Roland Space Echo (RE-201)

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Ignatius-

Ignatius-

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I picked up this beauty a couple months back and just recently replaced the tape loop. It sounds great, but a couple of the heads are really out of alignment. It has a five head setup: I believe it's erase, record, playback, playback, playback - but I could be wrong about that... The erase head and record head are obviously out of alignment, but the playback heads appear to be okay. Instead of erasing after each pass of the tape it creates this kind of distant tape loop (rather than a pure echo) that keeps changing - it's actually really cool, but I might want to use it for a clean echo/delay sound sometime.

My question is - because I really don't know anything about aligning a tape machine (or echo machine) - can I adjust the erase head and record head without the equipment that I feel like I need? The heads have a crazy wear pattern because it's so old, but it sounds awesome (these are full-track 1/4" heads)... Simply, there are three screws in this spring mechanism that seem to adjust the "height" of the heads (it lays down flat). Can I just eyeball it? Trying to keep it as even as possible? And would this wear pattern effect the tape as it travels across the heads when/if I adjust it?

I kind of gave up on the DIY aspect of analog (I haven't been able to commit like some of the rock stars on this forum), but since this machine doesn't call for [extreme] accuracy in reproduction I thought I might give it a go on my own... Thanks for any thoughts you guys might have!
 
Thanks for the manual! That's great... it says, "Adjust head gap so that it is: 1. vertical to platform, and 2. located at the center of the tape." Sounds simple enough! Love these old manuals.
 
Hey glad to hear you found the answer. I just got an R201 myself in a trade--amazing machine, I'm still getting familiar with the different 'modes' ("7" is my fav so far).
Little tip from the previous owner (a savvy technician): when the loop wears out, tape from an old 8-track cartridge makes for a perfectly suitable replacement.
 
Really? Like, just splice a piece together from an old 8-track tape cartridge? I was doing some research and I'm glad I did... I don't even know what "self-lubricating" tape is, but it looks like I should read a little more because, from what I saw, "normal" R2R tape (456/SM911, etc.) can be really bad for the heads... ? Have you heard anything about this? Do you know the exact bias/thickness, etc. of tape for the Space Echo? The manual says to only use RT-H1, which doesn't really help me 30 years in the future!

Also, I was reading a thread at gearslutz, and they were all talking about how the tape loops they ordered online (from rather phony looking websites) were "jamming" and "sticking to the heads" ... I felt kind of bad, but then laughed a little bit :). Good thing I haven't put that many hours on mine... it might have to chill until I figure this out. I'm picking up my R2R from a great technician in town tomorrow, so he might have some useful information I could share...
 
Yep, the previous owner A/B'd the 8-track tape (like from that Crystal Gayle/James Last/Boz Scaggs cart you found in a flea market) and a supposedly specifically for space echoes loop he ordered online--8-track won.
I'd read elsewhere that Roland actually used broadcast/NAB cart tape but the 8-track stock really seems to work well.
 
So I talked to my technician and he had some interesting things to say. He said that the tape from an 8-track would work okay - if you can find one in mint condition - but it won't really last that long and won't sound that great. He said that the original tape was made with whale oil (yeah, what?), and after the mid-late 80's you couldn't use it anymore because of some international whaling law that went into effect.

He said my best option was to use normal non-lubricated tape, and replace the heads when they wear down/are unusable. Basically, a "what are you gonna do?" ... The original tape Roland made is almost non-existent anymore. I mean, I'm not really looking for a super-clean sound so I might try the 8-track tape... We'll see.
 
Tape loops are readily available in different lengths for those machines, even NOS ones. I dont buy into the notion that regular tape would prematurely wear the heads.

The "lubricated" tape was developed for the 4 track and later 8 track carts. It is necessary there because each layer of tape is moving a slightly different speed than the layer next to it.
 
Ignatius- said:
So I talked to my technician and he had some interesting things to say. He said that the tape from an 8-track would work okay - if you can find one in mint condition - but it won't really last that long and won't sound that great. He said that the original tape was made with whale oil (yeah, what?), and after the mid-late 80's you couldn't use it anymore because of some international whaling law that went into effect.

He said my best option was to use normal non-lubricated tape, and replace the heads when they wear down/are unusable. Basically, a "what are you gonna do?" ... The original tape Roland made is almost non-existent anymore. I mean, I'm not really looking for a super-clean sound so I might try the 8-track tape... We'll see.
Click to expand...

If you search the tapeop messageboard (and a number of other message boards for that matter) you'll see a fair bit of discussion on this. Consensus: 'normal' professional recording tape like 456/457 or sm911 performs poorly in this application (tends to get jammed and wears out quickly). 8-track tape (which is extremely cheap and abundant) works very well. I can report that the loop made from 8-track tape is working very well for me and it's leaving almost no residue on the heads.

All this to say, I respectfully disagree with your tech on this. But why not experiment? If you decide to try a reel of studio tape for this, you could also spend an extra 50 cents and get a stack of 8-track cartridges at a flea market and A-B the performance.
 
BASF/EMTEC 468 is a better choice than 911 or 456...IMHO.

I've used it in my Multivox MX-210 which is very much like the Space Echo (5 heads, dual pinch rollers/central capstan and endless loop tray...and it runs fine with it, silky smooth...though the thinner tapes might be a better match as these echo units were probably not design for the thicker tape....but I've not seen any issues with mine.
 
Honestly, I have no opinion on this matter... I was just letting you guys know what he said. I could see it working either way - as for normal studio tape getting jammed, I've been using a loop of SM911 in it for about 20 hours now and I haven't had any problems with it sticking or jamming. I think it sounds great... it is probably different for each person (and I would probably guess that no two machines are exactly the same anyway :D).
 
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