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Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] Re: Tape echo and spring reverb

From: "Thomas C. Doncourt" <tomdcour@amnh.org>
Date: 2010-10-11

I've heard of the Brick plates before. Never played the tron through one
but would like to.
I've recorded with an EMT gold plate- the old Delta studio had one. It was
warm, the best reverb I have heard for mellotron to date. I've always used
a spring reverb- had a Premier in the 70's and one made byamp builder Tim
Van right now. The current one is tube and has a warm tone but a
relatively short time. In the 70's if someone had showed me the Alessis
midiverb I would have thrown my spring unit in the trash. That would have
been a mistake. Now I'm thinking of finding an EMT somewhere or trying out
the Brick!

> Univox echos can be had cheap., kind've basic. If you are lucky enough
> to
> get a tape echo, don't forget to use back lubricated tape. It can still
> be
> had and a $50 reel will last a decade or more, it's the same stuff they
> fill
> broadcast carts with, you don't need Roland loops. Lately I like to use
> shorter loops, I change them according to a schedule, so i have been
> bulking
> and cutting down 8 Track tapes, this is the cheapest and easiest method of
> getting back coated tape. It is good 1/4" hifi tape. A tape echo with a
> fresh tape sounds amazing. The RE201D is a good device and so is the old
> Chandler solid state echo emulator.
>
> Another great and cheap source of tape echo is reel to reel tape decks.
> Set
> the playback source to tape and input to mic or line and then adjust the
> echo with input volume and to a lesser degree with speed. if you take the
> physical output and crosspatch it into the input you can get a mild cross
> channel bounce. All you need is a fresh roll of tape. The stocks of reel
> tape is the best made in the past 35 years save Emitape whis has always
> been
> good.
>
> Anybody who needs a reel of 1/4" let me know, I can hook you up.
>
>
> gino
>
>
> On Sun, Oct 10, 2010 at 6:38 PM, william Beith <wbeith@sbcglobal.net>
> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> I build plate reverberation units and hold a patent on one under the
>> name
>> Brick Audio.
>>
>> If anyone has an interest I can send a pdf of the manual.
>>
>> Alas....I do not yet have a Mellotron to demo through it. I suspect that
>> any studio smaller than Abbey Road (which had its own chambers) used
>> EMT
>> 240 plate reverbs in their studio. So most 60's European Mellotron
>> recordings with reverb could be assumed to be plate reverb.
>>
>> If American and recorded in the Capitol or Sunset studio's they also had
>> their own chambers. Everyone else uded plates, generally EMT 240's.
>>
>> A 240 was a 3X6 foot steel plate. The Brick Audio plates are 3X3, 3X5
>> and
>> 3X7 stainless steel eliminating the rust issues. The driver is bonded to
>> the
>> plate itself eliminating the need to calibrate/setup.
>>
>> Bill
>>
>> ------------------------------
>> ∗From:∗ Sean <fourtytwominds@yahoo.com>
>> ∗To:∗ newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com
>> ∗Sent:∗ Sun, October 10, 2010 3:18:10 PM
>> ∗Subject:∗ [newmellotrongroup] Re: Tape echo and spring reverb
>>
>>
>>
>> I've never run across a real spring or plate unit. If anyone has one,
>> would
>> you do a side by side comparison of spring and plate reverb for the
>> Melly?
>> Thanks.
>>
>> -Sean
>>
>> --- In
>> newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com<newmellotrongroup%40yahoogroups.com>,
>> tspit74@... wrote:
>> >
>> > I grabbed a Multivox MX-312 Multi Echo off Craigslist recently and
>> finally hooked it up to #857. Holy shit! Nothing compares to tape echo
>> and
>> spring reverb. The 312 is an off brand knockoff of the Roland RE-201
>> Space
>> Echo with some additional features. Particularly "swell reverb" which
>> adds a
>> swelling echo to the reverb signal. Lush doesn't begin to describe it.
>> My
>> advice: If you haven't tried your tron thru an old tape echo/spring
>> reverb,
>> you haven't lived. Tape to tape is a beautiful sound.
>> >
>> >
>> > Now back to playing some Starless...
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>