The Fulltone Solid State Tape Echo, often shortened to SSTE, is a tape delay unit from Fulltone, announced in 2016 as Mike Fuller's interpretation of the Maestro Echoplex EP-3 solid-state delay unit1. Unlike a digital delay, it produces echoes with real magnetic tape moving across heads, so it behaves and sounds the way an old tape machine does, and it is built to a scale closer to a small combo amp than a delay pedal.
Circuit and Echoplex heritage
The SSTE's connection to the Maestro Echoplex EP-3 is more than cosmetic. Guitar.com reports that "the SSTE has an identical TIS58 JFET circuit to the first EP-3 produced"1. The EP-3 itself was the solid-state version of the Echoplex line, as Stompbox Book's history of the unit describes2.
How a machine like this works is straightforward once you see the tape path. On That Pedal Show, Dan and Mick explained the principle with an original Echoplex: "we've got the Record Head we've got the erase head and the playback head and it sets up an echo using actual magnetic tape"3. The distance between the record and playback heads, and the tape speed, set the delay time, which is why tape machines offer discrete speeds rather than a continuous knob.
Controls and features
The SSTE's control set is built around choosing between period-correct and more modern voicings1:
- Vintage and Brilliant modes, for old-school or modern tape delay tones
- Two preamp modes, selectable between "full" and "EP-3"
- Separate instrument and echo volume controls
- Two switchable tape speeds, for short or long delays (one second)
The preamp modes are worth a player's attention: the EP-3's preamp is a known part of that unit's character, and being able to switch between it and the full preamp gives two distinct gain and tone behaviors from one machine1.
Build and tape cartridge
The SSTE is housed in "a similar but much smaller tolex-covered wooden enclosure with a removable lid" than the Echoplex it is based on, and it uses a 1/4" tape and ball-bearing equipped Fulltone ETC-1 tape cartridge1. A removable lid matters in practice, because tape machines need periodic access for cleaning and tape changes.
Tape is a consumable. Echo Fix, which services and supplies parts for Echoplex-style machines, sells NOS vintage tape lengths for reloading existing cartridges and warns that incorrect tape causes low echo output, tape jamming, distorted echo output, little or no self-oscillation, incorrect tone and excessive head wear45. Using the correct cartridge and tape for the machine is not optional.
What reviewers said
Guitar.com's 2016 review was struck by how quiet the machine is given its moving parts: "we weren't expecting the SSTE to be nearly as quiet as it is"1. The same review highlights the tonal balance of the Brilliant voicing, saying it "allows you to achieve those cutting highs without the bass muddying up your tone"1.
The review also notes the practical details of the unit: the SSTE is housed in a similar but much smaller tolex-covered wooden enclosure with a removable lid, and it carries a list price of £7291.
For players weighing the SSTE against Fulltone's other tape machine, the Fulltone Tube Tape Echo is the tube-based sibling, and the Fulltone Tape Delay SS ETC-1 page covers the cartridge itself. That Pedal Show's tape delay series has also compared Fulltone tape machines against the Roland RE-201 Space Echo, Echo Fix EF-X2 and Hiwatt Tape Echo, and later against tape-style pedals such as the Catalinbread Belle Epoch Deluxe and Strymon El Capistan, which is useful context for anyone deciding between a real tape machine and a pedal approximation.
Videos
Chicago Music Exchange
Eirik Stordrange
Ethereal Don
Questions
Is the Fulltone Solid State Tape Echo analog or digital?
It is analog. Guitar.com describes it as a real tape echo machine with moving parts, meaning the delay is produced by an actual magnetic tape loop passing over record and playback heads rather than by digital circuitry. That mechanical approach is what gives it the character players associate with old tape echo units, and it also means it weighs 4.2kg/9.2lbs and takes up considerably more space than a delay pedal.
Does the Fulltone Solid State Tape Echo work in stereo?
No. Guitar.com's review notes it is mono only, with no stereo inputs or outputs, calling it a strictly old-school mono experience. Players wanting stereo delay routing need to look at other units.
Which Echoplex is the Solid State Tape Echo based on?
It is Mike Fuller's interpretation of the Maestro Echoplex EP-3 solid-state delay unit. Guitar.com reports the SSTE uses an identical TIS58 JFET circuit to the first EP-3 produced, and it is housed in a similar but much smaller tolex-covered wooden enclosure with a removable lid.
How much does the Fulltone Solid State Tape Echo weigh?
Guitar.com lists the weight at 4.2kg/9.2lbs, with dimensions of 244mm wide by 198mm deep by 160mm high. That is substantial compared with a standard delay pedal, which is typical of a machine with a real tape transport inside.
Sources (5)
- Fulltone Solid State Tape Echo review, Guitar.com, 2016-02-08
- Echoplex, Stompbox Book (stompboxbook.com), 2019-03-03
- That Pedal Show, That Pedal Show (YouTube), 2016-02-05
- Echoplex EP3 EP4 DIY Full Service Kit, Echo Fix
- 2 x Copicat Solid State Tape Loops, Echo Fix
