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tjon901 « Good digital tape delay »
Published on 05/31/11 at 08:21If you like having effects on your should you probably want to have a tape delay unit. Real tape delay units are becoming very expensive. They require constant maintenence and replacement tape is getting hard to find. With technology now you are able to get a pedal that can simulate all the nuances of a real tape delay in a digital unit. With the RE-20 Boss has been able to replicate the classic Roland RE-201 SPace Echo in digital form. If you remember the old RE-201 it was a big monster of a unit full of delicate electronics and tape. The RE-20 is a twin pedal unit with 8 knobs on the front. The pedals control the on and off of the delay and the tap function. The 8 knobs are Bass, Treble, Reverb volume, Repeat Rate, Intensity and Echo volume. There is also a large 12 mode selector. The unit also had twin inputs and outputs. It also has a jack for an expression pedal
UTILIZATION
The win pedals are large but they are not labeled. All the knobs are large and labeled. The knobs are big enough to where you can adjust the settings on the fly. The peak level LED is nice so you can see how hard you are pushing the pedal. The tap tempo pedal does what it says. It allows you to tap out a tempo for the delay. If you hold down the tap pedal it also allows you to change the intensity of the delay. You can use batteries but I would not recommend it. A pedal this large will go through batteries very fast.
SOUND QUALITY
It has a normal mode and long mode. Normal mode gets you up to 3 seconds of delay while long mode gets you up to 6 seconds of delay. The 12 mode selector replicates the 12 modes the original tape delay had. The RE-201 had different modes that used the different tape heads to get different sounds from the delay. The RE-20 simulates this digitally. Some of these different modes are a bit noisy. This may also be on purpose replicating the extra noise you would get from a real tape delay unit. At subtle setting it can act like a reverb pedal and at extreme settings the sound is extreme. Turning up the reverb can get you some crazy sounds. You can even get some wah sounds with this.
OVERALL OPINION
If you want or had an old Roland RE-201 tape delay and are looking for something cheaper and more reliable this could be the unit for you. It has a ton of features more than anyone should need from just a delay pedal and with its modern design it should last you a long time.
UTILIZATION
The win pedals are large but they are not labeled. All the knobs are large and labeled. The knobs are big enough to where you can adjust the settings on the fly. The peak level LED is nice so you can see how hard you are pushing the pedal. The tap tempo pedal does what it says. It allows you to tap out a tempo for the delay. If you hold down the tap pedal it also allows you to change the intensity of the delay. You can use batteries but I would not recommend it. A pedal this large will go through batteries very fast.
SOUND QUALITY
It has a normal mode and long mode. Normal mode gets you up to 3 seconds of delay while long mode gets you up to 6 seconds of delay. The 12 mode selector replicates the 12 modes the original tape delay had. The RE-201 had different modes that used the different tape heads to get different sounds from the delay. The RE-20 simulates this digitally. Some of these different modes are a bit noisy. This may also be on purpose replicating the extra noise you would get from a real tape delay unit. At subtle setting it can act like a reverb pedal and at extreme settings the sound is extreme. Turning up the reverb can get you some crazy sounds. You can even get some wah sounds with this.
OVERALL OPINION
If you want or had an old Roland RE-201 tape delay and are looking for something cheaper and more reliable this could be the unit for you. It has a ton of features more than anyone should need from just a delay pedal and with its modern design it should last you a long time.