true spring reverb in an "average size" box- is it possible?

[runmikeyrun]

 I mean, is it even possible to fit one in a smaller enclosure than the usual sized spring reverb pan?  Or is it the long springs that actually give you that sound?  Honestly, I'd love a spring reverb for not just the verb, but to give it some kicks now and again 

[mistahead]

I would imagine the length of the springs would be ABSOLUTELY KEY to their operation, try to bring their length down and you'd need to up something else to compensate and still get reverb, up that and you'll end up with a lower "max time" capability, change the material to get it to move again and end up with a changed high/mid/low dynamic..

I'm not saying it would be bad, just different - maybe to the point of bad... can't you just kick the bassist?

EDIT: How average is average:
http://www.paia.com/proddetail.asp?prod=6740K&cat=27
Better perhaps:
http://www.accutronicsreverb.com/

[PRR]

> is it the long springs that actually give you that sound?

Yes.

Same reason a cathedral sounds different than a shower-stall. Longer time delays.

The first reverb springs were 3 feet long. Maniacal mechanics got it down closer to a foot with little loss of tone. There have been 6-inch springs but nobody loved them.

[haveyouseenhim]

I ripped the reverb springs out of a junk practice amp and it seems to fit perfectly in a 1590DD. They aren't as long as a full-blown reverb tank but it seems to be the only way to get a true spring reverb in a stompbox.

I'd imagine you would need a relay bypass with a momentary switch because the initial snap of a latching switch would jar the springs when you turn it on.

[runmikeyrun]

well, I AM the bassist!  lol.  This is for some high on the neck solo stuff I jam during the middle of the set... and during some of the noise parts too.  I'm gonna scope those links tomorrow, It's 1:30am here and I have to get some shuteye.  I was kind of assuming that since no one had done it yet here that it's most likely not possible...  

[mistahead]

I've seen it done around here - in a lovely tweeded/Vox looking box... I think it was here... maybe over with the Telecrackers.

I can only imagine its a pain to use practically and offers little benefit over a PT2399 type box, hence isn't done except as an "adventure".

Night mate.

[earthtonesaudio]

There's always torsional wire delay lines...
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Torsion_wire_delay_line.jpg
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/defdeny.jsp?url=http%3A%2F%2Fieeexplore.ieee.org%2Fstamp%2Fstamp.jsp%3Ftp%3D%26arnumber%3D1536143%26userType%3Dinst&denyReason=-134&arnumber=1536143&productsMatched=null&userType=inst

[R.G.]

At one time back in the late 1960s, you could buy a reverb box that wired into your car's radio system to give reverb to your car radio or eight-track tape sound system.

This box had a real, no-fooling spring reverb setup that was only 3-4" long. It is possible that some of these survive 40+ years later in junkyards and/or flea markets. But they'll be very, very rare.

[seedlings]

Honestly, I'd love a spring reverb for not just the verb, but to give it some kicks now and again  

Or a stomp box might work:

http://youtu.be/MgQXdPldAGc?t=1m6s

CHAD

[Mark Hammer]

At one time back in the late 1960s, you could buy a reverb box that wired into your car's radio system to give reverb to your car radio or eight-track tape sound system.

This box had a real, no-fooling spring reverb setup that was only 3-4" long. It is possible that some of these survive 40+ years later in junkyards and/or flea markets. But they'll be very, very rare.

Here's one. http://www.swtpc.com/mholley/PopularElectronics/May1967/PE_May1967.htm   An eariler issue of the same magazine also had a project for car installation.

I've been playing around with 4" springs (more like 8" when fully extended) from Home Depot, and gotten a decent reverb sound out of them.  One way to get a longer decay, and emulate the more complex sound of multi-spring arrangements is to use a Y setup, with the driver spring soldered to two pickup springs.  The Y arrangement allows for a slightly longer effective spring length, and their physical coupling allows for more interaction and complexity.

But, thinking it over a bit, I wonder if the decay challenge couldn't be addressed by blending digital and spring technology.  So, imagine we have a couple of short springs, whose reverb onset is staggered a bit by use of PT2399 chips.  (Funny that the springs set me back about $1.25@, but the chip is 30 cents!).  That is, spring 2 starts a bit after spring 1, and if we have spring 3, it starts a little later still.  That might be one way of retaining the complex characteristics of springs, but doing so in a small package.

[artifus]

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=98139.msg857465#msg857465

[runmikeyrun]

wow thanks guys, a lot of great info here!  I'm going to try to find some time to come up with an idea... if I get a concept together I will update.  Thanks so much!

[Lurco]

The shortest one I could find lately: http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=101789.msg900535#msg900535

[wavley]

You can get a bit smaller using a Folded Line tank.  Space Echoes have them, the reverb is decent, but not great, I prefer longer tanks.



Plus, there's this...



Manufactured by beautiful girls, now that's some mojo I'll buy into!

[Strategy]

I put my stage center in a Bud chassis type enclosure. The lid just looks wooden because I had some stick on veneer (3M) from work where we do some model making. This is a little big for a pedal but not so bad when you consider big commercial pedals like the older model EHX stuff or boutique spring reverb pedal boxes like the Vanamps Reverbamate. This is basically the same size.



The tank is a type 8, which is 9 something inches long, but with 3 springs. With mods for tone this ended up being a really nice sounding project. At some point I need to fix up the guts and the mechanical construction as this was one of my first builds.

The Accutronics types (incl type are still made by Bell and you can order them to spec. You could get one without a metal tank so it's just the springs. This would make the footprint very small. But I don't know what this does to the sound.

Strategy