QUESTION FOR TAPE ECHO USERS.

[Geoff Alderton LH]

Hi.
When you have finished your gig, your practice, your turn to play at your local Shads club and its time to pack up and go home, do you remove the tape from the echo? do you leave it on the drive capstan and heads,ie operating mode? do you just slip the tape off the tension bar capstan and leave it around the heads?
The reason I am asking is I myself have always removed the tape from the unit. I recently started to leave the tape on the unit, ie operating mode, just turning off the motor and mains. Doing this has caused quite an increase in the amount of junk build up on the heads. Noticed first on the sponge wipe swab, positioned just before the erase head on my unit. Could this be the heat from the unit softening the tape coating and sticking to the heads while still under tension but not operating? I dont know but it took quite a few cotton buds and Isopropyl to clean the heads. I have now reverted to removing the tape from the tension bar capstan but leaving the tape in place loose around the heads.
What do you do?
Regards Geoff.

[dave robinson]

I leave it on all the time.

[Ian Miller]

Definitely slip it off the capstan so that the tape is not under tension. Depending on the machine this will eliminate unevenness in the tape and will lessen the likelihood of the splice pulling apart. This can and does happen in my experience. Also it's a good idea to clean the heads after every use. This will reduce wear to the heads and of course the tape life will probably inprove.

[Geoff Alderton LH]

Hi Dave, Ian.
Thanks for your reply's. I have started to leave the tape on the unit and just slipping it off the tension wheel. The maintenence section of the user guide says when not in use, the tape should be removed to take the tension off the wheel. but I read this as not in use for a long period of time and not a couple of days between use. I may have just got a bad tape and the coating was'nt up to standard so it's back to leaving it on and see what happens.
Thank you again.
Regards Geoff.

[dave robinson]

Eric Snowball who built my ESE Echomatic advised me to leave the tape on when used frequently - which I do. It'll do for me.

[Geoff Alderton LH]

Hi Dave. If it's good enough for you and Eric it's good enough for me.
Thanks again and regards Geoff.

[dave robinson]

I asked Eric about this when I did Shadowmania in 2006 and he told me it would be OK to leave the tape in place during transit, much to my surprise but it was fine.
I haven't used three tapes since I first bought it, though I do clean the heads with isopropyl frequently - about once a month.

[tony parnham]

Hi Geoff,
I go with Robbo on this and here's why. Mine was a second hand 4 head and the chap I bought it from suggested I release the tape after use, well it was far more trouble than it was worth as each time I removed the tape there was handling residue (sweat etc) from my fingers getting deposited on it especially returning it to position (even though its easy). Twice I returned it when I first got it (you know 'new broom sweeps clean') and due to pilot error it sped off crumpling it up a bit. Now I just leave it and its absolutely fine and like Dave I just clean the heads from time to time. I liked it so much actually I sent it back to Eric and he popped an extra two heads on for me and it sounds great.
Notwithstanding it's great sound I also find it easier to change patches as I became more familiar with it, to get the Echomatic I of say Apache, Stranger, Mustang etc etc I now use heads 1,4 and 5. Using Echomatic 2 W/Land etc,etc I use spacings 1,2,3,4 heads with 4 or 5 regen (the 5 gives it more space)... that's it and then all I do is just tweak the motor speed, but no matter what even if you're not an anorack it sounds right anyway.
In the early days I had copycats and a Vox long Tom, I never used to touch the tapes at all only to replace whenever. When I was in Germany and France and playing for long periods I remember on some occasions returning to the Copycat the following night I would switch it on and the tape had stuck on the heads, I'd just give it a shove and off it went again. I can never remember ever having problems and I always used the copycat from the early 60's to the mid 80's when I finished gigging, never off.
Hope this helps.
Tony

[Geoff Alderton LH]

Hi all.
From now on the tape stays in place. I would say my unit is used, on average, two to three hrs per week which is, I suppose, well below average. I dont know.
Tony I know what you mean regarding the head settings, only having to tweak the speed setting, as I get a lot of flack from my sons regarding this as I, presently, just use three head settings and tweak the motor speed. Like you I think it sounds great. Especialy with the new amp in the system. Thank's.

Best regards Geoff.

[rockinscott]

Hi Geoff,

I guess its up to judging by the various comments, when i got my ESE back 2003 (the first production model) Eric advised me to unhook the tape tension arm to avoid putting a dent in the rubber wheel and causing it to knock in use, so i always have and I got 7 years out of the tape it was the splice that snapped. 2 tapes in 8 years isn't bad

Scott