Roland RE-201 Space Echo problem

[phoenix224]

Hello,

I picked up a Roland RE-201 Space Echo on eBay recently. It arrived today and while it is perfect cosmetically, I'm running into a problem which seems to be related to the motor.

Basically, when I have an Echo only setting enabled, and I have dialed in a long delay time, I am getting pretty drastic fluctuations in pitch, even though I am not touching the repeat rate knob.

It seems like the motor is running at an inconsistent speed. Sometimes the pitch goes up, sometimes down, and always somewhat randomly. This is not noticeable at faster delay settings.

I saw a thread on GS from 3 years ago that talked about the very limited availability of motors, so am I screwed? I have two competent techs available that have experience with RE-201s.

I have a chance to get a refund on this item, but only have until Monday, so if you have an idea of the problem, please let me know.

Thanks for any input!

[Xero]

yeah from what i understand the motors are next to impossible to find...might be easier to return it if you still can

[phoenix224]

Thanks for the reply. That's what I'm thinking.

It's a shame because otherwise it sounds really great.

[bigbongo]

Originally Posted by phoenix224

Thanks for the reply. That's what I'm thinking.

It's a shame because otherwise it sounds really great.

Before you send it back try a new tape, I had this problem when I got mine. It seems if you're using an old tape it gets sticky and so won't run smoothly.

I bought some off Ebay and it sorted it.

[Diametro]

Yeah, change the tape ASAP ...

[maginotrock]

When you change the tape clean the felts. You can use a dry q-tip for that. The felt pad leaving the tape dispenser area can get very dirty and cause the tape to stick or slow down and that will change the sound of the repeats..

It should go without saying to clean the tape heads with denatured alcohol and a q-tip, but I'll say it anyway

[digitalM]

It is very well possible the motor is fine. Check if the tape is being pressed firmly to the capstan by the rubber roller. If the unit has been asleep for a longer period tape transport is often a bit erratic causing the symptoms you describe... Of course fresh tape and clean felt is always a good idea.

Cheers,

Martijn

[pulse_divider]

In addition to what everyone else has said, this can also be caused by the capstan needing to be lubricated. It is much, much more likely that you have a physical problem with the tape path than with the motor.
Even if it was working fine before shipping and was packed well, it could conceivably have received a jostle during shipping and need to have some basic maintenance done and doing this (cleaning, lubing) is a necessity if you own one of these.
If you open the lid and look on the top right of the tape path, you'll see where the capstan presses the pinch roller. Remove the capstan via the screw in the middle and lube the inside of the capstan (i.e. the hole in the donut)... I used silicone spray because that's all I had, but apparently you can find something called "white grease" (I think) at auto parts shops and it is supposed to work well.
Make sure that the capstan doesn't have grease on the outside of the wheel (or anywhere else other than the inside) and put it back on.
I'd suggest starting with a full degaussing/cleaning/lubing and change the tape if you have one, google should yield results on how to do this. I'm reasonably sure this will fix your problem.

[phoenix224]

My friend fixed the problem. The motor is fine. He cleaned the heads, rollers, felt. Basically everything in the tape path. And he made a new tape loop with lubricated tape. No more fluctuations in tape speed, and it sounds excellent.

Thanks to everyone who posted advice, it was very helpful. Hopefully this thread can help out others.

[Diametro]

Excellent ... !!! Vintage Space Echo is a keeper ... It's amazing how detailed and organic the sound is ...

[Mr Arkadin]

The other thing to check is the motor tension (torque?). My 501 was set far too high and would have worn the motor out faster than necessary. It didn't affect the sound so you have to check it as there may be no symptoms.

How you measure it and what value it should be I have no idea, but it is worth checking.

[bigbongo]

The 201's a great distortion machine to, turn down the echo and verb and adjust input to taste.

[simondolanbass]

All the pots on mine were pretty dirty. I noticed that when I touch the repeat rate the speed of the wheel change dramaticaly.

Use deoxit stuff and it will help

SImon

macdolan.com

[fooloof]

I am looking at buying one from a guy who's not too knowledgeable on them. he has a demagnetizer, but doesn't know how to use it and says the machine needs it.

is it easy? does it cost a lot to pay a tech (would factor in the price)?

i did not find anything useful on google. thx.

[Mr Arkadin]

If he doesn't know what he's doing DO NOT let him near the heads, you can royally screw up heads if you mess up the demagging process. It really isn't that hard but if you get it wrong you'll be worse off than if you didn't try to demag it.

Cleaning and Demagnetizing

Just make sure to move slowly away to about four feet before switching off and make sure you're in no position to lose power part-way through the operation!

You should be able to do this yourself or you may just get it done when taking it in for a bit of a service. Servicing on Space Echoes should not be too expensive, unless you have to start replacing motors, heads etc.

[fooloof]

Originally Posted by Mr Arkadin

If he doesn't know what he's doing DO NOT let him near the heads, you can royally screw up heads if you mess up the demagging process. It really isn't that hard but if you get it wrong you'll be worse off than if you didn't try to demag it.

Cleaning and Demagnetizing

Just make sure to move slowly away to about four feet before switching off and make sure you're in no position to lose power part-way through the operation!

You should be able to do this yourself or you may just get it done when taking it in for a bit of a service. Servicing on Space Echoes should not be too expensive, unless you have to start replacing motors, heads etc.

Much obliged!