RE 201 / 301 / 501

[hansaustria]

Is it worth to buy one of the vintage "Roland Space Echo" - machines on ebay to use it for Shadows tunes? HBM
used one in the 80`s - am I right ? Does anyone have experiences with these units?

Hans

[des mcneill]

Hi Hans,
I have had two Roland 501 for many years and hold them in high regard. They can give a wide range of echo effects,very Shadows like but I will not get involved in talking about "that sound". The machines have been totally reliable but you will have to decide on which tapes to use, - I still have original Roland tapes but there are many options available although I have not yet decided which is the best. The tapes,being long last for ages. I doubt anyone would regret owning one of these machines.

Cheers,
Des.

[Didier]

Is it worth to buy one of the vintage "Roland Space Echo" - machines on ebay to use it for Shadows tunes? HBM
used one in the 80`s - am I right ? Does anyone have experiences with these units?

Hans

Hank has been using two RE 301 during the eighties and nineties (one being spare), he was still using them in 1995 as can be seen on the "Hank Plays Live" video. They are OK for Hank's modern sound, but not for the early years sound. He switched to the Alesis/EFTP in the late nineties (probably 1997).

Didier

[AlanMcKillop]

I've owned all three in the past and there are subtle differences in each machine. I'd leave the RE201 and the choice would be either one of the other two. The RE301 was used by Hank for many years (he did use the other two) and was the one that he favoured and as Didier says, listen to the Hank Plays Live DVD for an indication of what it sounds like. The studio recordings from 1989 of The Shads hits also featured the RE301, so there is an opportunity to hear what it sounds like in both a live and studio environment.

The main differences in the units are the head spacings, the RE301 and RE501 are very similar although there is an additional feature in the RE501 (I can't remember what it is), which gives you added benefit.

[Didier]

listen to the Hank Plays Live DVD for an indication of what it sounds like. The studio recordings from 1989 of The Shads hits also featured the RE301, so there is an opportunity to hear what it sounds like in both a live and studio environment.

You can also hear Hank using the RE301 on the "Live in Liverpool" DVD (rercorded live in 1989), which was formerly released as "At Their Very Best" on VHS and DVD.
The "At Their Very Best" CD (1989) is different and features new studio recordings of old hits, also using the RE301.

Didier

[AlanMcKillop]

That's exactly what I said Didier.

[hansaustria]

Many thanks !

Regards
Hans

[Didier]

That's exactly what I said Didier.

You didn't mention the 1989 live recording from Liverpool...

Didier

[AlanMcKillop]

No I didn't, but I didn't mention the cd catalogue of the 80's either, all of which feature the RE301.