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Message: [QUOTE="reasonable_guy, post: 22551"] Fletcher: That is true. The best sounding "artificial" reverb by far is produced by using a full sized (1meter x 2 meters in Germany or 3' X 6' in America) sheet of cold rolled steel that is stretched in a sturdy steel frame. Cold rolled, while producing the smoothest reverberation, is subject to manufacturing tolerances in excess of +/- 004 inches in plate thickness. Plus it is shipped covered with oil to prevent rusting. There is no real way to tell sheet by sheet if you have a good one until you clean it shear it to size and suspend it in a frame. At that point, tapping it with a screwdriver and listening closely will let you know if ypu're on the right track. The final test is to attach the driver and a pickup and listen to it with some discrete tracks. I like to use a gated snare drum and a vocal. If the sibilance on the vocal is smooth and the snare doesn't sound like it's been recorded in an oil drum, I know I have a piece of steel that will work. In my experience with cold rolled, it may take 10-20 sheets before you find one you like. (Reverb like anything else is subject to ones taste.) The other route is to use stainless steel. The highs while still present, are not quite as transparent and "shimmering" as cold rolled, however, the sound quality is relatively consistent from sheet to sheet. Stainless is manufactured to +/-.0005 inches tolerance in thickness. If you are making a plate reverb for "budget conscious" customers, stainless produces a generally good reverberation. You may get a bad piece, however, the chances are less likely. What I did for my first couple, is bring a couple of friends to the sheet metal distributor, have them hold up the sheet while I tapped it and listened to it. Because stainless doesn't have all the oil on it, you can get a relatively good idea of the quality. [/QUOTE]

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