A good spring reverb?

Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2003 3:30 am

Well even if I love my DAW and all the plug-ins... I want to get a good spring reverb for my home/project studio.
Do you have any favourites that you can reccomend?
The AKG ones are too expensive right now for me.
I'm looking for a more budget thing...
Has anyone tried a Biamp reverb?
Or maybe something else.
I'd be very glad if you could help me with this.

Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2003 5:27 am

Well the topic asks for a good spring reverb and the AKG is a good spring reverb. But if ya want cheap then hunt for the Orban. If ya want real cheap, look for older Biamp mixers as a lot of them had spring reverbs built in.

Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2003 2:45 pm

Well, I know that AKG are great but I'm going to use it when I mix elctric guitars... so I think that it doesn't have to be the best reverb... anyway, the AKG is too big for my small room.
I use to have a Boss RX100 spring reverb... I really loved that sound.... I was stupid enough to sell it when I bought my Yamaha SPX 90.
A while after that I bought a Fostex 3180 reverb... but that one wasn't really good enough.
I don't like digital reverbs for electric guitars... I have plug-ins and some hardware units ( Lexicon, Alesis, Yamaha) but it doesn't make the guitar "sing like a spring" :p

Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2003 7:04 pm

AKG made more than one spring reverb. Look for a used 2-rack space unit BX5 I think was the model number.

Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2003 3:59 am

I have the Biamp, and a couple other spring verbs. The Biamp is my favorite, but (like most springs) it is on the noisey side. Make sure you connect the ground to it. I like cracking the hi and hi mid frequencies. It actually sounds like a realistic (mono) verb if you don't hit it to hard. But where's the fun in that, so... you can crank the 'drive', but I usually keep it no higher than 12 o clock and turn up the input into it for the "guitar amp spring" sound. You should be able to find one for below $150, but I suggest you avoid ebay when it comes to spring verbs. Demeter has a balls-awesome spring verb. It's the best I've ever heard.

Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2003 2:51 pm

Thank you AudioGaff ! I thought that they only did those big boxes.... I've heard about BX5, but I thought that was one of them.
Going to see what I can find.
e-cue : Is your Biamp a mono reverb ?
I just love those "fake stereo-reverbs"... I want it BIG...
I saw one Biamp reverb in a shop a few days ago ( 100 USD)... Is that price OK?

Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2003 8:30 pm

Hi Cris, it is good to hear from ya again sir!

Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2003 7:21 pm

Hi Tore,

Try to get a MasterRoom XL-305 it´s one of the best spring reverb ever in 19" 2HE rack size.
Also the old MasterRoom MR-3, this is a 1 meter high pillar in wood like finish.(grindstolpen som den kallas för i sverige)
The MR-3 is a bit noisy but after some modification in electronics this spring reverb are my favourite.

A nice inexpensive spring reverb are "The Great British Spring" and this is a 1 meter gray plastic tube (liknar en bit avloppsrör) with some connectors and knobs on the top.
I think you can find some in Sweden because in 1980´s I sold hundred of them there.

--Bo

Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2003 8:26 am

Quote:

Originally posted by Tore member of Park:
Thank you AudioGaff ! I thought that they only did those big boxes.... I've heard about BX5, but I thought that was one of them.
Going to see what I can find.
e-cue : Is your Biamp a mono reverb ?
I just love those "fake stereo-reverbs"... I want it BIG...
I saw one Biamp reverb in a shop a few days ago ( 100 USD)... Is that price OK?

Sorry for the delayed response. Yeah, the Biamp is mono. It's pretty cool fed into a Cyclopanner (by the way, I'm looking for one). You should be able to find one cheaper than $100, but if you can plug the unit in at the shop and test it for noise issues, that would be a good price it insure you get a good unit. Basically, they went for a realistic sound, so if you keep the 'drive down', that's what you'll get.

Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2003 10:38 am

Don't over look the Peavey Valve -'Verb... a one rack space piece, guitar pre and a tremelo as well.. great Fender style spring 'verb... with a 3 band eq for the reverb. I have one that I have had for 7 or 8 years now, it has held up well and all my clients and engineers have loved it ...

Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2003 2:55 pm

Yeah the Valverb (correct spelling) is a great little tool. They can be a little hard to find though. The reverb is the best sounding two-spring I've heard. The tremolo also also beats out my '61 Concert Amp and '65 Vibro Champ which are considered standards for trem.

Sound Workshop also made a nice spring reverb unit. A stereo 2U. That one overdrives nicely too. That one can handle drums pretty well, suprisingly. That one is hard to find, too.

You can find Orban spring verbs on ebay all the time. I can't imagine it's too different from the Sound Workshop. They were produced around the same time. The Orban also features a limiter circuit if I'm correct.

Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2003 4:45 pm

One could always make one. I have several spring reverb devices I have built from parts. I am also currently experimenting with some reverb springs from the mid 1940's that are vertical, about three feet long and the springs sit in tubes with oil in the tubes. They have tube drivers and pres, and are all balanced. The transducer at the input end has a 10oz or so alnico magnet with a little spider. Overall, a pretty beefy unit with a very unique sound. If anyone wants to know more about how to find one or how to make this work with a modern console, or if anyone has more info, let me know. I'd be happy to send pictures or schematics or answer questions.

Tim Stoel

Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2003 6:00 pm

Tim, I'm interested in your oil-filled spring things! Tell us more!

On the subject, I have a Kendrick tube reverb, which is a better built quieter copy of the Fender reverb unit. It has a beautiful sound, and dwell and tone controls. It also has 2 inputs, one for a line input, one for an instrument.

It's mono, but sounds really smooth and musical.

Mike

Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 4:30 am

Quote:

Originally posted by Kurt Foster:
Don't over look the Peavey Valve -'Verb... a one rack space piece, guitar pre and a tremelo as well.. great Fender style spring 'verb... with a 3 band eq for the reverb. I have one that I have had for 7 or 8 years now, it has held up well and all my clients and engineers have loved it ...

They don't accept line input, do they?

Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2003 8:39 am

One more option is the PAIA kit, its pretty easy to make and supposedly offers some nice high quality spring reverb.

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