Am I crazy for not liking spring reverb?

[ratherdashing]

For me, there is no contest: digital reverb beats the snot out of a spring tank any day. I prefer the variety I can get from a digital effect, and to me a room, chamber, or hall verb sounds much more complex and lively than a spring.

There are tons of amps, including high end ones sold to people who can definitely afford outboard effects, that include spring reverb. Do people actually prefer the sound of springs? I kind of feel like an idiot wishing that amps didn't have reverb. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I can't see how that thing being in the circuit doesn't affect tone in some negative way.

So what's the deal: am I nuts?

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Am I crazy for not liking spring reverb?

There's positives and negatives to both. High end digital reverb sounds great these days, so it's no surprise that many producers record dry, then add reverb to individual tracks, to their liking.

On the other hand, analog/spring reverb has more headroom, and often less circuitry to go through. If you smack the strings, spring rev will just give you a big reverb. If you do the same thing with a digital unit, it can give you that nasty 'ping' from overloading.

Personally, I use both, but I keep them turned down so low that it's almost hard to tell what it is. I still like my EH Holy Grail just as much as the spring reverb on many amps. It's one of the best purchases I've made.

 

[Stratcat]

Re: Am I crazy for not liking spring reverb?

Good post, I have found that I can get my Boss RV-3 pedal to do the Fender Spring Reverb and then some.

http://www.bossarea.com/loadpage.asp?file=boxes/rv3.xml

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Am I crazy for not liking spring reverb?

Yes you are crazy...

 

[LesStrat]

Re: Am I crazy for not liking spring reverb?

Blasphemy!!!!!:saeek:

1st, tabs, and now REVERB!!?!?!??????

*recoils in shock*

























:joke:rd.

It's a matter of personal taste.

 

[Rushfan2112]

Re: Am I crazy for not liking spring reverb?

Sometimes I like it, but too much = horrible. I keep mine at 1 or 2, maybe 6 for surf rock stuff. I'd prefer tube. But in digital terms, the L6 Verbzilla is amazing.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Am I crazy for not liking spring reverb?

LS, you have a PodXT ... do you prefer the sound and feel of the reverb on that, or the springs in your amp?

GJ, very good point re. headroom - though there are ways to work around that. The best way I know of is to go stereo.

 

[ES350]

Re: Am I crazy for not liking spring reverb?

A lot of modern spring reverbs in amps sound pretty bad...chalk it up to Accutronics vs Gibbs/Hammond tanks maybe...Some Ampegs, BF Fenders and the standalone reverbs sound great...some.

 

[OlinMusic]

Re: Am I crazy for not liking spring reverb?

I agree with you... I prefer Digital PLATE Reverbs because they are not so "boingy" or overpowering in reggae grooves etc, should you just want a little space in the mix/tone.

However, since you made this thread - you will get burned at the stake whilst I escape unscathed hahahahahah!

 

[PoorMan]

Re: Am I crazy for not liking spring reverb?

So what's the deal: am I nuts?

I'm sorry, but yes. :stooges:

 

[Mephis]

Re: Am I crazy for not liking spring reverb?

For me, there is no contest: digital reverb beats the snot out of a spring tank any day. I prefer the variety I can get from a digital effect, and to me a room, chamber, or hall verb sounds much more complex and lively than a spring.

There are tons of amps, including high end ones sold to people who can definitely afford outboard effects, that include spring reverb. Do people actually prefer the sound of springs? I kind of feel like an idiot wishing that amps didn't have reverb. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I can't see how that thing being in the circuit doesn't affect tone in some negative way.

So what's the deal: am I nuts?

You are very crazy. Do you also have a solid state amp and play blink 182 riffs?

 

[B Bent]

Re: Am I crazy for not liking spring reverb?

Tone is extremely subjective as we all know. Given that I have nothing else left to say, but:




































Yes you are crazy!!!

 

[frankfalbo]

Re: Am I crazy for not liking spring reverb?

Pfft...All you spring devotees are the crazy ones. I realize that lots of things from the 50's are great BECAUSE they are old technology, but I don't think spring reverb is one of them. There are definitely arguments to be made that if you build a classic sounding circuit, you need a spring tank and an analog circuit to maintain purity and integrity. I can totally agree with that and I respect those circuits and tones. It's not that I dislike spring reverb, but 9 times out of 10 I'll take a digital reverb sound that I can control and manipulate. In other words, out of the 200+ kinds of reverb I can duplicate digitally, either outboard or in software, only 10 or 20 of them represent accurate spring recreations. So that means I have a near infinite palate in addition to spring tank reverb.

I'm also much more focused on the actual guitar tone in the mix than the sound of the reverb to my ears as the player. So even if I can't exactly match the sound of a spring tank, or how it "clanks" when you hit the strings hard, I couldn't possibly care less. In the studio, I'm much more concerned with how it fits in the stereo image when the mix is done, and live, how it fits with the room's natural reverb. I can't control that with a spring tank, even if there's a reverb tone control. But with digital, I can choose a short, smoky reverb for large rooms, and a big arena verb for small rooms, etc. I guess my biggest complaint with spring tanks is that I can't control the decay, or how the high frequencies decay. Remember, spring reverb was some wacky inventor's way to crudely (very crudely!) approximate real room reverb reflections with the "boing" of a spring. And to make matters worse, any awkward bouncing makes sounds that are worse than mic feedback IMO.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Am I crazy for not liking spring reverb?

Pfft...All you spring devotees are the crazy ones. I realize that lots of things from the 50's are great BECAUSE they are old technology, but I don't think spring reverb is one of them. There are definitely arguments to be made that if you build a classic sounding circuit, you need a spring tank and an analog circuit to maintain purity and integrity. I can totally agree with that and I respect those circuits and tones. It's not that I dislike spring reverb, but 9 times out of 10 I'll take a digital reverb sound that I can control and manipulate. In other words, out of the 200+ kinds of reverb I can duplicate digitally, either outboard or in software, only 10 or 20 of them represent accurate spring recreations. So that means I have a near infinite palate in addition to spring tank reverb.

I'm also much more focused on the actual guitar tone in the mix than the sound of the reverb to my ears as the player. So even if I can't exactly match the sound of a spring tank, or how it "clanks" when you hit the strings hard, I couldn't possibly care less. In the studio, I'm much more concerned with how it fits in the stereo image when the mix is done, and live, how it fits with the room's natural reverb. I can't control that with a spring tank, even if there's a reverb tone control. But with digital, I can choose a short, smoky reverb for large rooms, and a big arena verb for small rooms, etc. I guess my biggest complaint with spring tanks is that I can't control the decay, or how the high frequencies decay. Remember, spring reverb was some wacky inventor's way to crudely (very crudely!) approximate real room reverb reflections with the "boing" of a spring. And to make matters worse, any awkward bouncing makes sounds that are worse than mic feedback IMO.

:banana: YES!!! :bowdown:

You summed it up perfectly, especially the part about technology.

 

[Scott_F]

Re: Am I crazy for not liking spring reverb?

I'm partial to it in some amps and don't feel other amps need it at all.

 

[Artie]

Re: Am I crazy for not liking spring reverb?

Frank said it perfectly. I would summarize that with this - IMHO:

Spring reverb is a sound effect. Digital reverb simulates environment ambience.

 

[Ken]

Re: Am I crazy for not liking spring reverb?

...What about that sweet crash you get from kicking a spring tank?

My old Crate practice amp had a small spring tank in it...I would crank it up and kick the living bejeezus out of it, nothing else plugged in.

 

[Rushfan2112]

Re: Am I crazy for not liking spring reverb?

...What about that sweet crash you get from kicking a spring tank?

My old Crate practice amp had a small spring tank in it...I would crank it up and kick the living bejeezus out of it, nothing else plugged in.

I gotta admit, that is fun!

 

[Robert Delahunt]

Re: Am I crazy for not liking spring reverb?

For me, there is no contest: digital reverb beats the snot out of a spring tank any day. I prefer the variety I can get from a digital effect, and to me a room, chamber, or hall verb sounds much more complex and lively than a spring. There are tons of amps, including high end ones sold to people who can definitely afford outboard effects, that include spring reverb. Do people actually prefer the sound of springs? I kind of feel like an idiot wishing that amps didn't have reverb. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I can't see how that thing being in the circuit doesn't affect tone in some negative way. So what's the deal: am I nuts?

It's all preference. I actually like it when it fits a song. I like being versatile so in the end I switch reverb and delay models like almost every song.

 

[Robert Delahunt]

Re: Am I crazy for not liking spring reverb?

All of you digital reverb guys are on crack. If you want true ambience to the notes and not some weird effect caked on top of your tone, get a REAL spring reverb tank. Countless amplifiers come with spring reverb tanks, not digital because they sound better (Matchless, Bogner, Bad Cat, Fender...)
Digital reverbs sound, well, digital. About the only thing I like digital in effects is delay and that's because I like hearing crystal clear repeated notes. I use just a hint of reverb through my amps (on both the cleans and the overdrives) for a touch more depth and I like reverb not being too noticeable, so the ambient textures I get from spring tanks do it for me far better than digital ever could.

I use both. So thanks for telling me I'm on crack. I appreciate it. It's just so mature of you to notice.