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Another Peavey reverb tank bit the dust


ElNumero

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I just got my Peavey Delta Blues 2x10 back from an amp tech. Not just any amp tech, but Michael Clark, owner of Clark Amplification, a builder of very expensive custom boutique amps. This is the second Peavey tube amp that I own that had the reverb tank just suddenly "tank" out, the first being my Classic 50. I asked Mike why this happens, and he showed me the tank, explaining that there were no broken connections or anything else that was visible to the naked eye. He then added that there are some very very fine wires wrapped around something (forget what he called it) at the end of the tank, wires that are thinner than a human hair and his best guess is they just got corroded. He did compliment the sound of the amp, adding that the spring reverb was very lush and sounded just like a true reverb was supposed to sound. That is nice to know that my $450 amp sounds good to the ears of a guy who builds $4000 amps!!

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The older Peavey's, like the Bandit I had, used USA made Accutronics Spring Reverb tanks. They probably don't use them anymore.

They sure do still use them Josh. The original was accutronics and so was the replacement.

 

Even accutronics go bad. Carvin used them, and the one in my Vintage 16 was DOA. Unfortunately they have now gone pretty much to digiverb on their entire amp line, so no more real spring reverb.

Yep, any tank can go bad. They are very sensitive components.

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They sure do still use them Josh. The original was accutronics and so was the replacement.

 

Yep, any tank can go bad. They are very sensitive components.

 

They are not American made anymore.... KBP was having trouble sourcing them....

 

A great subsitute for real spring reverb is a Mr. Black Deluxe Plus. Sounds very close to the real thing, I can't tell the difference, but some of you might.

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Not saying that they are indistinguishable from a good spring reverb, but there are some VERY good sounding digital spring reverb emulator pedals available these days. And you don't have to spend $300 on a Strymon Blue Sky to get a good sounding one (but be my guest, if only the best will do!). I have been using one of THESE from BYOC for a number of years now, based upon the Belton reverb "brick"--an amazingly authentic sounding spring reverb tone, and you can dial in anything from a whisper of reverb to deep, echoing washes of lush sound that would make Dick Dale envious. Of course, there are a variety of excellent pre-built reverb pedals available that use the same or similar digital technology at quite reasonable price points. The main drawback of these pedals is that you really can't use them in front of an amp with a lot of preamp gain, since it turns the reverb effect into nasty sounding overkill. But that's true with other time-based effects as well, especially delay.

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Lately I've been using a touch of Delay instead of Reverb on some amps. Much better to my ears and much more controllable, especially in live performances than Reverb.

 

I've come to the same conclusion.... When I go back and listen to live recordings, the Reverb was not needed, just the touch of delay...

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