Echoplex Restoration Story

[Xplorer]

[rgorke]

I fixed my tapes tonight and was futzing a bit with my #2. The first trimmer on the Q1/Q2 board definitely affects the sustain of the echos. I was starting to get it to oscillate. My number one will oscillate at around 7 or 8.

I wonder if I need new trimmers, if that would help? I will give it some more tomorrow.

Try messing with Trimmer one and see what you get in terms of a better sustain.

[Xplorer]

I tried already, and explained it in my story previously, the surprise is that when set to zero ohms, the trimmer gets the max of sustain ! I thought that increasing the resistance would do it but no ... So the problem is somewhere else.
Also, 220k for the trimer value seems useless, too high. A few k attenuate the sustain enough.
I didn't swap boards between ep3 I and II yet.
Funny that we both have two echoplex ! Ha ha. Nice to experiment ...

[rgorke]

I just noticed getting a kind of high pitched breaking glass remnant in my tone when my EP3s (both of them do it) are on. It happens when I turn the volume on the amp way up. I will try and do a clip. It happens both when the echo is engaged and not.

[Xplorer]

i tink i see what you mean, but yes, a clip would be great.
i was advised to decrease the value of the Q1 and Q2 résistors going to the ground, to improve the level of signal, then it would let me decrease the presence pot i guess, which is possibly a cause of this breaking glass/saturation if we're talking about the same thing, and also of the lack of sustain on this ep3 II

it's all a question of compromises and tuning, but ..... we need to know what values to tune exactly ! others than simply the basic trimmers and pots. it takes time to get to know the machine, but it's interesting.

[redozzman]

Ive got a question for you Xplorer. I want to darken my repeats just a touch, they seem a little bright, is there a easy resistor swap that will get me there. Could you guys point me in the right direction.

[Xplorer]

i've got a question for you too. Is your echo tone more trebly than mine, on my clip ? i'm curious.
if you want to darken your echo, i'm sure it's possible, and probably bette(r with a treble pot, as simple as that, with a trimer or pot and a cap, stuffs going to ground. but where in the circuit, i'm not sure. you should just follow the way of the signal. it goes in the preamp, then a part of it goes into echo, etc etc ... so you just have to locate where the echo goes out , just before it blends with the dry signal again.
did you adjust the trimers ? what is your tape ? you could probably as well change of tape. i'm using some quantegy 478 and i love it.

[Xplorer]

the update for the parts list

[redozzman]

i've got a question for you too. Is your echo tone more trebly than mine, on my clip ? i'm curious.
if you want to darken your echo, i'm sure it's possible, and probably bette(r with a treble pot, as simple as that, with a trimer or pot and a cap, stuffs going to ground. but where in the circuit, i'm not sure. you should just follow the way of the signal. it goes in the preamp, then a part of it goes into echo, etc etc ... so you just have to locate where the echo goes out , just before it blends with the dry signal again.
did you adjust the trimers ? what is your tape ? you could probably as well change of tape. i'm using some quantegy 478 and i love it.

I don't notice the treble as much on clean tones as I do when I'm running the echo with a distortion pedal /boost or just flat out cranked amp. However the treble repeats really jump out with dirtier tones. In regards to the tape, right now I'm using a tape that was made/wound by Tony at Orbits, not sure what type of tape he is using now? However at one time he was using a high end tape that would not last long before jamming up in the cartridge. I bought some tape that was suggested by the guy that has the echoplex site(can't remember his name) but it is not quantagy 478, and after I got it I was not that impressed with it, and I only loaded 1 cartridge with it. I would like to try the quantagy 478, not sure where to get it.

I got a tip on what to try to darken the repeats, I'm going to give it a try and see what happens.

[Xplorer]

what's your tip on darkening the tone of the echoes please ?

[redozzman]

I sent a picture of the board of my ep3 and was told what to change/remove. I'm not sure what serial number you have and how many differences their are but I was told to remove the cap coming from the record pot running to the board. I'm at work and don't have the pics but it was marked on the photo. FWIW

[rgorke]

Tony in the past had recommended Ampex 456 to me. I had a jamming problem when the tape was too loose or I had too much tape on the cartridge. I am using old 456 now and it seems to work well.

I don't think one can just set the unit for both clean and dirty and then go. What I mean is that I need to crank the record volume pot a bit when I am playing clean versus turning it down when going for a EVH tone.

I like having the record volume as low as possible and balance it with the Echo volume. One is a noise issue versus having too hot a recording on the tape that is hard to erase.

Not sure if that makes any sense.

[Xplorer]

i know what you mean.
funny how mine reacts differently : record pot at max, volume at 3, feedback at 4-5 ..

best for the less noise possible, but still a nice and clean tone. my other ep3 reacts more like yours, but still the record volume set at max, i never could understand that it could work for other guys with the record pot very low. i never could experience it.

[vanhalen5150]

You guys know where I can get the thin tolex? I'm thinking about recovering one I have that looks pretty beat up.

[Xplorer]

Hi, i don't know where.
Maybe some usual tolex ?
At lopo line, they made me a fantastic speaker cab with some sea foam green tolex. Wow ! Beautiful.