Echo-matic Cassette Tape Delay Build.

kizzer

Finally got around to finishing off my Cassette Tape Delay unit, which I was looking into in this thread.



There have been some trials along the way, a few ideas added a few ideas omitted, but I'm very happy with the final result. Big thanks to 4114Effects for etching the boards for me, they came out great!

The machine is an old Marantz 3 head tape machine, originally for location recording. The 3 head design allows for a separate Record and play head, meaning that you can record to tape and then monitor directly from the Playhead. 

The Echo-matic circuit is from the Stompbox Cookbook 2nd Edition by Nicholas Boscorelli. It splits the incoming signal direct to the output and to the tape machine with a mix blend control and has a repeat knob for sending the signal back through the tape, with an output knob for overall volume.

I have added a Speed knob, which alters the speed of the tape machines motor allowing for slower delay times, and to help with oscillation I have added a Hi-pass knob. I have also changed the Mix knob behavior, so it now pans between completely dry to completely wet.

It works great and looks pretty cool. There are options to use different types of tapes and the machine itself has an input gain control, so you can distort the level to tape for some interesting tonal variety. The board is located in what used to be the Battery bay, its a bit of a tight fit as you'll see in the pictures below.

Unfortunately I couldn't power both the Tape machine and the Board through a single PSU. The Tape machine requires 4.5-5v whereas the board requires 9v. I tried a 5v Voltage Regulator and 2 different buck convertors and although all 3 worked they introduced a high pitched whining noise which reminded me of an old Boss PS-2 Pedal I had! I settled on attaching a 9v Battery pack on the back, which worked out fine.

VIDEO LINK:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGh2SfCWIrE

lewism

That's brilliant! I've read about people doing this but never properly seen it. Sounds great and looks like a lot of fun - it's only my lack of ability stopping me going straight to eBay to search for old recorders. It looks like a proper finished product too, impressive.

kizzer

lewism said:

Sounds great and looks like a lot of fun.

Cheers mate! Yeah, it was a fun build, a few obstacles to overcome along the way, but it was well worth it!

lewism said:

straight to eBay to search for old recorders.

Yeah! I waited around for a few months for the right recorder then 3 came along at once! So i'll be finishing them up and putting them up for sale at some point.

Adam_MD

Wow that looks great I’ll have to investigate this.

DannyP

That is so cool, very jealous.

kizzer

Adam_MD said:

Wow that looks great I’ll have to investigate this.

DannyP said:

That is so cool, very jealous.

Cheers guys!

kizzer

I have a couple now for sale here.

martinw

Very interesting and nice execution.

However, you've gone to all that trouble to recreate all that genuine analogyness, then used a Kemper for the demo! Why not just use one of the many digital modelling solutions then of analogue tape delay!

kizzer

martinw said:

Very interesting and nice execution.

However, you've gone to all that trouble to recreate all that genuine analogyness, then used a Kemper for the demo! Why not just use one of the many digital modelling solutions then of analogue tape delay!

Because the Kemper Rules!!!!!!!!!!!! That, and it was late in the evening when I made the video, so silent recording was a must.

Seriously though, the Kemper is a great Pedal platform, which is why I built this Tape Delay and a Spring Reverb/ Tremolo a few months back. I use the Kemper for recording, so my real amps haven't had a lot of use in the last few years.