Roland RE-201 Space Echo

[-mjk-]

I never expected to find brand new, never been used, not 1, but 2 vintage Roland RE-201 Space Echos. 1 unit is in the original plastic wrap (with the original box too) and the other is sealed in the box, unopened.

If there is any interest in these units, please reply.

 

[Arjan P]

Wow, that's a classic! And what a fantastic find - even unused ones, there must be a story there..

 

[-mjk-]

The store imported them when they were new. This being Taiwan, it's possible that very few people realized what they are. I talked after the boss and he said he kept them in the case for I think he said almost 40 years. They look factory fresh. I'm considering buying both of them. I used them on the road and in the studio in the late 70s.

 

[Arjan P]

Cool! 40 years is not unlikely at all, since they were produced since 1974. It even has its own Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_RE-201

 

[-mjk-]

As well it should! I'm seriously considering getting both, and demoing one in a video, and selling the other, or maybe both.

They really do sound sweet on vocals!

 

[soul]

So did you end up getting them?

 

[-mjk-]

No, I did not @stevealex. The interest wasn't there and after further consideration, they are not a high priority item for me in my studio (plus I have interconnection considerations, such as the Dante network). But, if someone wanted to buy one, I can arrange it (we own an export company) and ship with our corporate DHL account. If I had one I would probably use it on my guitar, hehe. Replacement tape is expensive in Taiwan. In the old days, we would go to the bargain bin in a record store and buy the cheapest 8-track tape cartridge and pull tape out of that to replace it with. 8-tracks use lubricated tape and The RE-201 is a continuous loop record/playback device, so having something recorded on it is irrelevant. A single 8-track cartridge could supply enough tape for several replacements.

For the record, I can easily get photographs of the units as I have bought a lot of gear from that store and they are very happy with me .

 

[wkrbee]

I used a Re-201 for years- but the maintenance and unreliability using it 4 nights a week playing was killing me. Sold it for a stupid amount of money and bought an Re-20. The feature of having tap tempo, reduced size so it can sit on top of a keyboard with real time tweeking of controls- and no scrounging for parts has sold me.

 

[-mjk-]

We had a new one in the 70s, and used it on the mains for about 300 shows/year. It was very reliable and only required cleaning and occasionally changing the tape loop as mentioned above. As much as I like them, I don't see a spot for them at my mixing desk.