RE-2

Unfortunately maintaining a vintage tape echo unit is not only time consuming but repairs are becoming more and more expensive as parts and the knowledge becomes rarer and the onslaught of reliable, great-sounding, compact pedal delays made tape units of old only for collectors and studios. Boss released a dual pedal in 2007 called the RE-20 which even today is incredibly popular but now we finally have the Space Echo we’ve all dreamed about … The Compact series RE-2.

The key feature on the RE-2 over its predecessors isn’t just the great size, it’s the addition of the “Wow & Flutter” control. On the original tape units, a new tape real would sound pristine and not too unlike a digital delay, however as time went on the tape would slowly stretch, introducing artefacts into the sound and an overall warmer tone. This was widely referred to as “wow & flutter” so yes this is a tape age control but expect more than simply added modulation.

The mode control on the original unit would select between different combinations of playback tape heads providing some great rhythmical patterns and as such the 11 modes on the RE-2 replicates this perfectly. With the added ability to control the tempo with the footswitch and to add an expression pedal to expand functionality further, this could well be the ultimate space echo pedal ever!