BOSS' New RE-202 Space Echo vs. a Vintage RE-201 | Analog vs. Digital 

that 202 enclosure is the best thing Boss has done in years. sleek, retro, cool. hope they release new pedals in this format.

Boss/Roland if you’re listening, you should make a mini-Jazz Chorus-in-a-box using this 202 format. Complete with cab sim, authentic EQ section, headphone jack, true stereo chorus/vibrato and distortion. Iridium killer. That would be sick

is Andy the only pedal reviewer that understands IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT for some of us to hear how delay pedals self-oscillate? I just knew he was gonna demo that by the end of the video. No disappointments there.

I love how he actually plays music, and doesn't just shred and try to show "chops" like most demos.

Thanks for the comparison with a real 201 - they're big, noisy, expensive and need a lot of maintenance (but awesome), so an updated digital pedal makes way more sense for most. It's seems the Boss engineers looked at all the great existing tape emulation pedals (like the Volanti) and incorporated some of the best features along with a fairly hefty price. Also, the aesthetic design of the 202 is spot on, with a Space Echo theme on a CE-1 shape - '70s vibes all 'round.

That was a great demo, Andy! Really enjoyed it. The new pedals are cool for sure. The RE-201 still sounded like magic from here - even over the computer through cheap speakers!

This thing is sick, and I am so glad I didn't pull the trigger on a RE-20 a few months ago.

Another great review by Andy. I not only love his playing, but I really appreciate the way he explains what he (and the pedal) does, and why he's doing it. He always gives us a clear explanation that is not only educational but entertaining as well.

This morning i was very excited about this reissue and here comes the Andy. Thanks for review and thanks Boss.

Andy you are the GOAT. I've been watching you for many years during the ProGuitarShop days, and the Tone Report, free pedal Fridays etc. People like you have helped shape the music scene and keep guitar, and guitar pedals alive. A new generation has embraced you, and you've influenced so many young players, old players. Because of you, music is going to sound better in the coming years. You've rejuvenated the scene. Thank you sir. You are one of my idols. Thank you.

Kudos to Boss for finally updating the incredibly antiquated RE-20 but, man, the original RE-201 smokes the piss out of the this new RE-202 like nobody's business.

That is really fun. WELL DONE Boss!! Thanks Andy!

Incredible work as always Andy!

I dig all of these, for sure the tape 201 sounds best to my ear. Hey Andy, missed your "here is my clean tone."!

The re-20 is a good, fun pedal in its own right. These new units are another great evolutionary branch, with even more options for practical use. Yet for all that utility, my luddite preference is unable to give up on the percussive first repeat of tape. Unmatched impact for slapback 💪🥊

well looks like I will finally grab a fake Space Echo. That RE-202 is perfect for what I do. Great coverage as always. I haven't bought a single pedal in years without watching your reviews first.

The emulation is really impressive. Hurrah for Boss! I hope they release the Chorus Echo digital version.

Boss has done it again! Another pedal I didn’t know I needed 🤷🏽‍♂️

wow. I'm seriously considering it. I have the real thing but I'd also need something that I don't mind taking with me to the rehearsal room and potentially for gigs, too. I wonder about the 202's preamp, though, cause that's a big part of what makes the original so incredible.

So glad to see you again our amazingly talented pickless guitarist !!

Totally agree with others on the quality of this review! The best I have seen so far. I purchased a Roland RE-201 in the late 70s. The sound of the Boss RE-202 brought back so many memories. Very unique character. Thanks for this great review!

GREAT demo!!congrats!!!

Seeing RE-202 in CE-1 shape makes me wish Boss makes a reissue of CE-1 as well!!

I had the RE20 on my main board for years. Finally took it off because of the form factor and a bit of tone suck in the bypassed signal. Replaced with just a standard Carbon Copy. These 2 look very, very cool though, and of course no one better than Andy to demonstrate what they can do.

Thanks so much!! Just purchased the Strymon El Capistan and I really like it, but I think I'm going to add this one.

Amazing comparison. Thanks! Great gitarist 💜 Imagine these devices tested in a reggae dub setup… 🇯🇲.

Already have one pre-orderd!

Andy, doing the pedal god’s work! Thanks for doing a comparison with a real 201, not even 24 hours after the 202’s official announcement, no less. You’re amazing!

The first minute sold me. I have another digital tape modeling delay, and the only thing it gets wrong is when adjusting the speed on the fly. On the 202 it sounds like they nailed the smooth pitch shift. This one is definitely on my wish list.

I had a real RE-201 in my studio for the better part of two years. It came from a wealthy collector’s personal gear stash and it was one of their prized units. I found the best tech in my area to restore it and paid several hundred dollars to rebuild it to the best possible standard. The tech and I spent two hours hand-tuning the modulation for the most musical wow and flutter possible. The Strymon El Capistan walked all over it on every single session and it wasn’t even close. Clients who had booked the studio with specific intent to use the Space Echo always preferred the pedal and there were very few scenarios where the original truly excelled. Save the money people, just buy the pedal-they’re doing a really good job of capturing what it does here.

4th demo I've watched today. It sounds amazing in all of them so far. Boss ftw.

When Boss get it right they really knock it out of the park. I'm impressed.

Holy shit! I can’t wait to get my hands on the RE-202!

Johnny Marr would appreciate that opening tune...Great demo, Andy!

As much as I like boss pedals I think I will keep my NuX Tape Core echo pedal. It is another great low budget recreation of the Space Echo.

great demo , as usual.

Great demo! 👍 For me, I think the 202 is incredibly close with the re 2 not far behind.

The 202 sounds great to me. I would have asked for the tape age to be on a pot with a wide range from pristine to barely working. A bit pricey, but if you like this sort of delay - taking a tape machine out to gigs is pretty dicey/risky at best, this certainly would solve that issue.

Yeah... so the new ones to me are very "hi fi." Not a criticism. Treble sticks out. Overall sound is layered. Old box is less in yer face with the effect, fewer highs, and more "integrated" sounding. The new boxes seem to capture the specific "fizzy grit" of the Space Echo better... which I don't find in other vintage analog units (which is why I usually like the SE best of them). The older Boss SE pedal captured that less I think. Nice upgrades on these pedals!

Andy, I'd love to hear you run that RE202 into a Blues Driver and play some shoegaze!

Really happy to see this pedal come out as it attempts to simulate the original for people who don’t have that kind of bread to drop or need the extra studio space. That being said, I’d give up some studio space for a 201 any day. I think I’ll stick with volante for now. Really similar and I think the layout is a little better and more fully featured

Let's get one thing out there up front...I'm Friggin' OLD...Over 3/4 of a Century Old. I started Gigging in the early 60's through the late 70's (when I made the mistake of getting married and because of pressure from the EX In-Laws to get a "Real Job and a Real Profession"...I guess EX In-Laws pretty well covers the rest). I play as often as I can...Make that as often as my arthritis permits. I really wish I could have a RE-201, but I'm retired on a fixed income and that is nothing but "I really wish" thing. I just got my RE-202 and I'm going crazy with all the possibilities. When I say this, please keep in mind the "I'm Friggin' OLD" before you tear into me when I say...I just wish it was a little bigger. And there's zero way I would ever be able to use a RE-201...Too Friggin' Small!!! Now, all you Young-uns with great eyes and no arthritis, I'm sure the smaller the better. I haven't had my RE-202 long enough to even grasp all the possibilities, but I'm very impressed so far. Since I live in the world of the past (Ventures, Beach Boys, and quit gigging the same year as the Doobie Brothers Farewell Tour) with Delay, Reverb, and Tape Echo...The RE-202???? Just simply as close to the RE-201 as I'll ever get now!! About as close as I'll get to my wheelhouse today. (In case anyone wonders? The closest I own to distortion or overdrive pedals is an "old" Fuzzface.) I probably should have led with this...I really appreciate the effort made to give the Side-by-Side RE201 - RE202 comparison. Great Job and Great Work!!

What a great review. Wasn't going to get any more gear but always had a soft spot for tape echo. Could get the 202 and make room for it by selling on DM-2w and the M300.

Well the original still has quite a bit more clarity and twang. The Pedal sounds great still! Think I'll stick to tape echo emulation in my DAW and a great bucket brigade delay for my board though. Great demo!

The original seems to be more clear and at the same time smoother. I think may be the RE202 was set with more gain/saturation, because it seems to be clipping and distorting more

When we visit Mars, I want to bring Andy along with me. I want to have a 9 month long jam session with digital and analog machines flying in a spacecraft. Put some loop on infinite decay and see how far we get. Rock Solid demo!

the new pedals seem to have much louder repeats compared to the analog version. all sound pretty dope.

What I'm missing is Andy singing 'For a minute there I lost myself' through the Space echo units 😉

I finally got mine and I love it ….

That RE-2 is wild. Idk how I'll not buy that.

I'm legitimately shocked that the vintage unit sounded superior by a mile on every setting demonstrated. As always, Andy was great, but this might be the only time he deterred me from buying a new pedal.

I've owned the re-20 for 10 years. I might need to grab this too, just for the wow and flutter

Definite CE-101 incoming vibes from that enclosure ...

I wish the twist mode was more like a momentary preset that could be customized, instead of the goofy time bend.. I want to swell into more feedback, saturation, wow & flutter while leaving the delay time alone

I’m just here for Andy and the echoes 😍😍😍

I slept on the Korg SDD-3000 pedal you demoed a few years back and they discontinued it for whatever reason and now of course they fetch around up to 800.00 USD. I won't be sleeping on this one.Delay is my favorite and main Time Based FX. I use sparingly just enough to thicken up things. Now I can play old DK songs and drive the Neighbors to the Brink. Sounds good to me.I'll supply the Grit Ha Ha.

Sounds great. The first real competitor for the Volante (but hard to imagine it’s significantly better).

The Boss sounds good but the original sounds amazing!

Wow they sound great ! Have the 201 love 202 but hands down the old analog come on it’s like has it on suppressed quality clear and nice ! But the others have more sounds but ! May I say more sonic distance ! Not so close? But have 1 would prefer original! That’s just my sonic ear! Well done!thanks

I've wanted the Boss RE 20. it was decent prices. then saw a video from pedal partners on the Boss RE 2. I was so excited that night I checked out the RE 2 good prices,then i looked for RE 20 and saw some used for $300. i seen it before at $260. but when I compared them the RE 20 to the RE 2 and it was cheaper. so mine is own it's way!!!!!!!

I still love the RE20! Now's a great time to get a deal on these bad boys used. The guitar pedal equivalent to when Roland dropped the SP 404 Mk ii last year

I don't have one of these but always use Watkins copicat and love the sound and functions as kind of preamp for extra grit

I’m going analog here, but did preorder the 202.

The new ones are amazing at capturing the vibe!

Listening on headphones, the 201 is more transparent in general. The high feedback sounds quite different between the 2. The new features of the 202 are great, and the tone is fuller for better or worse. I’m gettin one!

both sound nice.

I’m really exited about this, but maybe what I’m hearing is a clearer more hi-fi sound from the original.

That Space Echo's texture! ufff. Pedal is super cool though! I wonder if you can warm it up with something after it.

BOSS has aways been the coolest kids on the block ! Dominated the stomp box world since the Beginning. And still the #1 selling Pedals world wide . No BS creative engaged Company.

Dunno if the RE-202’s preamp modeling is switched on here, but if it’s not that might explain why it sounds a bit crispier overall than the 201. Anyway the 202 sounds pretty darn good to me. Might have to get one!

Great demo! What guitar and amp was he using? Hard to beat the original but comes at a high cost for purchase and maintenance. The new pedal sounds great. One thing you can do is use an old cassette recorder as an echo also if you want to combine digital with analog.

Sounds pretty close to me, but the 202 sounds like the mix is just a little too high & there is a little more modulation even with the Wow & Flutter turned all the way down in comparison. Not too surprising, as my experience with my Fulltone Tube Tape Echo is that the actual modulation is more subtle than digital recreations... Giving people what they want to hear, I guess?

Love it COOLL ANDY !!!

The thing about old-school tape delays is that they had AWESOME pre-amps that sweetened your sound wonderfully even if you didn't employ the delay...

Finally a close replica!

Thanks for this; its very interesting. The new unit captures the repeats and patterns but IMO doesn’t come anywhere close in terms of what the old unit does in terms of harmonics, high end sheen and the way it compresses perfectly. The new unit compresses the signal and the tone just loses the magic and life. So much of the tone of old delay units is the preamp and tone circuitry.

I have the Rotary pedal RT-20. I'd love to see a reissue as an RT-202 with the same advances as the RE-202.

Love the layout and it sounds great, but the original just sounds more like part of the tone, like it's integrated better or built in somehow. Maybe rolling off the highs and backing the echo level down could get it closer. But it is a very, very cool pedal. Not sure it would replace my El Capistan, but it does more usable with the control layout.

I think I should not be so obsessed with it being an exactly crafted replica of the original monster. I am interested in it and I see it as a musical tool with unique sonic potential. Owned an RE 20 years ago and sold it in order to afford a big box Stereo Memory Man reissue. I still think it was a very musical delay pedal and I sometimes miss it.

Wow! I feel like I am hearing more “mid range” in the digital?

Andy, do you ever play your G&L anymore? You are still the king of demos :)

Pretty good all around.

The pedal sounded better overall. I've restored and owned many tape machines and tape echoes. I love the sound of real tape...and yet, the pedal sounded better. I think that Space Echo really did need an overall, or at least new electrolytic caps to bring back the low end.

201 for the win. If we can find one we will add it to our studio effects. Tone wise they are not even in the same ball park. Echo and reverb work and sound cool, so for 99% of folks it will be fine... just not us.

Great demo. The 201 sounded a bit darker and more transparent. Would be right at home in a recording like Dark Side of the Moon. The 202 not so much, but a really good emulation. Maybe the settings on the 202 were a tad too bright and forward in the mix as compared? Or, I would love to know if that's indeed characteristic of the RE-202.

Great pedals, if only there was a way to reproduce machine warmth.

Pretty cool demo man, as usual! What do you guys say? Does the smaller RE-2 do its job according to preamp-coloring?

that analog outperformed every one of them pedals by far, the sound was pure and natural versus the too much presence type sound. mellow, natural is what i look for and it produces great tone or compliments it, whatever u prefer. ya just didnt include the single boss pedal enough in between all those takes. i believe you could of did better with the video. although, good idea, nobody else did this. thank you. good efforts.

Andy looked like he as having the most fun with this one 😂

I think that real one is miles ahead in feel and lushness over the pedal. I know, it's real but damn it's night and day

The Spring reverb on the two new space echo sounds as bad as on the RE-20. Instead the sound generated by the Twist seems to be even more ugly

In front or in effectsloop? I ask becuse I heard it has a built in premap to. Would be starnge to put in a affects loop, but a reverb/delay fits good in a effects loop..

I was in love with the RE-2 but the RE-202 is OMG so much sexier

wonder if you can assign the reverb function to an external switch...🤔🤔🤔

Very very close to the original...since I read the news about this new pedal, I started wondering of where I could use it...❤...I'm talkin' bout RE 202, of course...

I think I’d have preferred it in the 200 format but it was probably too tempting not to do it like this

I don’t think they sound very alike. But they both sound cool, usable, and worthy of owning.

202 sounds too perfect than 201 and the magic lays in unperfection in my opinion. When Andy compared reverbs -- 202 sounded more like hall reverb rather then spring reverb.....but that's just my erars and laptop speakers and of course this video. Waiting for mine to arrive and then I could tell more from my exerience. Thanks Andy !

I really like the enclosure shape of the 202. Looks much easier to wield than the clunky bike looking pedals those RE20's had. I still have an RC (sadly doesn't work, but dunno about if it can be repaired) and it was very easy to get your foot stuck on the wrong switch when you're trying to loop something.

Great review Laddybuck….