Thinking about buying an echoplex

[Rossl]

I have MANY digital and analog delays. I have (always) been thinking about getting an echoplex.

Since these things are at least 20 years old...........is a piece of gear that I can depend on? I don't want to buy something to find it failing aprt due to age. I don't know how well they were made. BTW.............I can't justify paying for the new Fulltone.

Are there any parts that cannot be replaced/fixed?

Are any years/models better than others?

[airwarrior]

I have a question too if anybody can answer the OP's question. Which is more reliable, the Echoplex or the Space Tone?

[Isaiah4Autumn]

what's there to think about? It's an echoplex...:AOK buy it! You can find a TTE for about $800 bucks used round here or on the bay so how much you looking to spend on your echoplex? If you want a shiny new one it's going to set you back some coinage or you can find a beat up for a decent price but if you do not want to have to worry about your gearing having a potential failure I would buy a used TTE...my 2 cents...

[charmboy]

Originally Posted by Isaiah4Autumn

what's there to think about? It's an echoplex...:AOK buy it! You can find a TTE for about $800 bucks used round here or on the bay so how much you looking to spend on your echoplex? If you want a shiny new one it's going to set you back some coinage or you can find a beat up for a decent price but if you do not want to have to worry about your gearing having a potential failure I would buy a used TTE...my 2 cents...

I agree... picked up my used TTE for just over $700 and it's in great working condition. Completely worth every penny.

[Hiwatt Bob]

from what i gather--most of the critical parts for echoplex's are still pretty available--motor etc. long term it seems like it's the tape itself that will be the shortage issue--but that will affect all tape machines including fulltone.

[Shiny McShine]

I'm thinking along the same lines but I'm going to go with a Fulltone Tube Tape Echo. I have experience with the old Space Echo and there really is nothing like tape.

[Rossl]

TTE new is about $1,100, I wouldn't mind finding a used one. Not many around

[spectreman]

I bought an EP-3 here on TGP a couple of months ago for $375....it needed a little bit of work ($100 in the shop) to get it into good shape.

This was my 3rd Echoplex.

Definately worth it!!!

However...you will want a loop bypass pedal to avoid tone suck when you are not using it (they are old).

The EP-3 does things you cannot get with a pedal. Period.

[pedalfreek]

I have a TTE (got it used for $700)....

I recently did a side by side comparison with a friends EP-4 and was blown away by how different these beasts are.

The EP-4 had a lot more character than the TTE. Some of that could have come from the home wound tape that my friend uses (in a Fulltone ball bearing cartridge) but, the EP-4 has this grittyness that I so far havent been able to get out of the TTE.
There's definitely more character coming out of the EP-4....

To me, the TTE is like the digital delay of tape echos.....which isn't a bad thing. I love the TTE and have no desire to get rid of it.

I guess you need to ask yourself what kind of sound/vibe it is you are after...and if you are willing to deal with an older unit that may need a trip to the shop every now and then.

[Hiwatt Bob]

Originally Posted by pedalfreek

I have a TTE (got it used for $700)....

I recently did a side by side comparison with a friends EP-4 and was blown away by how different these beasts are.

The EP-4 had a lot more character than the TTE. Some of that could have come from the home wound tape that my friend uses (in a Fulltone ball bearing cartridge) but, the EP-4 has this grittyness that I so far havent been able to get out of the TTE.
There's definitely more character coming out of the EP-4....

To me, the TTE is like the digital delay of tape echos.....which isn't a bad thing. I love the TTE and have no desire to get rid of it.

I guess you need to ask yourself what kind of sound/vibe it is you are after...and if you are willing to deal with an older unit that may need a trip to the shop every now and then.

i heard the same thing. i haven't actually played a TTE--but my friend (who has an ep-3) said that the TTE sounded almost too pretty, kind of sterile in comparison to the ep-3. he made the same analogy--fulltone is digital, ep-3 is analog--both have their place.

i contend that all tape echoes, even fulltones, will need maintenence every now and then. nature of the beast.

full disclosure--i'm selling an echoplex groupmaster.

[jzucker]

I bought and sold a couple TTE units for around $700. I've been through a bunch of EP series and thought the fulltone was superior in almost every way. I don't find the TTE to be digital AT ALL. Here are a couple TTE demos I did. Not digital at all...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9dWKd-Hqu4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iOTt9M3pjY

[Hiwatt Bob]

obviously "digital" in this sense is relative comparitively with an ep-3. some people want delays to be crystal clear, others want a little bit of character--or imperfections, so long as they're imperfections that sound good.

your demos sound fabulous btw. but i would say that it does sound pristine--which is an adjective i'd use to describe a digital delay not an analog delay.

[sixty2strat]

Have a TTE Re201 and an EP3. the only one that ever died at a gig was the TTE. 3 years old and it died in august and then again in november at gig. 1st time fultone said it was tubes, but my Tube tester showed they were fine before I shipped it out. 2nd time I put in some RCA black plates, did not work. 2 days latter waiting for an email from fulltone I tired it again, they worked, no idea why. week latter bought an EP3 for 300.00 cosmetics beat but sound otherwise. Tone suck ...yeah but it part of the tone. The TTE is different from the EP3: each has it nuances. NOt sure which I like better but the TTE is brighter/less warmth? since it lacks Hi Freq rolloff from the Ep3 so I get the digital refence. Had a an EP3 that I giged with before I got the TTE and 8 years never an issue. So IMO it's a crap shoot

[pedalfreek]

Originally Posted by jzucker

I bought and sold a couple TTE units for around $700. I've been through a bunch of EP series and thought the fulltone was superior in almost every way. I don't find the TTE to be digital AT ALL. Here are a couple TTE demos I did. Not digital at all...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9dWKd-Hqu4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iOTt9M3pjY

I wasn't at all trying to say the TTE sounds digital....maybe I didn't word what I was trying to say correctly.

I was just making an analogy that compared to the EP-4 the TTE is very clean and pristine....like a digital delay is.
The EP-4 had grit and a fatness to it that I have yet to hear from the TTE.....but, again...that doesnt make me think ill of the TTE. Just a very different beast to my ears....

[Isaiah4Autumn]

People hear what they hear and that's all that matters but I don't think that the TTE "sounds digital" compared to the older units but more or less probally sound like the EP's did when they first came out. Here's a link to fulltones site about common myth's about the EP (just click on the tte link). It would be great if the op got a chance to try them both before buying them but here's to hoping...good luck! :AOK