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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »

Permalink Gomez reverb tank cuts out

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Our guitarist has a really nice Gomez G-Spring tank, but it's become unreliable. What would be the most likely cause for a tank unit to lose it's reverb intermittently, especially after traveling? The signal still comes through, but there is no reverb. A few shakes and bumps later and the reverb comes back. I imagine it's got to be something that's loose or possibly springs getting stuck, but I'm wondering what the most likely culprit is.

I was watching Uncle Doug's reverb explanation and it demystifies some things.
https://youtu.be/EZFuT4liLAw
Apparently the signal is split and the dry signal is making it through to the amp, but there is a connection problem somewhere in the wet signal.
Maybe we will try getting a new pan and see how it goes.
According to this guy's listing for a g-spring. http://www.mosriteforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3867
The reverb pan is an Accutronics 4AB3C1B. They are only $20-$30 bucks.

Last edited: Aug 31, 2018 07:55:49

Always suspect the cables first. In this case the 2 rca cables inside the tank. Try switching them out and see if it's better.

Danny Snyder

Latest project - Now That's What I Call SURF
_
"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo

I'm back playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta

I’ve been having the same issue with my G-spring lately. A few bumps usually clears it up but it can also cause it. I haven’t had time to pull the pan to see if it’s anything obvious, but I hope to soon. Please keep us informed if you discover anything.

Also, is your guitarist’s pan fixed or does it have the locking mech? Mine is the fixed version.

-John

The Seatopians 2017-
The Seatopians on bandcamp

Last edited: Dec 07, 2018 14:29:12

Mine was getting real weak. Tubes, cables, pans, poking and prodding around has done zero to fix it. I suspect its the transformer that drives the reverb, but I've yet to confirm that yet.

Danny, he's going to try new rca cables, but turning the unit upside down seems to have cured it for now...must be loose springs or a spring getting caught. John this is the fixed version as well.
Chipper, good luck with your findings, let us know if you can test the transformer.

I’d wager the farm that it’s cables. (Of course, it’s an ant farm, so the monetary value of the wager is low.) It amazes me how much effect bad cables can have. I have a ‘68 Custom Deluxe Reverb which was unusable until I replaced the reverb cables.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

I just picked mine up: the slip said all contacts, sockets, and pots cleaned, op check ok. I'll find out tonight if it's really good or not, and likely, if I can live without it.

I find it hard to believe that I chased my tail, as did my regular tech, and that's all that it needed, but hey, it's certainly looking like I'll be proven wrong.

Last edited: Sep 11, 2018 12:49:54

Let us know how it turns out Chipper, my Gomez has these problems , haven't taken it to a tech yet. Planning on picking up an Oceans 11 pedal in the meantime for backup , or if I like it enough just use the pedal as my full time reverb and say goodbye to the headaches of reverb tanks. The differences between tanks and the few good reverb pedals these days I think a lot of times is only noticed in bedroom playing not live playing. Only to the keenest of ears.

WetBandit wrote:

Let us know how it turns out Chipper, my Gomez has these problems , haven't taken it to a tech yet. Planning on picking up an Oceans 11 pedal in the meantime for backup , or if I like it enough just use the pedal as my full time reverb and say goodbye to the headaches of reverb tanks. The differences between tanks and the few good reverb pedals these days I think a lot of times is only noticed in bedroom playing not live playing. Only to the keenest of ears.

Wow nothing more wrong than this Smile if you think you will not notice any difference from using a digital pedal and real springs good luck.

Lorenzo "Surfer Joe" Valdambrini
(www.surfmusic.net)

I've seen quality shows where guys were using reverb pedals and they fooled me. At a certain volume within the mix of the band I thinks its pretty close.

Hoe Lee Ballz! I thought I'd been pretty thrilled with pedal verb lately too...
But hot dang, there really isn't much substitute for the real deal. The Gomez is absolutely the best reverb I've played. BUT, since I'm no longer NEEDING that, I can certainly get away with less fidelity. I'm gonna spend some time with it over the weekend, and see how close I can get with my other spring sound devices and go from there.

If you already have one, definitely make the investment in keeping it going.

WetBandit wrote:

I've seen quality shows where guys were using reverb pedals and they fooled me. At a certain volume within the mix of the band I thinks its pretty close.

I have to agree. In a pristine environment the difference is more apparent, but in the real-world of live performances the difference is less noticeable.

The demos I’ve heard of the Ocean’s Eleven are impressive. There is obviously a lot of effort going into designing these pedals, most of which comes down to DSP programming. The progression has been steady, from the FRV-1 to latest generation of pedals with some notable steps in between.

Im hoping to get a new house with a dedicated music room. If so, my tank will be permanently setup there and used in recordings, but I don’t see any reason to shlep a tank to every gig, especially the short gigs where you barely have to to setup or tear down.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

martianspy wrote:

Our guitarist has a really nice Gomez G-Spring tank, but it's become unreliable. What would be the most likely cause for a tank unit to lose it's reverb intermittently, especially after traveling? The signal still comes through, but there is no reverb. A few shakes and bumps later and the reverb comes back. I imagine it's got to be something that's loose or possibly springs getting stuck, but I'm wondering what the most likely culprit is.

I'm having the exact same problem with mine. Swapping pans, cables, footswitch & tubes does not help.
Older thread about the same issue

Last edited: Sep 12, 2018 10:57:03

Here is a cut/paste of what Dario Gomez wrote to me when I asked him about the issue.

Check the 1ohm resistor that rides on the octal socket, make sure it’s not open I.e. it has 1 Ohm on it and not reading infinite resistance = open. It’s a feature I use and sometimes the resistor goes south, simple fix, 1ohm metal oxide 1w resistor. If it’s open, meaning it’s no longer presenting 1 Ohm. A multimeter will determine that, easy to check. If it is open you can just solder in another, two solder joints.

Last edited: Sep 12, 2018 10:55:18

I had the same problem. In my case it was the transformer that needed to be replaced.

El Twitter
El Ray
El Ray on Bandcamp
El Twang on YouTube

Based on the posts from derekirving & DannySnyder in the older thread, along with the info from Dario & eltwang, this issue is most likely caused by either a bad resistor (1ohm on the octal socket) or a bad transformer.

Older thread about the same issue

Last edited: Sep 13, 2018 08:19:56

Had some serious issues at last night’s gig. The reverb was in and out throughout the set - very frustrating! So this morning I pulled the back panel and tested the resistor as mentioned above and it looks like that might be the culprit. I’m going to take it into the tech and see what he says and will report back.

-John

The Seatopians 2017-
The Seatopians on bandcamp

Last edited: Dec 07, 2018 14:27:40

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Last edited: Feb 02, 2024 14:10:35

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