It’s not that often that a legendary pedal gets a makeover that makes it classic, modern, and ultimately timeless! This is just the case with the Boss RE-202 Space Echo pedal!
It is the descendant of the original Roland RE-201 pedal that became a music industry standard since its conception in 1974. It is the perfect marriage of the classic sound of its older cousin and the modern-day electronic bells and whistles.
Better yet, this baby can be used, not only with guitars and bass, but with numerous other instruments and still sound amazing.
It is a fantastic pedal, well-built, highly portable, and sonically impeccable!
Our verdict on the Boss RE-202
This is a marvelous piece of guitar gear. It is really rare to find such a faithful digital replica of a vintage piece of gear.
It is highly versatile, yet not that complicated. It is modern, yet vintage. It is reasonable in weight yet very sturdy and well-built.
All in all, this is one hell of a pedal that is worthy of every guitar player’s gear arsenal!
Available at: SweetwaterAmazonFeatures
One of the coolest things about this baby is the fact that it features both guitar and line inputs. In effect, that means that you can plug in any instrument you want here and use the Boss RE-202 on them.
It comes with two different modes available: the analog bypass mode and the RE-201 simulation. Elsewhere, you get the magnetic tape and motor properties that are sure to provide you with all the vintage sonic goodness you could possibly want or need.
The preamp circuit is yet another tremendous feat that offers much more detail and control for your sound texturing. The different colors you can achieve here are a joy to behold.
Since this pedal is a perfect marriage of modern and vintage, you are right to expect a feature like modern stereo processing. The base is definitely set in the vintage sounds of RE-201, but these modern twists give it a much more potent sound. It is literally the best of both worlds.
With this baby, you are instantly getting four presets internally, which means you can start playing right away. After that, you can do whatever you like within the sound frame this pedal provides. Better yet, you get 127 settings via MIDI control.
Another awesome feature is that you can control this pedal with an external expression pedal or a footswitch for that matter. This can really come in handy (or footy, ha ha) in both live and studio situations.
Controls
As far as physical switches go, you are getting the bypass switch, memory recall, and tap tempo.
With the tap tempo switch you get the option of holding it longer so you can access the sub controls. The available sub controls are warp, reverb, and twist. These all come in handy for the further customization of your desired sound.
Another superstar here is the mode selector. With the mode selector switch, you are able to access 12 different combinations of physical switches.
Effects
One of the most recognizable sounds of this pedal is the spring reverb. It is at its peak with this reissue of the legendary unit.
Other than that, the available reverb modes are hall, room, plate, and ambiance. With this number of great reverb options, you are sure to find the right one for every situation. It really is made to fit any taste.
However, the real superstar is the space echo. The space echo is just a commercial name for the legendary tape echo effect. This effect is perfect for super-clean delay sounds, the dense rhythmic delay effect passages, and finally the more ambient sounds. The traditional wow and flutter effects that made tape delays legendary are present here.
Another great effect that you are getting here is saturation. It is one of the most drastic ways to color your guitar sound, if taken to extremes, that is.
Build quality
Like most other Boss products, this one is built to survive nuclear warfare. Besides being incredibly sturdy, this pedal is also highly portable and quite tolerable in terms of weight. Which is surprising due to the high-quality build.
The suave look and the general appearance are an ideal marriage of modern and classic which compliments the general spirit of this product perfectly.
We love the fact that they have managed to take the 70s space age craze and make it current, without being the least bit cringey.
Video demo
