Monacor ME-200 Disk Echo

Uncommon and unique echo unit, even rarer in working order. Serviced and in great cosmetic condition; working well, but with some foibles and flaws – a great character echo – see below for more information.

Two demos of this machine below. Set for 220v operation.

We’ve had this a while unlisted so have discounted it – it’s working well, but there can be a bit of crackle from pots when unused for a while. They are not the quietest machines: they can’t match one of our Space Echoes for clarity, but they have a unique sound: Tony’s had one in the studio for years.

The disk is showing its age – it has some slight ripples on it (normal – due to heat inside the machine) – but it is sounding good. There is some low-level but audible rumble in these machines – but they’re not for those wanting pristine repeats. This machine has enough character to make its idiosyncrasies bearable, or indeed part of the texture it adds. It should be purchased on the understanding that this isn’t a perfect machine. As with all our gear, if you buy it and find it’s not to your taste, you can return it for a full refund of the purchase price.

Produced around the beginning of the 80s, these units can be found in various colours badged Echolette, JBX, Melos and Univox. These machines are rare in good working order because of the unique method they use to generate the echoes – heads positioned above a spinning magnetic disk, not unlike an old computer floppy disk. The idea was to make a machine where changing the recording surface was easy and did not necessitate re-aligning the heads. Unfortunately, since they stopped making the machines the replacement disks have become pretty much impossible to find, so finding one with a usable disk is not easy. 

Sonically they are like no other echo – we’ve had one in the studio for some years and we haven’t found anything that sounds quite like it. Clear, bright echoes are produced with very little wow and flutter compared to tape. Inevitably, given the age of the disc, it’s not perfect – but then if you’re interested in this, you probably don’t need perfect. It’s brighter than tape, but exhibits similar characteristics when abused: switching the coarse speed control from fastest through to slowest when repeats are self-oscillating yields some impressive dive bombs that are reminiscent of dub yet unmistakably different (“space dub” anyone?).

The two-knob speed control comprises a six-speed switched pot together with a rotary fine tuning control which work well for tempo-matching or echo-abusing.

This unit is in excellent condition with very few signs of cosmetic damage or wear. The tolex is very clean with almost no wear. The face is also excellent, having only a couple of noticeable scratches and dings. See photos for more info on cosmetic condition.

For sales in UK/EU the price will include VAT. VAT-free sales are possible to businesses and individuals in the EU (outside the UK) with a valid VAT Number – please get in touch if you wish to buy this way.

Demo with the CR-78 we’ve just listed.

Roland CR-78 and Monacor Disk Echo plating nicely together. The disk echo is great fun and has bags of character: the recording medium being a circular disk, like a large floppy disc. Both on the site now.

A post shared by Soundgas Limited (@soundgasltd) on Jun 7, 2018 at 8:11am PDT

A post shared by Soundgas Limited (@soundgasltd) on Jun 7, 2018 at 8:11am PDT