School me on Reverb

Karmadog777

Karmadog777

New member
onboard spring reverb that is.
When I first got my PV Ultra the reverb was real weak,I could barely hear it unless the knob was on 10, and at that point the reverb was too much

After retubing it, the reverb is much better,but quite abit weaker than on my TubeWorks hybrid combo

is reverb mostly generated from circuit/tube, or from the reverb tank?
I was thinking of replacing the PV reverb tank with the Accutronix tank that is in my TubeWorks amp.

could I expect the reverb to be big and with a wide range as it was in the TW amp, or would it be the same as the PV because of tube and circuit design? Im really clueless on the workings of reverb
 
Re: School me on Reverb

The reverb tank itself is a totally passive device. It transforms an electric signal into vibrations that travel down a set of springs, and has a pickup at the other end that turns the vibrations back into an electric signal.

If the electric signal going into the tank is weak, the reverb will be weak. Tube amps with reverb generally have a tube that acts as a preamp for the reverb circuit. If there is something wrong with this tube, your reverb will sound weak. You probably fixed this when you retubed your amp.

Of course, if the tank itself is broken, nothing will make the reverb sound strong and full. Usually you would only want to replace the tank if the stock tank is a total POS. I've never heard of a tank breaking, but I suppose it's possible.

The other thing to consider is what you had previously. If you're used to digital reverb, spring reverb will probably sound weird to you. Personally I prefer digital reverb because it actually does a better job of sounding like what reverb is supposed to simulate (a large echoing space), but some people love spring reverb and think digital is junk.
 
Re: School me on Reverb

If you replace the reverb tank with a different tank you will indeed get a MUCH different sounding 'verb out of the amp. Long pan vs. short and number of spring can yeild a 'verb that's deep & smooth or short & trashy. Likely you can switch the tanks without much of a struggle, just swap the RCA connectors and see what the differences are.

It is possible to have a broken reverb tank... either the wires inside can get stressed or have cold solder joints... or the transformer can go bad... or the wiring to the transformer. There's not much to 'em besides the springs & a few simple parts... take it apart & look! Just don't touch or try to change the springs... lol
 
Re: School me on Reverb

cool ! I'll give it a shot and see what the difference is, just didnt want to mess with it if it was useless.
I have heard of people wanting to replace their"crappy" reverb tank with a accutronix tank...I dont know what is in the PV but my TubeWorks amp has a larger tank and its stamped Accutronix ....Im not used to digital reverb, I actually prefer spring reverb, I used to have a big ol PV Renown combo that had the best spring reverb,I was young and liked to rock the amp and make the tank crash like thunder...I will refrain from doing that with my Tube amp
 
Re: School me on Reverb

Moose is right about different tanks producing different reverb affects. I put a Ruby 3-spring, medium delay in a Princeton Reverb clone and the reverb is almost too much compared to the stock 2-spring, long delay tank from Accutronics.

Be careful about reverb specs though. The obvious ones are the number of springs, their length, and the intended delay. However, you also need to match the input impedance and output impedance to your amp's reverb circuit. Impedances are VERY different between solid state and tube driven reverb circuits. Finally, Accutronics makes slight modifications depending on how the tank is going to be mounted in the cab.

Here's the Accutronic's site: http://www.accutronicsreverb.com/

Mojo Musical Supply carries a few of the Ruby tanks and they are built like, well, tanks ;)

Oh, I also forgot that sometimes the input cable shield is isolated, sometimes it's the output cable shield...

Here's a chart showing what the specs mean:

TANKCHART.gif


Courtesy of the Library at Hoffman Amplifiers :D

Chip
 
Re: School me on Reverb

The older Gibbs/Hammond tanks usually sound better to me than the Accutronics...I have had a chance to pick between 5-6 Accutronics tanks for some Fender replacements and they are really inconsistent.
 
Re: School me on Reverb

ES350 said:
The older Gibbs/Hammond tanks usually sound better to me than the Accutronics...I have had a chance to pick between 5-6 Accutronics tanks for some Fender replacements and they are really inconsistent.
Click to expand...

I was wondering about that - got a new Blackface Fender spec'd Accutronics and it just don't reverb much at all in an amp that has overwhelming reverb with the Ruby unit.

Thanks,

Chip
 
Re: School me on Reverb

Oh yeah...ask the surf guys (the real reverb lovers); they are all over the old Gibbs units like sand crabs on a beached pirate...
 
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