GSi's GS-201 MK2 has been released!!

Synthi

@Crabman said:
So,does this mean the extras of the desktop unit are already there (hidden) and accessible by midi CC?

Unfortunately no….

Synthi

@Slush said:
Ok, I got some feedback to share. Guido didn't understand what I meant by the heavy 'vintage layer' that has been applied to the GS-201. It appears there is none! The sound colour of unit itself is based on his own Space Echo unit.

Read:

_No, all editing settings have been left at their default position,
which is what I consider the "normal" state of the Space Echo the
moment it was freshly refurbished, cleaned and loaded with a new
tape... back in 2018.

The values are on Midi CC range (0 ~ 127) but
some of them correspond to absolute values, e.g. the tape length is
2,5 meters with value = 64; the motor lag is about 20 seconds with
value at 64 (means that the motor takes about 20 seconds to change
from slowest speed to fastest speed and stabilizes)._

This is what he attached.

He did a comparison video of his unit with the GS-201 for us to judge.

So, what do we think, maybe have a new fresh look at the GS-201?

The echo part is fine for me. had a 501 space echo for years, not so dirty as the 201, and this emulation is spot on. The reverb… unusable for me. Even in the comparison video you can heard the original is mellower and rounder. The reverb in the AUV3 have a nasty distorted mid high not present in the original. Maybe it’s an IR captured at wrong levels…
Also about the echo part, the slowed speed is not slow enough, what’s the minimum delay time in the plug-in, like 250ms? The original goes much more. Also at least some of the hidden options should be accessible: sync, noise, condition and (please!) Sound on Sound.

Slush

@Synthi said:
The echo part is fine for me. had a 501 space echo for years, not so dirty as the 201, and this emulation is spot on. The reverb… unusable for me. Even in the comparison video you can heard the original is mellower and rounder. The reverb in the AUV3 have a nasty distorted mid high not present in the original. Maybe it’s an IR captured at wrong levels…
Also about the echo part, the slowed speed is not slow enough, what’s the minimum delay time in the plug-in, like 250ms? The original goes much more. Also at least some of the hidden options should be accessible: sync, noise, condition and (please!) Sound on Sound.

Well, he wrote that the desktop version is out for 4 years and always got good reviews, so I’m not going to push it any further than I already did with the communication between the dev, but I think I’ll keep the reverb more often than not on 0. Btw, I have a Space Echo reverb in AltiSpace, and a little bit of that on the GS-201 makes a difference night and day

Gavinski

@Slush said:

@Synthi said:
The echo part is fine for me. had a 501 space echo for years, not so dirty as the 201, and this emulation is spot on. The reverb… unusable for me. Even in the comparison video you can heard the original is mellower and rounder. The reverb in the AUV3 have a nasty distorted mid high not present in the original. Maybe it’s an IR captured at wrong levels…
Also about the echo part, the slowed speed is not slow enough, what’s the minimum delay time in the plug-in, like 250ms? The original goes much more. Also at least some of the hidden options should be accessible: sync, noise, condition and (please!) Sound on Sound.

Well, he wrote that the desktop version is out for 4 years and always got good reviews, so I’m not going to push it any further than I already did with the communication between the dev, but I think I’ll keep the reverb more often than not on 0. Btw, I have a Space Echo reverb in AltiSpace, and a little bit of that on the GS-201 makes a difference night and day

That sounds like a plan. I love it as a delay.... The reverb part... No thanks. But it's also not a biggie.... I'm sure most of us have more reverb apps than we know what to do with lol

tahiche

@PeteSasqwax said:
I made this before the 201 came out so the comparison is with the Varispeed instead but it underlines the difference between that and the GSI apps in general in my opinion:

This is extremely helpful. I wanted to see the difference between these GSI delays and my beloved RE1 and this is just what I needed. Thanks!.
I have to agree with @auxmux though, synced to bpm would be very useful and i see no reason to omit that just for being truthful to the original design. I use the sync option all the time on the RE1, accurate delays synced with BPM will sound less messy and can enhance the rhythmic feel.

espiegel123

@PeteSasqwax said:

@NeuM said:
Compared to which other iOS tape echoes/emulations?

I don't have these:

@NeuM said:
-IK Multimedia’s MixBox CS
-Harry Gohs’ Tap Delay

So all of the below:

@NeuM said:
-Toneboosters’ TB ReelBus
-Yonac’s ToneStack
-Duplicat
-Imaginando’s K7D
-Caelum Audio’s Tape Pro
-CHOW Tape Model
-yaleD
-Kai Aras’ RE-1
-Gauss Field Looper
-Klevgrand’s DAW Cassette
-FabFilter’s Timeless 3

Others are welcome to disagree, of course, but, for me personally, Varispeed is head and shoulders above most others.

It all depends on what you're after in a delay. Personally I want life and movement. Something that brings its own character to the sound without being some kind of nostalgic novelty act. For me, Varispeed does that.

At the risk of repeating a video I've already shared, I feel that it genuinely does speak for itself. No, it's not exhaustive, but Varispeed does what RE1 can't - and RE1 is arguably one of the best.

For what it's worth, I love Bleass Delay, I love Timeless, I love many of those listed above (Caelum and Chow especially, though not as delays). I'm a friend for delays and likely always will be, but I use many for different scenarios. When I want a tape delay that adds character and feels like an actual instrument, Varispeed has the rest beat hands down (again, in my opinion).

Thanks for posting.

Gavinski

Good vid!

Stuntman_mike

Won’t this plugin lose its character if we make it sound and operate like what we already have?

It has limitations and quirks because it is focused on certain textures.

The point of this video was to demonstrate how to use the Space Echo in its element:

PeteSasqwax

Thanks, all - glad it was of some use. I was having difficulty conveying my meaning in words so a screen recording seemed like a much better idea.

I can see why people want sync and don't see the harm in offering it either but I agree with @Stuntman_mike for what it's worth. I don't want on rails delays, I want things approximately there so they slip out of time here and there and create the Bob Ross moments

Stuntman_mike

@PeteSasqwax said:
Thanks, all - glad it was of some use. I was having difficulty conveying my meaning in words so a screen recording seemed like a much better idea.

I can see why people want sync and don't see the harm in offering it either but I agree with @Stuntman_mike for what it's worth. I don't want on rails delays, I want things approximately there so they slip out of time here and there and create the Bob Ross moments

PeteSasqwax

😂 exactly!

Slush

Why has 'input left/input right' no influence on left and right like Varispeed? Bug, mono or me? And if mono, why left/right?

Stuntman_mike

@Slush said:
Why has 'input left/input right' no influence on left and right like Varispeed? Bug, mono or me? And if mono, why left/right?

Good question…

Gavinski

@Slush said:
Why has 'input left/input right' no influence on left and right like Varispeed? Bug, mono or me? And if mono, why left/right?

They do make a difference, but yes, sounds totally different from the way Varispeed handles this. I would assume (but don't know) that this is a pure emulation of the way the hardware unit works?

Slush

No, on the hardware is no left/right, only levels for 2 Mic inputs and 1 instrument. See manual below.

Stuntman_mike

@Gavinski said:

@Slush said:
Why has 'input left/input right' no influence on left and right like Varispeed? Bug, mono or me? And if mono, why left/right?

They do make a difference, but yes, sounds totally different from the way Varispeed handles this. I would assume (but don't know) that this is a pure emulation of the way the hardware unit works?

That’s what I am thinking. Perhaps viewing a waveform via an oscilloscope or spectrum analyzer might show the effect?

Slush

It would really make a difference if it works like the Varispeed, it’s a feature that really can alter the sound in interesting ways..

Gavinski

@Slush said:
It would really make a difference if it works like the Varispeed, it’s a feature that really can alter the sound in interesting ways..

Yeah the Varispeed is far more interesting in this department. But having spoken to the dev he is 100% committed to the idea that any app that is an emulation should be as close as possible to the original hardware.

Stuntman_mike

From the manual: “The leftmost section includes the two knobs for the input level, one for the left channel and one for the right channel. The third knob adjusts the amount of dry signal reaching the output of the effect. The knobs at the max position represent the unity gain.”

Unity gain is a term used when establishing the balance between pieces of audio equipment. The idea is that input should equal output, level-wise. Audio that goes into a device at one level and comes out of that device at the same level is said to be at unity gain.

Gavinski

@Stuntman_mike said:
From the manual: “The leftmost section includes the two knobs for the input level, one for the left channel and one for the right channel. The third knob adjusts the amount of dry signal reaching the output of the effect. The knobs at the max position represent the unity gain.”

Unity gain is a term used when establishing the balance between pieces of audio equipment. The idea is that input should equal output, level-wise. Audio that goes into a device at one level and comes out of that device at the same level is said to be at unity gain.

Thanks for clarifying Mike - I lazily did not read the manual on this one as it seems like all the controls are pretty intuitive

Stuntman_mike

@Gavinski said:

@Stuntman_mike said:
From the manual: “The leftmost section includes the two knobs for the input level, one for the left channel and one for the right channel. The third knob adjusts the amount of dry signal reaching the output of the effect. The knobs at the max position represent the unity gain.”

Unity gain is a term used when establishing the balance between pieces of audio equipment. The idea is that input should equal output, level-wise. Audio that goes into a device at one level and comes out of that device at the same level is said to be at unity gain.

Thanks for clarifying Mike - I lazily did not read the manual on this one as it seems like all the controls are pretty intuitive

You’re welcome! That’s what I did too 😂

Slush

The more I play with it, the more I love it. The GS-201 is a very cool delay, as long as you stay away from the reverb. Instead, the Altispace ‘RE201’ reverb (in the spring section) does absolute wonders at various dry/wet settings.

I have made a whoooole bunch of presets, mostly settings copied from my Audiothing, but with alterations here and there, as both delays are very different. I have no idea how to share these, I can only save them in my Apematrix..

PeteSasqwax

I'm trying to ween myself off Varispeed long enough to get properly stuck in but I have a bit of an addiction to it

Gavinski

@Slush said:
The more I play with it, the more I love it. The GS-201 is a very cool delay, as long as you stay away from the reverb. Instead, the Altispace ‘RE201’ reverb (in the spring section) does absolute wonders at various dry/wet settings.

I have made a whoooole bunch of presets, mostly settings copied from my Audiothing, but with alterations here and there, as both delays are very different. I have no idea how to share these, I can only save them in my Apematrix..

Yeah - very easy to just use another reverb! Lovely delay though

Synthi

Keep in mind that the space echo reverb run in parallel to the echo, so you’ll need to put the reverb in a send, not in line with the GS201 plugin…

PeteSasqwax

That's interesting. Thanks. I hadn't thought of that but it's obvious now you mention it (as things tend to be)

Slush

@Synthi said:
Keep in mind that the space echo reverb run in parallel to the echo, so you’ll need to put the reverb in a send, not in line with the GS201 plugin…

Not sure if I understand correctly, I have the GS10 run in serial to the reverb, so the space echo goes through the reverb, right or wrong?

PeteSasqwax

I believe that the signal goes through the delay and reverb simultaneously and are summed at the output

krassmann

Just if you also need a space echo for desktop, the Cherry Audio RE-201 emulation is currently on sale at several resellers for just 9 bucks. I think it sounds too clean but the delay emulation is fine.

NeuM

@krassmann said:
Just if you also need a space echo for desktop, the Cherry Audio RE-201 emulation is currently on sale at several resellers for just 9 bucks. I think it sounds too clean but the delay emulation is fine.

And that sale price ends on Oct. 2. I like it a lot and I actually prefer the cleaner sound of the Cherry Audio.

https://cherryaudio.com/news/stardust-201-year-one-sale-is-on