T-Rex Tape Cartridge Replicator

Einsatz
Originales Band für T-Rex.

Positives
Tut was es soll.

Negatives
Es klappert etwas im Betrieb. Ich finde es persönlich schon ein bißchen laut, aber ok. Das Rad dreht und rutscht ja auch nur auf den Plastekappen. Da hätte man auch etwas innovativer lösen können - wie bei einem echten Kassettedeck ;).

Die Filzhalterungen rutschen auch gern mal bei klapprigem Transport in der Verpackung raus. Das kann man aber mit ruhiger Hand selbst beheben - ohne die Cartridge öffnen zu müssen!

Ansonsten gibt es wohl kaum eine Alternative.

I picked this up once I heard T-Rex had ceased trading in case supply dries up. Tape is perfect for what it does. Easy replacement.

Ease of use: I believe the tapes were modified last year for smoother operation - the tapes which came with my Replicator both jammed occasionally at slower speeds but this one works well.

Sound quality: it’s 1/8in, so nothing like as clear as Echoplexes or other vintage tape echoes but the Replicator’s circuitry is voiced well for guitar so you can get very clean repeats. Also good noise floor. At slower speeds the tone and tracking degrade dramatically but creatively speaking, that’s good news (for me at any rate)...

It would of course be better (and less wasteful) if the cartridge itself could just be opened to replace the tape. I haven’t looked yet to see how easy/difficult that might be but I’m sure it’s possible with a bit of work.

It’s just a real shame T-Rex went bust right when they were working on a Binson clone... I hope they’re revived and that R&D gets used.