Bringing a Roland RE-201 Space echo back from it's golden slumber. Dismantling, testing, cleaning.

reverb.com/shop/vintageaudion... Bringing a Roland RE-201 Space echo back from it's golden slumber. Dismantling, testing, cleaning and preparing for a new owner. It's long and not for the faint of heart, for the serious echo fan only but if you want to see inside a space echo come along. This is for sale on my reverb.com page Vintage Audio Nagoya reverb.com/shop/vintageaudion... or check out #vintageaudionagoya on instagram- discounts for direct sales. I would rather the money go to the musicians than to corporations. I try to deliver the best vintage equipment. Thanks, Mark
Tape echo, roland, evans, elk, guyatone, fender, guitar, gibson, boss, 8 track, foot pedals, keyboards, synths etc. restoration, repair, DIY

[@AussieDubber]

This is the most comprehensive 201 service video I've seen. Well done!

[@uzzernamez]

The episode of Better Call Saul I didn't know I needed. Great storytelling!

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

Thanks Alexander

[@rasclaatuk]

That trick with the VU meter is JUST what I was looking for - mine is stuck. Thanks!

[@confide3333]

Came for the service stayed for the vibes 😎

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

Cheers man. Happy holidays.

[@john-paulsullivan5543]

I love the pace of the video!! While I’m sitting here wondering about my space echo I’m just chilling and then I start unscrewing it next thing I know it’s fixed by the end of the video!! Plus I get a story to keep my mind off how nervous I am to work on this thing

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

Glad it helped you John.

[@DubElementMusic]

oh man .........i almost started crying around 49:18 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

[@dingdongklang]

Thanks for the video! Now I will have my beloved RE-201 for a lifetime.

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

Glad I could help! Thanks for watching.

[@dustincovert128]

This is really crazy to hear your story about moving to Japan to teach while taking apart a space echo, because I am troubleshooting my space echo while at the same time have been preparing to move back to Asia to teach myself, possibly Japan first, I haven't fully decided between Vietnam first or Japan. Your story has motivated me to follow through!!

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

Awesome. best of luck. I haven't regretted it

[@fabsquil]

Wow! Awesome! Thanks for the video, AND the story!

[@josephsaroce4991]

That sounds fantastic! Hope I get mine sounding that sharp!! Thanks!

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

Best of luck!

[@jfphotoandlife8287]

Thank you for this video which allows us to discover the guts of this magnificent device and how to maintain it. While listening to a very beautiful story of friendship and an American in Japan. ✌🏻

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

Thanks for watching

[@analogalex3103]

From one Space Echo enthusiast to another I enjoyed every second of the video. You have a real passion for it and I learned a few things along the way. Keep it up!

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

Awesome, thank you!

[@danielonufer1438]

Sweet video and good story, I'm hopefully buying a re 101 this morning :)

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

Hope you got one. They are amazing

[@chickenlickin3820]

Brilliant thanks Dude : )

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

Glad it helped

[@harmonicresonanceproject]

Very nice! See - something that legitimately does go up to 11.

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

It does!

[@asilentservice7770]

cool vid loved the story!!!

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

thanks for checking it out

[@asilentservice7770]

my echo has the repeats & echo coming out really soft. any idea where to start to fix it ?

[@Digiphex]

You couldn't put anything about beautiful women on a product today because the world has gone crazy. Great video.

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

simpler times

[@triskaye]

Hey mark, great video. Can you confirm which cleaning agents you are using? The coloured waxes and bottles look like they do a great job, I can’t find them anywhere. Thanks for your help.

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

Brands vary. I am in Japan But I use wax, head cleaner, pinch wheel cleaner, contact spray, vinyl treatment, sewing machine oil etc.

[@arunningjourney1460]

awesome, can i ask you what do you use for cleaning the tolex/outer case to refresh it?

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

I toothbrush with warm soapy water and then use a Japanese vinyl restorer close to armour all etc.

[@caleblambert217]

Saweeeet video! The heads on my re-101 look jumbled and not square to anything. Any tips on head alignment?

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

If you have a drum machine set a simple beat or just keep saying check in the mic while you turn the screws and listen for the best sound. You will get them all lined up eventually. Good luck

[@johnholt-music]

My desk recently collapsed with my RE-201 taking a fall and spilling a small amount of cider on it as well. I took it a part and wiped out any moisture and put a fan to it. When I turned it on the next day, it powered on. VU meter works and the preamps work, as in, I can plug a sound source into it and it recognizes and plays. The issue is, neither the echo or reverb dials change the sound at all. The switch for echo and normal doesn't change the sound at all. I'm unsure of what I should be looking for when I open it up. Thanks again for this video.

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

Sorry for the slow reply John, I missed this one. any luck? I would concentrate on the white echo/normal switch. And then the mode switch

[@TheArtofBlues]

Where are you located? Itd be cool to send you my 201 it needs some love.

[@roger_rivas]

Mark! I really enjoyed this video and of course the story. I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction in fixing a low volumed delay/echo? I can hear the echo however, even when the intensity is all the way up, it still is just an average level of delay. Have you had this problem before? Is there something I should adjust or clean? Thank you for your time!

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

Hey roger 99% of problems can usually be solved with a head cleaning, new tape, cleaning all the pots etc. If that doesn't do it than try adjusting the intensity pot on the inside of the machine. If that doesn't help, it might be time to look at capacitors. Good luck

[@doubtingthomas1975]

I just acquired a RE-201. Same issue. Did cleaning the heads or replacing the tape work for you? Thanks in advance!

[@roger_rivas]

@@doubtingthomas1975 For me it was adjusting the intensity pot located inside. If I remember correctly there are a few pots that are adjustable. I remember spraying contact cleaner on those pots as well. Def suggest cleaning the heads and getting the new tape. It's totally worth doing. Hope this helps.

[@doubtingthomas1975]

@@roger_rivas 10-4. Thank you so much. I’ve got it shining like a new penny!

[@lordviksta]

I love this. Helped me tremendously. Having one last issue. It seems like one of the rollers is making a whistling or squeaking sound. Do you Know what it could be?

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

Glad I could be of help. Not sure, but I would try putting some lubricant on it if the noise is from the bearing portion.

[@lordviksta]

@@Vintageaudionagoya any lube recommendations?

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

@@lordviksta depends on the bearing. Pinch roller- dab of white grease, Other bearing I use household/sewing machine oil

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

or the oil that came with your electric razor

[@AboveTheTrees00]

Hi thanks for the video. I learned a lot and went through the process with my unit. Just got the other day. However once I put it all back together something happened and reverb and echos are not working. I get the sound through on both straight and echo switch position but no dice on the effects. Not really sure where to start investigating. I have no problems changing capacitors or other parts but would appreciate an advice where to start. Couple notes. I did accidentally installed tape once on the wrong side but I put it back the correct way. I don't think that would be the issue? I ordered demagnetizer on Amazon so I will try to demagnetize the heads tomorrow as well and maybe put a new tape in just to make sure something didn't happen with the one I made. And lastly I watched a video from DR.Mix where he is putting a new tape in re-501 unit. I used the same length as he did, which was about 380 cm or 150 inch is this correct length for the tape loop? (edit i tried chat gpt to find this info and its saying i need 2m)

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

Hi, I'm afraid I don't know the actual tape length and it is not that important. It will work fine with any length. I just make mine the same length as original rolands but not sure of what it is. I doubt capacitors are to blame if both E/R stopped working after your maintenance. I would open it back up and double check everything. Especially the wires at the echo/normal switch and the reverb RCAs.

[@sarahhughes3609]

Hi! We followed through this amazing video, but now are getting reverb but no echo. Doesn’t seem to be any signal from the playback heads. Any ideas? Thanks!

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

Hi Sarah, sorry for the really slow reply. I just saw this comment. I’m afraid I don’t have any suggestions without seeing the machine. Hopefully you have it figured out by now. But I would go back and look at the things you have done. Make sure nothing came unplugged inside the machine etc.

[@marktlog]

I've got a space echo that I haven't used for years. When I tried, the reverb works, but no echo. I took the top off - the metal post beside the pinch roller is turning when I turn it on, but the tape isn't moving. Is the pinch roller meant to roll? because mine doesn't. I tried unscrewing it to lift it off as you have. But it doesn't want to move, so I haven't forced it. Maybe some lubrication is required there.

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

yes, the grease inside the pinch wheel is notorious for getting stiff. so take the pinch wheel off and clean off the old grease then put some fresh oil or grease on it and you should be fine. Good luk

[@missnoisy3034]

May I ask what kind of oil you use to lubricate the big silver thing in front of the felt you cleaned at around 25 minutes? Thanks in advance!

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

It’s leftover oil from an electric beard trimmer. But any household-sewing machine type oil will work

[@VintageMusicGearTV]

Hi great video, picked up a re201, been following all your steps my space echo sounds so good now, couple of questions my vu has come back to life but still seams a little sticky and is there a bulb in the vu to light it up? Many thanks Simon

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

there were many different styles of VU meter. Some had internal bulbs, some external, some no bulb.

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

take a good look at it you should be able to figure out if it had a light in it. Glad the video helped you out.

[@VintageMusicGearTV]

Yes found where the bulb is meant to go ordered one off eBay, will give you a mention on our channel ‘ take the fear out the gear’ we have filmed a review of my space echo cheers Simon

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

@@VintageMusicGearTV awesome! thanks

[@alexcarlo-stella9904]

Hey man! Is that spray that you’re spraying grease or compressed air? :)) Thankyou! Loved the story btw

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

If its going into the switches/pots its electrical contact cleaner

[@alexcarlo-stella9904]

@@Vintageaudionagoya Ahk awesome! Thanks mate!!

[@jawoody9745]

Where in the hell are the Roland Chorus-Echos these days? I thought they used to be as popular as the Space Echo. Maybe I was wrong. I used to have one.

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

Pretty rare these days. I do see them from time to time.

[@zanerichter3806]

How can the tubes be replaced? My effects 1, 3, and some others aren’t working anymore!

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

No tubes in these machines. Try cleaning the selector switch from inside the machine. If other echos work, its probably just a dirty switch.

[@drewdemaio4162]

Hello! Great video! I've been tinkering with my 201 and find that my motor seems to be running faster than I'd like. Have you ever found a way to slow down the motor so I can get longer delay times?? EchoFix sent me a mod where I change out a resistor and that's above my skill level for sure. I was thinking about putting a rubber o-ring between the top of the pinch roller and the pinch roller cap in hopes of causing a little friction but not sure that would be good for the motor. Would love to hear your thoughts!! Thanks for the great story too!! In the market for an Echoplex EP3 also! Keep any eye out!

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

Hey Drew, Sorry I missed this comment. I would avoid the o-ring idea, I think that wold put strain on the motor. Other than the resistor I don't have any suggestions. good luck

[@drewdemaio4162]

@@Vintageaudionagoya thanks for the response! I was actually able to change the resistor and it worked amazingly. I went from 400 ms to about 800! Getting really nice slow repeats now.

[@boomchang7384]

I would like to ask you to change which resistor and how much resistance value? The maximum latency of my RE-201 can only reach about 350ms, and I have been hoping to improve it. @@drewdemaio4162

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

I just finished and listed a nice one here! reverb.com/item/75825153-beautiful-1979-roland-re-150-space-echo-set-thoroughly-cleaned-and-tested

[@mpmp7609]

Hello and thanks for your intersting vid'. Could you tell me more about the electrical component for the reverb at 11mn20 please ? I didn't know at all ! i was looking your vid' and i went to see that on my RE. I touched it but thank it will not move. But i was rong iand i certainly puto out at a wrong position . Do you know how test it ? By ears or electricaly ? What do you mean by reverb intensity exactly ? Thanks you very much . I'm doing its resttoration as i can , so Thanks you very much 🙏

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

That is a Reverb potentiometer. Or Reverb dial in simple English. One Direction will give you more Reverb and turning it another direction will give you less Reverb. The best way to set it is to turn your Reverb up to maximum on the front of the machine and then adjust that Reverb dial on the back until you hear the sound you want. By reverb intensity I just mean the amount of Reverb. Good luck.

[@mpmp7609]

@@Vintageaudionagoya thanks for your answer 🙏 Obviously, i ever tried and saw what happens. Just have to find the right level for me…Nice so !

[@RozsaAmplificationLLC]

I obtained a Space Echo from a friend this year. Sounds amazing, but a little slow reacting. Going to pick up a Ultimate Service Kit and clean it up. He's had it since 1980 and gigged exclusively with it! What's troubling after opening it up is seeing all of those Electrolytic caps. After 40-50 years, and gigging and many, many hours on it...they are going to be dried up worse than an old lady's muffin!! Going to have to start to bring back to life by replacing ALL of those caps and spraying and cleaning everything up. Later I'll see about replacing other things like felt or rollers and new tape. What solution are you spraying on the controls?? Want to make sure I purchase the right stuff. Let me/us know.

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

I'm using the Japanese equivalent of CRC or deoxit. Electronic contact cleaner.

[@jefferygilliam5674]

I’m looking to buy a Roland space echo RE 201 would you have one that you rebuilt for sale and if so how much

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

Hi Jeffery, Check out the link above, in the description, to my reverb page. I have one up right now and two more that I am just getting started on. They will be ready in the next few days. They usually sell for $1150-1700 depending on the condition. I would take $1400 for the one on reverb now if you bought direct from me. Thanks for checking out the channel.

[@doublestrokeroll]

Is that an Aria Pro II hanging on the wall? TS perhaps?

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

It is. Nice eye. 400 THOR Sound! Pro Thunder. The name cracks me up but I like the guitar.

[@doublestrokeroll]

@@Vintageaudionagoya lol...thought so. I've got a 600. They're very fun guitars.

[@SpiritTVLive]

do you have any 501's if so how much?

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

I am afraid none at the moment- Usually around $1500-2000 depending on condition

[@rjprivate]

Great video! I have space echo with no echo, just about to check the caps. Hope I can fix this

[@Vintageaudionagoya]

You can do it, Clean everything first and work the selector switch. You might get lucky.