Spring reverbs, give me the dirty details

[ApeLincoln]

I've been running my guitar through my music thing modular spring reverb and I like the sound but it's a pretty big pain in the but to amp the signal up to euro levels and then attenuating it back down to instrument levels. On top of that I really don't feel comfortable giving my modular synth a solid smack to get the springs to freak out and make a real nice racket.

So I'm looking for a stand alone and I've got three in mind and am wondering if you guys have any opinions.

Number 1- Knas Ekdahl Moisturizer
Number 2- Van Amps Sole Mate
Number 3- Flickinger Spaghetti Western

Sole Mate is really not my ideal. It's nice that it's fairly compact, but it's not a great sound to my ears.

The spaghetti western is super expensive but the sound is incredible.

The Knas is crazy it seems like I'd really enjoy it but I haven't really seen many demos that get me super jazzed up.

Any thoughts beyond that?

[TheStevenLasombras]

I had a Sole Mate for a little while, didn't really dig it. Got the Moisturizer and LOVE it. It's a permanent fixture in my studio space for years, everything I record direct into the computer goes through it. It sounds great to me, and all the CV control is great with synths. Never really tried to use it for guitar in a live context, though.

[Uncle Grandfather]

I have a sole mate and moisturizer. They couldn't be more different from one another. The sole mate uses mod springs and the moisturizer uses accutronics and sounds darker just as a spring reverb. I like the sole mate because the spring tank is a separate unit and easy to manipulate for experimental music. The moisturizer is really more of an instrument unto itself to get the most out of it you physically manipulate the springs to get sounds that are processed by its synth. Your imagination is the only limiting factor of the moisturizer it's so versatile.

[ApeLincoln]

Could the springs themselves be made accessible on the sole mate UG? Being able to give them a flick or run a bow across them is the thing that gets me excited about the moisturizer.

[Uncle Grandfather]

Could the springs themselves be made accessible on the sole mate UG? Being able to give them a flick or run a bow across them is the thing that gets me excited about the moisturizer.

Yeah you can get to the springs but they are arranged like a triangle with two on the bottom and a third above/center so you can't really bow them like you can with the moisturizer....but you can manipulate them with a screwdriver etc. Check out this link and you can see how the springs are recessed into the "tank" so you wouldn't be able to bow these anyways but they are accessable to manipulate.

http://www.amazon.com/Mod-Reverb-Tank-8 ... B003BGXW50

I don't use a pedal board but the sole mate's big selling point i think is how it is designed to have the stomp box/controls pedal board friendly and you then attach the tank to the bottom of your board so its out of the way. I mostly don't use the sole mate for experimental music, the moisturizer is the go to for that. I like the sole mate for adding an actual spring reverb to my signal chain...cause I don't like digital emulation...and/or with my older non reverb amps. I happen to think it sounds very tasty. You can always get different reverb tanks to use with it too with different decay times, they are only like 17$ a tank.

Here's a demo i made of the Moisturizer where i destroyed a bow
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8LdIJ8bzYU[/youtube]

[skullservant]

I've got a Lafayette Spring Reverb amp top unit that I got for $80 on Reverb. They go cheap enough that it's not really a big investment if you don't end up digging it

[trace]

MOISTURIZER!

It's so good! I should have never let mine go. The reverb sounds great and can do a really great normal spring reverb sound but IMO the real star of the show is the filter. Probably my favorite filter I've ever used. Also if you are getting one brand new from Knas definitely consider the "factory mods" he offers, The added controls are essential, especially the filter/reverb order switch. The instructions to do them yourself are on his site too if you are DIY handy.