Ancient Eccofonic question

[Flangerhans]

Howdy! I have a really old and beat tape delay, an Ecco-fonic. I know this isn't the effects forum, but I think tape guys would be the ones to ask...I got the thing with a truly ancient tape in the cartridge, so I refilled it with some ampex 361 I had laying around, just to make sure that the tape would break before anything else. I know this isn't the best possible choice, but what I don't know is what would be. Perhaps some knowing gent could aid me in this archaic endeavor, and help choose a tape that would be ideal for the application. Mucho appreciado!

[The Ghost of FM]

Pretty much anything from the 400 series of Quantegy tape should do the trick such as the 406/456/499 so long as its fresh new stock not suffering from sticky shed. All of those will offer more headroom and MOL and be a bit more consistent as far as drop out rates go.

Keeping the heads clean on your echo unit is the key to maintaining a decently full range out of it.

One small 7" roll, along with proper splicing tape, should be able to make you a lifetime of loops.

Cheers!

[Flangerhans]

Multiple expressions of gratitude, oh messenger from beyond! I suspected that good ol' 456 might be the ticket, but it's good to have confirmation from one who has more experience with the arcane lore of rust and mylar than I. This old box looks terrible, but sounds pretty good even with lousy tape, and has some unique features I've seen on no other delay...I think I might have been a 6AQ5A in a past life.