Analog Reverb: Tanks, Springs, and Plates

Reverb was arguably the first "special effect" for instruments and vocalists, originally pulled off with large, purpose-built chambers underneath classic recording studios like Capitol Studios and Abbey Road. It didn't take long, however, for engineers to come up with clever ways to add this trailing, three-dimensional sound without the need for a huge concrete bunker 30 feet underground. Using large metal plates with transducers on either end, this luscious effect could now be tucked away in an existing machine room with remote controls to dampen the plate and control the reverb time. In the 1950s, Elektro-Mess-Technik introduced the 600-pound EMT 140 plate reverb, a unit which was adopted by a large majority of the day's studios and is still highly regarded and used worldwide -- the plate by which all other reverbs are judged. Things got even smaller with the introduction of spring reverbs like the Fender Reverb tanks and AKG BX20, where plates were replaced with significantly shorter metal coils to produce a more lo-fi and bouncy sound that lends itself incredibly well to guitars, vocals and snare drums. Peruse this handpicked collection new, used and vintage analog reverb units and add some classic vibe to your sound.