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 Roland RE-501/SRE-555 Chorus Echo At a Glance  
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arrowReleased: Very early 1980's?  arrowVersion: 0.00
arrowRated: 6.7/10arrow User reviews: (3)
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Fat Elvis writes:
RE-501 is the final and most sophisticated of Rolands tape-based Space Echo series.SRE-555 is the rackmount version. The main differences from the previous RE-301 are the black and orange livery, XLR's and a different head spacing. the whole thing works by a massive internal tape loop passing a recording head and 3 playback heads. 6 different head combinations are selectable, the tape speed is variable and delayed sound can be fed back to the recording head using the intensity knob.

Good Points
Just a brilliant and classic sound - real tape delay with each successive repeat sonically different. Plenty of variation in the type and speed of echoes available. Real hands on control. Nasty lo-fi spring reverb. Rich sounding stereo chorus effect.
Bad Points
Can get an audible glitch when tape splice passes heads. Roland don't make the tapes anymore but they can be got from third parties. Heads need regular cleaning and can obviously get worn. Needs regular servicing to stay on top form.
 

 Roland RE-501/SRE-555 Chorus Echo Specifications:

Digital IOs:

Analog IOs:
Balanced XLR ins and outs, jack in plus 2 output jacks
Other IOs:
5 footswitch jacks for effects switching
EQ:
treble and bass
FX:
chorus, echo, sound on sound, reverb
Upgrades/Extras:
single, double or triple footswitches

 RE-501/SRE-555 Chorus Echo Links

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