Fulltone Solid State Tape Echo User manual

Manualv2.0
ForSSTEs#429andhigher
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NEWFEATURESONSSTEv2
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1) TheSSTEhasalwayshadalow‐impedanceJFETbufferonitsoutputtoisolateitfrombeing
affectedbyotherdevicesinthesignalchain,andtoalleviatetheloadingfromothereffectsand
themanyfeetofcableinyoursignalchain.SSTEv2includesaBufferBypassswitchtoremove
thatJFETbufferand(justlikeavintageEchoplexEP‐3)getsignificantloadingonthesignal,
whichresultsinaconsiderablewarming‐upoftheechorepeats.Goingfor“Vintage?”TurnOFF
theBuffer!
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2) ThePreamp,EchoRepeats,andEchoPlaybackcircuitsarenowisolatedfromeach‐other,
allowingfor:
a) onlyonerepeatwithEchoRepeatsknobturneddownalltheway,nomatterhow
loudtheechoesaresetto.Notpossibleonv1.
b) “100%Wet”(noInstrumentsoundpresent)withInstrumentVolumesetfull
counterclockwise.Helpfulforstudiousewhenyouwanttofeatureorpanonlythe
echo.NotpossiblewithSSTEv1.
c) “100%Dry”(noechosoundpresent)withEchoVolumeknobsetfull
counterclockwise.
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3) EchoToneKnobreplacestheoldtone‐switchforinfinitecontrolofthebrightnessoftheecho
repeats.Thisknobonlyaffectstheechorepeats,notyourguitar(instrument)sound.
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4) IncreasedshieldingaroundtheOutputjackareainsidetheunit.
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TableofContents
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Page1 Specifications
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Page2 TopPanelDiagram
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Page3 AdditionalDiagrams
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Page4 AdditionalDiagrams
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Page5 InitialSet‐Up
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Page6 Features
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Page7 Maintenance&Warrantyinfo
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Page1
SSTEv2Specifications
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Impedance‐
Inputimpedance‐1.1megaohms
OutputimpedanceswitchsettoBuffered(BUF)‐10kohms
OutputimpedanceswitchsettoBuffer‐Bypass(BYP)‐220K‐500K(dependingonwheretheECHO
VOLUMEknobisset)
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Size‐
9.56”widex7.8”deepx6.3”tall(withlidonandclosed)
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Weight‐
9.2lbs.
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Tapeformat‐
YoumayonlyusetheFulltoneEchoTapeCart(ETC‐2)anormalEchoplexcartisthewrongsize.
CartsmadefortheTTEandEchoplexwillNOTfunctioninaSSTE.
WetrytoonlyuseBASFLGR‐50tapeforourCartswhichisnolongermade,butIhavemanythousands
ofyardsofit,enoughfor30yearsormore.Itisoneoftheonlytapesthatworksbecauseithasawhite
lubricatedbacking,helpingtokeepthetapefromsticking,thenbinding.
YoumayalsousetheFulltoneTapeLoopTransport(TLT),givingthechoiceofusinganyavailable¼”
tape.Makethetapeloopexactlytherecommendedlength(seeTLTbox)
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Electricalinfo‐
100‐120VAC,60hz,6watts.
Thewiringforthetransformercanbeeasilymodifiedfor220/240VAC50hzoperationinsidetheunit.
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Fuse‐
0.25amp/250mA5mmx20mmglassSlow‐Blowfuse.
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Included‐
1xDetachable10’IECtypeACpowercable
1x3‐to‐2PronggroundliftadapterforACpowercable
1XETC‐2Tapecartridge(pre‐installedinSSTE)
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Optional:Echo‐CancelFootswitch‐
TocanceltheechoonaSSTEv2,youcanusealatching“ampchannelswitcher”footswitchthat
groundsouttheTIPofa¼”malephonoplug.But,ifyouwanttohaveLEDstatusindicatorswithout
havingtosupplyanypower,theonlyfootswitchtogetistheFulltoneEchoCancelFootswitch.Get
yourshere

Page2
SSTEv2TopPanelDiagram
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Page3
AdditionalDiagrams
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Page4
AdditionalDiagrams
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Page5
InitialSet‐Up
RefertoDiagramsonPages2‐4
Warning!ATapeMachineisadelicate,intricate,complexmachinethatmustbemaintainedandcleaned
periodically.Ifyouarenotinterestedorincapableindoingthis,yourunitwillinevitablygetdirty,theecho
repeatswillbecomedull,outoftune,followedbycartfailureandatantrum.Watchtheset‐upvideoBEFORE
playingthisdevice.Ifyouhavenotwatchedtheinstallvideoandthenhaveaproblem…itwillbeallonyou.
Seeitherehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQXrGr1pFCw
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1) RemovetheTapeCover(page3,diagramitem#34)byunscrewingthe2thumbscrews(#’s33)and
slidingtheplatecarefullyofftotheleft,beingcarefulnottobumpitagainstanything.
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2) MakesurethattheThumbscrewsfortheEchoTapeCartridge(ETC‐2)aresecure(#’s30)andthatthe
tapeisfollowingthecorrectpath(TapePathdiagram,Page3)Makesurethatthetapeisnottooloose,
knottedup,orhasnotslippedawayfromanyoftheTapeGuides(#25&#19)Makesurethatitisseated
properlyontheFixedTapeGuidePost(#28),restingundertheTapeFelt(#26),andTapeFeltTension
Arm.(#27)NowcheckthatthetapeisrestingbetweentheCapstanandPinch‐roller(#16&#17)
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3) InsertthedetachableACcable(#36)intotheTTEACInlet(#35)andconnectotherendtoawallpower
outlet.Makesuretousethesameoutletasyourguitaramplifiertoavoidpossiblegroundingissues.Itis
possiblethatyoumaychoosetoliftthegroundontheSSTEwiththesupplied3‐to‐2prongGroundLift
Adapter(page#4)toeliminatehumissues.Onlydosoifyouknowwhatyou’redoing,andchecktomake
surethere’snopossibilityofelectricalshockhazard,especiallyifyou’resingingintoa
Microphone…checkforshockhazardalways!
Warning!Impropergroundingcancauseinjuryorevendeath.Donotattemptunlessyouare
experienced,andyouassumefullresponsibilityforanydamageorinjuriesincurredbyliftingtheground
onanyofyourdevices.
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4) TurnonthePowerSwitch(see#37).
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5) PlugyourguitarcableintotheInputJack.(#2)
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6) SlidetheTransportClutchlever(#13)totheright…thisstartstheTapeRolling.Holditthereandinsert
anotherguitarcableintotheOutputjack(#12).ThiscableholdstheTransportClutchLeverinplaceand
keepstheTaperunningwhileyou’reusingtheSSTE.Tip:LettheTapeCartridge(ETC‐2)runforawhile
anditwillstabilize.Whenfirstturnedon,theETC‐2’swindingsmaybeunevenandcancausethenotes
toseemout‐of‐tune.AllowingtheETC‐2tospinforaminuteorsoevensouttheTapewindingssothatit
rollssmoothlyandstaysthatwayfortheremainderofyoursession.
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7) Connecttheotherendoftheguitarcable(comingfromOutputJack)toyouramplifier’sInput.
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8) Turnonyourampandyou’rereadytomakeafewsettingadjustmentsandplayyourSSTE!
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9) Important!Use“Low”settingontheTapeSpeedtoggleswitch(#7)settingduringfirst5minutesof
operationforproperbreak‐in,leavingofftheTapeCoversoyoucanseethatthetapeisflowingnicely
withnoproblems.Nowit’stimetoplay!

Page6
FEATURES
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1) TurnontheeffectusingtheBypassSwitch(#3)
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2) SettheRecordLevelknob(#10)tofrom12o’clockto1o’clock,neverlower.Turnthisknobclockwise
(CW)toincreasesignalrecordingtotape...turnitcounterclockwise(CCW)toreducetherecordlevel.If
settoohightheechorepeatswillsounddistorted,settoolowandtheechoRepeatswillbetooquiet
whilethehissincreases.Tapemachinesareallabout“balancingthesignal”tosuitethesoundyou’re
after.
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3) ThePlaybackHead(#21)slidesfromlefttorightalongatrack(#18).Thefurtherrightyouslidethe
head,thelongerthedelaytimeswillbe.Thefurtherleftyouslide,theshorterthedelaytime.
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4) TheEchoRepeatsknob(#8)determineshowmanyechorepeatshappen.Tip:ForlongerdelaysettingI
liketosetthisknobaround9‐10o’clock,whichgivesoneloudrepeat,asecondrepeatatabouthalfthat
volume,thenacouplemorerepeatstrailingoffinvolume.LedZeppelinTip#1:JimmyPageusedto
strikeachord,thenturnuptheEchoRepeatsknobfullCWandtherepeatsoscillate,thepitchofthese
oscillationsthencangoupanddownbyquicklyslidingthePlaybackHeadleftorright.Funstuff!
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5) TheTapeSpeedtoggleswitch(#7)controlsthespeedatwhichthecapstanmotorruns.LowSpeedwill
getlongerdelays,andtheechosoundwillbewarmerandsofter.HighSpeedgivescleaner,brighter
repeatsandwillallowforshorterdelaytimeswhichisgreatforsuper‐quickslap‐backPlateReverb
sounds.
LedZeppelinTip#2:JimmyPagemadegreatuseofthisPlatereverbeffectonhisEchoplexesbothlive
andinthestudio:SlidethePlaybackheadfullytotheleft,SettheTapeSpeedswitch(#7)toHigh,Turn
theEchoRepeatsknob(#8)toaround11‐12o’clock,andyouwillachievethisPlateReverbeffect.I
cannotoveremphasizehowmuchheusedthissound;invideosyoucanseehimturningsteppingonthe
EchoONbuttonforalmosteverysolo!
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6) SettheInstrumentVolume(#4)tobetween11‐12o’clockforrelativelysimilar‐to‐bypassedguitar.Ifyou
gotoohightheSSTEwillactlikeabooster,butthenyouwillhavetoturntheEchoVolumeknob(#5)up
accordinglytoachievethebalancebetweenguitarandecho.Remember,thehighertheEchoVolumeis
set.Themorehissandnoisewillbeevident.
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7) Important!EchoVolumeknob(#5)shouldneverbesetabovethe9‐10o’clockrange!Sincethatrange
getsa1:1ratiobetweenGuitar&Echo,allyouwillaccomplishbyturningthisknobhigherwillbeadding
noise!

8) SettheEchoToneknob(#9)toaround12o’clocktostart.Toachievebrighterrepeats,turnthisknob
CW.





Page7

MAINTENANCE

Thismanualisconstantlyrevised,forthelatestversionofthemanualinPDFformatgoto:
https://www.fulltone.com/products/solid‐state‐tape‐echo
Thewebmanualiscompletewithliveweblinksgoingtorequiredmaintenanceproductsandother
resources,
Alsocheckregularlywithwww.YouTube.com/fulltoneeffectsforcurrentandupcomingvideos
demonstratinghowtomaintainyourTapeecho.
Toolsyoushouldhave:
1) TapeheadcleaningsolutionandCapstanRollerrejuvenatorfluid,buythepairhere
2) Tapeheadcleaningswabs(don’tuseQ‐Tips,theyleavefuzz)Buyhere
3) HeadDemagnetizer(donotuseuntilyouhaveresearchedhowonyoutube)getonehere

ReplacingFuse
UseonlyaglassSlow‐Blow5mmx20mm250volt,0.25amp(alsocalled250mA)
Thesearewidelyavailable,standardtypefuses,oneplacetogetthemisatamazon.comhere

WarrantyInformation:
TheSSTEcarriesa5‐yearLimitedWarrantyPartsandLabortotheoriginalowneronly.Thiswarranty
coversfailureduetomanufacturer’serroronlyanddoesnotcoveritemsthatarepronetodailywear
includingtheETC‐2tapecart.
Ownerisresponsibleforallshippingandinsurancechargesbothways.
FulltoneMusicalProductsInc.(anditsemployees)isnotliableforanydamagesorinjuriesresulting
fromthemisuseofthisunitand/orcarelessnessoftheuser.   
Forservice,pleasecontact[email protected]

Resources:
*Forthenewestversionofthemanualgohere
*Beforeoperatingthisunitpleaseviewthe“ETC‐2TapecartInstallation”videohere
*TopurchaseTapeCarts,filloutandsubmitaETC‐2OrderFormhere
*Tohaveexistingcartsrewound,filloutandsubmitaRewindOrderFormhere.
*ForFulltoneProductDemosandMaintenancevideosvisitwww.YouTube.com/FulltoneEffects
OptionalEcho‐CancelFootswitch‐
TocanceltheechoonaSSTEv2,youcanusealatching“ampchannelswitcher”footswitchthat
groundsouttheTIPofa¼”malephonoplug.But,ifyouwanttohaveLEDstatusindicatorswithout
havingtosupplyexternalpower,theonlyfootswitchtogetistheFulltoneEchoCancelFootswitch.Get
yourshere
FulltoneMusicalProductsInc.
11018WashingtonBlvd.CulverCity,CA90232
www.fulltone.com
repairs:https://www.fulltone.com/contact/fulltone‐repair‐process
Sales:[email protected]