BOSS SPACE ECHO RE-202
BOSS SPACE ECHO RE-202
104
GUITARIST JULY 2022
PROS Accurate recreation of
RE-201 sound; fourth head;
tap tempo, memories; exible
hands-on sound adjustment;
expression pedal capability
CONS Certain global functions
(such as dry sound mute, reverb
type, tails and so on) are a little
convoluted to set up
BOSS SPACE ECHO
RE-202
PRICE: £339
ORIGIN: Malaysia
TYPE: Delay pedal
FEATURES: Bu ered bypass,
12 modes, 127 memories plus
manual, tap tempo, tails carry over,
dry mute option
CONTROLS: Mode selector, Bass,
Treble, Reverb Volume, Repeat Rate,
Intensity, Echo Volume, Saturation,
Wow & Flutter, Guitar/Line button,
New/Aged Tape button, Memory
button, Bypass footswitch, Memory
footswitch, Tap footswitch
CONNECTIONS: Standard inputs
(A/Mono, B), standard outputs (A/
Mono, B), CTL/Exp pedal input, MIDI
In, MIDI Out, USB (for updates)
POWER: Supplied 9VDC Boss
PSA adaptor 500mA (unit current
draw: 140 mA)
DIMENSIONS: 192 (w) x 133 (d) x
52mm (h)
which presumably no-one would want,
where the tape momentarily slowed down
before catching up to speed (admittedly our
RE-201 hasn’t been serviced in a while!).
The single-head echoes all do their job
wonderfully, covering plenty of playing
applications, such as slapback, but it’s the
combinations that make a multi-head
machine special with the complexity of its
rhythmic patterns. Those here sound great
as the repeats bounce around and drift off
naturally into the distance – and the fourth
head is a real bonus, delivering patterns
you wouldn’t get using an RE-201. Mode 12,
for example, with all four heads engaged
(incidentally with altered head spacing),
offers a certain dense ambience.
9
While the main functions of the three
footswitches are for bypass, selecting
presets and tap tempo, they each have a
secondary performance function when
pressed and held. The middle footswitch
can be used to bring the reverb in and out
within your active effect, while the other
two offer similar effects to those you’d
get by twisting knobs in real-time. The
Twist effect is the equivalent of turning
up the repeat rate, while the Warp effect
is like turning the Intensity (feedback) up.
Both ramp back down when you release
the footswitch. They are fun, but for real
performance versatility you can connect
an expression pedal assigned to one or
multiple parameters – for example, giving
nuanced control over ramping up the
feedback into self-oscillation.
Verdict
Boss has got this just right: the RE-202
accurately reproduces Space Echo sound
while going way beyond the capabilities of
an original Roland RE-201. If you’ve ever
wished to have a Space Echo in your rig but
thought it impractical, now you can do it
with total confidence.
The RE-202 actually nailed
the sound – we were able
to reproduce everything the
RE-201 was capable of
The Volume controls
set the level of echo
repeats and the amount
of reverb. You can set
one of them to zero for
echo or reverb alone
The Input button increases
versatility, letting you use the
RE-202 with line level equipment
such as a mixer or synth
VIDEO DEMO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra
GIT486.rev_boss.indd 104GIT486.rev_boss.indd 104 12/05/2022 13:4412/05/2022 13:44