Is it safe to set a tape echo on its side?

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__alpaca
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Is it safe to set a tape echo on its side?

Post by __alpaca » Mon Jun 07, 2021 3:34 pm

I can't remember where I saw or heard that it is ok to place a tape echo like an echoplex or a fulltone tube tape echo on its side for a long period of time. Can anyone confirm or deny whether this is a safe thing to do?

I'd like them available to mix but need all the scarce desk space I have. Obviously I do not want to cause mechanical or electrical problems with these pricy units by doing so.

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Re: Is it safe to set a tape echo on its side?

Post by Zacharia Matilda » Mon Jun 07, 2021 4:53 pm

You can with a Roland Space Echo. It even has feet on the “bottom of its tall orientation” if you follow what I’m saying (at least the re-301 does). It doesn’t impede the way the tape feeds in from the little chamber the tape lives in.

I wouldn’t do it with an Echoplex though. They don’t feel as robust to me (although they are certainly robust enough to use as intended). The motor sits off-center inside the box and trying to run it standing on its side could stress the motor. I just wouldn’t go there with one.

Not sure about the Fulltone. Is floor space available? Or install a small shelf close by?
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Re: Is it safe to set a tape echo on its side?

Post by Rodgre » Tue Jun 08, 2021 4:23 am

I concur with this. I think an Echoplex will run fine on it's side, but I'm not sure the motor will be happiest that way.

I always wonder this about Tel-Ray oil-can units. I have a few of them and I'm afraid to put them on their sides for some reason. I know that I've heard a difference in effect when they're not sitting upright like they should be, as the oil moves around in the can.

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Re: Is it safe to set a tape echo on its side?

Post by Scodiddly » Tue Jun 08, 2021 4:48 am

Rodgre wrote:
Tue Jun 08, 2021 4:23 am
I always wonder this about Tel-Ray oil-can units. I have a few of them and I'm afraid to put them on their sides for some reason. I know that I've heard a difference in effect when they're not sitting upright like they should be, as the oil moves around in the can.
I happened across a video showing repair/restoration of an oil can delay recently. Long story short, the can needs to be in a specific orientation to work. There's a fairly small puddle of oil in the bottom, not a can full of oil.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBSEQmYTLMY&t=4030s

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Re: Is it safe to set a tape echo on its side?

Post by joninc » Tue Jun 08, 2021 10:37 am

i have to have my EP3 on a bit of an angle or it makes audible annoying noises - i have it leaning forward on a 45 degree angle. A friend has a fulltone that does the same thing. My space echo on the other hand is quiet but I have used it on it's side with no issues either
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Re: Is it safe to set a tape echo on its side?

Post by Rodgre » Tue Jun 08, 2021 12:09 pm

Scodiddly wrote:
Tue Jun 08, 2021 4:48 am

I happened across a video showing repair/restoration of an oil can delay recently. Long story short, the can needs to be in a specific orientation to work. There's a fairly small puddle of oil in the bottom, not a can full of oil.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBSEQmYTLMY&t=4030s
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Re: Is it safe to set a tape echo on its side?

Post by __alpaca » Tue Jun 08, 2021 5:43 pm

If I can't place them on their side I could put them on a rolling shelf. It would just have to take up space under the desk, a bit cluttered. I've got a perfect spot for them on my mantle if they can sit on their side.

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Re: Is it safe to set a tape echo on its side?

Post by Theo_Karon » Wed Jun 09, 2021 6:53 am

This will be utterly unhelpful I'm afraid, but nonetheless:

I was tracking a record several years ago where one of the guitarists had an Echoplex as part of his pedal rig that was more or less always on. The join on the loop was a bit funny, and would make a little sound every time it passed over the head - not loud enough that it was noticeable when anything was going, but once in a while between takes, if he hadn't switched it off yet. Imagine the sound of a chair being briefly scooted back a couple of inches.

We were in there for maybe 10 days and it wasn't until near the very end that I happened to have his amp soloed while this happened and realized that someone out in the room had not in fact been periodically releasing concise, punctuated bursts of flatulence over the course of the tracking sessions.

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Re: Is it safe to set a tape echo on its side?

Post by vvv » Wed Jun 09, 2021 8:41 am

Wait, you thought that for 10 days and didn't say something? :twisted:
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Re: Is it safe to set a tape echo on its side?

Post by vernier » Thu Jun 17, 2021 4:12 pm

Always use mine in normal position as cooling and gravity might be factors. That said, Echoplex are monsters! .. heres mine in action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1St004ZrraI

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Re: Is it safe to set a tape echo on its side?

Post by __alpaca » Tue Jun 29, 2021 1:23 pm

Whoa, just stumbled across a picture today of Larry Crane in TapeOp #138 with a Fulltone Tube Tape echo on its side, in the upper right.

Image

I guess that's a green light to set it on its side. I'd reckon a vintage echoplex might be more fragile though.

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