PsychoDave, Mentoneman, Carl need feedback Roland RE-501

[Scotty]

Dave, Carl, and Pat,

Hope all is well with you and your families and that you are enjoying the holidays. I am well other than the vintage rack effect kick I am on. With the pile of amps and guitars I have been dumpster diving for 70s- 80s rack effects and have stumbled upon a 501 that will need servicing and the dude knows what he has. Hate that. Anyways any feedback, issues, problems that could happen, I would like to hear. The mechanical aspect worries me a bit due to the cost of this thing.

Appearance it is mint, just needs probably a total going over. Price so far is $1200 which is under market from what I see.

Thanks for any help!


Scotty

 

[psychodave]

They are cool units. The tape heads are some of the most important parts since tape drags across them. If someone doesn’t use the proper lubricated tape, it will wear the heads out. I’m not sure if the heads can be replaced. If they can, you need to re-bias them to make sure there is proper contact for recording playback and erasing.

Next up is the motor. The delay time is based on the motor turning faster or slower. The motor is probably another difficult find. Again, there may be a substitute.

Don’t forget you will need to replace the tape every few months depending on play time.

I’m sure the others can add feedback as well.

 

[Scotty]

Thanks Dave, good to hear from you! You still have that wall of Cameron and boogie? Always enjoyed our talks about amps during the get togethers and you always bringing the best stuff out there. I have gone over the deep end and created a wall myself and have to create some sort of patch bay due to the amount of crap I have. 3000, 1210, 2290, etc

I thought it was the distance between the heads that caused the delay? More distance the longer the delay but I could have read about another unit but yeah sourcing another motor would be a bitch. Guy says he has three new tapes and I have an appointment with him this weekend to demo the unit. He states 20 years ago the thing worked great

Ever since Pat made this vid I have wanted a space echo.

Go to 6:14 for the goods on the 501, it is the artifacts that these old units bring that is the magic just like an old plexi unmolested. For stuff other than high gain it is the ghost notes and artifacts that brings things to life.

 

[gibson5413]

Thanks Dave, good to hear from you! You still have that wall of Cameron and boogie? Always enjoyed our talks about amps during the get togethers and you always bringing the best stuff out there. I have gone over the deep end and created a wall myself and have to create some sort of patch bay due to the amount of crap I have. 3000, 1210, 2290, etc

I thought it was the distance between the heads that caused the delay? More distance the longer the delay but I could have read about another unit but yeah sourcing another motor would be a bitch. Guy says he has three new tapes and I have an appointment with him this weekend to demo the unit. He states 20 years ago the thing worked great

Ever since Pat made this vid I have wanted a space echo.

Go to 6:14 for the goods on the 501, it is the artifacts that these old units bring that is the magic just like an old plexi unmolested. For stuff other than high gain it is the ghost notes and artifacts that brings things to life.

So glad to see you around Scott!! I have always loved that video from Pat! One of my all time favorites.

I'll be sure to make a new playthrough video soon that shows plenty of my shaved legs. Many men have been asking! Hope you find a 501...think of all the great U2 covers you could record.

 

[mentoneman]

scah--taaay!

word up brotahtoes!

my space echo has long left the bldg but there really is nothing as cool sounding and feeling in the delay world as an old tape delay machine.

i just had a el cap in my posession and after critical listening it did not live up to my expectations. i have played throgh the nemesis delay and belle epoch deluxe and those also fall short for dead nuts authentic tape delay appeal. and the trendy solution of plugging a separate echoplex preamp pedal into a delay for the authentic clinch/ep pre/ badgerplex/secret pre/catalinbread pre is not the same.

that's like the disconnect of a preamp into a poweramp thing versus a head.

the clumsy size and regular tape replacement and head maintenance sucks. but the cool factor and tone is off the charts and in an instant you will realize no pedal or rack unit comes close.

can't comment on 501 but my 150 was great! and coincidentally a local shop picked up one of these and i am curious to hear it

but i am sick with ear/sinus infection and my left ear is totally shut--too much surf!!

 

[mentoneman]

ps sorry about the ultra huge pic!
anybody know how the code for how to reduce the size of pictures posted within the site? or does it have to be sized prior to posting here?

other sites do it automatically or have obvious tools available...

 

[mentoneman]

think I'm getting the hang of this..

like my ancient digitech pitch machine sitting on top of the most state of art eventide pitch doohickey?

 

[Scotty]

Thanks Dave, good to hear from you! You still have that wall of Cameron and boogie? Always enjoyed our talks about amps during the get togethers and you always bringing the best stuff out there. I have gone over the deep end and created a wall myself and have to create some sort of patch bay due to the amount of crap I have. 3000, 1210, 2290, etc

I thought it was the distance between the heads that caused the delay? More distance the longer the delay but I could have read about another unit but yeah sourcing another motor would be a bitch. Guy says he has three new tapes and I have an appointment with him this weekend to demo the unit. He states 20 years ago the thing worked great

Ever since Pat made this vid I have wanted a space echo.

Go to 6:14 for the goods on the 501, it is the artifacts that these old units bring that is the magic just like an old plexi unmolested. For stuff other than high gain it is the ghost notes and artifacts that brings things to life.

So glad to see you around Scott!! I have always loved that video from Pat! One of my all time favorites.

I'll be sure to make a new playthrough video soon that shows plenty of my shaved legs. Many men have been asking! Hope you find a 501...think of all the great U2 covers you could record.

Chad you hunk of male specimen, been keeping tabs of you on the utube. Always enjoy the goods that you bring!

 

[Scotty]

Pat! Always good to hear from the keeper of tone!

Agreed on the El Cap, still have it on my board but as a tape replacement it is not. I have heard of the Echoplex pre fix but it is the mechanical part it will never replicate in my opinion.

I have not hears the pitch machine but I did score an Ibanez SDR1000 super cheap, great reverb.

You have to know I have the 3000 D/SX for the Vai presets

Thanks for the input Pat, hope you have a wonderful holiday season.

 

[psychodave]

I still own an Echoplex ep3 (I’ve had it for decades) and I’ve had all of the popular EP3 pedals...clinch, Chase tone, Dunlop, Badgerplex, etc. testing them all out with an original and good sounding Echoplex, I found that the Badgerplex vintage EP3 pedal was very, very close. Just my .02.

 

[mentoneman]

I still own an Echoplex ep3 (I’ve had it for decades) and I’ve had all of the popular EP3 pedals...clinch, Chase tone, Dunlop, Badgerplex, etc. testing them all out with an original and good sounding Echoplex, I found that the Badgerplex vintage EP3 pedal was very, very close. Just my .02.

Is that the 22 volt plug in jobbie barzini was excited about?

and what are you plugging it in to delay-wise?

I still haven’t heard “the” pedal answer personally but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. And i keep checking out what everyone clamors to as the flavor of the month ultimate digital tape delay pedals and keep an open mind.

 

[Scotty]

Yeah I remember the Don talking about the Badgerplex pedal, I do not have the in person hang time with tape echos to make any determination plus or minus. Badger is no longer producing pedals so used prices are sure to be high.

The Don hooked me up to a Boss Dimension C cheap years ago, those things are going for over $350 now Won't sell it, too good for greasy Idol and Police stuff.

 

[mentoneman]

Yeah I remember the Don talking about the Badgerplex pedal, I do not have the in person hang time with tape echos to make any determination plus or minus. Badger is no longer producing pedals so used prices are sure to be high.

The Don hooked me up to a Boss Dimension C cheap years ago, those things are going for over $350 now Won't sell it, too good for greasy Idol and Police stuff.

yah the C has entered rarified air status like other oldie but goodies
i remember when phil keaggy played at our church and he had one of those and a dl4 and a lexi jamman rack box for sweet chorused looping sounds

i still have an arion and a eh small clone for my stomp and go pedal chorus fixes, for times when i don't want to be "exacto knife anal origami roll my own" rack chorus geek spending 12 weeks fine tuning a dynamically modulating 48 tap delay +/- 2 ms to slightly trick the fibbonacci sequence into believing it is a haas instead
the beauty of the tape delay is limited options but amazing warm deep sounds. turn on plug in and smile!

 

[shredtilimdead13]

I have one of those Roland Dc-10's like Malmsteen uses for his world ending self oscillations sound effects, they sound good at the end of a pedal chain but they can't take line level well at all they overload and get muddy.

 

[mentoneman]

I have one of those Roland Dc-10's like Malmsteen uses for his world ending self oscillations sound effects, they sound good at the end of a pedal chain but they can't take line level well at all they overload and get muddy.

ah good to know

kinda like the ce-1. loved that thing tone wise but input level was not line friendly at all

 

[Scotty]

Yeah I remember the Don talking about the Badgerplex pedal, I do not have the in person hang time with tape echos to make any determination plus or minus. Badger is no longer producing pedals so used prices are sure to be high.

The Don hooked me up to a Boss Dimension C cheap years ago, those things are going for over $350 now Won't sell it, too good for greasy Idol and Police stuff.

yah the C has entered rarified air status like other oldie but goodies
i remember when phil keaggy played at our church and he had one of those and a dl4 and a lexi jamman rack box for sweet chorused looping sounds

i still have an arion and a eh small clone for my stomp and go pedal chorus fixes, for times when i don't want to be "exacto knife anal origami roll my own" rack chorus geek spending 12 weeks fine tuning a dynamically modulating 48 tap delay +/- 2 ms to slightly trick the fibbonacci sequence into believing it is a haas instead
the beauty of the tape delay is limited options but amazing warm deep sounds. turn on plug in and smile!

Ah yes being the dungeon master poring over Eventide's 400 page sound engineering thesis to get that right decay trail on the 3000, why I am balding. Why the DC-2 is so awesome, four buttons from nice subtle 80s ring to button 2 for Flesh tones to swimming in a blue void.

 

[Scotty]

I have one of those Roland Dc-10's like Malmsteen uses for his world ending self oscillations sound effects, they sound good at the end of a pedal chain but they can't take line level well at all they overload and get muddy.

MK III+ coli??

You are a man of most taste. All the bickering over IIc+ I will take a coli any day. Tad more aggression.

 

[Racerxrated]

I have one of those Roland Dc-10's like Malmsteen uses for his world ending self oscillations sound effects, they sound good at the end of a pedal chain but they can't take line level well at all they overload and get muddy.

MK III+ coli??

You are a man of most taste. All the bickering over IIc+ I will take a coli any day. Tad more aggression.

But then, you take a 2C++ and slave it into a Coli. NOW you have the definition of aggression.
Just sayin.

 

[thiswaythatway]

scah--taaay!

word up brotahtoes!

my space echo has long left the bldg but there really is nothing as cool sounding and feeling in the delay world as an old tape delay machine.

i just had a el cap in my posession and after critical listening it did not live up to my expectations. i have played throgh the nemesis delay and belle epoch deluxe and those also fall short for dead nuts authentic tape delay appeal. and the trendy solution of plugging a separate echoplex preamp pedal into a delay for the authentic clinch/ep pre/ badgerplex/secret pre/catalinbread pre is not the same.

that's like the disconnect of a preamp into a poweramp thing versus a head.

the clumsy size and regular tape replacement and head maintenance sucks. but the cool factor and tone is off the charts and in an instant you will realize no pedal or rack unit comes close.

can't comment on 501 but my 150 was great! and coincidentally a local shop picked up one of these and i am curious to hear it

but i am sick with ear/sinus infection and my left ear is totally shut--too much surf!!

That's the first question I was going to ask.

 

[thiswaythatway]

Yeah I remember the Don talking about the Badgerplex pedal, I do not have the in person hang time with tape echos to make any determination plus or minus. Badger is no longer producing pedals so used prices are sure to be high.

The Don hooked me up to a Boss Dimension C cheap years ago, those things are going for over $350 now Won't sell it, too good for greasy Idol and Police stuff.

Speaking of Police stuff what are you using for a Flanger? I've been trying out FLangers and it seems the old Electric Mistress is another old pedal that can't be touched. However, I bought a 20 dollar Donner Jet Convolusion Flanger and it's not half bad. I had a 300 dollar Hartman Flanger and this 20 dollar piece of Chinese scrap parts sounds about as good.

I've been trying like heck to tweak my Fractal AX8 to replace pedals, some it can, some it can't. It does a good job at wah, OD, Phase 90 isn't bad. But for whammy, harmonies, vibe, flanger, I think it falls really short. And after 15 minutes of tweaking to get a decent pedal sound I want to throw something. I'd much rather just step on a pedal and twist some knobs.