GS-201 Tape Echo

22.01.09 – 14:25

Delays and Echos always kept me excited. Years ago when I played with Neoncab we were using delays excessivly. Feedback full throttle, play a note and twist the time knob. I mean the analogue thing that produces squeaky noises and sound landscapes (or the digital emulation of this behaviour). One of the holy grails of delay and echos is the Roland RE-201 Space Echo.

Some months ago I started searching for a good digital emulation, because the original units are rare, expensive and damageable. After doing some research I found the GS-201 Tape Echo. There is a full-functional demo available (white noise every minute) and the full version only costs 19 Euro. I gave it a try and after doing some stuff with it I have to say that I’m very happy. The sound is well custumizable but reaches a high level. But the most important for me is that the plugins seems to have a live. It’s no perfect delay but creates an own sound. There is also no time synchronization available and as the manual states: “Under a certain point of view this should be considered a feature rather than a lack”. My favourite way of using it in Ableton Live is on a return track, pass one snare in and twist the knobs.