Fulltone Tube Tape Echo

The tape that came in my new unit looked like it was chewed to hell. I didn't even try it. When I put the 2nd tape in, no problem. The manual pretty much walks you through everything.

Complaint - practically impossible to wind up the tape cartridge yourself, the top and bottom is completely covered, so maybe I've just gotta learn how to use it better.

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Once I got it hooked up there is very solid switches. Lo-HI tape speed, Stereo 1,2,3, Bypass/Echo on, Big knobs for Guitar Volume,Echo Volume, and Echo repeats. Little knobs for record volume, and record tone. And of course you slide the playback head closer or farther away from the erase/record head to manually set delay time.

Really easy to use once I got the tape cartridge installed.

I'm givin this a low rating only because of the tape cartridge which probably was bad from the get go.

A 10 for ease of use regarding knob and switch layout. A 5 when you have to remove the cover and change the tape.

I have older guitars, amps, and effects. Some Fenders Marshalls Orange, Vox and some Boutique. The unit itself makes a lot of noise,
well...to explain the circut is quite, but the mechanical tape sliding around and the capstand rollers, or pinch rollers or whatever its called is pretty noisy. It sounds louder than an old
reel-to reel.

For me It sits on top of my Marshall so its not something thats heard once I start playing. Even recording at bedroom studio levels The mic didn't pick up any of that noise sitting again way atop my Marshall Stack.

It would pick up noise sitting on a combo amp.

No big deal hear, but definately not "DEAD QUITE" like they advertise.

I have honestly never heard a delay sound so good. This blew my mind, and when I hooked up two amps I was totally amazed. I think I played 6 hours when I first bought it, and it seemed like 5 minutes. Trully awsome sound quality an absolute MUST HAVE effect.

The tape cartridge and the inability to wind it makes me nervous. At $30 bucks a piece Its not like I can buy a huge box of em and dispose every other one or what ever.


I've had it a week or so and so far so good. Also there is a felt tape guide that you have to bend at a right angle to put "just the right" amount of tension every time you change the tape cartridge. (this felt arm comes with a new cartridge). Haven't had to do this, but man that's one hell of a bend. We'll see I guess. Maybe I forgot about working with Tape since CD's and DVD's spoiled me. I had to buy tape head cleaner, pinch roller cleaner, head demagnizers. It takes a lot of maintanance compared to my Deluxe Memory Man. NO complaint here that goes with the territory.

Other than maybe an expensive learning curve in dealing with tape cartridges, the unit itself seems well made. Since Mine cost me $30buck right off the bat this gets a low rating.

I wouldn't gig with it period, I use an Electro Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man for that, it isn't nearly as good of a sound, but I wouldn't care if I lost the Memory Man.

...Well I bought a supposedly "new" unit that came full of fingerprints and an obviously faulty cartridge. There was no registration materials, nor no DVD owners manual that is taked about
on the web site.

I have emailed FULLTONE a few times with no response yet...I have also emailed the Dealer with no response yet. I basically want to register the unit, and get a FREE replacement tape. Taking 10 days and several emails you'd think they would at least respond.

This sort of pisses me off, but I'll give em the benefit of the doubt. Not like Zvexx or other "boutique" pedal companies who've emailed me very quickly or at least the same 24hours.

I am gonna hold of slamming them with bad rating here until I do get in touch with them. I'll report back here.

I have also left some telephone messages too.

Right now they remind me of Steinberg's (cubase/nuendo) customer support, which is basically NONE.

I hope in the end I'll have a good experience like others who have posted here

Overall it sounds great, I can nail delay based music like U2's Joshua Tree, or Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall, with this unit. It is also really good for slap back or just general echo.
Like I said I've never heard a Delay that sounded this good. It's a
lot of $$$ and takes $$$ to keep it working, and takes a bit of effort too, but to me it's a Fantastic Value, because of what it delivers in the end.

Very easy to set up, and a good manual that covers all the basic operation. I guess a dvd tutorial with more in depth possibilities is on the way. I got an extra tape cartridge right away.

Well Ive had it for a few weeks now and just love this thing. I started out with one amp and in about one minute was getting amazing tone from this unit. I'm usually using a digital delay which I never had a real problem with. But after reading about all the pro's that were and still are using echoplex's, and how all the pro's were snatching the tte's up I figured I get one. I know why now. It is just a whole different tone. You get so used to your own sound after a while your tone perception really gets jaded. This really put a spotlight on how good this thing really is. Then I plugged into another amp and WOW!!! I have never heard such an amazing 3d, warm, analog sound. I dont think I can do this thing justice in this review. The stero feature is fucking awesome. I use it with Parker guitar into a Bad cat hot cat 30. When I tried it in stereo I plugged its other output into a cheap Johnson modeling amp and it just filled the room with the most 3d stereo Ive ever heard.

The build quality is A+ I dont expect any problems but if I do I will reevaluate it.

I talked with Fulltone directly and they were very helpfull.

It's the best time based effect you can buy. Ive played for 20 years and am so glad ther are still people willing to make this kind of gear. But after hearing one youll know why.

Easy to get a good sound. All of the various setting are nice, just a bit overwhelming by all those variations. Comes with a very clear to understand manual.

My setup includes a 59' RI les paul, 6120-60 gretsch or my 76'lawsuit Ibanez destroyer into a Prescription electronics fuzz, a Fulltone Fulldrive II into the TTE and split between a Reverend hellhound and a Carvin Belair. I haven't spend a lot of time tweaking with this setup and feel it will just keep getting better as I do. I love raw rock tones and big rockabilly tones. Not into metal, but love 70's punk rock. I may still purchase a 1987x 50w marshall for a heavier sound, a 100w would probably be overkill (any opinions?) but the TTE has been a great addition to my quest for tone.

It seems to be built like a brick s***house! Of course you are dealing with tape and tape heads that are perhaps not as roadworthy as a sealed stompbox, but it seems as reliable as a tube tape echo can be. I plan on using it at home, in the studio and in the clubs and I will not be purchasing a second one as a back up. I have too many guitars and amps still to purchase! Seems very dependable.

I had a brief chat with Mike Fuller during the purchase process and he volunteered some good advice about the unit and seemed in no hurry to get me off the phone. I've read other reviews of his products where people supposedly have had less than favorable contact with him but not I! Very friendly and helpful.

I play a variety of roots rock, everything from the 50's Sun records stuff, rockabilly, British invasion, punk rock to that Petty, Byrds, Wilco, Steve Earle, Old 97's, etc. type of stuff. I've been playing for over 36 years. I have a few guitars (teisco del ray et460, 2 danos, a taylor acoustic, a guild acoustic, g&L bass and the above mentioned guitars). I love the richness of the TTE, very natural and quiet. I would probably buy another if stolen or lost, but at $1000.00 a pop it might be a while. I can only compare the quality to a couple of echoplexes I played in the 70's and remember them not being as smooth and quiet. It really helps with the rockabilly sound and a lot of the rich clean folk rock stuff. I only give this a 9 because of the price. It's unfortunate that my life long love for the guitar is becoming such an expensive hobby. Actually, look at the Fulltones website because Mike Fuller has a serious gear addiction!! (all in fun Mike!) Actually he has an amazing array of guitars and amps.

Very easy to use... if you've ever used an Echoplex, you're in there. A bit complicated to get the right delay time, but hey you can't have tap tempo when you use tape... the tonal benefits of tape greatly outweigh the drawbacks. It's like recording to 2-inch tape... it just sounds better than digital.

It's a great sounding delay... again, tape is king. It might be "inferior" technologically speaking to digital, but tonally it will never be surpassed. I use it with a '65 Fender Twin and it sounds great... I don't like running it all the time because I feel that the tubes alter my sound a little too much... I will try experimenting with other tubes, but I will still probably end up switching it in and out when I get my switching system later on. Great delay... easy to get the sounds of Jimmy Page and other players that made the EP famous.

I've only had it for a short time. It seems to be built great and feel confident in my purchase.

This is where I disagree with some of the other posts. Maybe those people caught Mike Fuller on a bad day. In my experience, he exceeded expectations of customer support. I left a message on Friday, and he called me back at the very beginning of the next week, personally. He was very patient in explaining some different aspects of the TTE and genuinely seemed interested in making me happy. He was very enthusiastic about his product.

Again, great delay and much more reliable than an Echoplex. I would buy it again if I had to. A must for anyone that's into the tape delay sound.

its very simple, just dial your sound in.
The manual is simple and to the point.

Fender strat - Teese wah - TS9 silver mod(analog man)- Fulltone stereo chorus - TTE - Fender vibroverb - Bogner Shiva.
The best sound i ever experiend period.
i leeve the TTE allways during play on, i feel in tone heaven.
the best setup in my opinion is when you in stereo, spli before the TTE.
i split direct after the CF1. one go to the TTE in to Bogner Shive, the other to Fender Vibroverb.
in this setup you get a three dimensional sound.
for my taste i use the vintage setting of the TTE.

Can't tell.
Have the unit for two months or so.

Never contact them

Set up was explained in the manual, and straitforward. Manual is helpful overall, but all diagrams have some parts hidden under tape cartridge, i.e. the Felt Tension Arm lower attachment area is under the cartridge, and that arm is the most sensitive and frequent user adjustment the player will have to access. Expanded version plus a DVD manual coming, supposedly. Was easy to use until tape cartridge failed, and instead of tech support, I got a face full of rude nonsense from Fuller, which I understand is a standard feature. So I don't know how to definitively rate ease of use. Not working now, so it's hard to use. Maybe 10 for two weeks, and then 0.

I am using it through two Soldano Surf Boxes into '58 and a '59 tweed twin. I use seafoam Tyler strats on stage and '54 and '63 strats in my studio. It is very quiet when set properly as per manual instructions. The warning to use the shortest, highest quality cable for the footswitch is well heeded, as your signal path runs through them. I tried a Fender dual footswitch purchased separately at the Fulltone dealer (oddly doesn't come with one) and signal was weak and hideously noisy. Oh oh, I thought. I immediately grabbed my high quality Soldano SLO footswitch with detachable cord, and put a three foot monster cable on it. Problem solved. I haven't tried it with a longer monster cable yet, because my cartridge is defective, and when I asked Fuller about replacements he went ballistic. As to the effect, it is wonderful. I get all the classic sounds I need for my surf band. Great slapbacks. Vintage repeat echos for "Apache". Perfect "tack guitar" muted sounds (especially good with baritone guitar, I use Fender subsonics).

No. I bought this because I want to gig with it in place of my beloved echoplexes, hoping for more reliability. Had 2 EP2's and one EP1. Sold one EP2. The EP1 is intensively serviced and the quietest one I've had. I put it on one twin and fulltone on the other. Much to it's credit, the sound quality, effect quality and noise level were EXACTLY the same on both units, keeping in mind that the EP1 I have is the quietest echoplex I have owned after being intensively serviced a number of times. To its discredit, the fulltone tape cartridge first emitted only echoplex type identical squeaks and scrapes, which was normal and somehow reassuring, but then developed a constant whine, and then went warpy and pitch shifty. In contrast, I had, two weeks before recieving fulltone TTE, foolishly left my EP1 running after rehearsal WITH INPUT LEVER AND HEAD ENGAGED, FOR 48 HOURS! before returning and discovcering it. I feared the worst. When I turned it off I was afraid to try it again, but when I did, it was perfect, no noise, no pitch shift, no tape degradation, perfect echo. Amazed, I placed three gold stars on my tech's forehead. It is still performing flawlessly. In contrast, the TTE is unusable until Fulltone deems to sell me a replacement cartrdge, and sits unplugged on the floor in front of the '59 twin. NO tape echo is reliable, and should not be depended on without a backup. I have gone back to my original plan of screwing BOTH the EP1 AND the TTE to the steel roll-out tray in my rack case with the Soldano reverbs. I'll give it a three, based on the fact that echoplexes are unreliable also.

I do have an opinion, but it rates below basically wothless. If I tell you how I really feel, or even relate my experiences in trying to obtain support, this review could not be published. I have heard many scary stories about trying to personally contact this manufacturer over the years, and mainly discounted them. I was wrong. They were a vast understatement. In the interest of factuality, let me say that I wrote saying how great the product was, then asked about the cartrdges and heads advertised for two years, and was treated to a barrage of insults and cursing.

I play roots rock, blues, country, and jazz, for 45 years. I own a black parts 57 Les paul Standard goldtop that I have played on major label tours and in barely legal roadhouses, full time(5-7 days a week) for 30 years, part time the other 15. I have some 50's L-5 CES's and Dumbles, and some tweeds and teles not listed in the "used with" section. Love the product, features and sound. Wish it was not made by a company that is a nightmare to deal with. As they say on the letters to the editor page, "You won't print this."

This unit is a breeze to figure out. The Manual is very well laid out from what to do out of the the box, trouble shooting and upkeep. There will be a DVD manual coming out later this summer which will go more in depth and touch on some more features not mentioned in the manual.

I got mine and used it the same night, I was a little cautious to make
sure the tape cartridge was lined up and ready to roll, but after that
I have been using it non stop. That's Two three hour rehearsal's and two 3 1/2 gig's a week. No issue's yet!

I gave this unit a 10, because the sound is amazing. I prefer the Low speed setting for my taste and it blow's away everything I have owned in the past. I decided to let go of my Maxon AD9 and Line 6 DL4 to make space for this bad boy. Money well speant!

The unit doe's produce a little bit of noise when not playing, this can be countered by setting you're record level lower or just hitting the Bypass switch when not in use. This is not a big deal, Im a little bit more anal over thing's like that. I prefer my amp's to be quite when im not playing. The sound of the delay is what you want and you can do anything with this unit. Floyd,Setzer,Police...

People will notice the sound, it make's a world of differance! If you're like me you are looking at this unit for a reason, the same
reason we all spend top dollar to get us even closer to the sound.
You won't think twice about the money after you fire it up!

The unit is built like a Brick sh&t house and meant to be used. I would not expect anything less from Fulltone and you get what you pay for!

The unit ships with a Padded carry bag. This is a added bonus and
come's with a front pocket for extra cables,ETC-1 cartridge or footswitch to control the unit.

My only concern with Reliability is ? When are the ETC-1 tape going to be avail for purchase ? I would feel allot better going to a gig with a back up.

Mike Fuller make's great product's, we all have know someone or read a negitive about his "To the Point" response. If you're product is not working correctly Fulltone will take care of you. I would bet 90% of his phone call's and email's are all user error. You can imagine how short and to the point you would be as well.

I play in a cover band, so I need to cover a ton of ground from Rock,Country,Jazz and blues. This thing cover's everthing I would want to do and than some. If it broke or was stolen I would find the cash and track down another one ASAP!

$999 may seem like allot but compaird to the $500 I had invested in the Maxon AD9 & Line 6 DL4, this unit is leap's and bound's ahead in sound quality and features. You will not regret the money spent once you get it home and fired up.

Very easy to use, the manual explains all. Levels for guitar, echo and record can be set to best suit your needs .Childs play really.

When submitting a review here you are asked to be critical and I will when I say this is the best tape echo ever made full stop. As mentioned above it is very quiet and the sound is fantastic. If you want a less high qaulity sound switch to the lower speed setting and youve got vintage echoplex without the noise.
Superbly made inside and out. I think I am the first person to own one of these in the UK and when it arrived I had to switch 2 wires to allow the unit to be used at 240v, all very easy under the guidance of Mr Fuller and his tech.
I just tried the amp in stereo with my reissue bassman and a peavey classic and as mentioned this really is a treat.
Mentioned on Fulltones website is the fact that Brian Setzer now uses one of these and no wonder.
I have owned a Echoplex a Roland 301 and a copicat in the past but this is the best unit for sound and qaulity.

Build qaulity is second to none so I cant see any problems with reliability.

Very helpful in insructing me on 240v operation spoke to Mr Fuller himself and received a easy to follow diagram from his tech.

For me this is the ultimate echo unit it may not suit you if you are a lover of digitaly processed delays but if you want a tape echo this is the one. Yes it is dear but your paying for qaulity.

Well I have never owned a digital delay or a tape delay. I do have a vintage DOD 680 analog delay so for playing this is what I have to compare to but I have heard various tape echoes and this captures that magic echoplex sound on the slow speed but takes on a sound of its own with the speed switched up. It is very versatile. I will say that Mike Fullers claims of being dead quite are quite true. My analog delay is the quietest I've heard until this tape echo. Bear in mind comparing my analog delay to my new TTE is not comparing apples to oranges but it's my only point of reference. The manual that comes with it is very good and is going to be supplemented with a DVD manual later this summer. I got number 56 thanks to MusicToyz.com. The manual shows you how to check everything out before you first start it up and it was perfect I didn't have to adjust anything. Right out of the box it was set up and ready to go. It is very easy to use!

I am using a Gretsch Duo Jet and a 63' Gretsch 6186 into a Vox AC-30 and it is a great combo with this echo unit. The sound is dead quite and lacks nothing. It is very warm. My wife was listening to me play through it and loved it. She sat down and listened to me for about an hour and never asked me how much it was (Thank God!!) I set it up to play stereo through stereo setting 2 between the AC-30 and Tweed deluxe. STEREO SOUNDS KILLER!!! This thing is an instant classic.

I cannot comment on reliability as I just got it but I can comment on build quality. If you have done your homework you have read about the quality of parts that went into this thing like the heads, transformer and motor but there are some features that are not commented on that are great touches. For example. I unscrewed the pilot light jewel and discovered that instead of a bulb they used an LED. This is a great touch since you don't have to replace bulbs but also shows that every detail even the smallest, was well thought out.

I have never dealt with them. This is my first Fulltone product and have not had to contact them.

I play Shoegazer space rock and this is well suited. It sounds so good I thing it is well suited to anything really. You can dial this thing in and get so many different sounds out of it. If it were stolen and I could afford to get another one I defenitely would. The only thing I wish it came with was a footswitch. After spending a grand an extra 20 bucks for a switch can break the bank. It really is a great unit.

Very straight-forward, but I grew up using Echoplexes so it's a logical extension of that, with all the Bad points of an Echoplex remedied!

Where do I begin? There is no digital or analog delay in the world that I can play now. I'm ruined, the TTE has MAGIC on every repeat, and there are way too many "parameters" to that magic, making the cloning of that magic by a bucket-brigade or Digital Delay IMPOSSIBLE.
On HI_SPEED you get about 650 millaseconds maximum delay time and because the Tape runs so fast there is no hiss, no hum, NO noise whatsoever, Unlike an Old Echoplex, the REPEATS are in-tune, with Lot's more HIghs and Lows, in fact, this thing does better Hi-Fi delays than any of my studio Rack Digital delays! I run the TONE CONTROL (which is for the repeats only) at about 11 O'clock but you can turn that up and have way too much highs if you so desire.

LOW SPEED gets at about 1.5 seconds and the sound is slightly fluttery just like my old EP-2 Echoplex, but again, NO noise, Yeah baby!

STEREO! Oh my God, I have been running the TTE between 2 Blackface 60's Fender amps (Twin Reverb and Deluxe reverb)on Setting #2 (there are 3 stereo toggleswitch choices) and I can't explain what's going on on this setting better than saying it has the most 3D psychoacoustic imaging I've ever heard! I think that this setting is:
Right amp=Delay+Guitar
Left amp= Guitar+ out-of Phase? delay because something's going on with this setting that is unbelievable.
Whatever the case may be, it's majestic.

I wanted to wait before writing a review because quite frankly one would expect these types of devices to be "tempermental." But I've had it now over a month now (on for a couple of hours every day) and it is perfect, BUILT LIKE A TANK! There are 2 roll-bars on top that protect all the knobs/levers/toggleswitches and heads from taking the brundt of a drop or direct hit. And it comes with the COOLEST carrying bag I've ever seen: this bag is a padded thick Nylon bag with wooden inserts around the whole thing so it might as well be an ANVIL case. So well designed, damn I love this thing.

After I waited to see if my feelings for the TTE would stay as Positive as during the "honeymoon phase," I called Fulltone and got the Man himself, Mike Fuller. He was so nice, and even shared some tips about the TTE, like to change the #2 12AX7 to a Higher gained Ei brand tube ($6) to get a totally different tone and Lot's more volume on the Repeats, you see there is a part of the TTE that's the RECORD amp (tube#1) and a section that's the PLAYBACK amp. (tube#2)
So, being the tweaker that I am, I've ended up with a new GrooveTubes Mullard 12AX7 in the #1 position and an Ei in the #2 spot.
$#%^ it's good.

This is the easiest "10" I've ever given a pc. of gear.
Even when I'm not using the echo I run through the TTE because it has an all-tube path that gives me all the boost I'd ever need to drive my Amps insanse....screw all those transistor-radio Boost pedals, this thing is the REAL DEAL.
Add to that the greatest delay ever made, and you got an easy 10.
Well done Mr. Fuller, no wonder there are 500+ on backorder.
I also want to thank Teddy at Musictoyz.com for somehow getting me my precious TTE so early on.