You’ve heard the Roland RE-201 (i.e. the Space Echo) manipulated in songs by Bob Marley, Radiohead, Portishead, and Pink Floyd. The Space Echo is a tape delay pedal with a spring reverb tank built into it. Aside from its durability and longer tape compared to those before it, the spring reverb is what makes it so special.
It also introduced bass and treble controls that provided an EQ for the effect. You could easily access inputs from multiple sources (mic, instrument) and a mixer from the front panel. If you turn up the intensity control as the echo fades out, you’ll get this intense swelling effect heard on many dub or reggae songs.
An article by Soundfly claims, “Dub music producers like King Tubby and Lee “Scratch” Perry played the Space Echo almost as if it were its own instrument. In Augustus Pablo’s song “555 Dub Street,” Lee Perry uses the Space Echo on the melodica and turns what most consider a harsh, uninviting instrument into something lush and layered.”
