It's the passive mixer which 'kills' the highs of the dry signal the more you turn up the mix.
I added a 'kill dry' switch and actively mix in the dry signal with my Boss LS-2 pedal.
I'm going to replace the passive mixer inside the Surfy Bear with an active mixer.
This thread on DIYstompboxes has the solution/schematic/circuit for a 'better' mixer:
https://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=113957.80

The 'issue' you're having is true to the original Fender outboard reverb tank.
For a short time there was another version which had an extra tube to mix wet and dry actively. But the iconic, classic 6G15 did not.

The c10 mod makes it worse btw.

If you're after spashy surfy reverb, there's so much reverb, so little dry and so much highs from the reverb that you won't notice. But with moderate (50%) mix levels it's very apparent.

Here's the explanation from the wiki.
Its not the full story but at least it proves your ears are not fooling you, and the 'issue' is documented:
http://wiki.surfguitar101.com/ReverbFaq

wiki wrote:

As the Mixer control is turned up from zero, additional resistance is placed in series with the output of the dry signal path (the cathode follower). This additional resistance forms a low-pass RC filter with the capacitance of the cable used to connect the reverb unit to the amplifier. The resultant filter removes high frequencies from the dry signal, an effect known as 'tone suck'. (PSpice simulations can illustrate the amount of high-frequency loss in the dry signal caused by the Mixer control settings)

Output Buffer Circuit (70's reissue only)

A 4th preamp tube is added. A cathode follower is used to isolate the Mixer output from the guitar cable/amplifier load imedance. The goal is to prevent tonal variations (tone suck) as the Mixer control is turned up. The buffer prevents the patch cable capacitance from interacting with the Mixer control resistance, mitigating the RC filtering effect._

Last edited: Jan 07, 2019 17:31:18

Hello everybody! So I bought surfy bear, but after soldering and assembladge I've got some troubles. So i have a sound of guitar, but it hasn't any reverb tone. When i shake the reverb tank and set high level of gain on my amp, i can hear "splash" sound, but it's too quiet and not distinguishable . As i said, when I’m playing the guitar, i have no reverb effect. I've checked every solder that I'd done and it's o'k. What could be wrong? Also, i have one guess. The mosfet IRF9540 doesn't heat up, when other two (IRF9510) noticeably heat up. Should it be heatten up, or may be it's normal? Technical support doesn't answer to me, so I hope you could help me.

For me this meant a few wires were reversed. Double check again.

The Kahuna Kings

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Kahuna-Kings/459752090818447

https://thekahunakings.bandcamp.com/releases

I have not checked into this topic in a long time.. is a unit with both trem and reverb available for purchase? I don't think I could assemble it with no knowledge on the subject...

Hi guys, just joined after lurking on and off for a couple of years.

How does the SurfyBear get on with other pedals and being used as a non-surf ‘verb? I’d like to use it for both the drippy stuff and for more subtle ambience. I currently use a plate convolution for non-drippy verb but of course it sounds a bit lifeless compared to the real thing.

Is anyone using it with a delay pedal or two for more complex and ambient sounds (I.e. not just slapback)?

stratdancer wrote:

I use it with multiple echo devices for trip but within realms of my surf rigs and guitars. Never tried through my Marshalls.

That’s cool, I stick to the Vox/Fender side. If it works with a bunch of delays without going crazy then it should be good to do the job!

Tqi wrote:

Alright y'all, own up.

WHO DID THIS?

DID YOU DO THIS?

Preassembled, beautiful and at a good price. Of all the moments to be short.

But is it really preferable to the Surfy Bear Metal which is also prebuilt, is around the same price and has true bypass?

Amazing thread. I’ll likely not live so long as it would take me to read all 108 pages (just kidding), so forgive me if this has been asked before; but has anyone ever incorporated one of these onto a pedalboard?

My main reason for not using a tank is the extra schlepping involved and the extra setup time. I carry a modest pedalboard and could probably squeeze one into it if I packaged it carefully. It might even be feasible to mount the pan under the board and just package the circuit board into a small enclosure. I already have 12 VDC available on my board’s PS, so that wouldn’t be a worry.

Any thoughts?

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

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

DerJuicen wrote:

synchro wrote:

Amazing thread. I’ll likely not live so long as it would take me to read all 108 pages (just kidding), so forgive me if this has been asked before; but has anyone ever incorporated one of these onto a pedalboard?

My main reason for not using a tank is the extra schlepping involved and the extra setup time. I carry a modest pedalboard and could probably squeeze one into it if I packaged it carefully. It might even be feasible to mount the pan under the board and just package the circuit board into a small enclosure. I already have 12 VDC available on my board’s PS, so that wouldn’t be a worry.

Any thoughts?

Here are pics of my board. Original post is at the top of page 103. The red double wide pedal is the circuitry wired true bypass. The tank lives under the upper deck, and I can still make it crash with my foot if I want to!

Nicely done. What are you using as an enclosure for the pan?

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

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

Pans generally only need a bag, etc when they are inside a combo amp to isolate them from vibration and magnetic pull of the speaker magnet. For example, the pan inside my amp has been insulated with heavy gauge cardboard on the bottom and thick, dense foam rubber insulation on top and bottom then stuffed inside a heavy duty insulated vinyl reverb pan bag to isolate it from vibration, etc from the speaker. The pan in my outboard unit is far away enough from the amp that it is not effected.

Last edited: Jan 18, 2019 09:21:28