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Dick, since you're the tank building man I 'll throw this one to you
directly - the only reason i don 't take it offline is that many seem
to be intersted in building or modding reverb tanks right now.
- do you know if and where i can find a RI schematic? just curious
since i noticed in the pics just posted that the filter caps have
different values then the 6G15 schematic. wonder what else is
different
- I just studied the schematic again, and i noticed a choke (with two
filtercaps) between the rectifier stage and the hotline, or whatdoya
call it) - yet, I don 't think i've ever seen it on a chassis? is it
inside? do you know what choke it is?
Note, I have a non fender tank (cosmoverb) - built to 6G15 specs. I
don 't recall whether it has a choke - its been a while since i
opended it up. so I 've only seen pics on the web from fender tanks.
(they don't let you open 'em up in stores here ;-)
thanks,
WR
--- In , "Dick" <rmessick2@c...> wrote:
>
> > it will be cheaper then getting one of the new ptp 6G15
> 'imitations'
> > around, or perhaps that guyatone tank the nebulas ar so
> enthusiastic
> > about.
>
> I think this is generally true - a quick price check on the
Guyatone
> tank at Musician's Friend shows it at US$450. You'll spend almost
> that
> much getting a used reissue tank ($150 - $200 or more?) and a 6G15
> Hoffman board(around US$150 or so), plus whatever time you put into
> the
> project.
>
> When I built my 6G15, it cost a lot more than purchasing a reissue,
> or
> even a Guyatone tank, for that matter (the fact that I fried a
power
> tranny in the process didn't help . . .). However, I like to do
that
> sort of thing, and it was a neat project and totally worth it - for
> me.
>
> Is there a tonal advantage to something like the Hoffman Board kit
> vs.
> the stock PCB that comes with the reissue? That will always be
> subject
> to debate - in my mind, it's what sounds best to you. The Hoffman
> Board, as well as any PTP replacement boards, will offer easier
> replacement of components, and perhaps a little more ruggedness
than
> the reissue PCB - that should address a lot of the complaints that
> the
> Fender tanks crap out with road wear n' tear, etc.
>
> For me, it was a really fun project as well.
>
> -Dick
Fender.com in the resources area
Dave
--- In , "mono_tones_1" <rockverb@h...>
wrote:
> Dick, since you're the tank building man I 'll throw this one to
you
> directly - the only reason i don 't take it offline is that many
seem
> to be intersted in building or modding reverb tanks right now.
>
> - do you know if and where i can find a RI schematic? just curious
> since i noticed in the pics just posted that the filter caps have
> different values then the 6G15 schematic. wonder what else is
> different
>
> - I just studied the schematic again, and i noticed a choke (with
two
> filtercaps) between the rectifier stage and the hotline, or
whatdoya
> call it) - yet, I don 't think i've ever seen it on a chassis? is
it
> inside? do you know what choke it is?
>
> Note, I have a non fender tank (cosmoverb) - built to 6G15 specs.
I
> don 't recall whether it has a choke - its been a while since i
> opended it up. so I 've only seen pics on the web from fender
tanks.
> (they don't let you open 'em up in stores here ;-)
>
> thanks,
> WR
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --- In , "Dick" <rmessick2@c...>
wrote:
> >
> > > it will be cheaper then getting one of the new ptp 6G15
> > 'imitations'
> > > around, or perhaps that guyatone tank the nebulas ar so
> > enthusiastic
> > > about.
> >
> > I think this is generally true - a quick price check on the
> Guyatone
> > tank at Musician's Friend shows it at US$450. You'll spend
almost
> > that
> > much getting a used reissue tank ($150 - $200 or more?) and a
6G15
> > Hoffman board(around US$150 or so), plus whatever time you put
into
> > the
> > project.
> >
> > When I built my 6G15, it cost a lot more than purchasing a
reissue,
> > or
> > even a Guyatone tank, for that matter (the fact that I fried a
> power
> > tranny in the process didn't help . . .). However, I like to do
> that
> > sort of thing, and it was a neat project and totally worth it -
for
> > me.
> >
> > Is there a tonal advantage to something like the Hoffman Board
kit
> > vs.
> > the stock PCB that comes with the reissue? That will always be
> > subject
> > to debate - in my mind, it's what sounds best to you. The
Hoffman
> > Board, as well as any PTP replacement boards, will offer easier
> > replacement of components, and perhaps a little more ruggedness
> than
> > the reissue PCB - that should address a lot of the complaints
that
> > the
> > Fender tanks crap out with road wear n' tear, etc.
> >
> > For me, it was a really fun project as well.
> >
> > -Dick
I'm planning on building one of these too, probably using the Weber
schematic. Would it be "wrong" (surf wise) to use the 3 spring reverb
instead of the 2 (yes I know it's really 6 and 4)?
> - do you know if and where i can find a RI schematic?
As Dave said, you can get the schematic at the Fender Mr. Gearhead site
here:
I've never really taken a look to see what, exactly, is different between
the original 6G15 circuit and the reissue, but there are differences.
> - I just studied the schematic again, and i noticed a choke (with two
> filtercaps) between the rectifier stage and the hotline, or whatdoya
> call it) - yet, I don 't think i've ever seen it on a chassis? is it
> inside? do you know what choke it is?
That choke is located on the backside of the chassis - the choke and the
reverb transformer are attached to the back of the chassis, so you can't see
them unless you take the entire chassis out of the cabinet. I think that
the 6G15 choke corresponds to Fender part number 125C3A - that has an
inductance of 4.0 Henries and a DC resistance of 150 ohms. If you want to
be absolutely sure, I can pull my RI chassis out and check - not a big deal.
While we are on this topic, I'll throw in an unsolicited thought (you made
me think about it by looking at the original 6G15 schematic). The original
units used a half wave rectifier that makes a pretty rough DC voltage, and
must really be filtered well. The 6G15 circuit that I built uses a full
wave bridge rectifier (from Hoffman Amps) that works really well - the
voltage is about twice as smooth as the half wave circuit, and it's not
expensive at all. For anyone thinking about duplicating the 6G15 circuit,
I'd go that route. Just my $0.02.
Let me know if you have any more questions on this - neat thread ;P
-Dick
I don't know if it's "wrong", but I recall hearing tales of surf-types who
have tried that with their reverb tanks, with the result being a "mushy"
reverb sound. There may have been some discussion of that questions here in
the past, but I'm not sure . . . a quick check of the SG101 archives may
have a few posts on 3 vs. 2 springs.
-Dick
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeff Leites" <>
To: <>
Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2005 5:04 PM
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Re: reverb tank tech question IS: follow up on tank
building thread
> I'm planning on building one of these too, probably using the Weber
> schematic. Would it be "wrong" (surf wise) to use the 3 spring reverb
> instead of the 2 (yes I know it's really 6 and 4)?
>
>
>
>
>
> .
> Visit for archived messages,
> bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
You know I've thought about the 6 spring job too, just for the fun
of it.
You can order a six spring in exactly the same electrical spec as
the appropriate 4 spring (too lazy to look up the model #'s right
now). Therefore I assume you could just switch em out and give it a
try for the cost of an extra tank or even make yourself a swirch to
go back and forth between them. So for $40-50 -hey, why not give
it a try?
Dave
--- In , "Dick Messick"
<rmessick2@c...> wrote:
> I don't know if it's "wrong", but I recall hearing tales of surf-
types who
> have tried that with their reverb tanks, with the result being
a "mushy"
> reverb sound. There may have been some discussion of that
questions here in
> the past, but I'm not sure . . . a quick check of the SG101
archives may
> have a few posts on 3 vs. 2 springs.
>
> -Dick
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jeff Leites" <jeff_leites@y...>
> To: <>
> Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2005 5:04 PM
> Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Re: reverb tank tech question IS: follow
up on tank
> building thread
>
>
> > I'm planning on building one of these too, probably using the
Weber
> > schematic. Would it be "wrong" (surf wise) to use the 3 spring
reverb
> > instead of the 2 (yes I know it's really 6 and 4)?
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > .
> > Visit for archived
messages,
> > bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
Try whatever you want, but, when I recently bought an original '64 Fender reverb
unit, it wasn't working properly, and we suspected it needed a new tank. Loyd
Davis, who's built reverb units and amps, happened to have a fresh accutronics
6-spring tank, so he installed it and brought it over to my house.
Not surfy at all! It was defnitely DEEEEEEEP, but with the deep, came
MUDDDDDDY, very muted treble response, and not able to get ANY wet splashy
sounds playing muted rhythm or lead.
I ordered the correct 4-spring accutronics unit from Antique Electronic Supply,
installed that, and while the unit is not as wet and intense as my '63 original,
or my '63 R/I, it's MUCH better for surf guitar playing than it was with the
6-spring tank, IMHO.
Regards, and Good Luck,
Bruce D
stratrhythm <> wrote:
You know I've thought about the 6 spring job too, just for the fun
of it.
You can order a six spring in exactly the same electrical spec as
the appropriate 4 spring (too lazy to look up the model #'s right
now). Therefore I assume you could just switch em out and give it a
try for the cost of an extra tank or even make yourself a swirch to
go back and forth between them. So for $40-50 -hey, why not give
it a try?
Dave
--- In , "Dick Messick"
<rmessick2@c...> wrote:
> I don't know if it's "wrong", but I recall hearing tales of surf-
types who
> have tried that with their reverb tanks, with the result being
a "mushy"
> reverb sound. There may have been some discussion of that
questions here in
> the past, but I'm not sure . . . a quick check of the SG101
archives may
> have a few posts on 3 vs. 2 springs.
>
> -Dick
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jeff Leites" <jeff_leites@y...>
> To: <>
> Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2005 5:04 PM
> Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Re: reverb tank tech question IS: follow
up on tank
> building thread
>
>
> > I'm planning on building one of these too, probably using the
Weber
> > schematic. Would it be "wrong" (surf wise) to use the 3 spring
reverb
> > instead of the 2 (yes I know it's really 6 and 4)?
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > .
> > Visit for archived
messages,
> > bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Our lead guitarist just had to replace the tank on his '64. Do you
know of this happening in other situations? Does the spring pan wear
out after time?
--- In , bruce duncan <wetreverb@y...> wrote:
> Try whatever you want, but, when I recently bought an original '64
Fender reverb unit, it wasn't working properly, and we suspected it
needed a new tank. Loyd Davis, who's built reverb units and amps,
happened to have a fresh accutronics 6-spring tank, so he installed it
and brought it over to my house.
>
> Not surfy at all! It was defnitely DEEEEEEEP, but with the deep,
came MUDDDDDDY, very muted treble response, and not able to get ANY
wet splashy sounds playing muted rhythm or lead.
>
> I ordered the correct 4-spring accutronics unit from Antique
Electronic Supply, installed that, and while the unit is not as wet
and intense as my '63 original, or my '63 R/I, it's MUCH better for
surf guitar playing than it was with the 6-spring tank, IMHO.
>
> Regards, and Good Luck,
>
> Bruce D
>
> stratrhythm <lawyerschroeder@s...> wrote:
> You know I've thought about the 6 spring job too, just for the fun
> of it.
> You can order a six spring in exactly the same electrical spec as
> the appropriate 4 spring (too lazy to look up the model #'s right
> now). Therefore I assume you could just switch em out and give it a
> try for the cost of an extra tank or even make yourself a swirch to
> go back and forth between them. So for $40-50 -hey, why not give
> it a try?
>
>
> Dave
>
>
>
> --- In , "Dick Messick"
> <rmessick2@c...> wrote:
> > I don't know if it's "wrong", but I recall hearing tales of surf-
> types who
> > have tried that with their reverb tanks, with the result being
> a "mushy"
> > reverb sound. There may have been some discussion of that
> questions here in
> > the past, but I'm not sure . . . a quick check of the SG101
> archives may
> > have a few posts on 3 vs. 2 springs.
> >
> > -Dick
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Jeff Leites" <jeff_leites@y...>
> > To: <>
> > Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2005 5:04 PM
> > Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Re: reverb tank tech question IS: follow
> up on tank
> > building thread
> >
> >
> > > I'm planning on building one of these too, probably using the
> Weber
> > > schematic. Would it be "wrong" (surf wise) to use the 3 spring
> reverb
> > > instead of the 2 (yes I know it's really 6 and 4)?
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > .
> > > Visit for archived
> messages,
> > > bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
> > >
> > > Yahoo! Groups Links
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
>
>
>
>
> .
> Visit for archived
messages, bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
>
>
>
> SPONSORED LINKS
> Guitar music theory Stringed instruments Guitar music book Guitar
sheet music Guitar technique Guitar music
>
> ---------------------------------
> YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
>
>
> Visit your group "SurfGuitar101" on the web.
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of
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> ---------------------------------
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>
>
>
> "There's no such thing as too much reverb"
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>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Jacob Dobner <> wrote:
Our lead guitarist just had to replace the tank on his '64. Do you
know of this happening in other situations? Does the spring pan wear
out after time?
Jacob,
Time and the elements, not to mention the use and abuse that musicians subject
their gear to, all take their toll. Under ideal conditions, the spring tank
should last almost forever, but if the tank is subjected to high humidity and
extreme temperatures, (not to mention being kicked for added impact in certain
songs!), replacement at 30-40 years should be looked upon as a definite
possibility.
The former owner of the '64 Reverb Unit I recently purchased had replaced the
original tank with a 6-spring, and was unhappy with the sound. (He's a pretty
well-known SoCal surf guitarist), so he simply removed two of the springs and
was more satisfied with the results. Still, it was not the original spec spring
tank, and IMHO, the Reverb Unit is functioning noticeably better with the new
original spec tank in place. My original '63 Reverb Unit still has the original
spring tank, and is doing a splashing good job for my Surf playing.
Bruce D
"There's no such thing as too much reverb"
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