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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »
Catalinbread Topanga Spring Reverb
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Joined: Dec 23, 2008 Posts: 3324 Pittsboro, NC 
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Posted on Mar 22 2014 12:56 PM
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Joined: Aug 29, 2009 Posts: 1556 Israel 
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Posted on Mar 22 2014 02:30 PM
Mine's gonna take a while... still better than waiting for closer retailers. I suggest to all EU people to order from RGS, their shipping is lowest. Last edited: Mar 22, 2014 14:36:12 |
Joined: Sep 06, 2012 Posts: 1300 Lawrenceville , GA
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Posted on Mar 23 2014 08:52 AM
Ok, so I spent about 3 hours sitting on the floor twiddling knobs last night. So far I'm impressed. I think the Boss gets a little more drip but does it with those annoying highs. The Topanga is not harsh at all. It's a very clear and musical pedal with a lot of adjustment options. It seems to me like it uses a quick slapback with trails to get the sound. The clean boost is really cool. I haven't had the chance to play it loud yet.( I have to work today too.) But I'm looking forward to it. I tried it with my VM Jazzmaster and Gretsch 5120 with Surf 90's and it sounded great with both. Do I still want a tank? Yup, but this may hold me for a while. So IMO, it's better than the Boss. But that's the opinion of a basement hack with limited skills. And it comes with a sticker and tie dye pick, you don't get that from Boss |
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Joined: Aug 29, 2009 Posts: 1556 Israel
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Posted on Mar 23 2014 10:01 AM
Better than the Boss, not a Tank. Yep yep yep. Do you enjoy it though? Does it make you smile? |
Joined: Feb 15, 2007 Posts: 2826 Fredericksburg, Virginia
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Posted on Mar 23 2014 10:27 AM
DreadInBabylon wrote:
THAT is the most important question! —Matt "tha Kat" Lentz |
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Joined: Sep 06, 2012 Posts: 1300 Lawrenceville , GA
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Posted on Mar 23 2014 10:49 AM
DreadInBabylon wrote:
BIG smile. But then it still has that new car smell. I think you'll be happy with yours though. |
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Joined: Aug 29, 2009 Posts: 1556 Israel
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Posted on Mar 23 2014 11:11 AM
Surf_Skater wrote:
Enjoy man, glad for you! My logic is this: when I will have a tank, I'll still need a backup. For playing at home. |
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Joined: Sep 06, 2012 Posts: 1300 Lawrenceville , GA
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Posted on Mar 23 2014 11:40 AM
For those that think it costs too much, there may be some FRV-1's in the for sale forum soon |
Joined: Oct 05, 2011 Posts: 744 France
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Posted on Mar 23 2014 12:20 PM
Thanks for your review Surf_skater. From the Youtube demos it seemed to me the Topanga sounded less "springy" than the FRV, i.e. more like an "ambient" reverb underneath the drip. But that's probably a side effect of not being able to hear both the pedals played together in similar condition, or maybe just my not-so discerning ears. Looking forward to hearing a side by side demo! DreadInBabylon wrote:
I do that all the time in the privacy of my home, where no other guitar player can see me and patronize me because a. I'm not using my tank and b. I'm using the cheapest digital reverb available on the market (Behringer) Old punks never die... They just become surf rockers. |
Joined: Jan 04, 2011 Posts: 1588 Berlin L-Berg 
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Posted on Mar 23 2014 12:31 PM
Everybody looking for the pedal in the EU, click on this link and start crying because of the ridiculous price! This is a very good shop and I've ordered pedals there before. Really reliable and reasonable prices if you add the import taxes. — |
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Joined: Sep 06, 2012 Posts: 1300 Lawrenceville , GA
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Posted on Mar 23 2014 02:29 PM
Lee, It is a little less "springy". Somewhere between the FRV and a Holy Grail. So far I think the quality of the sound makes up for it though. It could be that I'm just having a new gear love affair though. I'm looking forward to the opinions of the real surf guitarists! |
Joined: Mar 09, 2014 Posts: 92 New York
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Posted on Mar 23 2014 09:17 PM
I received mine on Friday. It really is excellent. I recently did a shootout which included the FRV-1 and Subdecay Spring Theory. Out of the group that I tested, the Hardwire RV-7 actually won for various reasons. But after getting the Topanga, the RV-7, still within my return window is going back. I never thought I'd part with the RV-7, but the Topanga makes me smile just too darned much. The controls let you dial in anything you want. Does surf as well as the FRV-1 without the inherent flaws of the FRV-1. And it sounds better than the RV-7, which I thought was absolutely pristine. And to top it all off, there is a hidden "modulation" mode in Topanga. With it unplugged, dial your Tone knob all the way down, then plug it in. Boom, you're in modulation mode. May or not be useful to some, but it's fun to play with. But the regular mode is really where the sweetness lies. I'm definitely glad I gave this one a shot. It's getting velcro'd and boarded pretty soon! —Guitarist for Northern Tides from Hudson Valley, NY. |
Joined: Mar 30, 2011 Posts: 388 Copenhagen 
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Posted on Mar 24 2014 06:16 AM
I, too, have been using the Hardwire RV-7 until I got my 63 unit. I'd tried a Boss FRV and prefered the RV-7 over it. So that means I can trust your opinion and get me a Topanga!!! —https://zakandthekrakens.bandcamp.com/ |
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Joined: Sep 06, 2012 Posts: 1300 Lawrenceville , GA
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Posted on Mar 24 2014 09:04 AM
SanchoPansen wrote:
Last edited: Mar 24, 2014 09:08:47 |
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Joined: Jan 04, 2011 Posts: 1588 Berlin L-Berg
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Posted on Mar 24 2014 09:47 AM
Yeah, $310.00 is a little pricey, especially compared to the $175.00 for the FRV-1. But a new tank costs $1075.00 over here, so it's still reasonable. — |
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Joined: Aug 29, 2009 Posts: 1556 Israel
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Posted on Mar 24 2014 10:28 AM
What's the deal with EU dealers? Here too, taxes, profit margin and small market all contribute to outrageous prices. Skiltrip, welcome to the Surf guitar forums! Thanks for the review. Was it this pedal that sparked your interest to explore more of this sound and music? BTW, how's your Super-Metal? LeeVanCleef, Behringer man? I applaud your bravery! |
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Joined: Jan 04, 2011 Posts: 1588 Berlin L-Berg
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Posted on Mar 24 2014 10:39 AM
DreadInBabylon wrote:
IDK what's wrong with them. But $20.00 for shipping to the EU would be spectacular. Regular shipping of this size costs ~$45.00 today, thanks to USPS! So make it ~$220.00 for the pedal incl. shipment PLUS taxes ~21%. You'll end paying appr. $270.00/200.00€. Good luck if you don't like the pedal and want to return it |
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Joined: Sep 06, 2012 Posts: 1300 Lawrenceville , GA
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Posted on Mar 24 2014 10:44 AM
I think the solution is , Come to the US, buy a tank, do some shows and bring the tank back home! |
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Joined: Mar 09, 2014 Posts: 92 New York
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Posted on Mar 24 2014 11:47 AM
DreadInBabylon wrote:
Hey! My interest in surf music goes back to my punk days. Was really into surf punk, skate rock, and that led me to investigate further. Agent Orange, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet. And punk with a real surfy drum vibe, like the Descendents, Adolescents, etc. Stuff like that. I'm a long time Beach Boys fan as well. Love the Ventures. And growing up, I was a little metal kid, so I'm coming at this stuff from all angles. My Super Metal pedal has been booted off my board by the TC Dark Matter. They are actually pretty similar sounding, the Dark Matter is just better. Great for mid gain rock. For surfy grit though, I use a Boss Blues Driver. Starting an actual surf rock band is something I've wanted to do for years and years. I suppose you could say its on my bucket list. —Guitarist for Northern Tides from Hudson Valley, NY. Last edited: Mar 24, 2014 11:51:28 |
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Joined: Mar 09, 2014 Posts: 92 New York
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Posted on Mar 24 2014 12:03 PM
RaistMagus wrote:
Things I noticed between the RV-7 and Topanga... One, is the tails I found so pleasing on the RV-7 have a metallic nature compared to the tails on the Topanga. The RV-7 is really good, and you may not notice until you A/B it. And maybe it's just my ears, but it stood out to me. The other thing I disliked about the RV-7, was there was a little too much separation between the dry tone and the reverb. Hard to describe, it just didn't sound cohesive. The FRV-1 was the opposite, where I felt the dry signal got buried, and I lost some of my attack and definition. The Topanga seems to fall right in the middle in regards to this cohesiveness, and it is an ideal balance. Also with the Rv-7, I tended to keep the Liveliness knob below 12 o'clock. I found too much treble and it wasn't as pleasing to the ear, and the digital-ness in the decay became too apparent. But keeping the Liveliness low, and you'd lose your drip and spring characteristic. The Topanga lets you get that tone knob up much higher and the tails still sound very natural, and doesn't sound at all harsh. Not only that, but with the tone knob dialed darker, you still retain some of your drip and springy character. With the RV-7, you definitely dial out the springy nature as you turn the Liveliness knob down. There's a lot of nuances like this that ultimately made me decide to stick with Topanga. I also had to admit to myself I really had no use for the other modes on the RV-7, though the Plate is pretty nice. I'm really only interested in Spring. —Guitarist for Northern Tides from Hudson Valley, NY. Last edited: Mar 24, 2014 12:05:39 |
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