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Looper's Delight
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Hi everyone, I've been off-list for a while as it dumped me out a couple of months ago. I've been really busy getting the new Echoplex into full production but this is running smoothly now so I had a spare few minutes to re-subscribe. Anyway, here is the definitive list of changes from BEIGEFACE to BLACKFACE:- 1. PCB now 4-layer design from 2-layer. This was to separate voltage supplies and allow for larger ground-planes. 2. The two 16MHz crystals are now the highest possible specification to ensure very tight tolerance between them. This is to minimise boot-up problems and ensure correct syncing between two or more EDPs. 3. CPU and audio CODEC are now under tin-plated brass screening cans to minimise RF emissions, (bring them down to CE-approval levels). 4. PCB now has 9 separate grounding/fixing points to the chassis. Beigeface has 5 fixing points to the chassis, only one of these was a ground point. 5. The mains input socket is now a large screened filtered inlet. This was a CE requirement to give the unit better immunity to noise from the mains supply and to stop RF getting back out of the unit down the supply cable. 6. 50 very high quality capacitors have been added to all of the input & output sockets to ensure that high frequency harmonics are not sent out of the unit, (again, this was to bring them down to CE-approval levels). These do not work down to anywhere near the audio frequency spectrum, so do not interfere with audio quality. 7. Voltage regulators have been re-positioned to correctly seat the 5V switchmode regulator which was an earlier retro-fit modification. 8. 4 x 4MB SIMMs have been manufactured new in the USA to our exact specifications. This is to avoid problems with dirty contacts on some re-furbished memory and to eliminate the problem we had with some memory having a high capacitance resulting in noise being introduced in loops. The SIMMs are now of the 3-chip design as they have proved more reliable than 9-chip parts, (fewer chips = lower capacitance and less components to fail). 9. Loop4 software fitted as standard. 10. Front panel thickness increased to 2.5mm to strengthen the rack-mount ears. This allows for better unsupported suspension in a rack or flight case. 11. Front panel now powder-coated black to distinguish the CE version from the non-CE version. 12. All switch caps changed from square black to round ivory. This was primarily a cosmetic change to integrate with the new black front panel but also to reduce production costs. Those square black ones are $0.39 each, which is ridiculous for that amount of plastic! 13. Front and rear-panel artwork totally re-deigned by me with Kim's help, mainly due to rear sockets being moved for the extra grounding points, but also to make the front more aesthetic. 14. New packaging design to remove all polystyrene materials, (doing our bit for the planet). The new box is similar in size to the original, but now incorporates the EDP Footcontroller, which is supplied as standard. (The new EDP will, I think, be available without the Footcontroller as a special purchase at a reduced price. I'll check with Clive @ Gibson and confirm this). 15. New, totally re-written by Kim, 310 page fully-comprehensive manual supplied as standard. This has been a serious amount of work for Kim and over double the size of the previous Gibson-written manual. I'm sure this will be much appreciated by users. This new manual has also cost over $10 each to produce and we had many, sometimes heated discussions as to whether it went in at all in this format. It was suggested that a quick-start printed guide was supplied, with the main manual being supplied on CD ROM. In my opinion, this would have not been welcomed by all, especially those without access to computers or those who would have seriously begrudged printing their own. At 310 pages I could envisage getting bills sent to me for replacement printers. Anyway, I won the battle and the manual is supplied printed in its entirety. I'd be interested in knowing anyone's opinion on this now we've settled it. The Echoplex was not re-designed this time to make it stereo, as the budget and timescales were simply not available. These modifications were purely to get it passed the very strict CE testing so it can be sold legally in Europe. However, as a consequence of these changes, the new model does seem to have slightly better audio specifications. Matthias and I are working on some accurate measurements for both old and new models and I will post these when they are available. There is no reason not to buy one of the few Beigeface models left out there as the two units perform almost identically. The audio spec & reliability of the Beigeface was already very high as many engineers & users have testified to. There are many other minor improvements, slight engineering changes, quality control procedures and extra testing etc. but I won't bore everyone further. 200 boxed units have so far been delivered to Gibson with a further 200 imminent and 100/month after that. We can ramp up supply if the market demands it and the upcoming Frankfurt Music Show will give us an idea of how many EDPs the European dealers want. If anyone has any other questions, please feel free to either post them if you think they are relevant, or send them to me personally. Andy Ewen, Echoplex Production Manager. -----Original Message----- From: Matthew Wiley [mailto:matthewf5@hotmail.com] Sent: 12 February 2003 17:44 To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com Subject: Re: EDP BLACKFACE/BEIGEFACE could someone expound further on this detail? matt >From: Greg House <ghunicycle@yahoo.com> >Reply-To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com >To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com >Subject: Re: EDP BLACKFACE/BEIGEFACE >Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 09:40:55 -0800 (PST) > >--- jimfowler <jimfowler@prodigy.net> wrote: > > the models are the same, save for cosmetics. > >Not exactly. They changed the board layout to reduce RF emissions so it >would >pass a CE certification. This may also give it better induced noise >immunity (one >of you involved, does it?). > >Greg > >__________________________________________________ >Do you Yahoo!? >Yahoo! Shopping - Send Flowers for Valentine's Day >http://shopping.yahoo.com _________________________________________________________________ MSN 8 with e-mail virus protection service: 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus