Ruggedized Reverb

[bradicusmaximus]

As I was reading through I came across the reverb post currently on this page and it got me thinking - has anyone come up with a way of ruggedizing modern spring reverbs?

I wind up getting a lot of amps used by some of the road warrior players who are putting 100k miles and 200 shows a year on their equipment trying to scrape out a living. While most of the stuff is pretty simple like new tubes, biasing, replacing a blown relay or the such, the one thing I get a ton is blown out reverb tanks. Some are just dead, some have popped springs, some go microphonic etc. Just seems like the new ones - regardless of manufacturer - just don't have the same build quality as the old ones. (Get off my lawn!)

So, have any of you guys found a way to make that component of the amp a mint more resilient to the rigors of the road?

Don't know if there's an answer outside of telling them to suck it up and buy a good pedal, but I figure with the massive amounts of knowledge and experience here I'd throw it out and see.

Thanks!

Brad

[pompeiisneaks]

There is a pro in the nashville area that posts a lot of detail on his repairs on FB (Lyle Caldwell). He went into great length one time to truly test out all the current manufacturers reverb pans and gave them all a horrid rating. The transducers are garbage, wires break, the overall quality of them is just shit.

He's complained to the manufacturers many times but gets nothing. Only the old stock stuff is worth it per him.

I've not done much myself, so I can't speak to it, though.

~Phil

[martin manning]

Lyle C (Psionic Audio) is in Memphis. A combo amp is a really tough environment. I recall TAG member Stevem suggesting a couple of things: Usung silicone to stabilize the wires connecting the transducers to the jacks, and making sure that the coil forms are fixed to the transducer cores using a drop of CA glue if needed. Both sound reasonable, but I haven't tried either. I recently had a tank arrive that was literally crushed in shipment. Electrically, it was still working fine.

[pompeiisneaks]

Lyle C (Psionic Audio) is in Memphis. A combo amp is a really tough environment. I recall TAG member Stevem suggesting a couple of things: Usung silicone to stabilize the wires connecting the transducers to the jacks, and making sure that the coil forms are fixed to the transducer cores using a drop of CA glue if needed. Both sound reasonable, but I haven't tried either. I recently had a tank arrive that was literally crushed in shipment. Electrically, it was still working fine.

Oh you're right, lol thanks

Both great sounding tips to get the recent poor QC under control, pun intended.

~Phil

[caps8419]

you could shock mount the entire tank.

Todd Sharp does this for his dual pan reverb.

[bradicusmaximus]

Lyle C (Psionic Audio) is in Memphis. A combo amp is a really tough environment. I recall TAG member Stevem suggesting a couple of things: Usung silicone to stabilize the wires connecting the transducers to the jacks, and making sure that the coil forms are fixed to the transducer cores using a drop of CA glue if needed. Both sound reasonable, but I haven't tried either. I recently had a tank arrive that was literally crushed in shipment. Electrically, it was still working fine.

Oh you're right, lol thanks

Both great sounding tips to get the recent poor QC under control, pun intended.

~Phil

Thanks Guys - I'll have to explore that direction a bit. I usually try to grab an older pan when I have to do a service like this, but that's a finite supply.

[R.G.]

Yeah, I have been tinkering in that direction.

My approach is to coat the Beltone BTDR-2 with a smooth, buttery layer of buffers and level adjusters so that it fakes a spring reverb, and then to hid it inside a reverb tank shell.

Many people think the BTDR is OK, and this sure is a rugged way to get reverb. Someone who does 200 shows a year might well not quibble about esoteric considerations of it not sounding perfectly pure.

Or be able to hear the difference, for that matter.

[dbeasley]

Digital reverb has come a long way. Jussayin

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