spring reverb

R

rdfuze

New member
can anyone tell me what spring reverb is and what it is good for or what it might sound like. Is it good for vocals......

\
 
:D Yo Short Fuze:

You know, your question reminds me of a golf student who asked his Pro, "How can I hit short shorts that BACK UP after they hit the green?"

Well, the Pro said, "Do you always hit long of the pin?" The student said,
"No, I always hit short...."

"Duh," said the Pro...."Why do you want to make the ball back up then?"

I had a "spring" reverb, by Motorola put in one of my cars, way back in the 60s. It was great.

However, why worry if you use a spring or a digit or a "fenukian" for reverb?

Most DAWs come with built-in reverb, as do the PC programs; Yamaha makes the best reverb sounds, in my humble opinion; however, I've used Alesis reverb for a long time, as well as Lexicon.

So, go to a vendor's joint and listen up to reverb; it's really a talent to get the "right" amount of reverb into a vocal, or the band, or a single instrument, or a hand clap. Reverb excellence comes from Practice, practice, and remixing.

So, have fun. There are many excellent verb units out there for outboard as well as very good reverb for the DAWs.

Green Hornet

Happy Spring in the Midwest I hope! :D :D :rolleyes:
 
You asked more than one question, so I'll answer each in turn.

Q1. What is a spring reverb?

A: A spring reverb is an electronic device having a line-level audio input connected (via appropriate circuitry) to a transducer, which in turn is connected to one or more springs (typically 6 - 12" long). At the other end of the spring is connected another transducer, which is connected (again via appropriate circuitry) to a line-level audio output. The spring provides a mechanical path for the audio signal, and also induces chaotic reflections and resonances which are somewhat similar to those found in a reverberant room.

Q2: What is it good for, or what does it sound like?

A: Not much, and not very good. :D At best it should be considered to be a "novelty" effect.

Q3: Is it good for vocals?

A: Not in this home recordist's opinion. All the spring units I've ever heard sound like crap. But at one time it was the only way to get a reverb effect at a reasonable cost. If you want to recreate the sound of that bygone era, a spring reverb unit might be just what the doctor ordered.

Don
 
I owned an AKG Bx20 spring reverb for several years. I've heard most every spring reverb ever made and that one was always the nicest. It was about four feet tall and cost me approximately three thousand dollars new. It had a decay range of about 1.5 seconds out to about 4 seconds. I would routinely compress and delay signals to the thing and also sometimes gate the stereo returns from it, which would give a fairly large variety of effects to choose from. It was very very nice for ballads.

I sold it after beginning to acquire my first few Lexicon reverbs in the late 70's early 80's. I kinda wish I hadn't sold it now because it had a coloration that I've not been able to duplicate with the other reverbs I have. I wouldn't want the bx20 as my only reverb...but I do wish I hadn't sold it.
 
If you want ti get a good idea of the sound of spring reverb try listening to older music, especialy country music form the 1960s, most of the guitarist of that era were heavy into reverb and spring models were built into the Fender amps that most of them used.
 
Yeah, spring reverb was IT for the tube amps of the sixties - Fender, Ampeg, Gibson, etc.. Also used in Hammond organs. Useful in those applications, not very useful for effects applied to recordings.
 
I like spring reverb. I like it in my amp and I like my cheap ass Biamp rackmount mono unit. I think that it can sound great on guitar and vocals depending on what you are going for.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top