Echoplex EP3 repair

Echoplex Ep 3 Serial Numbers List

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Maestro Echoplex Ep 3

1. A good example of the excellent Maestro Echoplex EP2 – for sale fully serviced by our echo specialist and in superb working order. Soundgas are vintage echo experts – we specialise in Binsons, Copicats, Rolands, and Echoplexes.
2. Echoplex User & Service Manual Click on the link below to download the manual for your Echoplex This download link is a user and service manual with schematics for the Echoplex EP1, EP2, EP3 & EP4 including the Sireko. Click Here – Echoplex Manual Download EP1 EP2 EP3 EP4 & Sireko.

This is my 1974 Maestro Echoplex, given to me by my good friend Maynard. It was in pretty shabby condition when I took possession, it wasn't even working. However, I'm a fool for vintage gear so I went to work. My EP-3 has a serial number in the nineteens, which places it in the middle of the run of the EP-3.

Author	Topic: Echoplex EP3 repair
Patrick Lyons From: Tennessee, USA	Posted 9 Mar 2018 11:00 am Hey I recently got an EP3 that wasn't working and I took it to a shop in Chicago that said that they repair these. The repair guy said that there is no schematic for this one, there is no ser #, and there are three boards instead of 2, so now he doesn't know how to fix it, because the previous owner had someone rewire it, and wants to charge me $140 for his time. Does anyone anyone have s a schematic for this, or know how to fix them? Any help would be appreciated, thanks One last thing, the repair guy asked that I put this text up here and I will add it to the original post as well 'You bought an EP-3 that was hacked and rewired by someone and the unit doesn’t work. I took it into a service center and they informed me that this version EP-3 has no schematic online. Does anyone have a schematic?' Thank you Last edited by Patrick Lyons on 12 Mar 2018 10:52 am; edited 3 times in total
	Charlie Hansen From: Halifax, NS Canada and Various Southern Towns.	Posted 9 Mar 2018 12:47 pm Is this of any use to you? https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1011631/Maestro-Echoplex-Ep-3.html _________________ I don't know much but what I know I know very well. Carter S-10 3X5, Peavey Nashville 112, plus Regal dobro and too many other instruments to mention. Bluegrass Island CFCY FM 95.1 Charlottetown, PE, Canada, on the web at cfcy.fm. A Touch Of Texas CIOE FM 97.5 Sackville, NS, Canada, on the web at cioe975.ca.
Bill Sinclair From: Hagerstown, Maryland, USA		Posted 9 Mar 2018 2:50 pm $140 to admit that he doesn't know how to fix something? Sheesh. That aside, he may just be confused about the boards. Page 26 of the document Charlie linked to shows the board with the T2 transformer (that black square thing - bias oscillator?) on the side of the panel with the power transformer and motor. On yours it's on the other side of the panel, with the other two boards. Pages 27, 28, and 29 are the schematics for three different serial number sequences of the EP-3. He should be able to figure out which one matches your unit. If it's a guitar amp repair shop, there's a good chance that they haven't had much (or any) experience biasing a tape head. It's been 40+ years since I've done it so I'm afraid I wouldn't be any better.
	Michael Butler From: California, USA	Posted 9 Mar 2018 7:56 pm patrick: there is an echoplex group on facebook. you may want to join to gain for further information. i have two ep3s but neither look like that. yours may be the ep4. play music! _________________ please see my Snakeskin's Virtual Music Museum below. http://muscmp.wordpress.com/
Godfrey Arthur From: 3rd Rock		Posted 9 Mar 2018 7:58 pm Here's a vid clip showing some repair tips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSgmkG6XXqc _________________ ShoBud The Pro 1 YES it's my REAL NAME!
	Michael Brebes From: Northridge CA	Posted 10 Mar 2018 8:41 am What is wrong with your Echoplex? It's a relatively simple circuit and easy to repair. The biggest repair problem I have had with these is replacing mechanical parts that are bad or heads that go bad. I can fix it for you, if you want to send it to Los Angeles, and it won't cost you $140 for me to tell you I can't fix it. That's the sign of someone that doesn't know electronics very well, what we used to call 'tube jockeys' in the 60's who thought they could just swap out tubes until they found the problem in an old TV. _________________ Michael Brebes Instrument/amp/ pickup repair MSA D10 Classic/Rickenbacher B6/ Dickerson MOTS/Dobro D32 Hawaiian/ Goldtone Paul Beard Reso Mesa Boogie Studio Pre/Hafler 3000 RP1/MPX100
Aaron Jennings From: Montana, USA		Posted 10 Mar 2018 4:10 pm If that is an EP-3 it is one of the models with a compression board in it. These were only in some of the EP-3s and many people bypass or remove them... Others do not!
	ajm From: Los Angeles	Posted 11 Mar 2018 11:04 am It sounds like you have two problems. 1) You have an EP that doesn't work. 2) You have someone that wants to charge you $140 for doing nothing. It sounds like Michael Brebes can fix the first one for you. The second one? Well............
Jim Sliff From: Lawndale California, USA		Posted 11 Mar 2018 1:02 pm 1. Find a new tech. 2. See #1 ANY competent amplifier tech can repair the electronics on ANY device like that - schematic or not. Some may not be able to deal with mechanical issues, but the electronics are solid-state electronics, not digital 'chip' devices where certain functions may not be obvious. And no reputable tech charges for 'no work performed'. They accepted the unit in good faith, claiming competence - and didn't perform. You owe them exactly $0. No bench charge. No 'flat rate'. They didn't do anything. _________________ No chops, but great tone
	Stephen Cowell From: Round Rock, Texas, USA	Posted 11 Mar 2018 9:37 pm My EP-3 had a bad input FET... I believe the exact part is obsolete. I used a plain-jane RatShak JFET and re-biased it by changing the source(?) resistor... easy to do. That looks like a real clean unit, keep it and cherish it! I did a whole bunch of crazy things to mine, it's a great platform for modding. _________________ New FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/AustinSteelGuitarClub/?fref=ts
Patrick Lyons From: Tennessee, USA		Posted 12 Mar 2018 10:08 am One last thing, the repair guy asked that I put this text up here and I will add it to the original post. 'You bought an EP-3 that was hacked and rewired by someone and the unit doesn’t work. I took it into a service center and they informed me that this version EP-3 has no schematic online. Does anyone have a schematic?' Thank you

Echoplex Ep 3 Serial Numbers Lookup

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When I was a kid in the seventies, the only game in town for echo was the Echoplex. Any guitar with echo you heard in the seventies was probably done on a Plex. Certainly all my guitar hero's back then used one. Just to mention a few: Tommy Bolin, Jimmy Page, Joe Walsh, Brian May, and last but not least, the man with the guitar, James Marshall Hendrix. I couldn't afford one back then, and now I have two.

Echoplex Ep4

I did a lot of research and learned a lot. The Echoplex was invented by a man named Mike Battle and had several incarnations:

• EP-1: The first tube model from the early sixties.
• EP-2: The second tube model from the late sixties.
• EP-3: The first solid state model, early seventies
• EP-4: The second solid state model, mid to late seventies
• Sireko: Economy model from early seventies, same electronics without SOS, used a different tape cartridge.
• EM-1: Multi-Channel tape echo unit from the early seventies.

Echoplex Ep-3 Serial Numbers

My first Plex was a 1974 EP-3, given to me by my good friend Maynard. It was in pretty shabby condition when I took possession, it wasn't even working. However, I'm a fool for vintage gear so I went to work on the restoration, see below for a link. My second Plex is an 1968 EP-2 that I acquired in a trade. It is in need of restoration badly which I haven't gotten to yet, see below for a link.

Some notes about the Echoplex

• I recommend rebuilding your Plex like I did. At this writing, it's 2008. The newest your Plex could be is 25 years or so if it's an EP-4, even older if it's an EP-3. If its a tube model it's probably from the 60's. That's damn old for a mechanical device and unless it's a closet classic it will need some restoration.
• When you first get your Plex, you should: Clean it inside and out, change the belt, and get a new tape cartridge.
• More complex restoration actions include lubrication, replacing the electrolytic capacitors, changing the motor mounts, (I don't know where to get them, but I'm working on it) and adding a grounded cord if it doesn't have one, although you could get ground loop problems with some amps if you do that. Most solid state models probably don't need a cap job unless you are having bad hum problems, but the tube models with the old paper or can caps should definitely have the them replaced.
• The Echoplex tape runs CONSTANTLY when powered up, whether you have the echo engaged or not. Shut it down when you are not playing to preserve the tape and prevent wear on the Plex itself.
• KEEP IT CLEAN!! Like I said above, the tape cartridge runs CONSTANTLY when powered up, whether you have the echo engaged or not. If you are playing a 3 or 4 set gig, how many miles is that tape traveling? See what I mean? Clean the tape path regularly, and often. See the link below for details on how to clean an Echoplex.
• Every now and then there are Ebay auctions for NOS, vintage tape cartridges. DON'T USE THEM!! Tape formulations have changed dramatically in the 30 years since your Plex was built and adjusted. Use a modern, new tape cartridge, the quality is considerably better. Or, reload your old cartridge with new tape.
• Have the Plex biased properly to the new tape cartridge you are using. Once biased, you don't have to do it again until or if you change tape formulations. See below for instructions on how to do this.
• Schematic Heaven has the Echoplex service manual for download, and there are regular auctions for hardcopys of it in Ebay, get yourself a copy.
• The supplies for vintage Echoplexes isn't going to last forever. Below are links to pages I've created on refurbishing pressure pads and reloading tape cartridges to stave off the inevitable.

I heartily recommend getting a Plex; there are always several of them on Ebay. Be aware that it will probably need a tune up like I gave mine, and regular maintenance, but its worth it!