In need of REVERBeration

[ElectricMudd]

Thanks for all the responses! I have to say the Van Amps have really caught my ear, as well as the Dr. Scientist RRR. I have strongly considered a Fender reverb unit, but I wanted to know what others thoughts were about pedals. Can a good bit of the springyness be dialed out of the reverb unit? All the clips I've heard are extremely springy and I'm really not looking for a surf tone. I'm looking for something a bit more subtle, as in what the Van Amps can offer. I play mostly blues and classic rock type stuff, so I am looking for reverb to compliment that.

Has anyone heard the Lee Jackson Mr. Springgy? I've hear it on YouTube, but you never know what the camera's mic will do to the sound, so I rarely trust them.

[mrpicard]

After lots of research, the top ones seem to be:

- VanAmps Sole-Mate is a highly recommended analog spring reverb pedal.
- Dr. Scientist Radical Red Reverberator is a digital pedal with a range of reverb options.
- Lee Jackson Mr Springgy is a new simple, transparent spring reverb pedal that seems to be rapidly growing in popularity and praise.
- '63 Fender Reverb for that original Fender tube-based reverb sound (mod to original specs).

The final selection would come down to personal taste and needs. Hard to go wrong with any of the above.

[psycho*daisies]

Thanks for all the responses! I have to say the Van Amps have really caught my ear, as well as the Dr. Scientist RRR. I have strongly considered a Fender reverb unit, but I wanted to know what others thoughts were about pedals. Can a good bit of the springyness be dialed out of the reverb unit? All the clips I've heard are extremely springy and I'm really not looking for a surf tone. I'm looking for something a bit more subtle, as in what the Van Amps can offer. I play mostly blues and classic rock type stuff, so I am looking for reverb to compliment that.

Has anyone heard the Lee Jackson Mr. Springgy? I've hear it on YouTube, but you never know what the camera's mic will do to the sound, so I rarely trust them.

Yeah, the Fender is definitely all about 'surf tone'. It can be used in other ways (with Dwell on low settings -- on high is the Dick Dale dripping sound)...and won't sound surfy if your guitar set-up, playing style and song choice are not 'surfy' but it's always gonna have that spring-reverb sound...

This thread is helpful to me, because though I love my '61 Fender 'verb tank, it's semi-bulky when just going to practice and would be cool to have something with another type of sound...

What about the EH Holy Grail reverbs?

[ElectricMudd]

For those who have played a VanAmps Sole-Mate and Reverbamate...is there much difference in the sound of the two pedals?

The tolex is black btw psycho*daisies and you're right, that '64 tank would be wonderful with the Bassman..

[blungo2]

The Dr. Scientist verb didn't do much for me. I'd been missing my old Lexicon, which to my ears was very lush and natural sounding. I wound up getting a $99.00 behringer v-verb pro which i'm really enjoying. The reverbs are as lush and natural as my old lexicon (there are several lexicon models on it). It sounds great to me with one important caveat. If i crank my amp way up, the noise from the reverb is clearly audible between notes. Consequently i only use the reverb with the amp at medium levels, which i'm sure would make it unusable for some. My amp is quite primitive though, and doesn't have an FX loop, which i suspect would nullify the problem.

[Cado]

For those who have played a VanAmps Sole-Mate and Reverbamate...is there much difference in the sound of the two pedals?

The tolex is black btw psycho*daisies and you're right, that '64 tank would be wonderful with the Bassman..

The Reverbamate is a great unit but really works only for true two channel amps, or with two amplifiers.

New in 2006, the Sole-Mate was created for people with one channel amps, or who don't wish to run two cables to their amp.

Taken from Analogman's website.

[Enjoyer]

Demeter has introduced a new Reverb Pedal, the RVB-1 Reverbulator, that may be worth adding to the list.

http://demeteramps.com/products/pedals/rvb1.html

Reverbulator

Controls
Input Gain: Controls the input sensitivity of the unit. The gain should be adjusted up to a level that will cause the overload light to blink occasionally, the overload light should never be on continually, Normal use will be gain up most of the way for guitar use and down most of the way for loop or line use.
Blend: Mixes the amount of wet and dry signal should be set to user preferences. For line studio use it will usually be set 100% wet.
Volume: Sets the output level. Use with the footswitch to match your effected and non effected signals.
Phase: Changes the phase of the Long spring, effects the tonal colors especially when both springs are on.
Spring Selector: Selects the reverb unit in use, either the short decay or both mixed.
Foot Switch: Selects between the effected and un-effected signal going to the output. True bypass.

Connections
Input: Hook the output of your guitar or loop to this jack.
Output: Hook is to the input of your Amp or next effect, or loop or mixer.
Power Connector: Hook up the supplied 24Volt Dc power supply to this jack.

Keep this unit away from strong magnetic fields (power transformers) they could induce noise (Hum). Mount on a stable surface so the unit does not shake (spring noise will result). Keep a reasonable distance from the amp to avoid feedback. In a pedalboard, the unit should be used after distortion and compressor pedals for best sound. If you use amp distortion, the unit should be used in the effects loop for best sound.

Price $429.95

[1bottlerocket]

Joe Bonamassa said he uses a simple Boss RV-5 reverb pedal in a recent interview. He has a very nice tone, so it may be worth looking into, for an inexpensive option.