Has anyone tried the Demeter Real Spring Reverb (rackmount)?

[NickyBass]

Looks interesting. Details are here:
http://www.demeteramps.com/products/reverb/index.html

It's definitely pricey, but my reverb pedal is the only thing that has stuck around through it all.

I have other pedals, but the verb gets the most use. (For soloing mainly. I play electric/smooth jazz and like to kick in the verb for solos.)

I would still have to control it with an external relay footswitch. It looks like the reverb itself won't accept a footswitch, but I have something that I picked up from Analogman that would allow me to remotely switch it.

Now that I think about it, I probably won't pick one up unless I see a used one pop up. I'd still like to hear any feedback.

[Taylor Livingston]

What kind of reverb pedal are you currently using? Spring units have a very distinctive sound, which is unlike real life reverb and unlike digital units. I personally am all about the spring sound, and have owned the Premier unit, the Tube Works unit (which is stereo) and the Peavey Valverb, which also has tremolo. All three of these are tube units, whereas the Demeter is solid state AFAIK. Don't know how important that is to you. Neither is better necessarily; it just depends on the sound you are looking for.

If you haven't used a real spring unit before, be aware that although they do sound great, they are less tweakable than digital verbs. The Demeter does not have EQ, which to me is a big limitation. It is impossible to change the "room size" in a spring reverb, because you can't change the length of the spring. All you can really change is the mix of reverb and clean. On units that have EQ, like the Tube Works and Valverb, you can change the amount of energy in different frequency ranges that is going into the spring, which means you can make the bass less reverberated for example, and verb mainly the mids and highs, which is good for keeping things from getting muddy in a mix.

Tell us a little more about what you want in a reverb unit and we can give you some suggestions.

[grygrx]

I thought the RV-1 looked great. I admit this is no help, but I was gazing longingly at one just yesterday.

http://www.demeteramps.com/products/pedals/rvb1.html

[anyonefortennis]

The reverbamate may be a cheaper high quality alternative

http://www.vanamps.com/reverbamate.htm

[NickyBass]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I am currently using the VanAmps ReverbMate spring reverb. I dig the spring verbs. The Demeter has a few advantages for me. One being that it is rackmountable. I would need a relay switch, though, they have a much smaller footprint. It also has 2 tanks that can be run seperately or linked and a low cut filter. I don't need more tonal shaping options since I never use reverb for the lower registers. I was thinking about ditching my board in favor of just a rack mount verb. I love the VanAmps pedal, but I think the Demeter would intergrate into my rig alot better. (The standard IEC power chord is a plus, though not a deal maker.)

Of course, this is all speculation at this point. I don't want to plunk down the kind of coin that they are asking. Something tells me that this is a GAS attack more than anything, but you never know....

[Taylor Livingston]

Well, the Valverb and the Tube Works are both rackmountable. The Valverb has a tube preamp, tube trem and tube verb drive and is mono, whereas the Tube Works only has tube drive for the reverb circuit (the preamp is SS) and it is stereo. Both have 3-band EQ and remote switching ability. The only thing they don't have that the Demeter does is the different tanks, one short and one long, which is a pretty cool feature. Both of these units can be had for less than the Demeter (I got my Valverb for about $300 I think; the Tube Works goes for around $350-$650 depending on whether they are on the upswing or downswing in popularity).

Beyond those, there's a wide variety of rackmount spring reverbs available of varying quality, most of them solid state, made by Tapco (4400), Orban (111B), Vermona (Retroverb, several others), Furman (RV-1 and RV-2), Boss (RX100), DOD (R845, R848).

[maxvalentino]

I have tried a LOT of reverbs...both in my studio and on my bass. I bought a Demeter RV1 several years ago mainly for my studio use (I too am a big fan of spring verbs). I have tried a bunch of the spring reverbs folks have listed (even have a couple)...and have a number of digital units (Lexicon, TC, Eventide)..nothing even comes close to the sound of the Demeter. It is, far and away, the richest and warmest reverb I have tied (that being said...it is not "realistic" like some of the digital units are, but rather it is quite musical and useful in an altogeter differstnt fashion...). I liked it so much that I bought a second unit just for my bass rig (and it is the only effect unit I use in my rig...) While it does not have the controls for eq (it does have a LF cut which takes away the boominess inherent to using verb with bass...as well as individual phase invert switches for each channel, as well as the ability to link the pans at either the inputs or outputs..) , it is much quieter (always an inherent problem with spring reverbs) and mostly, "richer" sounding than the other units..even the Ramona or older Orban units. The components Demeter uses are top notch, the unit is both "over-designed" and over manufactured (esp. "over-sheilded")...hence the high price. To my ears worth everey penny. The downside is it is bal. in/out on either TRS or xlr jacks. Unbal operation is possible but the input gain does need to be cranked (raising the noise floor.....)or you need to , as I do , use it in a completely balanced system...which makes the "pedal" version someone posted look pretty appealing. Have not tied one yet..but they run around $400, and if are at all sonically like the RV1 well worth checking into