Roland RE-100

The Roland RE-100 Echo Chamber was one of the earliest models of tape delay that Roland produced being released in 1973. Roland had previously been releasing tape delays under the name Ace Tone, these units included the Ace Tone EC-1 (Echo Chamber 1). The Roland RE-100 was released alongside the Roland RE-200 which had the added addition of a spring reverb. [Page 4, Roland RE-100 & RE-200 Operation Manual] The RE-100 was similar in styling to the later Roland tape delay units, house in a similar black wooden casing. The fromt panel had a mode selector dial with six different delay settings. For repeat sounds settings 1-3 were used and for more of a 'swelling' sound settings 4-6 could be selected. [Page 4, Roland RE-100 & RE-200 Operation Manual] There were controls for intensity which when turned clockwise would increase the number of echoes. The repeat rate control was used for adjusting the repeat times of the echoes. Controls were also available for the echo volume, this would decide how much effected signal would be heard along with the original signal. [Page 4, Roland RE-100 & RE-200 Operation Manual] There were two controls for the tone of the output signal, these were simple bass and treble controls. The difference that these early units had from later models was the standby switch. This switch controlled the tape movement. When the lever was pushed upwards the tape began moving to activate the echo sound. When the echo was not needed the switch was pushed downwards, the idea of the standby switch was to assure longer lives of the tape heads and the tape itself. [Page 4, Roland RE-100 & RE-200 Operation Manual]

Other Roland Tape Echo Units

*Roland RE-100
*Roland RE-200
*Roland RE-101
*Roland RE-201
*Roland RE-301
*Roland RE-501

References