ROLAND RE-201 SPACE ECHO

BurningSkies · #1 09-16-2010, 10:45 PM

I've been looking for a while and just scored a Japanese RE-201 tonight. I'm not normally an effects guy (bass-amp-cab) but my main squeeze is reggae; roots,dub and some dancehall.

I've heard a few of these (including one live the other night in a friends' dub project that was newly refurbished). I know some of the tricks like getting regen noise out of it without input, etc. But I'd love to hear more from experienced users. Tricks, tips, etc.

I'm not going to use it for bass, but will be using it for guitars, keys, vocals and drum effects. I'm hoping our band ends up with several of them eventually.

It's not this exact one, but for those who don't know what I'm talkin' bout:

Sharko · #2 09-16-2010, 10:48 PM

Why not use it for bass too? I think they sound great for bass

bongomania · #3 09-16-2010, 10:52 PM

Might want to post this in the Effects forum.

Also, since you are talking about getting multiples for the band, you might want to check out some of the emulators out there, they are getting really good. The newest and hottest is the "El Capistan".

BurningSkies · #4 09-16-2010, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sharko

Why not use it for bass too? I think they sound great for bass

Unfortunately, in reggae it's one of the few things not to get the effects. It's the rock that everything else clings to when the effects start happening. Also, in a live situation, I can drop out and manipulate it manually if needed...

Who knows though, I may have a need to do a non-reggae studio project with it. Might be a fun new direction for a side project.

BurningSkies · #5 09-16-2010, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bongomania

Might want to post this in the Effects forum.

Also, since you are talking about getting multiples for the band, you might want to check out some of the emulators out there, they are getting really good. The newest and hottest is the "El Capistan".

Damn..it's getting late! Rookie mistake. Hopefully some nice mod will come along and move this...

We've been using a RE-20 and a few other delays live, but its time to step up the game...I'll check out El Capistan. Great name too.

Deluge Of Sound · #6 09-16-2010, 10:59 PM

Wrong forum or not, I am insanely jealous of your new score.

BurningSkies · #7 09-16-2010, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deluge Of Sound

Wrong forum or not, I am insanely jealous of your new score.

Decent price too. Not a steal, but at $400 its under what they usually go for. Of course, it could be 200 dollars worth of going through it once it arrives too. A good friend of mine who's spent lots of time believes that no matter what you spend up front, you can count on it costing about 600-800 once you get it gone over.

**grygrx** · #8 09-17-2010, 10:10 AM

moved

BurningSkies · #9 09-17-2010, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grygrx

moved

Thanks! Hopefully I'll get more response here...

BogeyBass · #10 09-17-2010, 10:39 AM

wow nothing beats the real thing

thats in good shape too!
did you give it a got cleaning yet?
did you mention the price you paid

BurningSkies · #11 09-17-2010, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BogeyBass

wow nothing beats the real thing

thats in good shape too!
did you give it a got cleaning yet?
did you mention the price you paid

The pictured one isn't the one that's showing up, but looks to be in similar condition. Unfortunately, the eBay interface doesn't allow for downloading pictures these days...

I ended up paying $405 including shipping. The report is that it works fine, but the VU meter backlight doesn't always come on. We'll see what shows up once it arrives...you never know, and I know it will need cleaning, etc. I'm not sure how much of that I can do myself and how much I'll need to have a pro do. I do have pro-grade head cleaner but I don't have a de-magnetizer for the heads at home.

The deal is that the eBay ad had fairly broken English, which sometimes spells scam. But his buying/selling history added up and a quick email or two and a touch of research makes this look like a decent and working unit.

It comes with two original replacement tapes, but I'll probably buy a quantity of new loops anyway once I'm secure that it works properly.

Bonus...I had a chunk of unremembered cash sitting in my paypal, so while it was 405 total, I only really hit up my bank account for about 300.

MAMMOTHvolume · #12 09-17-2010, 11:29 AM

these are great! i really need to get the motor rewound in mine, not a problem since i paid next to nothing for it.

dangorange · #13 09-17-2010, 11:34 AM

I've had one for 15 years or so, it's my favorite effect and it's gotten a lot of use in my studio. While I do think it sounds fantastic with bass, it's more of a studio effect than a live one with bass for me. Being old and somewhat quirky, you can't always control the delay, plus riding the intensity to get feedback is one of it's charms and you would definitely need a free hand for that!

As for tape, all you need is decent 1/4" magnetic tape and you can make your own loops by splicing it together with scotch tape. This way you can make your own lengths which is useful. I have 600 ft of Zonal 818 that's I'll probably never make a dent into, and it was cheap.

Let us know any issues/questions you have once you get it, shouldn't be a problem to fix anything so long as it basically works, have fun!

BurningSkies · #14 09-17-2010, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAMMOTHvolume

these are great! i really need to get the motor rewound in mine, not a problem since i paid next to nothing for it.

I'm hoping this one needs nothing too drastic. The service manual describes tape head alignment etc., so I'm pretty good at that. Things will get deep if I need to do any kind of biasing (I know the service manual discusses a biasing feature), and I'll have to defer to more experienced hands. It would seem like 400 is spendy, but they go for way more than that usually.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dangorange

I've had one for 15 years or so, it's my favorite effect and it's gotten a lot of use in my studio. While I do think it sounds fantastic with bass, it's more of a studio effect than a live one with bass for me. Being old and somewhat quirky, you can't always control the delay, plus riding the intensity to get feedback is one of it's charms and you would definitely need a free hand for that!

As for tape, all you need is decent 1/4" magnetic tape and you can make your own loops by splicing it together with scotch tape. This way you can make your own lengths which is useful. I have 600 ft of Zonal 818 that's I'll probably never make a dent into, and it was cheap.

Let us know any issues/questions you have once you get it, shouldn't be a problem to fix anything so long as it basically works, have fun!

Too bad it doesn't take 2". I have a few reels lying around! I can certainly splice my own without problems. I'll be sure to come yelling here at the first sign of any trouble.

I'm excited for several things. First off, I can use it on existing master recordings I have to do dub mixes. I'll just send from my interface to it and return to a new channel and repeat as needed. While modern emulation is good, I don't think it hits the hands on effects you can get by having your hands on a set of controls. As a disciple of King Tubby, Mad Professor, Scratch and Scientist among others, it can only be a good thing.

In a live setting this will probably live with my keyboard player. He CAN spend the time controlling it during a show. He's been using a RE-20 for the past couple years and while good an portable, it can't really do ALL the things that I've heard out of these units.

On top of that, now there's talks in the works to start an underground dub recording project. Could be pretty interesting.

BurningSkies · #15 09-18-2010, 10:36 AM

I'm seeing some feedback online that its hard to find tape that works well these days. Supposedly 1/4" 'lubricated' tape, the kind used in 8 tracks or radio station cart magazines. Other types of 1/4" tend to jam up or wear the heads down?

To anyone who has one, what's been your experience...before I invest in a reel that doesn't work or some of the pre-made ones that seem to have a 50/50 record?

BurningSkies · #16 09-21-2010, 04:32 PM

Ok, so this shipped out yesterday and believe it or not, arrived TODAY!

Not packaged very well, but it came in without any damage.

After talking to a bunch of folks who have these or 301/501/555's they all said 'yep, I bought mine in "perfect" shape too, only to have it arrive non-functional and needing several hundred dollars of work.'

Apparently, the gods of the Space Echo are smiling upon me. After opening the box (taking pictures along the way) and examining the unit in detail, I plugged it in. It's completely working. It will need the heads and rollers cleaned and demagnetized. The pots need some cleaning along with the inputs, as does the multi-position switch. I'm guessing it will sound a bit livelier with a new tape on board too. But I ran it for about half an hour without fail, running different settings, speeds, etc.

Anyone know how to read Japanese?

Colonel Monk · #17 09-22-2010, 09:54 AM

Looks Really Nice shape.

You don't need to read that cover - you'll figure it out.

We had one in our band but after a while it needed work. Our keys player didn't want to pay for repairs so I just bought the BOSS pedal. I know, sacrilege....

It sounds great though - they did an accurate "model" of it. It has a few of the quirks built in, but doesn't have nearly the number of tricks...

Good luck with it.

BurningSkies · #18 09-22-2010, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colonel Monk

Looks Really Nice shape.

You don't need to read that cover - you'll figure it out.

We had one in our band but after a while it needed work. Our keys player didn't want to pay for repairs so I just bought the BOSS pedal. I know, sacrilege....

It sounds great though - they did an accurate "model" of it. It has a few of the quirks built in, but doesn't have nearly the number of tricks...

Good luck with it.

Yeah, I'm pretty good on the directions. We already have the RE-20 on hand too...

...if you still have the not-working 201 let me know. I know someone who's looking.

Pandafist · #19 09-22-2010, 10:35 AM

My RE201 might just be my favorite piece of gear.

BurningSkies · #20 09-22-2010, 10:50 AM

We banged on it hard last night for about an hour. I tried out the different modes and wasn’t so forgiving with changing speeds and twisting knobs. It definitely needs a cleaning and a new tape (the echo was pretty tonally rolled off compared to one that I’ve heard recently). It needs a good cleaning for the pots, switches and input/outputs. It came with two extra loops and I’ve ordered some supposedly correct loops (lubricated tape that’s supposed to be correct bias). The V/U backlight is the only thing that doesn’t appear to work and I knew that going in. I don’t know if the tapes that came with it are used or unused either so I may just ‘hold’ those. I posted pics to my FB and had a friend tell me that they have a couple reels of ¼” sitting new and unused, so that might be cool.

Once I get a little more comfortable with it, I’ll do a preemptory head cleaning myself. I don’t have a demagnetizer though.