We currently have no units or parts for any tape echoes except we have proper graphite-backed replacement tapes built to Roland RT-1L specs.
We have a Watkins, an Electra, which we'll prolly keep, since the reverb is amazing, but everyone wants the Roland RE-201 sound right now.
So if we can get both our RE-201's working, we'd rather sell those for $600-700 and keep the Electra EP-350, since it's not well-known (it's very rare) and the few who have heard of Electra know they turned into the company "Crate" that makes cheap repro crap junk. But this is an old Electra built in Italy back in the 1970's and is pure quality, so like the Ace-Tones, we'll let people pay us way too much for tape echoes that don't sound nearly as good.
Anyway, again, the main point is that right now:
All we have for sale is replacement tapes and manuals at this time. You can purchase what we do have available at The Sound-O-Mat using PayPal. Please contact us if you would like to pay any other way, but PayPal is the only way we can accept credit cards, although we hope to add Google Checkout soon.
We're sincerely sorry, esp. when we write grumpy email replies. We're not happy about it either, trust us. We will post something if and when this changes.
This mostly applies to Roland RE-series Space / Chorus Tape Echoes, but since we collect and repair almost every type of tape echo made, this info pretty much applies to anyone contacting us about any make/model tape echo repair. Please read, otherwise your email will be ignored.
1. Do not ask us questions about how to fix your tape echo. Just don't. We have lives and jobs and are barely scraping by these days, and the last thing we need to do is spend 4+ hours, 7 days a week answering and replying to email questions about your tape echo. We're glad you love yours, we love ours, but unless you're willing to fork out some $$$ for our time AND vast expertise, we can't afford to waste all day answering all the email we get. Sorry. In a better world, we'd be rich, idle, and would be happy to do it for free. Honest.
2. Regarding repairs: yes, we still repair almost every type of tape echo and have replacement tapes for most, but at the very least, understand this:
a. It will cost you USD $25-30 at least to ship it to us each way, so that's $60. We require $50 to go over your machine, do a basic cleaning, and write up an estimate on the rest of the work. In the end, to restore a machine will cost $150 min. - usually at least $200-300 - some times as much as $500 with parts - to fix it. If you're a typical musician - meaning like us, you have no money - please don't waste your and our time asking, OK?
b. Shipping has been a huge problem. Costs have gone through the roof, and we're pretty sure that shipping a 20-30 year old tape echo unit via UPS Ground both ways will almost always result in it being in worse shape than when you sent it. Three clients of ours in the last year have opt'ed for UPS 2nd Day Air and between that and excellent packaging (double-boxing at least) we've had good luck, but then the shipping costs go up to $100-150 back-n-forth.
3. No, right now we don't have parts. We're trying to sell what units we have and be done with it. If we can't, we'll have parts, and when we do, we'll advertise them with prices. Meanwhile, don't ask. We'd rather sell working units and get out of this business, because we'd make 3x more money pumping gas down the street at the gas station. Seriously.
4. We do have tapes. Just ask or order. But not many left.
5. We will work on a unit, if you have the dosh ($$$) to spend shipping it, paying for parts, and insuring it, and if it gets messed up, you go after UPS/FedEx/USPS, not us. Let them pay both of us for breaking it, OK? But good luck collecting.
6. NO, WE DO NOT AND HAVE NOT HAD A REPLACEMENT MOTOR SINCE JULY 2007. And Roland hasn't made one since end of 2004. Basically, unless we can find broken units to part out, we will likely not have any replacement motors in the future, and if we do, they'll be $200-300 depending on condition, maybe more. FullTone is making a tape echo now, and although we think it sucks compared to any of the Roland models - although the current Roland digital version, the RC-20, totally sucks compared to the FullTone... anyway, you can spend a lot of money buying one of those and replacement tapes from them if you want.
Lastly, if we can't fix your tape echo, what do we recommend?
a. Sell us your broken one. No, you won't get a lot of $$$, but some $$$ is better than it collecting dust, yeah?
b. The FullTone Tape Echo uses real tape, but it blows. Granted, it's so much better than the Line 6 DL-4 and Roland RC-20 it's not worth comparing, but it still sucks - the worst AceTone we've owned still blows away the FullTone piece of crap - not to mention the VERY expensive replacement tape carts they need.
c. We recommend, if you can't afford a real Tape Echo, the DanElectro DTE. Out of all of the digital effects, we thinks it's the closest. And we've owned and own dozens of tape echoes and all the current ones. We stick with our RE-301, RE-501, our AceTone Pro 20, and the DanElectro. The rest are shite. Avoid Univox and FullTone because cart-based effects suck (why buy replacement carts unless you're made of money?)
Over-Rated Current Models:
Under-Rated Older Models: