Proper spring reverb

[WarmJetGuitar]

Was wondering which inexpensive standalone spring reverbs is out there?

Also I'm considering buying a Roland PA-150 to grab it's reverb for a standalone unit. Would that be relatively easy and affordable? It's no prob for me to identify the reverb inside the desk.

 

[James K]

There's the Danelectro spring king but that's more of a guitar effect than a studio unit. There's also the Vermona retroverb but that's pretty expensive.

If you can build electronic stuff, you could get this kit PAiA - 6740K Hot Springs Reverb Kit, Studio Series, 6740K.

 

[jpmorris]

Does it need to be stereo? That might limit your options, but it can be handy to have - an old trick when using low track counts was to have the drums, say, in mono and synthesize a stereo image by applying reverb during mixdown.

A reverb intended for use in a guitar chain won't usually do this (unless you have two of them) and if that's all you need it for, that's fine. But if you're using it as an aux effect in the mix you may need to get one intended for that use.

I have a Vesta Kaza RV-3, which can be switched between two independent springs or linked for a mono->stereo. ('Indep.' vs 'Mix'). ...And it seems to have tripled in price since I bought it...

 

[famous beagle]

I have a Biamp MR/140. It's mono, but it sounds great and has quite a bit of control, with 4-band EQ (low, low mid, high mid, and high). I got mine for $125 shipped.

P.S. Just in case you don't know, please don't ever buy anything from this guy on ebay (with the flower pots in the picture). He typically charges between 100 to 300% more than what something is worth. I didn't buy this from him; it's just the best picture of the unit I could find.

 

[Lt. Bob]

this:
Fostex 3180 Reverb Unit Vintage Spring Analog Very Nice Condition with Cable | eBay

I have one and it's an absolutely gorgeous sounding spring reverb. It does NOT do anything else as it is an actual spring reverb but if that's what you specifically want, I can't imagine anything better.

 

[A Reel Person]

...

Fostex 3180, Tascam RS-20 or RS-20B

is my answer.

 

[Blue Jinn]

Just pay $500 from flower pot for the Fostex. Either that, or go with the PAIA hotsprings. I build one of those. I need to fix some of my wiring due to RF issues, but it sounds good. I also have a Furman RV-2 stereo unit I bought from my cousin. I don't know what they fetch, figure 20% of what flower pot would ask.

You know, we're giving that asshole a lot of free press here.

 

[WarmJetGuitar]

That's some pretty good advice guys!
Don't know if I need it to be in stereo, I kindda like the thing that happens on old PA desks with the all wet-signal being send to the right channel if you hard pan a track but I asume the thing has to be integrated to the desk in order to do that?

 

[Rich_S]

...Also I'm considering buying a Roland PA-150 to grab it's reverb for a standalone unit. Would that be relatively easy and affordable? It's no prob for me to identify the reverb inside the desk.

Am I correct in thinking you're planning to separate the reverb from the mixer? Keep in mind that a reverb tank by itself is no good, it needs send and receive amplifiers to excite the springs and recover the signal. You either need to build replacement circuits, or pull them out of the board along with the tank. This would likely be impossible, since the reverb send/return circuits likely share a PC board with other stuff.

However, I think you're on the right track. Many old standalone spring reverb units have achieved the status of "classic" with a corresponding high price. Whereas many old powered PA mixers have achieved the status of "obsolete junk" with price tags of zero or slightly higher. I recently bought a pristine Yamaha EM100 PA mixer for $70, including built-in spring reverb.

I say grab the PA-150 or somthing similar an use it as-is. Sure, it's a bit over-qualified as just a reverb, but it may have other uses around the studio, and it's good to give some of this old gear a good home.

 

[Lt. Bob]

the Fostex is dual channel .. thus stereo

 

[A Reel Person]

the Fostex is dual channel .. thus stereo

... so is the Tascam RS-20/B

 

[WarmJetGuitar]

Yeah, I might just use the effects send/return on the Fostex 820 to send to the Yamaha EM300 or use the direct outs on the Fostex 820 sending to the the channels on the EM300. Though I fear it'll build up too much noise but better give it a go.
I just like convinience of sweep EQ and mute buttons on the 820 while the sonic caracteristics on the EM300 is a tad nicer.
We've mixed one album on the EM300 and one album combining a EM300 and PA-150.

The spring on the EM300 is nice for subtle verb while it gets harsh and metallic when used to excess. On the PA-150 you can crank it all the way and makes almost everything sound nicer.

I wanna go through a lot of trouble to avoid using an Alesis Microverb III as the main reverb...

 

[lonewhitefly]

I have the Biamp MR-140 as well, the Furman unit is good also -- possibly better, but I have not spent as much time with it since I don't own one.

 

[Herm]

The Tascam RS 20 First version is a nice unit also.

 

[Blue Jinn]

I already posted. Oops. Well you could also look into different spring sizes, and hand roll your own. AFAIK longer and more is better.

 

[WarmJetGuitar]

Yeah, a homemade one might be an option too. I got a friend who's into electronics.

So far I've been too occupied recording to test the EM300 in an effects loop but in general terms I'd love a warmer spring sound than this desk has to offer. But it's terrific as a preamp.

 

[WarmJetGuitar]

Time for bringing this one back to life.

We've got the PAIA spring reverb but an IC1 has gone missing. We're in a rush due to two EP's I've recorded that needs finishing very soon and PAIA's office is taking a break + plus shipping from the US is slow and cost money.

This leads us to the question of which IC1's can be used from Ebay? A link will be recieved with gratitude. Getting a bit desperate, please help.

 

[jpmorris]

What does the schematic say? The publicly available schematic doesn't say what chip it is, though it's clearly some kind of quad op-amp. Google suggests it might be an RC4136 , and the pinout seems to match, but if you can confirm that it would save you the headache of getting the wrong one.

 

[ecc83]

How do you mean "missing"? Did it plug in and has been pinched or has it been de-soldered?

If the latter get a glass on the PCB and check for solder bridges and lifted track THEN fit a socket.

I doubt that there are any pinout variations on the TL084 which I am sure will do. The schematic I found had a 1M5 bias resistor in one stage so it is definitely a FETinput chip.

I must have had 1000 or more TL0 variants in kit thru' my hands in the last 10 years and experimented and abused a dozen more! They hardly ever fail.

Dave.

 

[jpmorris]

How do you mean "missing"? Did it plug in and has been pinched or has it been de-soldered?

If the latter get a glass on the PCB and check for solder bridges and lifted track THEN fit a socket.

I doubt that there are any pinout variations on the TL084 which I am sure will do. The schematic I found had a 1M5 bias resistor in one stage so it is definitely a FETinput chip.

I thought the PAIA was a kit and the chip wasn't included in the set for some reason, but I could be wrong.
The RC4136 does seem to have a vastly different pinout than the TL084 or LM348 chips, the diagram online for the PAIA seemed to be using the 4136 pinout, so I'm not convinced a TL would work, e.g. it seemed to need the outputs on 3,4 10 and 12, as opposed to 1,2,3 and 4 like the others.

This is assuming I had the right schematic, of course:
PAiA Corporation: Hot Springs Reverb Schematics