Tape, tape heads, and transport – Fulltone Tube Tape Echo User Manual
Page 12
Page 10
Tape, Tape Heads, and Transport
Refer to diagrams on Pages 2 and 3
Most of the procedures outlined on this page require the removal of the Top Cover Plate, for
an explanation on how to do this, see page 4.
Tape Cartridge (ETC-1)
Your ETC-1 is a plastic cartridge that houses about 1 minute of Studio Mastering Quality Recording
Tape. Under normal use, you should get many months of service out of the ETC-1, especially if
you follow the guidelines set forth in this manual.
Care must be taken at all times that the tape flows with proper tension, a key to the proper tension
is the Tape Felt (
#26
) and Tape Felt Tension Arm (
#27
) believe it or not!
The Tape Felt must be resting against your Tape, holding the Tape against the Corner Roller
(
#25
), and this tension can be adjusted, although you won’t need to touch it until you change the
ETC-1 further down the road. Tip: You’ll know when the pressure is correct when the Echo
Repeats sound in-tune and are not modulating out of pitch in a rapid fashion.
The way to adjust this pressure is simply by bending the Tape Felt Tension Arm until it is barely
putting any pressure on the Corner Roller.
Warning!
If the Tape ever unravels and starts rolling off the TTE, remove the guitar cable from
Main Output immediately, which will disengage the Transport Clutch (
#13
). Now check that the
tape is following the Tape Path (
page 3
) correctly, not caught up on one of the Tape Guides (
#19
and #24
), and that there isn’t too much tension on the tape somewhere. After this is corrected,
engage the Transport Clutch again and most likely the ETC-1 will stabilize after a minute or so of
motion.
Record/Erase and Playback Heads
There are (what appear to be) only 2 heads on the TTE, one used to Record the signal (Record
Head,
#22
) and one used to Playback the recorded-signal. (Playback Head,
#21
)
But there is actually an Erase Head located within the Record Head assembly that erases the
signal after the Tape makes a full pass through the ETC-1 approximately 1 minute after you’ve
played something.
Cleaning your Tape Path: Due to the ETC-1 being loaded with excellent quality tape, you won’t
experience the shedding and build-up associated with other Echoplex-type tape cartridges.
But occasional cleaning of the Heads, Tape Path, Capstan, and Pinch-roller are necessary
to keep the sound and performance up to par, perhaps once a month.
First: Remove the tape from the Tape Path, and remove the ETC-1.
Second: Use American Recorder Technologies (
www.americanrecorder.com
) Item# S-721H-2
Tape head Cleaner. It costs $10 for a 2oz. Bottle and it is safe to use on the TTE’s, heads, rubber
roller, all guides….everything!
Pinch Roller (
#17
)
DO NOT USE ALCOHOL
to clean this as it will cause it to dry-out and crack!
Again, I recommend using the S-721H-2 fluid.