Spring reverb ???

cjacek

Analogue Enthusiast
Hi,

I'm looking for "just a reverb" box for vocals that I can use with my 424 TASCAM. I've heard of "spring reverbs" but am not sure who sells these new. Does anyone sell just reverbs without the extra fluff effects ... ?? I'm looking for "real" and not "simulated" reverb sounds.

Thanks,

Daniel
 
Well -- a good spring reverb is expensive... Demeter came out with a good one... about $600 US or so...

If you're looking for "real" reverb, then you need to build yourself an echo chamber........... otherwise, I don't know why you'd not consider Lexicon or TC Electronic outboard units...
 
There are some designs for building your own plate reverb as well out there. Perhaps a search for "plate reverb" will turn up a link.
 
To amplify what the other posters said slightly:

- "Real" reverb, at least to me and apparently Blue Bear, means the reverberation of sound in a room. A spring reverb is not "real." Actually, if you accept my meaning of "real," your typical digital reverb can get a lot closer to "real" than a spring reverb.

- There was a DIY plate reverb project in Tape Op back, oh, three months ago or so?

- Various old spring reverb units are for sale on eBay from time to time. Are they any good? I don't know. It's not like I've actually bought one or something, But they are often cheap.

- I wouldn't get too upset about buying a digital box that has a bunch of stuff other than reverb in it. It's all on a chip anyway. It isn't like you're buying a bunch of extra "stuff" in order to get those unnecessary functions.

- There are some digital boxes that are reverb only. They tend to be more high-end, or old.
 
Hmmm...I wonder if it would be worth it to rip the spring reverb out of the old hammond tone cabinet I got sitting out there....
 
Various old spring reverb units are for sale on eBay from time to time. Are they any good? I don't know. It's not like I've actually bought one or something, But they are often cheap.

I have an AKG BX20E Spring Reverb in my garage that my brother in law asked me to "hold onto" about 8 years ago.

I don't even know if it actually works, but I hear that you can't move them when they're this old without risking ruining it.

If you want to drive down here & pick it up I'll sell it to you real cheap!:D
 
God, it can be a luscious sound, though. I had an old Shure Vocal Master PA. The amp basically sucked, although I still use the cabs for some things, but the reverb was worth the price of admission. For a digital box on the cheap, I like TC Electronics M300. I like the Lexicon a lot, but needed S/PDIF out on a budget.
The M300 is not only a pretty good A-D box, and a good reverb unit, but it's not really a bad compressor, in a pinch. The attack and release are fixed, but threshold and ratio are editable.
I'm mostly doing dry tracks right now, but I'm using the M300 as an A-D convertor for my Avalon, to bypass the A-D box in a Roland VS Studio that leaves much to be desired. The Avalon fairly well defeats its pres. The only thing I don't like about the M300 is that it's hard to get really light reverb. Its minimum settings are too much for some songs where you just want a touch of 'verb.-Richie
 
I have an Accessit spring reverb that I've kept from the early eighties. It's fun to use once in a while, and it's pretty good as far as spring reverbs go. Has a lot of different size springs mounted in a separate box from the controls. But I absolutely no way wouldn't want it as my only reverb. As I recall Great British Spring was the one to have back then if you had a homestudio...
 
Set up your mic in the shower. Stairwells are also good. For echo, though, you have to go to the Grand Canyon. That takes a really long mic cable.:cool:
 
maestro_dmc said:
I have an AKG BX20E Spring Reverb in my garage that my brother in law asked me to "hold onto" about 8 years ago.



those were great reverbs...and I believe there is a smaller one..the BX10. They have the springs in oil, I believe, but it has been so long. At the time, they were found in a lot of great studios, augmenting the echo chambers and plates. I wouldn't be too worried about moving it, and if you are really serious about selling it, let me know.
 
I have a BX-5, BX-10, BX-20, EMT140TS, Ecoplate 1 and Ecoplate 2. Each has it's own distinctive sound. Get any and all 'verbs you can. You WILL find a use for all of them. Try mixing diferent ones for some interesting effects. Add a delay line in front of them and you are back in the 60's. btw ....I would love to have another BX-20.
 
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