EC 2000 Deluxe Memory Man Reissue

First version of the Deluxe Memory Man (5 Knob) Reissue from the 1990s.

Deluxe Memory Man pedals with EC 2000 PCBs come in at least two varieties.  Above are photos of an early version, easily identified by the hardwired 3 prong power cable.

Notable features of the first EC 2000 version:

• Hardwired 3 prong power cable with internal transformer. (Vintage units have 2 prong cables and later reissues have 2.5mm coax jacks for 24V adapters.)

• EC 2000 board has “5/96” below the board designator.  May 1996?

• Solder side says “PICO HB XXXX”  (XXXX is four numbers that change.  Seen 9701 and 8888, don’t know what that’s about)

• 2x MN3005 BBD chips, NE570 compander, 5x JRC4558 dual op amps.  All chips socketed on at least one example I’ve seen.  This chip set is like the vintage units.  (Later reissues were redesigned to accept 4x MN3008 chips when MN3005 chips ran out.)

• JRC7915 -15V regulator.  (This is unusual.  I think later reissues returned to the discrete pass transistor regulator.)

• Vintage style bypass.  Just switches the output with a SPDT.  (Later reissues used blue 3PDT switches in either “true bypass” wiring or in SPST wiring controlling circuit board mounted relays.)

• True to the original, the LEVEL control is active even when the pedal is “bypassed.”  (Later versions of the reissue eliminated this feature by fully bypassing the electronics.)

EC 2000 with 2.5mm coax power connector and 3PDT “True Bypass” switch

At some point the Deluxe Memory Man reissue lost its internal power transformer (most likely to comply with modern safety standards) and was fitted with a 2.5mm coax connector for use with a 24Vdc power adapter.  Pictured above is an example of this version.  This particular one has a 3PDT.  Although the DMM reissue did switch to 3PDT switches as standard, I am not sure if this one originally had a 3PDT or not.  This one had the infamous white washer on the outside, which I don’t think EH ever did.

There appears to be small differences in the PCB as well.  Note how the VIB/CHORUS wires feed through the board in the later version.  Color appears to change slightly.  “MADE IN TAIWAN” below one of the MN3005 chips does not appear on the earlier board.