ElectricLimnology
Joined: Nov 20, 2017
Posts: 113
Southeast MIchigan
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Posted on Dec 18 2021 01:04 PM
Hi everyone. Please read all the way to the bottom before responding. There are endless discussions here about reverb. Most of them revolve around the pursuit of an authentic 6G15 style drip. My version of it comes from the Surfy Bear kit that I have been playing through for a few years now. It is a wonderful sound. However I don’t always want the extra gain and metallic splash that circuit introduces. I want the flexibility of a modern signal chain. Especially when playing in less traditional surf specific modes. My amp is an older Quilter without reverb. Over the years I have used a TCE Hall Of Fame and the EH Holy Grail. They work in a pinch when I don’t want the SB but I have never relied on them. What is the consensus on the best sounding pedal specifically for an on board reverb sound, one that can be placed in the effects loop? Before you all point me to a Catalinbread Topanga thread, which I already read, bear in mind that I do not want the reverb to push the amp the way that the Topanga does. I do play in a band where the other guitar player uses the Topanga this way. It’s sounds kind of okay but it’s no Surfy Bear (I’m biased against digital drip). Which pedal, in the effects loop results with the most pleasing approximation of something like the built spring reverb on a Fender Deluxe. It is unclear to me whether or not the Topanga can be used this way.
Happy Holidays
Dylan S.
— The Vicissitones
Diesel Marine
The Rasputones
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Redfeather
Joined: Jul 30, 2016
Posts: 896
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Posted on Dec 18 2021 01:57 PM
Check this out. These pedals all use real springs that have sounds similar to onboard reverb. Danelectro being the lowest cost option.
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spskins
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 3786
tn
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Posted on Dec 18 2021 02:38 PM
Try the SurfyBear Compact. It can sound like an onboard reverb (while able to be "sized up" to an outboard sound with the Decay control that Bjorn added), true bypass, smaller springs and two mixes!
— http://www.satanspilgrims.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Satans-Pilgrims/8210228553
https://satanspilgrims.bandcamp.com/
http://www.surfyindustries.com
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CrazyAces
Joined: Jul 31, 2012
Posts: 4053
Nashville, TN.
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Posted on Dec 18 2021 05:04 PM
Another vote for the Surfy Bear Compact.
If a smaller, pedal-like unit is preferred I'd suggest the Zoom MS 50G.
I've been using one for years to approximate my Princeton Reverb's on board reverb and it works great.
I've had more than a few cork sniffers stop by my shop and play through my pedal board into a non-reverb amp and ask "what's that reverb? Sounds great"
The chip and algorithms in the pedal punch way above it's weight and price point, IMO and the pedal can do 100's of other effects as well.
Cheers,
Jeff
— http://www.facebook.com/CrazyAcesMusic
http://www.youtube.com/user/crazyacesrock
http://www.reverbnation.com/crazyacesmusic
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DeathTide
Joined: Apr 13, 2018
Posts: 1378
New Orleans
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Posted on Dec 18 2021 06:37 PM
Get a 70s silverface tank. Darker and no drip, and also very awesome.
— Daniel Deathtide
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DannySnyder
Joined: Mar 02, 2006
Posts: 11067
Berkeley, CA
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Posted on Dec 18 2021 07:03 PM
Have you tried plugging your surfy bear into the effects send/return? With the dwell on low it might get you closer to what you want.
— Danny Snyder
"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo
I am now playing trumpet with Prince Buster tribute band 'Balzac'
Playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta
Formerly a guitarist in The TomorrowMen and Meshugga Beach Party
Latest surf project - Now That's What I Call SURF
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SandBug
Joined: Feb 22, 2016
Posts: 443
California
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Posted on Dec 18 2021 07:25 PM
You should consider buying a short tank to put in your SB. Maybe a short MOD tank, since a lot of folks say it's darker and doesn't drip. Also turn all the controls down to 2 or so. I get a very tame, well mannered, pedestrian reverb sound out of my SB by dialing everything back.
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Samurai
Joined: Mar 14, 2006
Posts: 2279
Kiev, Ukraine
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Posted on Dec 19 2021 02:47 AM
I use Oceans 11 when I want less drip and splash or Zoom MS50g when I am lazy to take more than one pedal)
— Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine
https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki
Lost Diver
https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin
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DaveMudgett
Joined: Mar 17, 2019
Posts: 162
Central PA
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Posted on Dec 19 2021 03:59 AM
To me, the issue of drip is not whether or not it's in the effects loop. It's about how the reverb controls are set. To my tastes, the Topanga gets an excellent moderate Fender reverb style tone if you set it moderately. It doesn't have to push everything if you don't want it to. I still think it's closest standard-size reverb pedal I've tried for a classic Fender amp reverb type of sound, and I've tried a bunch. I have a few tube outboard reverb units, including a '65 6G15 - if I want that, I use that. But that is different than standard Fender amp reverb, and sometimes the latter is what I want, and I find the Topanga gives a good version of that.
I also use the Oceans 11 quite a bit. In fact, that's what's on my pedal steel board - I specifically want a smooth, moderate Fender-style amp reverb, and the spring setting gives me that at moderate settings.
If you have an effects loop that expects an instrument-level signal, there should be no problem using a typical guitar pedal in the loop. The issue is that a lot of loops expect line-level signals. With such a loop, one can add a pad to get the input to the pedals reasonable, but in that situation, the return expects the line level signal too, so you may have to re-amplilfy. There's also the issue of input and output impedances. Most amps have a fairly high input impedance, most loops I've seen do not. I use a Quilter Tone Block 201 quite a bit - especially for pedal steel but sometimes for guitar too. I have found some pedals can handle the un-padded signal level and others not. Most of the Quilter literature I've read specifies input/output levels about 1 Volt full-scale, and with a fairly low input-impedance (68K Ohms) for the return. Some pedals seem to like this, others not so much. It also depends on how loud you're running the amp - the effects loop send is hotter when pushing the amp. I only notice an issue running reverb into the front of the amp when running distortion - the sound can get kind of washed out. But running a clean signal, I haven't had any issues putting reverb in front.
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ElectricLimnology
Joined: Nov 20, 2017
Posts: 113
Southeast MIchigan
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Posted on Dec 19 2021 10:32 AM
DaveMudgett wrote:
To me, the issue of drip is not whether or not it's in the effects loop. It's about how the reverb controls are set. To my tastes, the Topanga gets an excellent moderate Fender reverb style tone if you set it moderately. It doesn't have to push everything if you don't want it to. I still think it's closest standard-size reverb pedal I've tried for a classic Fender amp reverb type of sound, and I've tried a bunch. I have a few tube outboard reverb units, including a '65 6G15 - if I want that, I use that. But that is different than standard Fender amp reverb, and sometimes the latter is what I want, and I find the Topanga gives a good version of that.
I also use the Oceans 11 quite a bit. In fact, that's what's on my pedal steel board - I specifically want a smooth, moderate Fender-style amp reverb, and the spring setting gives me that at moderate settings.
If you have an effects loop that expects an instrument-level signal, there should be no problem using a typical guitar pedal in the loop. The issue is that a lot of loops expect line-level signals. With such a loop, one can add a pad to get the input to the pedals reasonable, but in that situation, the return expects the line level signal too, so you may have to re-amplilfy. There's also the issue of input and output impedances. Most amps have a fairly high input impedance, most loops I've seen do not. I use a Quilter Tone Block 201 quite a bit - especially for pedal steel but sometimes for guitar too. I have found some pedals can handle the un-padded signal level and others not. Most of the Quilter literature I've read specifies input/output levels about 1 Volt full-scale, and with a fairly low input-impedance (68K Ohms) for the return. Some pedals seem to like this, others not so much. It also depends on how loud you're running the amp - the effects loop send is hotter when pushing the amp. I only notice an issue running reverb into the front of the amp when running distortion - the sound can get kind of washed out. But running a clean signal, I haven't had any issues putting reverb in front.
Thanks Dave! This is exactly the response I was looking for. In fact I to use the Quilter 201. That washed out sound from distortion is the thing I don’t like. My guitar sound is built around the vintage-ish slightly driven SB reverb ahead of amp sound. For this reason the Surfy Bear is great most of the time (I have no desire to change the springs). Even though it works most of the time the “surf band” I play in is pretty diverse and from time to time I need to dirty up the sound but that washed out quality is not workable for me. Obviously the gain structure would change on my rig but the Oceans 11 might be a good general use compromise.
— The Vicissitones
Diesel Marine
The Rasputones
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