Product: Oberheim Echoplex
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted
12/12/1999
at
02:37pm
by
Alaxy Galaxy
Email: morningmuff<at>hotmail dot com
Ease of Use
:
7
My Echoplex is a Solid state model. Echoplexs are fairly easy to use, except that I really haven't figured out the difference between the sound-on-sound and 2nd footswitch (name eludes me right now...). Other than that, it's basically repeats, pan and speed! Not too too complicated; a little awkward at first try though.
Sound Quality
:
7
Oh man! analog echoes (tape, disk and oil-can in particular) are the way to go! Other echoes have the problem of NOT altering the repeated sound: you see, when you go to the grand canyon and scream "HELLO?" it isn't repeated quite the same as when you yelled it, the higher frequencies are lost. Tape delays have this high-end loss within them (more because of a flaw, it wasn't intentionnal). The unit is noisy though, but this is directly attributed to the tape, not the box. I recently changed the tape with some old used 8-track tape; better, but not quite there. I'll buy some new 1/4 inch tape and get it going. Furthermore, it tends to compress the sounds a little, wheter it's bypassed or not (no "true bypass" here, but VERY clean regardless), and I was never too keen on compression.
Reliability
:
9
I have gigged with it, and haven't had problems (except when it fell of its chair and unplugged itself!) Once, I left it on for 3+ hours, and then I shut it off and tried to get it going again; it didn't. It took about 30 mins or so for it to cool off I guess...
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Hah!
Overall Rating
:
7
I play in a Surf band called Alaxy and the Galaxys, and this gets used for the noise-feedback freakouts, and for the Rock around the Clock solo in the middle of California Sun... I play a '62 Silvertone amp-in-a-case through various tube Traynors, and it sounds great. I'm also starting a Sabbath tribute band (Yamaha SBG1200 through a Master volume tube Marshall half-stack) and it'll be used briefly for the beginning of Fairies Wear Boots. I'm probably going to somehow AB it for a dircect signal to input 1 and the echo to input 2, that way I won't get any compression. A neat little device, deffinately of the better echo units out there. The tube ones are very similar, less transparent and much noisier, so buyer beware of the "all tube gear is better than solid state!" craze.
