Roland RE 202 Space Echo

[Seqpro3]

Was wondering if anyone was using the Roland RE202 Space Echo . I was considering one possibly to use with synths. Was wondering what users thought the RE202 Space Echos strengths were. I use a RE201 Space Echo . I know the RE202 has more features than the RE201 . Was wondering what might compete with the RE 202 . Thanks

[jsleeio]

yup, I have one. I have Pittsburgh's east beast + west pest on my (home) office desk, with some monitors and a little Yamaha mixer

adding the RE-202 as an aux send, even in the mono-to-stereo setup allowed by the small mixer. I haven't fully figured it out yet and haven't tried any MIDI control, but loving it. Should be fun with my Juno 106 too

I did consider the Echofix recreation of the RE-201 but it's a whole lot more expensive and also I didn't want to worry about maintenance/consumables

[The Junglechrist]

I made a big demo of the RE-202 if it can help you:

[Richard deHove]

I did a couple of videos on the RE-202 as well. This is the most comprehensive:

There's a lot to like about it but I ended up selling because (other than the reverb) it's really a mono delay. Seemed weird to have something so rich and deep with stereo ins and outs and then to completely ignore the stereo field. True to the original perhaps but not a feature imo.

[Kattefjaes]

I did a couple of videos on the RE-202 as well. This is the most comprehensive:

(video)

There's a lot to like about it but I ended up selling because (other than the reverb) it's really a mono delay. Seemed weird to have something so rich and deep with stereo ins and outs and then to completely ignore the stereo field. True to the original perhaps but not a feature imo.

That's a really useful video, extremely segmented and free of pogface thumbnails and loud STREAMER VOICE hypemans enthusiasm. Is that even allowed on youtube now?

Anyway, great stuff- I love the dry, slightly ironic delivery and the level of detail. Just when I get fed up with all the talking, "No more talking. Long noodle" came along. Exactly what I wanted, informed commentary and lots of decent audio. It's a shame that the delay is mono only- they could have kept that as an option for authenticity, but offered stereo delay too. Boo.

[Richard deHove]

I did a couple of videos on the RE-202 as well. This is the most comprehensive:

(video)

There's a lot to like about it but I ended up selling because (other than the reverb) it's really a mono delay. Seemed weird to have something so rich and deep with stereo ins and outs and then to completely ignore the stereo field. True to the original perhaps but not a feature imo.

That's a really useful video, extremely segmented and free of pogface thumbnails and loud STREAMER VOICE hypemans enthusiasm. Is that even allowed on youtube now?

Anyway, great stuff- I love the dry, slightly ironic delivery and the level of detail. Just when I get fed up with all the talking, "No more talking. Long noodle" came along. Exactly what I wanted, informed commentary and lots of decent audio. It's a shame that the delay is mono only- they could have kept that as an option for authenticity, but offered stereo delay too. Boo.

Sincere thanks for the feedback Kattefjaes it's very rare and useful ! As for the RE-202 the last algorithm has a tiny stereo element but the sound pattern itself is just mud so again it's useless. The reverb adds spread but still not to the delays. I was trying very hard to love this machine. OTOH it's interesting how many stereo delays have a very small selection of stereo sounds. For example neither the MD-200 or Strymon Timeline does ping-pong.

[Kattefjaes]

Sincere thanks for the feedback Kattefjaes it's very rare and useful ! As for the RE-202 the last algorithm has a tiny stereo element but the sound pattern itself is just mud so again it's useless. The reverb adds spread but still not to the delays. I was trying very hard to love this machine. OTOH it's interesting how many stereo delays have a very small selection of stereo sounds. For example neither the MD-200 or Strymon Timeline does ping-pong.

For what it's worth the noodle at the end with the Erica Bassline was really nice too, not just as an illustration. It's a nice-sounding synth that is begging for delay. I feel like you gave the RE 202 a fair crack there, it was a great demo.

I do love my Erica Black Stereo Delay in Euro. It sounds great and is very tactile- but I also keep swapping it in and out of the rack. It does ping and pong in a most satisfying manner, though- playable as hell. It's a lot of fun, paired with spring reverb.

I suspect that the lack of proper stereo delay would have bummed me out a bit, so I'm grateful for your excellent video, which answers pretty much all my questions. Otherwise, I would have been so tempted by this little thing, for obvious reasons.

[Seqpro3]

If you had to choose between the Strymon Timeline and the RE202 Space Echo which would you choose and why? Thanks

[Seqpro3]

Which pedals offer ping pong? Thanks

[Kattefjaes]

Which pedals offer ping pong? Thanks

Way too many to list! Often various Zoom multi-effect pedals are a good cost-effective place to start.

[papz]

The Erica Synths Zen Delay offers ping pong and is just excellent

[chriscarter]

We have a whole bunch of delay pedals and quite a few stereo modular delays but we do come back to our Boss Space Echoes an awful lot, Cosey's 'go to' is the RE-201, mine is the newer RE-202. They are great for live use, very 'hands on' and built like little tanks. Not really bothered that they're not true stereo, there's just something about their sound that gels with the kind of tracks we've been working on for the last few years. Before that that we had actual tape Space Echoes but they're in an another league (and that's another story). I've always thought the sound of delay units to be a very personal thing, particularly vintage emulations and ultimately no amount of recommendations will help until you get your hands on one and start using it. It might work for you, then again it might not.

[Rex Coil 7]

I did a couple of videos on the RE-202 as well. This is the most comprehensive:

There's a lot to like about it but I ended up selling because (other than the reverb) it's really a mono delay. Seemed weird to have something so rich and deep with stereo ins and outs and then to completely ignore the stereo field. True to the original perhaps but not a feature imo.

Totally agree with your gripe in the video about the shiney knob tops and how they make it difficult to read the little black marker. I spent a LOT of money swapping out all of the knobs on my entire Dot Com system as well as my Marshall amps to rid myself of those spun aluminum little knob tops. They may look pretty, but they make me work a lot harder than I have to ... just for pretty? Nope .. off they came!

I've got the RE-20. I removed the springs beneath the foot paddles to make using the footswitches easier to operate with my hands.

[chriscarter]

Same here re knobs…

AFD2F2C6-5393-4B72-B821-998F1E214900.jpeg

[Seqpro3]

Thanks for the reply’s. I wonder how many people use ping pong delay that much. I know that the strymon Timeline has a looper if I’m remembering correctly. I’m leaning toward the Strymon Timeline sense I already have a RE201 Space Echo. I have the Eventide Space also. I know thier different effects but I think it would be best to have diversity. I think that RE202 is pretty cool how it adds the pre amp and the old vs new tape artifacts and the fourth tapehead

[maxl0rd]

This pedal does a nice job of feeling really familiar if you are used to the original. I don’t feel like any of the other many many emulations really have that same quality. It just reacts exactly as you expect it should. It’s great for a lightweight live setup.

Cons:

1. I might be the only person who misses the pair of awful mic inputs. I used those.
2. Reverb is too awthentically awful. Maybe worse.
3. I don’t know if I love this new world of living in a digital simulation of my studio from 20 years ago.

[katerba]

Please correct me, I vividly remember reading this was “true stereo” path delay and reverb algorithms IF the vintage tone is disabled? I did a big rabbit hole on stereo signal path and ended up with a Source Audio Ultrawave Bass distortion pedal, but that’s a different tangent.
Opinions on delay sound and reissues put to the side as subjective and worthwhile considerations, has anyone got some input or advice on actually USING this pedal with synths, compared to other pedals? Meh knobs is useful and interesting. Are the jacks awkwardly angled, does it sit too high to place right up to a rack for twiddling, does it handle hot input direct or really need to be on a mixer send? I’m still really considering it in the same headplan against Raster 2, Polymoon, DL2 mk2, and others…

[katerba]

Not to side track to far here, it occurs to me I might be fundamentally misunderstanding how these tape echo emulations function. The re-2020 is advertised to have a independent stereo dry path if the pre amp saturation processor is disabled. Does this mean the wet effect doesn’t maintain that so called true stereo path (the way Strymon and Meris cannot, with some exceptions)

I think I understand the Mr Black tape-ex to function this way, but the simple manual depicts a mono channel delay effect.

I’m a total neophyte with tape delay, so perhaps chasing that with no vintage preamp tape saturation (digital processing) tone is pointless?

[kdjupdal]

It might or might not be an issue, but be aware of the input levels.
RE202 has max 7dBu, while for instance Strymon El Capistan has 10dBu which is slightly better for synths. Here's a table comparing to voltage levels:
https://www.sowter.co.uk/decibels.php