbers of jammed/eaten F*tone tapes, be weary of "mastering quality" tape).
*Cap Job
Signal Path
*Readjust
tape bias
*Pinch
roller refurb/replacement additional $75-125.
Further electronic issues are additional charges.
Update: YouTube Demo Videos (Check 'em Out!)
Some Tape Echo pics, I unfortunately haven't documented the majority.
Rare Echoplex EP-1 
EP1 guts. Oddly there are 3-4 in town I see periodically. Note dual blend volumes.
EP-1 Restored back to life
EP-2
EP-3
EP-3 Fully Restored
(call your pedal what you want, it's not this ; )
Super Clean EP-2
EP-2
EP-2 Pair, different models
One with Sound on Sound, one without.
One with Sound on Sound, one without.
Fender Tape Echo
EP-2 with aftermarket cartridge
Klempt Echollette
Dynacord Echocord made in W. Germany demo
Roland Space Echo RE-201
Roland RE-501 Sample 1
The Plex by Hard rock, some form of pre-Tubeplex not by Battle
EP-3 vs. EP-4
Rare EP-3 with Compression/Expansion circuit
Fender Echo-Reverb II oil can delay by Tel-Ray
Oil Can sample 1
Oil Can sample 2
c. 1995. I used to tour with 2 Space Echo units.
Roland RE-501 #2 sample 1
WEM Copicat #2 four jacks, white power cable
Schober Unit, pulled from an organ. I built this into a vintage box with controls
WEM Copicat #3
Three jacks, black power cable.
Three jacks, black power cable. |
| WEM Tube Copicat |
I had a tube unit, really neat blue box.
Oh wait, here it is. Tube. Not the blue box one.
Some Echoplex Details:
The original transport cover
SirEko model, 8-track type cartridge (pinch roller in cart)
rare Red faceplate
Early light blue-grey faceplate, black pointer knob
A faceplate removed
Later dark color faceplate, circle knobs.
Brushed aluminum logo EP-2
EP-2 original cartridge w/sound on sound
Lid and pointer
Reverberation numbers, serial number sticker
guts!
Dark red brown main boards
Cream main boards
3 color main boards
a whole mess of Plex
Mess O'Plex
A day at the office, EP-1's & 2's to boot.
The original inner lid diagram
The cleanest example ever, courtesy Stephen Bartolomei.
EP-2 NOS
Original brochure.
Rare full red EP-3, a la Jimmy Page. I think these were later units. This one I did not have in person.
Here's a story
At one time I was hell bent on creating a cleaner, better EP-3. I wasted about a week subbing the JFETs for high spec modern equivalents. Biasing and rebiasing each stage, cap swapping, ad nauseam. The noise floor dropped. Less hiss. Wider bandwidth, clear bass, sparkley treble. I'll stop short of audiophile. But it was a vast improvement. A vast improvement for the worse. After a few days I became really depressed. A lot of the magic was gone, the old warm unit that buffered the Plexi-just so right-was not the same. I couldn't live with it. So I spent yet more late nights re-inserting all the vintage TIS transistors, biasing the circuits back with the old carbon comp resistors. After this two week success/failure the EP-3 was back to the '70s. Hiss and all. And peace was restored upon the land once again.
Ok, let's get one thing crystal clear. The Echoplex preamp pedal is NOT the preamp from an Echoplex. Talk about false advertising ploy. That's like saying a Dunlop Wah is a Clyde McCoy, a Boss Fuzz is a Dallas Arbiter or a Mackie is a Neve. Is this a joke? The original EP's had TIS58/98 transistors. Vintage transistors with 20+ volts on them. This was a large part of the sound. If you change the transistors (+resistors+capacitors+voltages) in, say, a Neumann u87...it's no longer a Neumann u87? It may serve a fuction, so would about any clean booster or active pickups.
Neither is this:
This is just not for me, does not contain the magic. Not to mention the ratio of local guys using these vs. tapes eaten is about 1:1. One guy sent them an email trying to explain...got a sour email in return.
YouTube Demos here: link
Recreating the technique to the intro of Pink Floyd "Echoes". The piano is mic'd by a SM57 ran into an EP-2, 5 watt tube amp into a Leslie rotating speaker baffle.
