RE-202: a month in (and examining the recent Bogner buys too)...
Sept 4, 2022 18:38:47 GMT -5
Peegoo 🏁 and Sharkie like this
Post by reverendrob on Sept 4, 2022 18:38:47 GMT -5
The more I've used the RE-202, the more I've liked it - for one simple reason.
Of all the units I've handled since my original RE-301, it's the most intuitive to my work flow to get things going.
It has the sound, sure - that wasn't ever in dispute.
But it's the little things that matter. The "heads" having LEDs to indicate which is on or off is something I would have (and still would) kill for on my actual Space Echo or the RE-20.
The "worn tape" isn't so much "worn", as in "Shot out, where's my echo?" which is what actually happens on a Space Echo when the tape fries. There's no grand moment of "suddenly it's good." It's more akin to "I've cleaned the heads six times, and....the echo's not back. Screw me! Can I cut and splice a new tape during the set break with a pocketknife and using a piece of tape or cassette label for the splice join?" that I knew VERY well. But that memory lane aside, the "worn" just sounds "more correct", like most of them sound in actual practice especially after decades of use even with "fresh" tape.
I dial in instinctively. I'd do that on the RE-20 as well, but I usually left it on the same head settings (which I also have a tendency to do on my actual tape unit), but am far more prone to swapping things.
There's a bonus feature that the manual and the demos didn't do justice to - the leftmost button on the unit (the on/off) on hold isn't a "warp" but a "wash." I thought it was infamous Roland/Boss translation, but it actually is akin to the "loop what's in the buffer" of some granular delays and is VERY pleasing in that regard. I didn't expect that to be in there, and it can be operated with the "Warp" feature simultaneously for spaceship noises galore
I haven't gotten into using the presets yet, I'm sure I will eventually but it's such an easy box to reach out and tweak it hasn't seemed necessary.
One thing I will note is that for those of you sonic explorers out there, running the output of one channel into the input of the other works but it creates a pretty ugly ground loop that's present EVEN with the effect "off"
That applies even if you're using it as an "internal effects loop basically, which I suspect is the preamp modelling but haven't gotten around to checking as I'm not keen on turning it off, especially for that novelty use. If I really want to play with that, the Digitech TimeBender is still king - no problems and the individual channel pitch shifting gets wild in conjunction if run in series.
But as a "digital Space Echo" (or a "Space Echo period") it's top-notch. Initial impression has only gotten better with time.
I also picked up the Bogner clearance "big" pedals over the last few months.
THe Ubershall does the "stupid Marshall in a box" thing very well, and when hit with a HM-2 first, does the metal sound that I would have KILLED for when I started out years ago. Very quiet for the amount of gain as well. Would I want it as my "only" dirtbox? No. But it's one of the better stacking high-gain things I've ever used.
The surprising one is the Ecstasy Blue. I got it mostly on a whim, and figured for the price and after being impressed by the Ubershall that...why not? It's far better as a standalone dirtbox than the Ubershall, and stacks VERY well with it. For modern medium gain to a little higher, it does the job VERY well, and the unexpected happy place war run into the (very realistic) Tweed Deluxe model in my Eleven Rack. It adds some definition but makes the spiky happy of the tweed breakup even more present and alive. If I could get that combo alone in a pedal, I would definitely acquire it.
Certainly not what I expected to be adding to my absolutely obscene pile of pedals this year, but...I'm happy.
Should note I'm also still very pleased with the Behringer HM-2 clone, even in the cheap plastic box. It actually in all honestly sounds a little better to my ears (brighter and more fuzzy in a good way) than my nice early MIJ HM-2.
Of all the units I've handled since my original RE-301, it's the most intuitive to my work flow to get things going.
It has the sound, sure - that wasn't ever in dispute.
But it's the little things that matter. The "heads" having LEDs to indicate which is on or off is something I would have (and still would) kill for on my actual Space Echo or the RE-20.
The "worn tape" isn't so much "worn", as in "Shot out, where's my echo?" which is what actually happens on a Space Echo when the tape fries. There's no grand moment of "suddenly it's good." It's more akin to "I've cleaned the heads six times, and....the echo's not back. Screw me! Can I cut and splice a new tape during the set break with a pocketknife and using a piece of tape or cassette label for the splice join?" that I knew VERY well. But that memory lane aside, the "worn" just sounds "more correct", like most of them sound in actual practice especially after decades of use even with "fresh" tape.
I dial in instinctively. I'd do that on the RE-20 as well, but I usually left it on the same head settings (which I also have a tendency to do on my actual tape unit), but am far more prone to swapping things.
There's a bonus feature that the manual and the demos didn't do justice to - the leftmost button on the unit (the on/off) on hold isn't a "warp" but a "wash." I thought it was infamous Roland/Boss translation, but it actually is akin to the "loop what's in the buffer" of some granular delays and is VERY pleasing in that regard. I didn't expect that to be in there, and it can be operated with the "Warp" feature simultaneously for spaceship noises galore
I haven't gotten into using the presets yet, I'm sure I will eventually but it's such an easy box to reach out and tweak it hasn't seemed necessary.
One thing I will note is that for those of you sonic explorers out there, running the output of one channel into the input of the other works but it creates a pretty ugly ground loop that's present EVEN with the effect "off"
That applies even if you're using it as an "internal effects loop basically, which I suspect is the preamp modelling but haven't gotten around to checking as I'm not keen on turning it off, especially for that novelty use. If I really want to play with that, the Digitech TimeBender is still king - no problems and the individual channel pitch shifting gets wild in conjunction if run in series.
But as a "digital Space Echo" (or a "Space Echo period") it's top-notch. Initial impression has only gotten better with time.
I also picked up the Bogner clearance "big" pedals over the last few months.
THe Ubershall does the "stupid Marshall in a box" thing very well, and when hit with a HM-2 first, does the metal sound that I would have KILLED for when I started out years ago. Very quiet for the amount of gain as well. Would I want it as my "only" dirtbox? No. But it's one of the better stacking high-gain things I've ever used.
The surprising one is the Ecstasy Blue. I got it mostly on a whim, and figured for the price and after being impressed by the Ubershall that...why not? It's far better as a standalone dirtbox than the Ubershall, and stacks VERY well with it. For modern medium gain to a little higher, it does the job VERY well, and the unexpected happy place war run into the (very realistic) Tweed Deluxe model in my Eleven Rack. It adds some definition but makes the spiky happy of the tweed breakup even more present and alive. If I could get that combo alone in a pedal, I would definitely acquire it.
Certainly not what I expected to be adding to my absolutely obscene pile of pedals this year, but...I'm happy.
Should note I'm also still very pleased with the Behringer HM-2 clone, even in the cheap plastic box. It actually in all honestly sounds a little better to my ears (brighter and more fuzzy in a good way) than my nice early MIJ HM-2.
