I received the FRV-1 today, and after reviewing some "settings" of the pedal on Youtube, I am wondering where to set the Mixer, Tone and Dwell controls to get a baseline equivalent to a Fender reverb tanks "6,6,6" setting, then adjust to my tastes from there. I am learning to play strictly surf, thus the suggested baseline 6,6,6 setting. BUT.....I do like the sound of the Satans Pilgrims and The Reluctant Aquanauts (see video)
I noticed that when I turn on the pedal, my Squire VM Jaguar seems to have an increase in the guitars treble, causing that "ice pick" tone. Is this normal for the BOSS FRV-1 to do this?

gdhow62 wrote:

I received the FRV-1 today, and after reviewing some "settings" of the pedal on Youtube, I am wondering where to set the Mixer, Tone and Dwell controls to get a baseline equivalent to a Fender reverb tanks "6,6,6" setting, then adjust to my tastes from there.

Hi. Congratulations on your purchase.
The 6,6,6 setting thing is a myth, no such thing. It may work for some, same as 4,6,5 or 7,4,6 would work for others. Totally depending on individual setup, volume and what you're trying to achieve. Each reverb pan is different sounding anyway, too.
I believe that it came to be referred to as a "base" sound, comes from the simple fact that it's very close to the middle of the potentiometers' range, but a little more pronounced. Sounds logical, doesn't it? Good on paper, and sometimes also in reality.

May I ask, why reach out for YT, or other players for settings rather than learn and trust your own ears? Only 3 knobs to tweak after all. Your internet browser is far more complicated than that.
Even if a master surf musician sat, with the exact same gear that you have, he would only find what works best for him, and would sound amazing anyway. Good players learn how to maximize the potential of their equipment, and that involves endless personal experimentation, while developing individual taste.

I noticed that when I turn on the pedal, my Squire VM Jaguar seems to have an increase in the guitars treble, causing that "ice pick" tone.

Yeah, every (surfy) spring reverb is supposed to do exactly just that. To what extend, is what the controls are for. The FRV is notorious though...

Is this normal for the BOSS FRV-1 to do this?

Oh yes, very much! Indeedy sir. Yep yep yep. Oh my... yes.
In order to achieve a usable sound that's still drippy and splashy but won't kill your brain, you need to delicately compensate with your amp's EQ. An overdrive pedal with a mid boost can be useful, mildly, to tame the pain.

In short: 12 o'clock on all knobs is most manufacturers' 'default' setting, I'd start from there. Get the most reverb you want, then tame it with another device. Also don't forget your guitar volume and tone knobs. A little back-off can go a long way.

Last edited: Mar 26, 2015 18:21:34

+1 what Noel & Ariel said. My FRV-1 never had the tone above 4, more like 3.5 or so. Also, something to keep in mind if you're running your VM Jag's volume knob wide-open, those are pretty spikey pickups - it's just their nature. You can roll back the volume knob (not the tone) a tiny bit & perhaps that will alleviate some of the spike. (I happen to like that guitar but if I get another one I'll put a treble-bleed circuit in it like my JM.)

Wes
SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel

DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices.

I have and very much like the FRV-1, but I continue to be amazed at how sensitive/responsive it is to any change in signal chain. That is one reason why someone else's settings will be of little use to you.

Several examples of this have been mentioned in previous comments. Guitar, PUP selection, volume setting on the instrument and amp, tone setting on the instrument and amp, and additional pedals (and, yes, their order) in the signal chain.

Recently I changed the PUPS in my VM Jazzmaster to Rose Koronas. Wonderful PUPS that greatly enlarge the tonal possibilities from the guitar. But upon initial setup I found it almost impossible to tame the treble spike from the FRV-1. Odd that, because I have no such problem when using my VM Jaguar. -All that required was some different tone settings on my amp.

I did find a "fix" -- indeed a very effective one! -- but what it was is still hard for me to understand. All I needed to do was change the order of my pedals, placing the one I use to create slap-back echo (A DigiTech iStomp running Vanishing Point) after the FRV-1. Presto chango the spike is gone.

It is important to understand that the FRV-1 is designed to recreate the effect of a front end 63 tank as those tanks were back then. There is a tendency for us to imagine them sounding very much like the recordings from that period, but for those of us who played60s gear at the time there is the understanding that the recordings often had a studio/mix sound very different from that of the same group's sound live. The gear back then did sound very much like what comes out of a well setup FRV-1 into an appropriate (and appropriately adjusted) amp. Very different from the highly refined reverbs we typically use today -- including those in Fender combo amps. I, for instance, can get much closer to the sound of "then" using the FRV-a than I can using the post-preamp, one control, spring reverb (a particularly lush one) in my `76 Silverface TR.

So yes, trust your ears. And be willing to train them too if getting the actual sound of the sixties is important to you. (Whether it should be is an entirely separate subject)

-don

Still rockin' after all these years!

Last edited: Mar 28, 2015 08:18:25