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I have problems with my ESE Echomatic IV which was never giged by me. Bought it second hand and it worked well, no problems.
According the manual of the ESE company I removed the tape to take the tension off of the wheel - because I didnt`t play it for a while.
Today I started playing and the echo didn`t work right. I changed the tape loop twice, but it was always the same.

What could be the reason?

Regards
Hans

Is the motor spinning ? If not, is it switched on ?

Are the lights on ? Tell us more.

Hi Dave !

All lights are on, the motor is spinning and I`ve changed the tapeloop twice ! The echoes produced by the ESE
are not the same ( right ones ) as the unit did it before !
The unit was in my guitarroom for nearly one month without the tapeloop according ESE`s reference in the manual.


Here is a pic which way the unit stood on the ground with the handle upwards !!!

Regards
Hans

Try cleaning the heads with isopropyl alcohol
Hope that helps

Or if you haven't got any isopropyl handy, use whiskey or brandy using a cotton bud, then make sure you dry the heads, as well as checking the tape is not inside out.

Heads cleaned, tapeloop changed it`s the same story. It doesn`t work / sound
right !

Who is doing the service in UK for the ESE units ?

Regards
Hans

Sadly I don't know of anyone doing servicing on these machines any more.
Here is a suggestion and I discovered this after it happened to me - just before going on stage at Shadowmania in 2006.
I had been cleaning the heads and changing the tape and the sound went funny. By chance I just pushed the back of the recording head towards the tape and it all came back clear and loud - it was a case of the head being disturbed whilst I was poking around and I had to get a small screwdriver and re-set it's position and it worked.
When the screws are loosened, the head will move around and there is an optimum position for it to work correctly - maybe this is what has happened here, try the recording head first, but check all the heads for alignment. I messed around with the tape running and got someone to play a signal so I could hear what was happening when I moved the heads and I fixed it. Just be gentle with it, there shouldn't be much wrong with it. Good luck.

Dave, many thanks, you was a great help and the rescue. I did nearly the same you said, I didn`t loose the screws but I pushed
the recording head a little against the tape and I did the same with the other heads. I can`t believe now it works as great as
a few weeks ago. It`s a killertone I get with my JMI AC 30 / 6 / TB ( 50th Anniversary Shadowsamp ) ! I like the punch of the heads
you can hear if you pick the guitar hard. But I ask mayself what was the reason for the bad sound. ESE says in his manual that it`s
good to removed the tape to take the tension out of the wheel ! So I did but with a bad result ! Hope that the unit will be constant
in live gigs.

Regards
Hans

Hans I'm really pleased for you that my tips sorted it out. I knew it couldn't be much more than that. I never, ever take my tape off, some people think that you should and others don't, so I leave mine on and it always works great. Yes it is the bees knees and since I learned a lot more about my amp and guitar over the past few years, I hear the magic every time I play through it. That little lesson at Shadowmania stood me in good stead, I knew it would someday !

Hans,

Like Robbo I never lift my tape from the heads.
Just recently I used my Vox LT for the first time in 3 years.... to much equipment laying around.
A friend of mine brought a few Meazzi's from his collection and with him came a bloke who had never seen or heard a Vox LT in the flesh...
Guess what...it worked flawlessly, same for my 301 also almost a "safe queen" .
Mostly it depends on the surrounding the equipment is stalled, is it moist or damped then I can understand a tape can get sticky on the heads....