Roland RE-301 Space Echo

Fairly easy to get a good echo and/or chorus sound. Just twist the knobs and have fun. Hours and hours of entertainment. It takes some tweaking to set a good input level without overloading the unit. My unit came with an actual manual, besides the one that's taped on the cover.

If you own any delay pedals, be prepared to dump them. This thing is unbelievable. It's in a league of its own. I tried many, many delay pedals, both analog and digital. I owned two delay pedals prior to getting the RE301. One was a vintage analog pedal from Ibanez. The other was a Keeley modified Boss DD3. They both sound like a joke compared to this unit. The effects from the Roland are beautiful. The delays take on a life of their own and are unpredictable. The intensity control works way different than in other delays. The delays seem to feed on themselves at certain settings and you get this beautiful shimmering impact that fades out softly. The slap back sounds are awesome. And I really like having the single delay switch. You can get some really cool The Edge type sounds with this option. Longer delays sound amazing with fuzz. Think "Where were you" by Jeff Beck.

The reverb ain't the best. But the chorus is a keeper. I currently own an old analog Morley chorus and although it sounds great, the Roland sounds superior. The chorus on the RE301 can go from a flanger type sound to "Come as you are" territory. Set somewhere in the middle I get my favorite chorus sound.

Overall, the RE301 is an amazing machine. It's without a doubt the best piece of gear I own.

It's a machine. It has moving parts that will break down over time. It needs cleaning and maintenance. The tape must be changed after a while. Disadvantages? Not really if you're a gear geek, which you know you are.

My unit is mint, which I guess shows it has been reliable for 30 years.

I play Latin rock and write my own music. I've been playing for 20 years. I play this through a Fender silverface twin reverb, along with other vintage pedals. I own 9 electric guitars (1969 Ampeg Dan Armstrong, 1986 American Standard Stratocaster, 2000 Gibson Black Les Paul Gary Moore, 1967 Framus Golden TV, 1987 Kramer Elliot Easton, Custom Shop Strat, etc), although I've come to realize that collecting guitars is actually kind of lame. So I'll probably be getting rid of some of my guitars. I'd rather make music with a few solid pieces of gear. This machine inspires me to play better and to write more songs. This is the ultimate delay. Nothing else comes even close.

Simple to use, in that you can plug right in and get good sounds, but with all this unit has to offer, and to realize its full potential, it will take you a lot of time experimenting, but that's not a drawback by any means. It's loads of fun!

Sounds like delay should, full, thick, and meaty, yet as subtle as you want it to be. The reverb isn't the best, but you really don't need reverb with delay. It is useable though, but I wish it (reverb) was footswitch controllable, like the chorus and echo.

The chorus, while not as good as in the Roland Jazz Chorus amps, is very nice, and even though the only chorus control is intensity, it rivals many chorus pedals I have used.

The echo has 6 modes, which is basically choosing the playback heads.

Modes 1, 2 and 3 are heads 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Mode 4 is heads 1 and 2. Mode 5 is heads 2 and 3. Mode six is all three heads.
The different modes don't just differ by delay time. It's a different sound as the playback is coming later and in half the choices, combined, which gives the echo a nice complex sound that you definitely won't get with a pedal or other tape units.

I don't think these older tape units are as delicate as some have said. I know Brian Setzer takes his on the road. Now he probably has dozens at his disposal, as well as techs who know how to take care of them properly. Jimmy Page has used his old Echoplex for years, and ditto on the dozens of units and techs. But still, if they were so powder puff, it wouldn't matter. You can't go through 50 per tour so there's some element of "toughness" to them.

That's not to say that you can dropkick the thing. There's lots of small moving parts so obviously treat it with care. I would take this out and gig with it. I'd be careful with it as I am the rest of my gear. I wouldn't toss it in the trunk; it would ride up with me, but I wouldn't encase it in lucite either.

Also, you need to clean it and change the tape regularly and she should run for years. Got mine off ebay. I suppose it's mainly luck. I've never had a problem. I take care of it as the guy before me did.

Does what it does so well, and for a "tape echo" it offers lots of other features as described above.

I don't know much about the Full(of $hit)tone tube tape echo unit, but I know it doesn't have chorus or reverb. True, you don't buy tape echo for chorus or reverb, but they sure are nice to have. Also, mine is true bypass since I run it through a Keeley true bypass looper (Keeley is the best, btw).

I got mine because I was in to Brian Setzer and now I see why he chose Roland. (I know the Fulltone website has him listed as a user of their tape echo, but I just went to his Christmas extravaganza show and, as always, he had his RE301 by his side).

Unbelievably easy to use. Plug and play..

Wicked. The preamp in the 301 hiot sthe tubes in your amp hotter giving a more cracked up sound.. sounds awesome.

So far so good. Tapes need replacing every once in a while.

Nopt much from Roland but there are plenty of Techs around who can fix these machines.

You will never ever ever ever get this sound out of a shitty little digital unit. If you want the warm tape echo sound with more tone than you could poke a stick at, this is the beast for you.

You'll easily be able to have hours of fun with this unit right out of the box, but my humble opinion is that it takes hours, days, weeks of tweaking it with your other effects and guitar settings to be able to master what all it can actually do.

Depends on the tape. Not only will every one of these units sound different, every time you change the tape you'll have a different sound. Any creases, wearing, or damage to the tape will make all of your song loops come out just a bit different.

Watch out for bad tapes. You may think your unit is broken, but it could just be dirty heads and worn tape. One bad thing about this unit is if the tape loop isn't seamless and the tape is too worn, you'll have a hard time getting oscillation.

This all has to do with how you take care of the unit. I think you can take this to gigs (I plan on taking this for a 30 day tour this summer), but you have to treat it like a baby. SMOKE WILL KILL THIS UNIT! I left my 301 at my band's smoking-approved practice space for a few months and eventually the unit just stopped working. Some heads wouldn't play, the tape got too dirty. The bottom line is, treat this unit like you would your infant child if you are transporting it around. Get a shock proof, air-tight case for it. Clean it after every outing. Take care of it and it will last forever. Treat it like a stomp box and it will last a few weeks, at most.

fuzzorama.com does maintenence but if you buy tape loops from them (or anyone on the net) make sure the package is well cushioned. I got my loops from them in envelopes (!!!) and the tapes were in less than mint condition. There were so many creases, I couldn't even get oscillation. I eventually learned how to make my own tape loops and haven't looked back.

This pedal can work for anyone, whether it's a vocalist or an electric instrument. I primarily play post rock/sonic youth type of music.

Roland Jazz Chorus-120 > BOSS TU-2 > BOSS DD-3 > BOSS RC-20 Loopstation > original NYC Big Muff > Electro Harmonix the worm > Maxon AD 9 analog delay > Ernie Ball foot pedal > Strat style Fernandes guitar with sustainer pickup (like an ebow in your guitar)

If this were stolen or lost, I'd have to buy another (but the price is going up way too fast so watch out). Once again, take care of it. It won't last if you don't. The one thing I hate about this pedal is the tape loops. If you buy a tape loop online and it is worn in any way, demand a refund. It is the seller's job to package the loops correctly and once you buy this, you'll know what I mean when I say a damaged tape can kill your sound (especially if you are using it for lots of spacey, oscillating sounds like i am).

The SOS is great. Remember, this isn't a digital delay, the delay you create won't loop forever. Eventually what you played will fade. But you can still make some amazing textures using the 301s SOS and apparently it's better than the 501.

The one thing I am desperately looking for is a controlled volume pedal for the REMOTE feature. Can someone PLEASE tell me where I can find a FV-2 or compatible volume footswitch that will allow me to control the repeat rate of this unit (it plugs into the "REMOTE" jack)? Are there any alternatives? I can't find it anywhere and desperately want to control it from my pedal board. Also, does anyone know a multiple footswitch board that you can buy so that you don't have to buy three separate footswitches? REWARD for information at kermit(ATsymbol)kerm.net

This effect is the ultimate in easy-peasy. Knobs made for HUMAN hands so that HUMAN ears can hear the changes. (Why don't they make digital effects like this?) There are no memories or presets as such-turn the dial, change the sound-simple!
There is a guide stapled under the lid although anybody who needs a manual also would benefit from owning a working brain.
It is so easy to get a good sound out of it instantly. I previously have used many delays-from the old Yamaha 1010 and Ursa Major Space Station through to the early digitals like Roland's excellent SDE3000 and Yamaha's YDD2600. Quite honestly, nothing sounds quite like the old Space Echo.

I use this unit mainly for live gigs but also in the studio, for both guitar and keyboards. I use a really knocked about L-series Strat which some previous user had set on fire at some stage!!??!...go figure. The top half of the body is quite damaged but its still a magical ax.I also use several keyboards- a Korg Triton, an old Korg MS20, my trusty old VCS3 (sounds wild thru the delay) and my old Kurzweil. The 301 is a little noisy on its own...but did anyone ever even notice far noisier things on old recordings? The multi-head configuration is great, there are just so many quite complex delays so simply available. The inclusion of chorus is excellent too-it sounds to me very much like Roland's old CE1 chorus stomp box. (it probably is) The spring reverb is usable.....just. I'd just consider the reverb an added bonus which is okay-ish for guitar but pretty useless for keyboards or vocals. Get yourself a digital reverb if you're serious about reverb.

This is one of Roland's designs from its bulletproof era. Keep it cleaned and serviced correctly with good quality tape loops and it should last forever. I use this effect daily in the studio and at every gig. It has NEVER let me down.I have no hesitation using it without backup.

I am a NZ resident-Roland NZ pretty well doesn't exist. I have sourced a replacement capstan wheel from Roland Australia in the past but have never needed anything else. I have sourced tape loops from several places. I've tried on numerous occasions to splice the tape loops myself using everything from high grade mastering tape to crappy old cartridge type tape. For some reason I just cannot get them to sound anything like the real thing....there's something about the tape itself that is wrong. I used to obtain original RT1Ls from eBay but I have now found that there are several other companies producing tape loops. I have tried everything available so far including tapes from Germany(pathetic!), tapes from the U.K, Canada, Australia and the USA. Pretty well all of them have been useable, but the Ozpares one has been the most consistently reliable and highest sound quality. I originally obtained these from Melmusic in Australia but I can now buy the same tapes here in NZ at the same price. Apparently Melmusic also repair these echoes but i have never had occasion to try them.

This echo is perfect for the music I play, which is everything from my own semi-ambient recordings to the live cover band top 40 stuff. I also play infrequently in an alternative quirky pop tongue-in-cheek band. Once again, the space echo suits it perfectly. If it were stolen I would hire a Russian Mafia hitman to hunt down and extract justice from the thief-then I would hire him to steal me another!! I couldn't do without one.
I have played for over 30 years in all sorts of projects-you'd think I would know better by now!! For guitar I use an old Orange GRO-100 valve head with an original Orange quadbox. For keyboards I use a modded 147 Leslie and two Roland Cube 100s.
The only thing extra I wish it had were more heads!! (Greedy)The feature I love most about it is being able to physically accost the rubber drive wheel and slow it down like the tone wheels in a Hammond. This effect is great for freaky,spacey sounds-I guess that's why they called it a Space Echo!!!!

I've had several requests as a result of my earlier review for copies of the RE301 service manual since it is apparently no longer available from Roland. I scanned the two manuals as zipped MS Word documents and posted them to the following URLs,

Instruction Manual: http://www.mylesdesignstudios.com/RE301InstructionManual.zip

This document has some water damage from a flood. As a result some of the sections can't be read completely.

Service Manual: http://www.mylesdesignstudios.com/RE301ServiceManual.zip

This is a scan of a photocopy. I don't have an original version. This is the best copy I have.

This machine is all you dreamed your digital echo was, subtle, controllable and but insane all in one. It is important to set up the inputs so that the echoing does not distort, buy looking under the lift off lid you should find a panel that helps explain all. Inputs 1&2 will give you guitar/line level mic inputs, Input 3 is to be used in an FX loop, which is by far the best way as a guitar will sound flat and toneless just like it does plugging straight it into a mixer. Percevere, like all decent effects, taking time & thought into including it in your rig will reap the rewards.

Superb, as long as the tape is in good condition. Dont wear it down too long or you will cause scoring damage to your play heads. Tape oxide will start to deposit as the tape wears, more noticeably the sound will deteriorate and seem a little held back. Maintenance and regular inspection is the key to a long and healthy life.

Generally the RE301 is the V8 engine of the echo world. It gives crazy amounts of regeneration, (ie the end of Karma Police as the song disintegrates to an analogue pulp). The guitars on Radioheads 'Planet Telex' have this awesome shimmering delay, the Space Echo again. Once you have played around you can often spot it on many records. Truely magical.

The best feature that makes the 301 the best of the bunch is the sound-on-sound function. For those unfamiliar, it is a switch that allows you to listen to the whole of the tape whilst the delay effect is going on, a bit like a giant 15 second delay!! Play delicate chords, then as soon as you hear them start to repeat, harp some high notes. I cannot tell you how much fun you will have in hyperspace building soundscapes! With the other models, including the big brother RE501 the SOS does not cut it. The 501 has the SOS playhead in a different place so you only get a maximum of 5-6 seconds which is a real shame. The 301 is definately the most musical of all the space echos as I have tried all of them out.

Nothing wrong other than cleaning and regular inspection. I wouldnt dare take this to a gig as means too much to me. It stays in my music room as a portal to another dimension. I thoroughy suggest getting a digital delay to take the pressure of SEcho, can anyone recommend me a good analogue sounding one? I use the 301 as a treat, or when I am recording to minimise wear. It's solidly built, but to precious to chance.

I dont think Roland would be too interested...

I have an original document from the old Shadows engineer who explains how these units are to be set up, which has proved very useful in customising the sound. For the more discerning pioneer, it explains that many of the front panels controls (max and min regeneration for example) are set via potentiometers under the hood. You can set the SOS volume from here and many others. In the way, no two 301's will ever sound the same. Contact me for more info.

Thoroughly 10/10. There is nothing like it and there will be nothing again I expect. IMHO Get the 301, 201 and the 501 (in that order) if you have money and want the balanced outs it hosts. I just changed the tape on mine tonight and it sprang back into life, which prompted me to spread the word and write this. If you get the chance, buy one. You will never look back.

The 301 was real easy to use, but not if you wanted to use it proporly. I was useing it for Vocals, and like a lot of Guitar players, I had a tendency to "over use" when i first got it. But, once i learned what did what, and how less is more, it became a extension of me. i loved my 301. If I could of had sex with it, I would have.

in the begining, I was my "Vocal Tech",I Would Loop The 301 through my P.A., and believe it or not i'd have to use a foot switch to control it on-stage. Sound Quality was dictated by several factors: Room acoustics, A\C Source, condition of cableing and routeing (you pick up stray R.F.I. noise from the strangest places} And of course my settings. Then, as long as you had a good ground, your total harmonic distortion and "the buzz" would be kept at acceptable levels.

As long as you kept the 301's heads and capstands clean and replaced the tape once in a while, the 301 would always work flawlessly....Period.

never even thought about it.

I used the Roland 301 Space Echo for everything from Rock/old Wave/alternative Top 40 thru my Original days, It was fluid enough to change with me. I used it working, on-stage, being banged around by me and my roadies for 15 years..Right up to when it was stolen. I dont know about guitar, but for vocal's, a analog tape echo provided a warm sound that i never got from any Digital Delay.. even now in 2003. Just dont fall into the trap of over-useing your Delay unit, or any effects. They are there to compliment your instrument, not replace it.

A tweakers delight. Have fun for hours manipulating delay times, feedback, and levels of delay generated from 6 combinations of 3 separate recording heads. I prefer effects with KNOBS rather than digital equipment which sometimes require you to push 9 buttons to adjust a parameter! Maintenance is a must with any tape delay. Just clean the heads every now and then (I try to do this after 20 hours of use) and replace the tape with either original RT-1L tape (sometimes on ebay) or a substitute lubricated tape - to prevent oxidizing and potential head damage. No manual came with mine, but you really don't need one - plug and play/tweak.

Sound quality is very subjective. I prefer natural high end roll off displayed by this tape delay. The chorus effect is surprisingly good and can be altered quite a bit with only one knob controlling the speed/depth. My signal chain is 1991 Gibson LP Classic w/PAF's >VHT Valvulator>Vox wah>Rotovibe>J.Everman Fuzz Drive>Acoustic Simulator>Egnater ie4 preamp>Rocktron Hush>Lexicon MPX-1>Roland RE301>VHT 2/50/2 power amp>2 Bogner 2x12 cabinets loaded w/Celestion vintage 30's. After adding the RE 301, I find myself using less of the Lexicon effects - they're great effects, but for delays, analog chorus, and even the spring reverb, the RE 301 sounds better to my ear.

The best example of this effect: Alex Lifeson of Rush. He pretty much used this unit exclusively through early 1980's. Listen to live Rush - the bonus CD in Different Stages - 1978 in London. This effect is ALL OVER IT!

Always have a backup for something this mechanical and old (25 years). I gig with it - have it rackmounted in a shock-proof rack.

There is no customer support. Do some research, find a good tech for servicing when you might need it and/or learn how to service the machine yourself. Half the fun of owning this vintage equipment is caring for it so it performs the way you'd like it to!

My band plays prog rock, classic rock, and some blues. This unit complements almost everything we play. If lost or stolen, this tone machine would be replaced as soon as I could locate one! If you are in the market for a delay simulator (line6, EH, etc.) stop right now and look for one of these. Yeah, it takes some more money, time and patience to use and maintain, but your getting so much beautiful tone in return.

First off, this beauty has no shortage of knobs, switches and jacks, but even so it's pretty easy to figure out. The key is to just spend some time and fiddle with everything, which is a lot of fun to do anyway. The signal on signal (S on S) feature is cool, but takes some getting used to.

The worst thing about it is general maintenance. Since it is a tape loop machine you have to be sure to change the tape, clean the heads, and do other mechanical upkeep tasks not required on a non tape delay. Also, since it's mechanical it's potentially more fragile. I'm pretty reluctant to take it on the road, and have a heavy duty custom case for it when I do.

Nothing comes close. I have some digital and analog delays that I use too. They're great at what they do, but nothing can emulate the sound of a real tape delay. I've used it extensively on vocals and guitar, both live and in the studio and the reaction it gets from people when they here it is always great. The sound is very warm, fluid and natural even if you're really adding a lot of effect. Plus, if you change speed settings live you can get some totally far out 50's SciFi sounds.

Because it's a complex mechanical effect, reliability is a concern. I've never had any major problems, but I still would never use it live without a backup plan (such as digital effects). I've often had tapes slip, and occasionally have had them break. That's fine in the studio, but pretty nasty in the middle of a gig. Bottom line, if you want bulletproof reliable components don't use any sort of tape delay.

I picked up this unit used without a manual. I contacted Roland and they sent me all the owners manuals, schematics, etc. without any problem. I've dealt with Roland before for service issues on other products and never had problems, but tape delays are unusual, so I recommend finding a specialist (like www.fuzzorama.com) if you need any serious work done.

I got my Roland RE-301 Space Echo used with a road case in great condition for next to nothing from a guy I bought a mixing board off of. He up-sold me on it and I thought it would be cool to have. Now that I own one I'd never want to part with it. It's an amazingly versatile unit. Regardless of instrument or musical style you can probably find a use for a quality tape delay like the Space Echo.