Shoutbox

sysmalakian: Birthday month starts now!
362 days ago

diceophonic: Vampiro Classics 2024 reissue
343 days ago

SabedLeepski: Sunburn Surf Fest for some scorching hot surf music: https://sunb...
300 days ago

skeeter: I know a Polish sound guy.
228 days ago

skeeter: I know a Czech one too!
228 days ago

PatGall: Surfybear metal settings
148 days ago

Pyronauts: Happy Tanks-Kicking!
126 days ago

midwestsurfguy: Merry Christmas!
95 days ago

sysmalakian: HAPPY NEW YEAR!
88 days ago

SabedLeepski: Surfin‘ Europe, for surf (related) gigs and events in Europe Big Razz https://sunb...
49 days ago

Please login or register to shout.

Current Polls

No polls at this time. Check out our past polls.

Current Contests

No contests at this time. Check out our past contests.

Donations

Help us meet our monthly goal:

100%

100%

Donate Now

Cake March Birthdays Cake
SG101 Banner

SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »

Permalink Fender Reverb Tank RI - pan replacement

New Topic
Page 1 of 1

Hey all - I've got to replace the pan in my re-issue. I've done it many times before, but am only now reading the importance of having to match the replacement pan's impedance with the tank's. How important is this and what are the ill-effects if the two don't match? I'm having trouble finding out what the RI's impedance is on top of that! I see replacement pans that range from 8ohms to like 200... which would be a good replacement?

The Men in Gray Suits (Montreal, Canada)
Facebook: The Men in Gray Suits
Instagram: The Men in Gray Suits

Are you looking at new or used pans? Impedence is very important to get the best sound.

You want 2Ω ±1 at input and 170Ω ± 20 at the output when measuring with an ohm meter

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

Last edited: Jan 09, 2020 12:34:40

Preferably new... I've replaced the pan a few times before, but never really thought about impedance.

DannySnyder wrote:

Are you looking at new or used pans? Impedence is very important to get the best sound.

You want 2Ω ±1 at input and 170Ω ± 20 at the output when measuring with an ohm meter

The Men in Gray Suits (Montreal, Canada)
Facebook: The Men in Gray Suits
Instagram: The Men in Gray Suits

The first one in this list is the standard pan for most Fender reverbs including the standalone tank.

If you go with another brand, it should say compatible with the 4AB3C1B

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

Ah, thanks! The 4AB3C1B is listed as a "long decay" and I'm looking for the medium decay one... trying to find that now.

The Men in Gray Suits (Montreal, Canada)
Facebook: The Men in Gray Suits
Instagram: The Men in Gray Suits

Found it https://www.tubesandmore.com/search/node/4AB2C1B

The Men in Gray Suits (Montreal, Canada)
Facebook: The Men in Gray Suits
Instagram: The Men in Gray Suits

Just out of curiosity, what kind of issues would I run into if I used a pan with a non-matching impedance (either too high or too low)?

The Men in Gray Suits (Montreal, Canada)
Facebook: The Men in Gray Suits
Instagram: The Men in Gray Suits

-

Last edited: Mar 03, 2022 06:29:35

Ahh... this all makes sense. At one point, when the springs broke in the pan I had in there, I was desperate (had a gig coming up), so I took the pan from an old Fender Twin ('71) and put it in the tank. Sounded good, but the decay was waaaaaaay too long. I'll have to check what Accutronics pan it was, but I'm guessing not the right one.

The Men in Gray Suits (Montreal, Canada)
Facebook: The Men in Gray Suits
Instagram: The Men in Gray Suits

-

Last edited: Mar 03, 2022 06:29:13

The 4AB3C1B is listed as a long decay... the medium decay model (4AB2C1B) doesn't have the right input ohms (600). Would that be an issue? My main thing here is that I want to maximize the splash and minimize the trail decay. The one by MOD matches the ohms, but the Accutronics input ohms are really high in comparison.

I feel like I'm overthinking this... lol

The Men in Gray Suits (Montreal, Canada)
Facebook: The Men in Gray Suits
Instagram: The Men in Gray Suits

Last edited: Jan 13, 2020 11:08:08

jimbones wrote:

The 4AB3C1B is listed as a long decay... the medium decay model (4AB2C1B) doesn't have the right input ohms (600). Would that be an issue? My main thing here is that I want to maximize the splash and minimize the trail decay. The one by MOD matches the ohms, but the Accutronics input ohms are really high in comparison.

I feel like I'm overthinking this... lol
One of the differences between MOD brand pans and Accutronics is that MOD pans will generally have more decay/tail than the equivalent Accutronics pan. I tried a MOD pan in my 6G15 clone and found it to be less splashy and have more tail/decay than the stock MIK Accutronics pan which I put back in. The MOD pan was definitely the correct replacement for the Accutronics 4AB3C1B. Of course, reverb pans can be all over the place these days as far as how even the same model pans will sound. That being said I do like MOD pans but I think they sound better in combo amps, where having the fuller, fatter reverb on hand improves on the inherent limitations of on board reverb. For outboard tanks, I prefer the splashier and less extreme decay of the Accutronics.

Last edited: Jan 13, 2020 21:20:13

I can't help you concerning impedance mismatching, but I can tell you the MOD "medium decay" pans I've tested had longer decay than my Belton-Accutronics "long decay" pans.

And even within the same brand and model, pans can vary a lot. I've had to buy and test several Belton-Accutronics pans before I found one I liked.

https://soundcloud.com/elzeb

jimbones wrote:

The 4AB3C1B is listed as a long decay... the medium decay model (4AB2C1B) doesn't have the right input ohms (600). Would that be an issue? My main thing here is that I want to maximize the splash and minimize the trail decay. The one by MOD matches the ohms, but the Accutronics input ohms are really high in comparison.

I feel like I'm overthinking this... lol

Jim !! Aloha Sir! I went through a lengthy period of spring pan exploration and have found that the pan you desire was mostly made in the 60's... by Gibbs (sometimes Accutronics although they tend to be 70's and can have a longer decay. SO! Ebay often has them for sale, typically salvaged from organs. The trick is finding the ones with the correct impedances. Someone above in this thread listed the 2 optimal values. If you can talk the seller into getting out their multimeter you should be able to find a few from time to time. They tend to be brighter, drippier, and shorter in decay (seems like what was used for first wave surf recordings? I can take a look when I get home (remind me if I space on this offer... 2 kids now...)and tell you the color of the transducer housings (they are color coded) so even if the seller won't measure them you can still tell which ones you should try out. Cheers, Robbin

Robbin Henley (Men in Grey Suits HONOLULU)

https://www.facebook.com/Men-In-Grey-Suits-207897529235582/

www.meningreysuits.com

DannySnyder wrote:

Are you looking at new or used pans? Impedence is very important to get the best sound.

You want 2Ω ±1 at input and 170Ω ± 20 at the output when measuring with an ohm meter

THIS! (plus my advice)

Robbin Henley (Men in Grey Suits HONOLULU)

https://www.facebook.com/Men-In-Grey-Suits-207897529235582/

www.meningreysuits.com

Hey Robin! Thanks so much for replying! From one man in a gray suit to another, we gotta stick together! ;) Out of desperation (my other pan died on me... too much kicking, I believe!), I ordered another MOD pan with a medium decay. They're pretty cheap, but they're also new... the vintage ones, you describe sound like they might do the trick... the hunt is on!

P.S. any time you want to replace that hot, Hawaiian sand with bitterly cold snow, just say the word!!! Smile

The Men in Gray Suits (Montreal, Canada)
Facebook: The Men in Gray Suits
Instagram: The Men in Gray Suits

jimbones wrote:

The 4AB3C1B is listed as a long decay... the medium decay model (4AB2C1B) doesn't have the right input ohms (600).

600 Ohm would be a 4EB3C1B pan.

The second digit/letter states the input impedance.
A=8Ohm
If the online store specs say otherwise, it's a mistake.

So, it does have the same input impedance:
4= type (2 spring long tank) (not crucial)
A= 8 Ohm (input impedance) (important)
B= 2250 Ohm (output impedance) (important)
3= decay time (long) (not crucial)
C= Input Insulated / Output Grounded (crucial, very important)
1= No Lock (not crucial)
B= Horizontal Open Side Down (not crucial)

https://www.mojotone.com/kb-reverb-tanks/Reverb-Tank-Specifications

The importance of the input impedance is similar to the impedance of a speaker.
Instead of driving the voice coil of a speaker you're driving the voice coil of a spring reverb.
If your amp's output is designed for an 8 Ohm speaker, you can still use a 4Ohm speaker or a 16Ohm speaker.
The 4Ohm speaker will sound louder and the 16Ohm speaker will be quieter. The frequency response will also change somewhat.
So, there's some room to deviate from the ideal, but you probably can't safely hook it up to a 4x12 with four 16 Ohm speakers connected in series.

What is the difference between PAN & TANK? I thought they were the same thing.

A pan is the spring component itself, a tank can mean either the pan or the whole reverb apparatus.

The pan is the actual spring assembly, which you find in every amp. Tank is what people use to refer to the entire outboard reverb unit.

Page 1 of 1
Top