How to boost the signal after the springs in a standalone spring reverb?

[Absentidei]

I'm currenty working on a spring reverb with a friend using the reverb tank from an old amplifier.
The plan is to build it into a self contained unit, and use a relay to switch the effect  on and off.

I'm using a tl072 to split the signal at the input. One goes directly to a "dry" volume control and the other signal goes to a lm386 power amp configured as the "amplifier with gain of 50" example in the datasheet.
This drives the springs. So far so good.
I've tried running the output from the springs directly to the amp, just to see what it sounds like, and it's really really quiet, so I have to turn the volume way up.
I tried using a single jfet booster based on the tillman preamp with a bypass cap, but it simply doesn't boost enough.
I tried using another lm386 chip to boost the signal again. that resulted in an acceptable signal level, but huge amounts of noise.

Does anyone have any suggestions?
If anyone could point me in the direction of any cirquit snippets I could use as a basis, that would be highly appreciated.

If anyone is interested I'll post schematics for the entire project when it's done.

[artifus]

hi. do you know the make of your tank? maybe some useful info here: http://www.accutronicsreverb.com/ - go to 'application' if the link doesn't take you there.

also, google 'stage centre reverb'

hope that helps.

[Absentidei]

I noticed that the stage center reverb used a tl074.
Could I use a tl072 to boost the signal up to line level after the reverb tank?

I haven't really used op amps at all before. The one I have in there now is configured as unity gain, because that's what I found schematics for.
I'm using the left bit of this schematic as my input stage:
http://runoffgroove.com/splitter-blend.html

So. Two questions.
1: How do I configure a tl072 chip for maximum gain without clipping?
2: Can I run the tl072 chips from my 15v power supply? I'm currently using a 5v voltage regulator to supply the input power of the op amp. (That's what I had lying around, I did order a few 9v regulators, but I just realised that they might not be needed)

[artifus]

tl071 is an op amp, tl072 is a dual op amp and the tl074 is a quad op amp - four identical op amps in a single package. datasheet: http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/tl071a.pdf

http://www.ti.com/lit/an/slod006b/slod006b.pdf op amps for everyone app note

http://www.ti.com/lit/an/sloa030a/sloa030a.pdf single supply op amp design app note

So. Two questions.
1: How do I configure a tl072 chip for maximum gain without clipping?
2: Can I run the tl072 chips from my 15v power supply? I'm currently using a 5v voltage regulator to supply the input power of the op amp. (That's what I had lying around, I did order a few 9v regulators, but I just realised that they might not be needed)

1 - make sure input level and gain do not exceed headroom limitations imposed by your component selection and power supply
2 - yes. check datasheets for component ratings

*edit* just remembered this: http://www.muffwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36048

[Absentidei]

I'm aware that the tl071, 072 and 074 are identical appart from the number of op amps on the chip.
The reason I'm using the tl072 is that I have a bunch of those lying around.
I could order a few tl074s, but it would take a few weeks for them to arrive, and I'm not the worlds most patient man.

I'll give those two documents a read trough and see if I can understand anything of it.
I read the "op-amps" pages on electronics tutorials, but most of it could as well have been a foreign language.
:/

But I think I've concluded with using another op-amp as the recovery stage after the reverb tank, and I think I've figured out what transistors I have to fiddle about with to get the needed gain.

So thanks a bundle!

[artifus]

yeah, just keep rereading them - i do! i tend to take in about 0.1% of the available information per a read.

first time round i just look at the pretty pictures, next time scanning for specific information and eventually simply for fun(!).