The classic Space Echo RE-201 has arrived in the Roland Cloud, but can it become the definitive plugin emulation?

It’s not the only member of the Roland Space Echo family, but few would dispute the fact that the RE-201 is the definitive model. Released in 1974, it’s the tape echo and spring reverb par excellence, so it should come as no great surprise that Roland has now added an emulation of it to its roster of plugins .

Available via Roland Cloud, this offers multiple tape head combinations and has a resizable, hi-res interface that replicates the look and feel of the original hardware. There’s an extended set of parameters for those who want to go beyond the original controls, along with six tape-speed LFO shapes with tempo sync and adjustable rate and depth.

As with many of Roland’s other recent ‘vintage’ plugins, you can adjust the condition of the unit to vary the sound. The amount of tape wow and flutter and motor torque can also be controlled.

This new plugin certainly isn’t the only Space Echo emulation game in town. We’ve already seen similar software from the likes of Universal Audio, Cherry Audio , AudioThing and many others. But, given its ‘official’ status, Roland will be hoping that its own plugin becomes the definitive one.

Roland Cloud Ultimate subscribers can download the Space Echo RE-201 plugin now, and it’ll be available to buy as a Lifetime Key from 13 August.