Boss RE-20 Space Echo Pedal Reviews

I purchased this pedal in 2018 after selling my Dunlop Echoplex, seeking a more multi-faceted delay. I saw Jonny Greenwood use the original tape version of this pedal, so I just had to bite.

3 years later, my life has dramatically changed, but my Boss RE-20 Space Echo remains at my side for any practice, rehearsal, gig and family dinner. Everything from the multiple tape head simulations to the tap tempo to the fabled Twist setting has helped me enjoy the great gift of the electric guitar.

This pedal has become a mainstay on my board for any sort of delay that I need, from quick slapbacks to endlessly cascading streams and anything in between, all with that good old vintage flavor.

One thing I especially love doing is cranking the Intensity until full oscillation and using the Tap Tempo to crank out a sidechain-style rhythm that wows the audience and pisses off the soundguy when I play it through a 100w Marshall stack.

If I could offer the smallest complaint about anything related to this pedal, it would be that the Reverb can be quite muddy at times, especially if most of the gain comes later in the signal path. This can be easily avoided by either using the Effects Loop, or by not using the Reverb at all. Oh well.

Overall, I couldn't recommend this pedal more. It's easy to use, has Stereo In/Out, Direct On/Off, an input level, a built in Reverb, Boss's tried and true durability, and -- my favorite aspect -- a nice little smiley face!

GREAT FOR:
-simple delays
-complex rhythmic delays
-a boost/reverb
-Jonny Greenwood fanatics
-any other instrument

GRIPES:
-reverb can be muddy
-not everyone on planet Earth owns one

Please, buy this pedal!

Who says guitarists and keyboard players can have all the glory? This stereo unit is great on drums, too. I had one of the original tape units back in 1978. This wonderful unit does away with tape head and roller cleaning as well as tape splicing.
The tap tempo is a great addition, too. An awesome effect on drums for space travel!

Got the Space Echo cuz I am really into the Roland RE-201 effect whenever I hear good dub music. I must say this pedal does nail it pretty convincingly. It is fairly easy to understand right out the box, before even looking at the manual, which is awesome. Currently using it with drum effects but this pedal can be applied to almost anything. It's nice to use it when you can have two free hands to really be able to tweak sounds & maximize the experience. SO MUCH FUN. If you're into echo, reverb, & being able to set the echo rate & intensity you hear in a lot of classic dub & rock or whatever, this is it. I love that I bought this!

i have had this for a few years now... guitar,synth,tape loops, field recordings, etc... everything sound amazing thru this pedal! it is imho totally worth every penny! thank me later.

YES! This is what I was looking for. The time it takes to believe in your sound is what makes this a precious addition to anyone's arsenal. Very much worth every penny!

This pedal makes a very vintage, dark sounding delay. I've never heard a real re-201 in person, but I am the proud owner of a 1971 ep-3 echoplex. Does this delay sound as good as an echoplex? Probably not when your echoplex is in tip-top shape. But if your tape machine is lacking somewhere, like most are now a days, needing new tape, felt tensioners, or pinch rollers, this thing will sound better than your tape delay by a long shot. Its a very versatile delay if you're only used to the old tape delays like I am. The tap tempo is great for matching up with your drummer, and it does a great job going into self oscillation with the feedback knob. This pedal does a good enough job that my old echoplex has a new home in the studio and this thing is on my pedal board for live shows. No more worry about my tape delay being lost or stolen and I have something that sounds just as good and that I could replace tomorrow if something happened to it.

Bought this pedal so I don't have to lug around my big and expensive echoplex and fender reverb unit. It does a great job emulating tape and there's no maintenance. The controls are obviously designed after a roland space echo, not an echoplex, but I really like the different combinations of "tape heads" you can use as opposed to the echoplex's one head on a slider. The only thing I miss is the echoplex's preamp, but they make a pedal for that too if its something you absolutely have to have. You can't justly compare this to a fender reverb unit, but for no more reverb than I use it definitely gets the job done with a lot less noise and hiss than those two units make. Now I can keep my ep-3 and reverb tank at home where they belong and take this thing everywhere else. Great Pedal.

So the RE20 and I have been together since 2007. The unit does not feel,respond,or sound like a simulation of the Original RE-201 ect... It has all of the original character of the vintage unit...like someone canned the presence of the old Echo and blessed it with the form factor and reliability that BOSS stomp boxes are known for. The pedal is not a gimmick, it is a tool for someone looking to dial in a signature sound. The pedal has not left my pedal board since 2007...it has been used and abused and shows no sign of degradation in its tone or build quality. The only feature that I can think of that more modern pedals have may the simulation of a worn tape unit..where you get a warble in your wow and flutter. It dirties up the signal a bit and this is intentional as it simulates a warmer analog throughout. If you so wish you can use an EQ to color the tone how you see fit. I would recommend keeping the unit on its own dedicated power supply....its touchy when you use it in a power chain like in a pedal power unit... My RE20 would get noisy and the tone was lean...putting it back on its dedicated power supply resolved the issue. I love it and I will never leave it.

My product specialist Ben was very knowledgeable about the Roland space eco glad that I made the purchase, very spacious and great sounding delay pedal, so many options. Very inspiring! Great with other pedals.

Wow! This is a great pedal. Very good emulation if the Roland RE-201 Space Echo. Probably about as close as they could get in a pedal form. This thing looks awesome too!

This is my all time favorite pedal. Intuitive. Sounds great. Built tough. Really gets the creative juices flowing on just about any instrument.

twiddle those knobs and get lost in space, " and some " you don't get better quality than this.......period.

(Keyboard player review)

I can't believe I lived without it!!! I'm manic, been up all night playing. This pedal will INSPIRE you. Just LET it happen. I'm not easy to impress either!

Lets forget the Tape Delay for a moment: I use a Nord Electro and just the Electro's organ with RE-20's Spring reverb will give you shivers... IT'S. SO. REAL. (Through my KP-200s AMP) I can get an exact organ sound from Medeski to Manzarek! The reverb itself is worth the 250 asking price.

Now for the primary function: TAPE. I've used tape, I still can't believe this thing sounds exactly like tape, responds exactly like tape, down to the tiniest sonic details. It's like they shrunk down the RE-201 and put it in the RE-20. I mean, really. Honestly, to say this is the "best thing I've ever owned" is a GROSS understatement. I. AM. IN. LOVE.

Thank you, Roland Engineers. GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!!! PS Thanks for the Edirol FA-66 too! Love you guys!!!

Love the sound of this pedal. Nice delay options that can sound bright or dark, clean or crunchy depending on how you EQ it. Construction is rock solid. Only issue I have has to do with the input section. I knew the pedal was a buffered bypass as all Boss pedals are, but I did not know the input gain was an active control even in bypass. So I have to keep adjusting it based on other effects I am using at same time, or buy a true bypass loop for it. I didn't see or hear this mentioned in any reviews.

I have the knobs gaff taped in place and dial set at #3 position.
Love that it has a trails mode when turning off.
Tap tempo on the fly for long and short delays.
I also use a Boss DM-2 set for slap back, combined with the space echo set for long delays....cool combination when both are engaged.

If youre contemplating getting this, don't hesitate. Its sturdy, intuitive and sounds amazing. I use this for bass mostly and it does right by my tone. Treat it right by using the correct boss adapter and get the expression pedal if you really wanna get trippy mane.

This effect is awesome. I play a lot of country rock and the sound just captures you. With this pedal all I have to do is turn on the amp and have total control from the pedal...You cannot really appreciate the sound uintil you've heard it. I reccommend this pedal to anyone who is into delay and echo.

I have owned three of the 'real' RE-201's and an SRE-555 (the rack mount version of the 201 with a chorus effect built in as well).

When I first saw this pedal, my heart sank because I knew it could never live up to my expectations.

However, the thing sounded pretty darn good! The reverb is actually a bit better than the original (which always sounded 'tanky' to me), and the tone controls seemed more robust than the original as well. The Modes sound just like I remember them, and the delay characteristics sound close enough to fool all but the most exacting gear head.

Turning up the repeat rate yields the classic 'runaway tape feedback' that is clocked to sound just like the original tape artifact. It's a bonus that the tap pedal allows you to get that effect by simply holding it down for a moment. Watch out when you release it, as the volume of the effect 'blooms'--gets louder--as the effect dies away. This is like the original, but a bit more over modulated for my taste.

The only other thing that I don't like is the 'tape motion light' on the pedal. I assume it is to give a visual cue to the 'speed' of the delay, but I found it annoying.

This is one of the finest delay pedals I've owned. If you like the MoogerFooger, or Line 6 Delay, you will find a lot of different sounds with the RE-20, but with similar quality of sound and build.

I am having 60's flashbacks.This pedal is a lot of fun .I could not afford the RE-201 when it came out ,so this is an affordable alternative. So many off the wall sounds.I am loving it.

I guess I'm the only one who bought this for voice and not my guitar. As a blues player I'm a purist using nothing but a touch of reverb on my Fender Blues Deluxe overdriving it for lead.
I had been searching for a just a touch of delay and reverb to use with my vocals.(Fender Passport 250) MOst PA's come with a reverb(fair sounding) but no echo. Well this thing works perfectly as I use it via the effects loop and can even dial a little delay on my guitar channel BUT my voice --WOW!! --the re 20 makes me sound like Michael Buble instead of Willie Nelson.
I realize I'm only using about 10% of what this is capable of but it filled the bill. The reverb needs to be backed down a bit for voice --thanks Paul Allen for your guidance

This does have a nice tone and the delay taps are easy to adjust via a knob or a tap footpedal. I even use it for its reverb and might even like its verb sound better than my Danelectro Spring King which has a built-in slapback delay that I want to rewire and bypass.

The only reason I knocked off two stars is because it can't handle the line level signals in the FX loops of my amps. That means this can only be used in front of an amp which puts it before the preamp and thus before the distortion. I'd be a LOT happier if I could use this in the FX loop so it could delay the already distorted signal from the preamp. Due to this I only use this pedal on clean amp settings and still have to resort to the UAD space echo plugin to get that delay sound after distortion. This could be a dealbreaker for some and is borderline for me. I find I use its stereo outputs 100% dry which makes it a signal splitter to run my guitar into two amps. I use it for this far more often than as a delay so keep this in mind if you never play clean amp settings.