MusicRadar Verdict
Everybody should have a Space Echo in their lives and we defy you not to smile while using it. Thanks to Roland, it's now affordable and equipped for the current production age.
Pros
- +
Beautiful and engaging recreation of a classic.
- +
The front panel remains classic, simple and easy to use.
- +
Revealing the lower settings pane, provides augmented features.
- +
Tempo sync and a stereo mode are now available.
- +
It sounds utterly amazing, like the original.
Cons
- -
No additional effects or alternate reverb.
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Roland Space Echo RE-201 Plugin: What is it?
Back in 1974, Roland was still a relative newbie on the block, creating musical tools for home organists and guitarists alike, having only just released its first synthesizer the year before. But 1974 was also the year that the RE-201 Space Echo was released; a large wooden box, covered with Tolex, which went on to become one of the most highly prized tape echo/delays ever produced.
Upon switch-on you immediately heard the scratchy sound of a tape loop, being recirculated in the chamber located just underneath the lid. The sight and sound of a loop of brown magnetic tape performing a form of snake dance, still remains a thing to behold!
That was then, and this is clearly now, and quite a lot has changed in 50 years. Many companies have attempted to recreate the Space Echo in plugin form, which does make us wonder why it has taken Roland so long to get around to producing the Space Echo in software? The good news is, it’s now here, forming part of the excellent Roland Cloud family, and even better, it’s astoundingly good!
Roland Space Echo RE-201 Plugin: Performance and verdict
The original Space Echo, along with numerous other Roland variants, continues to be an in demand vintage product, with a price tag to match. Unsurprisingly, the software modelled by Roland is exacting in detail, while providing additional functionality, some of which is pretty basic, but welcome and overdue.
Graphically speaking, the interface is beautiful. It looks every bit as resplendent as the original unit, within a plugin window which can be easily resized. If it looks too good to be true on-screen, you do have the option to adopt an ‘aged’ look, complete with nicks and rips to the Tolex.
The front panel remains pretty identical, with just a couple of minor tweaks to the GUI. The ever iconic Mode Selector pot, which is used to select combinations from the three virtual tapes heads and reverb, remains the largest and most central component, with accompanying function settings to the right.
• Universal Audio Galaxy Tape Echo
UA’s officially licensed plugin morphed into the Galaxy Tape Echo, which still bears extraordinary similarities to the original!
• Cherry Audio Stardust 201
At an unbelievably affordable price, Cherry Audio has produced another fine reproduction on a budget.
It arguably feels a tad archaic to control a plugin from a mode selector of this kind, but we can't begin to imagine the uproar that might have ensued, had it been omitted! There is a welcome drop-down, located on the top left, where presets can be saved and recalled.
In its default state, the reverberation sounds as dark and springy as it always did, true to the original, warts and all! It was arguably never the best reverb, but it can excel in certain production settings. Meanwhile, the tape delay free-wheels, with the instant ability to change the rate of delay and feedback, via the associated pots.
There are several basic but considerable enhancements, hidden away in a settings pane at the bottom of the window. Once revealed, you have the ability to tempo sync to your DAW, and switch to stereo mode. As the original unit was only a mono device, this is fairly groundbreaking, if not a basic requirement.
A number of controls adjust the condition of the tape, wow & flutter, and motor torque, as well as Tape Speed control via LFO. These parameters can induce some pretty insanely brutal effects, if liberally applied, or pulled back for subtle tone deviation.
Good company
They say that fashions go in cycles, but it feels as though the Space Echo has been part of a renaissance throughout its entire lifetime. There is so much love for the original unit that it arguably garners a wider fanbase than the most infamous of synthesizers, due entirely to its far-reaching usage possibilities.
It was an unsurprising hit with artists producing reggae, for those classic guitar-chop delays, but also became an indispensable part of the production tool-kit for bands like Radiohead. The delay element of the plugin entirely lives up to its tape-degraded and saturated roots, with signals repeating to points of total extremity, if required.
The wonderful thing about placing the Space Echo plugin under DAW control, is that those classic effects of feedback and pitch alteration, can be easily recreated and automated. Moreover, it is arguably easier to control, with the humanistic hit-or-miss quotient removed, by its placement in the DAW domain.
Verdict
It’s fair to say that we remain enormous fans of the Space Echo product line. We have owned the original, and been totally blown away by the stomp pedal variations that Roland has produced in recent years. This plugin is a natural progression and sounds just like an original, while being simple to use, and easy to control from within your DAW. The Space Echo is back, and frankly, it’s about time!
MusicRadar verdict: Everybody should have a Space Echo in their lives and we defy you not to smile while using it. Thanks to Roland, it's now affordable and equipped for the current production age.
Roland Space Echo RE-201 Plugin: Hands-on demos
RolandChannel
Roland Space Echo RE-201 Plugin: Specifications
- macOS 12.
- Windows 10.
- Plugin formats: AU, VST2/3 & AAX.
- CONTACT: Roland
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