I'm glad I found this excellent y-t that you put together. I'm building a 6G15. That Belton really jumped out as the strongest, brightest with the most depth and dimension. IMO, anyway.
I have a Fender Dual Showman Reverb with the original Accutronics spring reverb tank, which sadly broke. I replaced it with the TAD version, but this sounded different - messy in the reverb tone and slightly dissonant almost "billowing" (as you can hear in the video at 4:23). The original Accutronics tanks made in USA are out of stock almost everywhere and cost 150€ and more. They are now made in Korea, but from your video I can tell that they still sound closest to the original. The repeats of the reverb are clearer and dryer - I like that and I will replace my TAD tank with the Accutronics from Korea. Thanks for this shootout!
'75 Twin Reverb owner here... To me, the Belton sounds to be the closest to a 70s era Gibbs/Hammond tank. I wouldn't say as much as to use it for a replacement tank in a blackface era amp (perhaps the Mod tank would be suitable due to its warmer/mellow characteristics). However, the Belton would definitely suffice as a good silverface era tank replacement. There seems to be more chime/high end oscillation that is a characteristic of that era. Between the Belton and the Mod they have the most excellent decays of the lot. I am more of a fan of the Belton, BUT... to each their own!! Happy reverb tank hunting!
Year ago i did buy a Fender Twin Reverb amp, that it did have a Hammond spring reverb.Model H. The sound was just so clean and beatiful sounding. Try to find one of them..You will love it.
They all sounded close to each other to me (although I don't have an "ear' for slight tonal differences. However the Belton sounded more open and airy to me. The MOD sounded a bit woolly.
I had reverb issues with my old Accutronics tank in my Fender Supersonic 22 Combo and pulled the trigger on a new Belton tank, the issue turned out to be merely the RCA cable too near the transformer or too twisted, anyways works perfectly now, anyways fitted the new Belton tank, bought from Modulus Amplification and very impressed, it was a lot brighter and more reverb than the original Accutronics. I believe Modulus Amplification are to my knowledge the only company I could find in the UK to sell Belton tanks.
Useful, thank you! Yeah, Belton maybe the nicest on the ears, but I think the MOD had the tidiest trails. Whether or not that's good or bad varies, but it's where I'd lean if I was putting some gain in front of it.
Yes. Not all tanks are the same and the circuitry to drive and recover the signal from the tank is different too, so you can't just swap tanks around willy nilly
@@ModulusAmps According to Vox, the tank I would need to upgrade it to a three-spring 'Verb is readily available. I just don't think it's worth it. My reverb sounds audibly different. I could always buy a Delay pedal if I wanted to sound more 'in-step' with everyone else.
To me, the MOD sounded just a touch darker than the TAD, but very similar. The Belton sounded as if there were just a bit of feedback in the reverb. The Accutronics and the Belton were brighter and drippier than the first 2.
It looks as though the tanks themselves are identical in all 4 . So they are all copies of Accutronics . I have mainly US made Accutronics tanks collected over the years , except for one which is in a bass amp I built which came from a Farfisa Organ and being shorter with somewhat stiffer springs made this a perfect choice for a bass amp and is nothing like the performance of any other tank , and made in Italy of course . The code on the Accutronics tank will give you all the info you need to mount and drive the unit . The tanks that are designed to be fitted on the bottom of the cabinet will always sound better than those mounted horizontally lengthwise , with the worst sound coming from those mounted vertically lengthwise despite being compensated for internally by spring tension etc . You cannot mount any tank in any position without knowing its orientation first otherwise contact between spring hook and core may cause shorts , and spring sag from being mounted incorrectly will affect tone . The Belton unit may be a universal mounting tank with the additional insulation and will sound different and better than the others IMO .
I had the Belton and it had horrible feedback… to my ears I hear the beginnings of feedback in this one too… the trails are big, but messy. It’s interesting seeing different people’s tastes posted here. Love my MOD reverb… the Beltran I had misbehaved way to much & the drip was not happening at all
the MOD has a pleasant reverb tail and is soft, TAD is almost the same as mod but a bit sharper than the mod, the other two are very transparent and not my taste
I have a TAD in a 77 (silverface) twin and I LOVE it in that. I put the same tank in a 68 twin with the same 8ohm reverb transformer and the same driver and recovery tubes for fun.. it sounds like crap. The difference is the later silverface drives the tank much harder (different cathode value) and the reverb mixer value is different too. The tank is definitely not crap but in one amp it sounds legendary and in another its meh. So take that in to consideration before judging a tank.. Also I tried a 3/6 string US made Accutronics rated for 10ohm which works fine with an 8ohm transformer.. Also a great sounding reverb. But it totally changes the tone of the entire amp toward the darker end of the spectrum. Matching impedance exactly is really important - not just getting the right/closest acceptable value - but also taking in to consideration how a higher impedance tank, with a slight mis-match, will tame an overly bright amp and vice versa.
@@ModulusAmps I have a video on my channel of the cheapest TAD tank I could find in the 77 twin. Its a 4ab3c1b. IIRC at that time it was considerably cheaper than accutronics @ ~£24. They are great tanks and I'd have no hesitation recommending them.
Very interesting. So what did you think worked best for the 68 twin? I have a TAD 4AB3C1B in my 67 Princeton Reverb and it sounds like CRAP. Not 1% of the subtle effect I was getting from the original Gibbs. I recall it to be well blended, almost no oscillation, very "plate" like for a spring reverb... The tad is just Dark/overwhelming/over-oscillating/Long-Surfy-springy incontrollable mess
Hello. I have a Harley Benton GA5 guitar amp into which I would like to build in a spring reverb. Which I'll take from an old Laney PL50 Reverb Can you tell me where to attach it according to the diagram? I want to build it into the body and mix in the sound of reverb.
really surprising: I was prepared to like the MOD and the TAD because I heard so many good things about them and the Accutronics has a bad rep. But I really liked the Accutronics best here; the MOD and TAD sounded boomy and lacked sparkle.
I thought the MOD/TAD sounded best. They had a slightly stronger drip, sound smoother and get out of the way faster that the Accu/Belton. The Accu/Belton ones had a metallic clang to them. I particularly did not like the way the Belton rung constantly, like it was being driven too much. The order in which you played them is the order I preferred them (except the first two were the same). I forget what is in my '68 custom Deluxe Reverb Reissue but I don't like it. It is both unimpressive with no drip, and the decay too long at the same time. I tried the Accutronics tank from my vintage BF Vibrolux Reverb and it still sounded like trash (no change). The circuit is not right.
3 года назад
Same opinion here, the belton/accussonin seemed "springier" to me the belton being more clangy
I landed on this video because my Deluxe Reverb blackface reissue has this non-drippy long reverb like the Belton here. I use a UA Golden Reverberator so that I can shorten the decay and increase the drip, but I just want a better tank. Wondering if I should get a accutronic or something with shorter springs.
@@romzrr My solution is just use the onboard reverb as general low level reverb (3-4), and if I want drip I step on the Source Audio True Spring Reverb pedal I bought for that purpose. That is excellent and does way more than any tank ever could.
With the tanks open like that... is there a way to enhance the reverb more??? Thinking I may open mine up and try out some therories of my own... Mine could be shot.
I like the Mod, do you think that painting the tank can help control the splashy -washyness? I am going to paint an accutronics 4 and try to place it on 6 rubber feet without a cardboard cover and bag like I had on my 70s twin reverb which sounded amazing. Maybe the design is the same but the materials used are lower quality?
@Modulous Amplification Hi mate is it possible to attach a spring reverb tank to a fender greta amp? can't find anything on anybody doing it, p.s. cool video thought the first two tanks sounded best and the last one a bit too much low end and bit warbly but they are useable
Measuring resistance of the input and output transducers with an ohmmeter doesn't tell you much ---- the *impedance* at audio frequencies is very different than the DC resistance measurement, and a given reverb tank can sound different or perhaps have too much or too little output depending on the characteristics of the circuit doing the drive and recovery.
Hi There, My new Fender Pro Reverb 68 Custom had the foam piece touching the springs and sounded awful. So much better once I removed it. Is it ok to leave the foam out? I don't think it was supposed to be touching the springs but I assume the manufacturer used a foam that is too thick for the application?
Sorry, total noob question I know but, do you just plug these in and play like a you would a guitar pedal? Was trying to get my hands on a SurfyBear reverb tank but they've been sold out in Europe for months now.
I'm not sure if I got the question correctly, but if you're asking, if you can plug your guitar cable right into the reverb tank and from there directly into your guitar amplifier, the answer is no. There have to be active electronics involved to amplify your guitar signal to drive the springs and after that again to amplify the signal picked up from the springs. The spring tank is just a part of a spring reverb unit. btw, I'm also planning to get a surfy bear reverb. Since the surfybear reverb unit is out of stock right now, maybe you might consider buying their diy kit. It's even more affordable and putting it together seems fairly simple. The electronics are delivered pretty much fully assembled. You just have to solder a few things to it and put it into any metal enclosure (You can read the instructions for the build on their website). The reverb tank itself is not included but they're fairly cheap too.
@@ModulusAmps Thanks. Got it installed (3 spring Accutronics). Sounds a lot better than the Ruby unit that came stock in my amp. It's usable now. The internals of one I removed most closely resembled the MOD in your video.
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I'm glad I found this excellent y-t that you put together. I'm building a 6G15. That Belton really jumped out as the strongest, brightest with the most depth and dimension. IMO, anyway.
I have a Fender Dual Showman Reverb with the original Accutronics spring reverb tank, which sadly broke. I replaced it with the TAD version, but this sounded different - messy in the reverb tone and slightly dissonant almost "billowing" (as you can hear in the video at 4:23). The original Accutronics tanks made in USA are out of stock almost everywhere and cost 150€ and more. They are now made in Korea, but from your video I can tell that they still sound closest to the original. The repeats of the reverb are clearer and dryer - I like that and I will replace my TAD tank with the Accutronics from Korea. Thanks for this shootout!
My favorite reverb tank are the old small OC Folded Line ones. They give you a nice wide sweep of usable reverb that's very room-like
'75 Twin Reverb owner here... To me, the Belton sounds to be the closest to a 70s era Gibbs/Hammond tank. I wouldn't say as much as to use it for a replacement tank in a blackface era amp (perhaps the Mod tank would be suitable due to its warmer/mellow characteristics). However, the Belton would definitely suffice as a good silverface era tank replacement. There seems to be more chime/high end oscillation that is a characteristic of that era. Between the Belton and the Mod they have the most excellent decays of the lot. I am more of a fan of the Belton, BUT... to each their own!! Happy reverb tank hunting!
Year ago i did buy a Fender Twin Reverb amp, that it did have a Hammond spring reverb.Model H.
The sound was just so clean and beatiful sounding.
Try to find one of them..You will love it.
They all sounded close to each other to me (although I don't have an "ear' for slight tonal differences. However the Belton sounded more open and airy to me. The MOD sounded a bit woolly.
I had reverb issues with my old Accutronics tank in my Fender Supersonic 22 Combo and pulled the trigger on a new Belton tank, the issue turned out to be merely the RCA cable too near the transformer or too twisted, anyways works perfectly now, anyways fitted the new Belton tank, bought from Modulus Amplification and very impressed, it was a lot brighter and more reverb than the original Accutronics. I believe Modulus Amplification are to my knowledge the only company I could find in the UK to sell Belton tanks.
I think the Belton had the kindest reverb tail? Maybe? They all sounded good though.
Useful, thank you! Yeah, Belton maybe the nicest on the ears, but I think the MOD had the tidiest trails. Whether or not that's good or bad varies, but it's where I'd lean if I was putting some gain in front of it.
I liked the TAD over the rest. I think a bit less low freq getting in to the tank so it does not overmodulate the springs.
I like the black ones because they decay smoothly. I hear a little oscillation in the decay of the silver ones.
I just found out my Vox Pathfinder has a one-spring reverb. I always wondered why my 'Verb sounded so much differently than other people's.
Yes. Not all tanks are the same and the circuitry to drive and recover the signal from the tank is different too, so you can't just swap tanks around willy nilly
@@ModulusAmps According to Vox, the tank I would need to upgrade it to a three-spring 'Verb is readily available. I just don't think it's worth it. My reverb sounds audibly different. I could always buy a Delay pedal if I wanted to sound more 'in-step' with everyone else.
The TAD and MOD tanks had a longer reverb tail than the others. I personally prefer the MOD & TAD tanks.
Love you for doing this 😍
To me, the MOD sounded just a touch darker than the TAD, but very similar. The Belton sounded as if there were just a bit of feedback in the reverb. The Accutronics and the Belton were brighter and drippier than the first 2.
It looks as though the tanks themselves are identical in all 4 . So they are all copies of Accutronics . I have mainly US made Accutronics tanks collected over the years , except for one which is in a bass amp I built which came from a Farfisa Organ and being shorter with somewhat stiffer springs made this a perfect choice for a bass amp and is nothing like the performance of any other tank , and made in Italy of course . The code on the Accutronics tank will give you all the info you need to mount and drive the unit . The tanks that are designed to be fitted on the bottom of the cabinet will always sound better than those mounted horizontally lengthwise , with the worst sound coming from those mounted vertically lengthwise despite being compensated for internally by spring tension etc . You cannot mount any tank in any position without knowing its orientation first otherwise contact between spring hook and core may cause shorts , and spring sag from being mounted incorrectly will affect tone . The Belton unit may be a universal mounting tank with the additional insulation and will sound different and better than the others IMO .
I had the Belton and it had horrible feedback… to my ears I hear the beginnings of feedback in this one too… the trails are big, but messy.
It’s interesting seeing different people’s tastes posted here.
Love my MOD reverb… the Beltran I had misbehaved way to much & the drip was not happening at all
the MOD has a pleasant reverb tail and is soft, TAD is almost the same as mod but a bit sharper than the mod, the other two are very transparent and not my taste
I have a TAD in a 77 (silverface) twin and I LOVE it in that. I put the same tank in a 68 twin with the same 8ohm reverb transformer and the same driver and recovery tubes for fun.. it sounds like crap. The difference is the later silverface drives the tank much harder (different cathode value) and the reverb mixer value is different too. The tank is definitely not crap but in one amp it sounds legendary and in another its meh. So take that in to consideration before judging a tank..
Also I tried a 3/6 string US made Accutronics rated for 10ohm which works fine with an 8ohm transformer..
Also a great sounding reverb. But it totally changes the tone of the entire amp toward the darker end of the spectrum. Matching impedance exactly is really important - not just getting the right/closest acceptable value - but also taking in to consideration how a higher impedance tank, with a slight mis-match, will tame an overly bright amp and vice versa.
Cool. Thanks for sharing
@@ModulusAmps I have a video on my channel of the cheapest TAD tank I could find in the 77 twin. Its a 4ab3c1b. IIRC at that time it was considerably cheaper than accutronics @ ~£24. They are great tanks and I'd have no hesitation recommending them.
Very interesting. So what did you think worked best for the 68 twin? I have a TAD 4AB3C1B in my 67 Princeton Reverb and it sounds like CRAP. Not 1% of the subtle effect I was getting from the original Gibbs. I recall it to be well blended, almost no oscillation, very "plate" like for a spring reverb... The tad is just Dark/overwhelming/over-oscillating/Long-Surfy-springy incontrollable mess
but maybe it just isnt the right fit for the Blackface reverb circuit!
I preferred the Accutronics
Hello. I have a Harley Benton GA5 guitar amp into which I would like to build in a spring reverb. Which I'll take from an old Laney PL50 Reverb
Can you tell me where to attach it according to the diagram? I want to build it into the body and mix in the sound of reverb.
3:46 MOD
4:11 TAD
4:36 ACCUTRONICS
5:00 BELTON
3:47 MOD TRAIL
4:12 TAD TRAIL
4:37 ACCUTRONICS TRAIL
5:01 BELTON TRAIL
3:48 MOD DRIP
4:13 TAD DRIP
4:37 ACCUTRONICS DRIP
5:01 BELTON DRIP
really surprising: I was prepared to like the MOD and the TAD because I heard so many good things about them and the Accutronics has a bad rep. But I really liked the Accutronics best here; the MOD and TAD sounded boomy and lacked sparkle.
Yes I agree
I thought the MOD/TAD sounded best. They had a slightly stronger drip, sound smoother and get out of the way faster that the Accu/Belton. The Accu/Belton ones had a metallic clang to them. I particularly did not like the way the Belton rung constantly, like it was being driven too much. The order in which you played them is the order I preferred them (except the first two were the same). I forget what is in my '68 custom Deluxe Reverb Reissue but I don't like it. It is both unimpressive with no drip, and the decay too long at the same time. I tried the Accutronics tank from my vintage BF Vibrolux Reverb and it still sounded like trash (no change). The circuit is not right.
Same opinion here, the belton/accussonin seemed "springier" to me the belton being more clangy
I landed on this video because my Deluxe Reverb blackface reissue has this non-drippy long reverb like the Belton here. I use a UA Golden Reverberator so that I can shorten the decay and increase the drip, but I just want a better tank. Wondering if I should get a accutronic or something with shorter springs.
@@romzrr My solution is just use the onboard reverb as general low level reverb (3-4), and if I want drip I step on the Source Audio True Spring Reverb pedal I bought for that purpose. That is excellent and does way more than any tank ever could.
They all sound good. I was looking for an improvement. My 65PRRI reverb starts to feedback on settings over 6. Hoping a better tank might be the fix
Worth a try, might be microphonic tubes or poor cables too, good luck.. Personally the the reverb was so strong I would never use it over 5
@@ModulusAmps - I agree. Settings under 5 is generally plenty of reverb, but it shouldn't feedback like it does.
@@BaritoneOneFive yes, thats right
Personally: Belton or TAD (both do almost ambient washes), MOD (darker and busier), then Accutronics (brighter and busier)
I like the accutronics best.
Me too.
Awesome demonstration! Thank you! Which of these is your own favorite? Greetings from Finland!
Awesome thanks. Was either the Belton or Accutronics one with this amp. Can't remember what we fitted in the end from memory
Accutronics sounded nicest to me.
With the tanks open like that... is there a way to enhance the reverb more???
Thinking I may open mine up and try out some therories of my own...
Mine could be shot.
Shouldn't make a difference as long as the springs are free to vibrate
I like the Mod, do you think that painting the tank can help control the splashy -washyness? I am going to paint an accutronics 4 and try to place it on 6 rubber feet without a cardboard cover and bag like I had on my 70s twin reverb which sounded amazing. Maybe the design is the same but the materials used are lower quality?
I don't think painting will make any difference, the test here the tanks were isolated from vibration 100%
@Modulous Amplification Hi mate is it possible to attach a spring reverb tank to a fender greta amp? can't find anything on anybody doing it, p.s. cool video thought the first two tanks sounded best and the last one a bit too much low end and bit warbly but they are useable
You could build a separate fender reverb unit if you want authentic spring reverb
@@ModulusAmps Cool thanks for getting back to me mate how do i go about that?
Measuring resistance of the input and output transducers with an ohmmeter doesn't tell you much ---- the *impedance* at audio frequencies is very different than the DC resistance measurement, and a given reverb tank can sound different or perhaps have too much or too little output depending on the characteristics of the circuit doing the drive and recovery.
Yip, Thats why we have audio an visual samples too.
very helpful thank you
Great stuff thanks
Hi There,
My new Fender Pro Reverb 68 Custom had the foam piece touching the springs and sounded awful. So much better once I removed it. Is it ok to leave the foam out? I don't think it was supposed to be touching the springs but I assume the manufacturer used a foam that is too thick for the application?
The foam is meant to be removed to allow the springs to rattle. It is only there as a transport support.
Plot twist... one of them was a PT2399 module
Ha ha nope
is the spring tension on the accutronics the same as the Belton? The Helton one sounde more loose and longer...
Not sure, they could be different, even if just caused by manufacturing tolerance.
what do the sponges do for the reverb, I took mine off, does it make a difference
Kills it, they are there for transport.
They should be removed before installation.
Sorry, total noob question I know but, do you just plug these in and play like a you would a guitar pedal?
Was trying to get my hands on a SurfyBear reverb tank but they've been sold out in Europe for months now.
They have to be a direct replacement for the circuit in the amp. If they are, yes you can plug and play
I'm not sure if I got the question correctly, but if you're asking, if you can plug your guitar cable right into the reverb tank and from there directly into your guitar amplifier, the answer is no.
There have to be active electronics involved to amplify your guitar signal to drive the springs and after that again to amplify the signal picked up from the springs. The spring tank is just a part of a spring reverb unit.
btw, I'm also planning to get a surfy bear reverb. Since the surfybear reverb unit is out of stock right now, maybe you might consider buying their diy kit. It's even more affordable and putting it together seems fairly simple. The electronics are delivered pretty much fully assembled. You just have to solder a few things to it and put it into any metal enclosure (You can read the instructions for the build on their website). The reverb tank itself is not included but they're fairly cheap too.
@@Scoaster86 That's funny. The DIY kits are sold out here in the US and the pedals are available. I just ordered a DIY kit from Europe!
Two thousand twenty. Well here we are🎩
Does the foam stay in or is it for shipping only?
Shipping only. Needs removed
@@ModulusAmps Thanks. Got it installed (3 spring Accutronics). Sounds a lot better than the Ruby unit that came stock in my amp. It's usable now.
The internals of one I removed most closely resembled the MOD in your video.
Belton
For me ...tad...... From chile....
All imported from Asia. Bummer
They've been at it for so long they're actually quite good.