[sdiy] Spring Reverb?

[Jim Coursey]

I don't know what your price range or requirements are, but  I seem to remember people speaking well of Orbans or the AKG BX-5, but it seems like those have gotten pretty pricey on eBay as a result (up towards $1k).

There are plenty of cheaper units out there that seem decent enough.  I have a DOD R-845 which I bought for about $60 which is a somewhat noisy mono 2-spring unit, but it's a spring and it serves me well enough for now.  (I hear a little mu-metal over the springs might help me too.)  Noisy isn't so bad in the case of a spring reverb as a LPF gets rid of the noise without destroying the sound, and this one has a 3-band EQ as well.  I see one on eBay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DOD-Reverb-R-845-Spring-Reverb-Equalizer-Vintage-Rack-/190602037362?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c60c44872

A step up the cheaper ranger, there's the Fostex 3180, which some people like.  It's a 3-spring and stereo, which is a bonus in terms of imaging:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fostex-3180-spring-reverb-/330642542547?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cfbd4cfd3

Arguably for the price you might as well pick one up and see if it works for what you want.  You might even feel more compelled to open a cheap unit up and mess with it, dampen or otherwise tweak the springs.

As for the best spring sound, it seems like a matter of taste.  IIRC dub people seem to like the older stuff because they prefer the twang and sproing, 70s/80s folks like a smoother sound.  If you like variety, yet another argument for having a couple in the long  run I suppose.

-Jim


On Nov 16, 2011, at 7:20 AM, dan snazelle wrote:

> I am looking to buy a spring reverb for my setup. I was wondering if anyone can recommend a good rack unit. 
> Maybe someone here even has one they want to sell?
> 
> also...does anyone have an opinion on which kind are better....the units with built in limiting (to lessen slap) or the units without? It seems like in the late 70's early 80's they all started adding limiters.
> 
> I was looking at schematics and they sure look easy to build BUT you have to make a case, and lately I have enough projects to finish as it is!
> 
> 
> 
> thanks for any info!!
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Synth-diy mailing list
> Synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
> http://dropmix.xs4all.nl/mailman/listinfo/synth-diy