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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »

Permalink Best Faux Reverb Tank

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Hey guys. I've been reading old threads trying to find out what pedal would do the best job at sounding like an outboard reverb tank, and have yet to find a consensus. on my list are the Boss FRV-1, Catalinbread Topanga, Hardwire Supernatural, and more. I'd like to spend less than $200 ideally. I have a '60s Strat, DRRI, and a Verbzilla, but I can't quite get that sound. what do you all recommend?

Fwiw I just chose the hardwire rv-7 over the frv-1 after reading through all old stuff on here and studying YouTube. They don't often spend time on multi reverb pedals showing spring in depth, and don't crank everything on the pedal to max like I did in my test

Just posted a quick audio sample I made earlier today in this post.
http://surfguitar101.com/forums/topic/23840/

I think Dreadinbabylon made a masterly summary of the FRV vs Topanga debate in this post.

Old punks never die... They just become surf rockers.

I figured the Topanga might be better. the thing the Verbzilla is lacking its the springy-ness, the immersion, and the sort of gain a tank gets. if the Topanga does that as well as any pedal then I'd probably focus on that. The Verbzilla does an ok Ventures type tone, but fails the Dick Dale type.

Last edited: May 03, 2014 15:57:30

I discounted the topanga as it's very is pricey over here in the UK for shops that have it, but it did seem like the pick of the bunch if the budget allows.

There was also the option of the danelectro spring king, not faux, but was similarly priced to an frv-1 and a chunk cheaper than the topanga.

It's also quite pricey, but the Strymon Flint is definitely worth investigating. You can get that reverb 'splat' with the mix above 2, and the decay is very tweakable. Also, you get some sweet tremolos as well. They sometimes show up on Ebay slightly discounted, otherwise around £250 new. They play nice with fuzz and overdrive too, ooooohhhhh.

Surfy Bear HAS to be the best budget 6G15 clone out there - no contest..

And now you can buy the board ready made for $68.

It's a no brainer.. I'm sure even Jon Paul would give it the thumbs up!

FET Reverb

New PCB

image

Canopy, if you can read a schematic and use a soldering iron then I recommend picking up a Spring King. There are a couple of mods that can make it sound pretty interesting... (DeadRanchHands's soundclips, not mine). As is the SK is a fun gadget but definitely no match for a tank or a good reverb pedal.

The Spring King has been out of production for some time and so some eBay sellers who still have one in stock have jacked up their prices quite a bit. Watch the local ads (Gumtree & al.), I found mine locally for 40 Euros (£33).

EDIT: well if you can use a soldering iron then you might as well get the Surfy Bear kit, as suggested by Crumble.

Old punks never die... They just become surf rockers.

Last edited: May 03, 2014 17:12:35

maximumsurfandroll wrote:

It's also quite pricey, but the Strymon Flint is definitely worth investigating. You can get that reverb 'splat' with the mix above 2, and the decay is very tweakable. Also, you get some sweet tremolos as well. They sometimes show up on Ebay slightly discounted, otherwise around £250 new. They play nice with fuzz and overdrive too, ooooohhhhh.

this is a long video but if you would like to hear the Strymon Flint's reverb versus a booteek verb tank, this might help.. I also compare the strymon Flints digi trem to an analog trem.. the Flint is pretty darn nice

http://www.thenocturnebrain.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nocturne-Brain-Preamp-Zombies/240721872969

And would any of these options be good for the Dick Dale Surf type sound?

LeeVanCleef wrote:

The Spring King has been out of production for some time

That's what I thought as well, yet Thomann has it listed as "available shortly", no idea how reliable that info is though...

http://www.thomann.de/gb/danelectro_dsr1_springking.htm

"Duck Tape is like The Force: it has a light side and a dark side and it holds the universe together"

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Speedball-JR/151771678181829?fref=ts
https://twitter.com/SPEEDBALLJR
https://itunes.apple.com/be/artist/speedball-jr/id389972205

SaschaReynders wrote:

LeeVanCleef wrote:

The Spring King has been out of production for some time

That's what I thought as well, yet Thomann has it listed as "available shortly", no idea how reliable that info is though...

http://www.thomann.de/gb/danelectro_dsr1_springking.htm

Hmm, I think that must be a mistake. If you run a search for "Danelectro" on their website it only returns old products. About 3 or 4 years ago they had a major blowout sale of all their Dano inventory then they stopped stocking Dano products (they never had the 2013 "alligator finish" models for instance). All they have now is stuff left over from that period.

Old punks never die... They just become surf rockers.

Also, in answer to the original question, check this out.

Old punks never die... They just become surf rockers.

Last edited: May 04, 2014 12:06:52

Save up some bucks and get the real deal.

Seriously, IMO it's all a waste of time and money. You want that sound? Get a tank! But this has been discussed ad nauseam...

The Hicadoolas

Last edited: May 05, 2014 00:26:40

Photographers have a saying: "Buy cheap, buy twice." But from what I'm seeing among the surf guitarists, they will buy several reverb pedals before they finally get the real thing. Buy one now or buy one later, it's your choice.

If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.

I just spoke to my Roc Doctor Steve Dikun in Burbank, having my Twin head looked at, when he suggested an alternative to the Accutronics pan native to the amp, which is so susceptible to radiation from the transformer, etc. He is working on a plug-in substitute for the pan, a digital reverb chip-based thing which is connected to the ins and outs of the Twin. This is an experimental device and I will let you know what I think of its performance when he builds it.

Squink Out!

I'm surprised no one has commented on this cost-effective FET reverb build. Sound samples give a pretty fair (on my iMac's Altec speakers) audition. By far the most expensive part will be the enclosure. Have to consider this option...

crumble wrote:

Surfy Bear HAS to be the best budget 6G15 clone out there - no contest..

And now you can buy the board ready made for $68.

It's a no brainer.. I'm sure even Jon Paul would give it the thumbs up!

FET Reverb

New PCB

image

Squink Out!

SanchoPansen wrote:

Save up some bucks and get the real deal.

Seriously, IMO it's all a waste of time and money. You want that sound? Get a tank! But this has been discussed ad nauseam...

Very true. Best thing to do is figure out what suits you and your sound, there's no right or wrong approach to it. By experimenting you will create a signature tone, it takes time but at least it's fun figuring it out!

I dunno... 'real deal' – a 'reissue'? Does the Fender name plate make it more authentic than a comparably priced, hand-wired Texotic? I bet there is a lot less profit made by the latter... and it is actually the real deal, fully comparable to an original Fender Reverb in build and sound. Not that I'm partial to any one brand, but if we are going to be elitist about it, I would say build (P2P) is more relevant than logo.

I agree with Max – work with what you got, and don't worry if it's correct. I get a 'signature' sound from a Greco LP Std. copy & Gibson Reverb III and Gibson Ranger– not for surf but for other music that I don't know what to call – exotica (but not tiki)?
maximumsurfandroll wrote:

SanchoPansen wrote:

Save up some bucks and get the real deal.

Seriously, IMO it's all a waste of time and money. You want that sound? Get a tank! But this has been discussed ad nauseam...

Very true. Best thing to do is figure out what suits you and your sound, there's no right or wrong approach to it. By experimenting you will create a signature tone, it takes time but at least it's fun figuring it out!

Squink Out!

Last edited: May 06, 2014 23:24:36

I have been toying with the idea of getting one of those FET boards and wiring it into a project box that I can screw into the side of my Twin Reverb. I can use the existing reverb pan. I was thinking that this might be cool for practices or if my tube reverb takes a crap on me at a gig (which has happened a few times, actually.) This def sounds better than a pedal.

SSIV

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