RE-201 incoming. An unknown situation

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JSett
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Re: RE-201 incoming. An unknown situation

Post by JSett » Sat Nov 20, 2021 3:08 am

Pacafeliz wrote:
Sat Nov 20, 2021 2:33 am
:-/ "cleaner and lube" ... I hope you mean Deoxit !!!
Lol, yeah. We have Servisol here but it's basically the same thing.
Silly Rabbit, don't you know scooped mids are for kids?

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Re: RE-201 incoming. An unknown situation

Post by øøøøøøø » Sat Nov 20, 2021 8:57 am

These aren’t the absolute quietest things in the audio universe, even in tip top shape. But it shouldn’t be objectionably hissy.

I don’t remember whether the resistors in these are carbon composition types, but that would be one place to look.

Also possible that you might be able to print a bit more flux to tape if the tape is new and the head is clean and de-magged, which might help get you a noise advantage through gain staging

A full service and diagnosis would be best, but no harm in using it in the meantime

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Re: RE-201 incoming. An unknown situation

Post by JSett » Sat Nov 20, 2021 9:12 am

øøøøøøø wrote:
Sat Nov 20, 2021 8:57 am
These aren’t the absolute quietest things in the audio universe, even in tip top shape. But it shouldn’t be objectionably hissy.

I don’t remember whether the resistors in these are carbon composition types, but that would be one place to look.

Also possible that you might be able to print a bit more flux to tape if the tape is new and the head is clean and de-magged, which might help get you a noise advantage through gain staging

A full service and diagnosis would be best, but no harm in using it in the meantime
I've just installed a new tape and it has allowed me to hit it a little harder without the repeats turning to utter mush (which, it's it's own way was enjoyable). Having played around with it a little deeper I am finding a good spot where the signal to noise ratio is better. I am aware that a tape echo is inherently going to add noise like almost anything old can do. Demagnetizer should be here sometime next week.

There's a company over here called Soundgas who seem to specialise in repair/maintenance of these so I've fired over a speculative email their way just to open the communications up.

For now I'm going to enjoy it and tinker as I go along.
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Re: RE-201 incoming. An unknown situation

Post by øøøøøøø » Sat Nov 20, 2021 4:41 pm

Soundgas's reputation has even made it across the pond, they're on my radar as well.

Echofix is another place that overhauls and services these to critical acclaim (I've no direct experience with either)

Older transistors are sometimes noisier than modern equivalents. It could be that going through and doing a complete overhaul could get your noise floor down.

But I'm not a qualified tape echo tech, and have not "examined the patient." If someone could get it really running right, it might be worth your while.

By the way, please be careful with the de-magger! Possible to do more harm than good with those, do your due diligence on how to use it properly. Make sure it never actually touches the head, and keep it away from computers, phones, hard drives, pickups, speakers, and anything else where a de-mag could be a problem!

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Re: RE-201 incoming. An unknown situation

Post by JSett » Sat Dec 11, 2021 12:29 am

Three weeks later I finally found an old Sony HE-2 demagnetiser for the right price (£10 delivered) and gave it a go. All went according to plan and now, fully demagged (is that a word? It is now), and with the fresh tape it sounds fantastic. There's still some noise but not an offensive amount... just the usual amount inherent with tape I guess.

I really like what the preamp does to a guitar signal when it starts clipping into the red when you dig in, definitely has a flavour all of its own. Also, getting a footswitch has made all the difference - if only for the weird warble it gives when you click it on and the remnants of the old loop play for a split second as it ramps up... it sounds like a comedy alien about to be sick :D

All in all, £500 for the unit, £40 on two new tapes and £10 for the demagnetizer and a couple of hours of my time servicing it. £550 for a fully functional, correct voltage 201 seems like a perfect situation in my book.
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Re: RE-201 incoming. An unknown situation

Post by soggy mittens » Sat Dec 11, 2021 3:11 am

johnnysomersett wrote:
Sat Dec 11, 2021 12:29 am
Also, getting a footswitch has made all the difference
One of my biggest hopes regarding this unit is seeing someone upload a yt video that demonstrates this pedal effect, even someone that tries to correlate it with how Jonny Greenwood does it in Airbag. Always been fascinated by that part of it and would love to see it in more detail.
If OSG has tort me anything...

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Re: RE-201 incoming. An unknown situation

Post by øøøøøøø » Sat Dec 11, 2021 5:20 am

A great bargain considering current prices

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Re: RE-201 incoming. An unknown situation

Post by ziess » Sun Dec 12, 2021 1:31 am

Very cool. I’ve got two that I’ve overhauled. The 201 is a pain to replace electrolytic caps on, the board is single sided and you’ll need to disconnect (desolder) at least one side of the wires that run off from the board. The board itself is also a bit fragile so worth taking your time.

The work isn’t massively difficult but you’ll want to disconnect the board as few times as possible so I’d recommend doing it over a few days when you don’t need the delay for anything.

Give me a shout if you need any more advice, these things aren’t hugely complex but they are a bit idiosyncratic. No need to spend money on getting anyone to service it for you as it looks like you’ve already got the basic skills.

Tommy.

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Re: RE-201 incoming. An unknown situation

Post by JSett » Sun Dec 12, 2021 1:35 am

ziess wrote:
Sun Dec 12, 2021 1:31 am
Very cool. I’ve got two that I’ve overhauled. The 201 is a pain to replace electrolytic caps on, the board is single sided and you’ll need to disconnect (desolder) at least one side of the wires that run off from the board. The board itself is also a bit fragile so worth taking your time.

The work isn’t massively difficult but you’ll want to disconnect the board as few times as possible so I’d recommend doing it over a few days when you don’t need the delay for anything.

Give me a shout if you need any more advice, these things aren’t hugely complex but they are a bit idiosyncratic. No need to spend money on getting anyone to service it for you as it looks like you’ve already got the basic skills.

Tommy.
Yeah, I've been repairing and modifying my own amps, pedals, guitars, etc for years so know my way around an iron and a circuitboard (as long as they're not too complicated) but I will happily admit I can be a little ham-fisted with delicate tasks. At the moment it's running well and the noise is definitely reduced enough to not be an issue in a home/playing situation. In a studio it might be deemed as too noisy but I don't get involved in that sort of thing anymore.
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Re: RE-201 incoming. An unknown situation

Post by ziess » Sun Dec 12, 2021 4:01 am

Sounds good. If you want to make your own tapes up I’ve tried a load so can advise there too.

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