Tape echo delay units have been heard on classic recordings for decades, on albums from artists like Pink Floyd, Miles Davis, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, Hawkwind, Chet Atkins, Eric Johnson, the late great Eddie Van Halen and many, many more. The old units, while possessing some secret ingredients and mojo, lend themselves to malfunctions, upkeep, unavailable replacement parts and general unreliability…but no more. Today we’re taking a look at the Echo Fix EF-X2 Tape Echo, a wonderful, modern tape unit that couples the sounds you know and love with features and reliability unimaginable in the past.
After years of working with, repairing and studying vintage tape delays, the Echo Fix crew new it was time to create a machine of their own. All the knowledge and insight gained over those repair years was poured into the EF-X2, taking three years to prototype, test and meticulously design (all in secret). Motors were created, high tech machinery was invested in and state-of-the-art tape heads were manufactured, all leading up to the completion of this incredible machine. Here are some specs:
– Three front panel colour options – Blue, Black and Vintage Green.
– Four core functions – Tape echo, Real Spring Reverb, DSP Reverb/Chorus and Preamp.
– Vintage FET EP Guitar Preamp (featured on Andy’s Demos) and Modern FET Line Input Pre-amp (both with 1Meg Impedance perfect for guitar. This gives you two pre-amp tones. Allows use of an ABY pedal (not included) to switch between both pre-amps.
– DSP Reverb and Spring Reverb blend setting. Also allows Spring Reverb and Chorus blend.
– Switch that converts the reverb section to chorus. This will allow you to switch back and forth from Reverb to Chorus effect.
– Independent inputs (and level controls) for Instrument-level and Line-level applications, plus balanced input and output at rear.
– Three echo playback heads, and a Sound On Sound Head giving 14 Head combination Settings in total.
– Adjust the echo’s Time and Feedback with Control Voltages (CV 0-5 volts) and compatible Expression Pedals.
– Bass and Treble control of the echo signal.
– Motor ON/Switch for tape slow down effect – or to conserve tape when only using the EF-X2’s reverb or preamp.
– Mute the reverb or echo signal with a dual foot switch pedal.
– Comes with a worldwide-compatible, 100 – 240v power supply (no step-down or other transformers required).
– Built tough to last, by someone who’s repaired and upgraded more tape echo units than you can possibly imagine!
With elements of not only delay, but preamp, chorus and reverb as well, the EF-X2 is an all-around beast of a modulation unit. No shortcuts taken here, folks, and the result is nothing short of a sonic masterpiece. We delve into a tiny bit of what the Echo Fix EF-X2 Tape Machine is capable of in our (rather lengthy) demo below, but be sure to watch it in its entirety to see all of the key features this unit is harnessing. For more info, head over to the Echo Fix website to get the lowdown on ALL the ins-and-outs of the best tape echo ever created. Cheers, guys, on an incredible job!
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