Boss RE-20 Space Echo...best modeler ever

[millsart]

Re: Boss RE-20 Space Echo...best modeler ever

All of this talk has me interested...I might check one out this weekend. Boss has been landing on their feet more often than not on their newest stuff so maybe they hit a home run with this one. I'll tell you this...It woudl have to be amazing to even come close to knocking me off using my Echoplex.

I know a lot of guys complain about the up keep of a tape echo unit but it's well worth it to me!

Nothing sounds as good as tape to me...I went head to head wiht a Line 6 delay modeler and my EP-3 and the L6 was nice and easy to use, had a lot more delay time than the Plex, had tap tempo and offered about a million other delay sounds but to me the Plex had the tone hands down.

It sounds darn good, but its a Space Echo and not an Echoplex so keep that in mind. Its hands down the best emulation of the tone and responce of a tape echo unit in general, but I don't know how well it would do matching the EP3 as I've never owned one. Did play one a few times and it was definatly a nice sounding unit.

The Space Echo is sort of its own thing with the multiple heads, a rather unqiue osicilation sound and the slurring/gliss effect of changing the rate.

Certainly worth your time to check out

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Boss RE-20 Space Echo...best modeler ever

Thats one of the thoughts Im having about it...to my ears a Space Echo and a Plex are pretty different souding units...

 

[millsart]

Re: Boss RE-20 Space Echo...best modeler ever

The Space Echo is certainly the crazy modulation feedback delay machine.

If your into that Piper At the Gates of Dawn era stuff its love at first listen lol

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Boss RE-20 Space Echo...best modeler ever

The Space Echo is certainly the crazy modulation feedback delay machine.
If your into that Piper At the Gates of Dawn era stuff its love at first listen lol

WOW...thats wild!

 

[millsart]

Re: Boss RE-20 Space Echo...best modeler ever

Just check it out man, I'll definatly be intrested in hearing your thoughts on the pedal as we usually seem to have really similar taste.

Its just a fun pedal in that it sort of really a bit like more like an instrument itself rather than just some boring, sterile and predictiable delay. Sort of like what a fuzz pedal is to the typical distortion/od pedal.

not quite so easy to get a cool sound out of it always, harder to control, not as versatile but when its all coming together, its out of this world.

I can't say enough about it obviously LOL

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Boss RE-20 Space Echo...best modeler ever

Sounds cool. I was excited when it was announced, but never got a chance to play one. Is the expression pedal assignable per patch or are there multiple input jacks? One pedal is cool, I bet multiple pedals would be a trip! Does it only model tape echo or are there other analog type models as well?

 

[millsart]

Re: Boss RE-20 Space Echo...best modeler ever

Sounds cool. I was excited when it was announced, but never got a chance to play one. Is the expression pedal assignable per patch or are there multiple input jacks? One pedal is cool, I bet multiple pedals would be a trip! Does it only model tape echo or are there other analog type models as well?

Only one input for the expression pedal, but you can assign it to delay rate, intensity (aka feedback, though I guess in this case its how much of the "tape" gets erased with each pass) or the volume of the effect going to the echo, basically the blend.

No patches either as there are no presets (again sort of odd given it cost more than the DD-20 which does have presets) but I guess the real RE-201 didn't have them either.

Only does one type of model as well, tape multihead echo. It does however have a bass and treble knobs which you can use to cut some highs etc to give it a bit more different character, but the underlaying tape tone is still there. I find that most things that model analog echo's usually just cut the highs and make for a sort of dark and murky repeat that doesnt cut well in a mix so I'm more of a tape fan anyways.


Its sort of limited in a sense, but its limitations are sort of a blessing looking at it a different way as its a very hands on unit just like any vintage effect.

I think sometimes LCD displays, presets, 15 effect types, sub menus, midi etc sort of gets in the way.

Don't get me wrong, it can be great to press a button and have all that control, but at the same time, sometimes having to reach down and tweak a few knobs really lets you be far more creative and musical.

 

[donnievaz]

Re: Boss RE-20 Space Echo...best modeler ever

I'll never forget the weekend I got to play with a real Space Echo. It was the mid Eighties, I was a hack bedroom player (not much has changed) and my little brother was hanging out with and "drum teching" for a pretty popular local band. Turns out after one one of their gigs, my brother ended up with a bunch of their gear in my parent's station wagon. Rather than leave it all out in the car, he brought it all into the basement where my bedroom was. At the time, my gear consisted of a Kramer Striker ST100, a Peavey Backstage, and a Boss CE-2. I had no money for any really cool stuff and G.A.S. was years away.

Anyway, the next morning when I came home, I walked into the basement and there sits a JCM800 halfstack, a badass Charvel, and a couple other guitars I can't remember, a homemade plywood pedal board and a Roland Space Echo, plus a bunch of other crap I don't remember. The temptation was more than I could bear. As soon as everyone was out of the house, I hooked everything up and let her rip for about four hours straight. Between the Space Echo and the cranked JCM, I was in sonic nirvana. That is until my Dad came home and nearly killed me. 1. For screwing with someone else's stuff, and 2. for playing so loud, he could hear it from the car a half a block away. I remember it like it was yesterday :beerchug: