Aside from the Benidub Spring Amp, are there any others out there? I have no desire to spend the approximate price of my Retroverb on a unit that doesn’t have a tank (although I’m sure they’re great) but I do have some random tanks kicking around that I would like to make into compact spring reverbs. How difficult would it be to convert a Music Thing Modular spring reverb kit into a standalone unit powered by, for example, a standard guitar pedal plug, for example, or even a USB socket?
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Or would something like this work?
Would I need 2 (amplifying the input and the output)?
Maybe I already know the answer to this and the standard Gabe Roth ‘Shitty Is Pretty’ solution is the best option, but figured I’d ask better informed folk on here before making assumptions
pretty sure i’ve seen people use bog-standard headphone amps (e.g. Cmoy amps) to drive reverb tanks. or even just the headphone output on a mixer
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That makes sense. I’m thinking I ought to have something kicking around that would do the trick, but nothing immediately comes to mind.
These are quite popular and also have a lot of other features besides just the spring reverb. Haven’t used one myself but have read a lot of good things about them:
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The Ekdahl looks awesome but I already have a Retroverb that I always thought offered a fair bit of crossover. I just fancy cheaply (or maybe even DIY) getting a way of amplifying some reverb tanks so that I can had dedicated ones for specific instruments. I’d love to have one permamently attached to the snare channel of my Akai 8-outs, for example. That would be perfect.
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I’ve got one. Immense fun. The filter and LFO are great. I’ve not messed around with CV and expression control, though. The built in tank/springs are fairly small and exposed to encourage messing around with. Tempted to plug it into a somewhat bigger tank when I get around it it. Main disadvantage over the Benidub is size, I’d guess. It’s a biggish unit. However build quality is insane, its like playing with a bit of 1950s/60s lab equipment, and worth it just for the feels.
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Does it have the ability to attach a larger tank to it directly or would it require a mod?
It just has standard RCA connectors. You’d (I think) disconnect the existing springs and just plug in an alternative tank. There seem to be loads for close to no money on eBay. However, the builder does say on his website:
The spring reverb tank is fastened to the unit using self-adhesive velcro. This came about because I and Martin were discussing how to protect the springs while in transport and we realized that if it was detachable that’d be the best way. The tank is connected to the rest of the unit using RCA connectors, the reason for this is because that has been the standard for connecting reverb tanks since the 60’s (i think). In theory you could connect any reverb tank to the ins/outs but I take no responsibility if you manage to blow your Moisturizer up (shouldn’t be able to happen but gotta cover my ass). One of the neat thing with the velcro is that you choose which side to have your cables on; the front or the rear, if choose rear, the pickup of the springs is on the left side, if you choose front, the pickup of the springs are on the right side. This solved Martin’s and my little argument about how it for him was very important of having the cables on the back, and for me very important to have the pickup on the right.
If you’re thinking of getting one, there is a long thread here Ekdahl Moisturizer is fucking great! - Page 3 - MOD WIGGLER even if most of it is MWs saying “yay its great!” (it is great btw…)
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The mods they mention in the thread sound excellent too!
And speaking of “sound excellent”:
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I have an old amp header I use. Pretty noisey tbh but I like it.
Have you considered the Koma Elektronik Field Kit FX ? …… I’ve not used one but it looks dead useful.
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I have - and I did like it, but ultimately found that there was a lot of overlap between what I had already and what the Field Kit/FX (I had them both) actually did. If Koma sold just the spring amp element in a guitar pedal format it would be perfect! I’m surprised nobody does one, to be honest. I know precious little about such things but it doesn’t seem to be an especially complex circuit.
Yeah, I know what you mean.
It seems like something so obvious that it should already exist - I’d expect you to be able to find it in a “build your own stompbox” DIY format but I’ve found nothing so far
Anasounds do a small pedal size reverb tank driver. You can buy just the pedal or a package with all the tank size options, nicely encased in wooden boxes.
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That looks beautiful! Plus the tank switcher is an excellent add-on, too. I knew it had to exist!
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Hey Pete! If you’ve got a mixer and don’t mind lofi… there’s an idea on how to drive a tank here. https://www.funkydown.com/downloads/shitty2.pdf
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Hehe mate I absolutely don’t mind lofi at all! That’s awesome that Si is still hosting that PDF and helping spread the word of Gabe! I’m an idiot for not trying this out already.
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