spring reverb guitar pedal (sort of)

ubertar · Post by **ubertar** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 10:47 am

Got this Olson reverberation amplifier for cheap off ebay, hoping it'd be a bucket brigade circuit, but it turned out to be a spring reverb. Runs off a 9v battery and has 1/4" ins and outs-- I'm not sure what it was meant for, but it works great for guitar. It sounds best used subtly, and the amp gives it some nice dirt.

It's old-school wiring-- no printed circuit boards, no ICs. There was what looked like a bare wire coming from a coil on the input side of the spring that was broken-- had to screw around with things for a while before I realized it was coated magnet wire and needed to be stripped to make a connection. I work with magnet wire all the time, making pickups, so I should have thought of that sooner. Why they make the coating copper-colored I'll never understand. So for a while I was getting guitar signal, and springy sounds, but no reverb on the guitar signal, until I fixed the wire.

Cool wooden enclosure-- looks like teak. Solid wood, not a veneer.

It wouldn't take much to add a foot switch with true bypass so this could be fully functional as a guitar pedal.
If you see one for cheap, it's worth getting.

EasyGo · Post by **EasyGo** » Sun Apr 01, 2012 2:00 pm

Cool. I'm surprised there actually a spring tank inside a box that small.

inverseroom · Post by **inverseroom** » Sun Apr 01, 2012 6:14 pm

Very cool!

Hi Paul

ubertar · Post by **ubertar** » Sun Apr 01, 2012 7:34 pm

Hi John!

dubold · Post by **dubold** » Mon Apr 02, 2012 5:03 am

hi paul

that spring verb looks cool - i also liked the look of the police scanner in "related auctions"...

ubertar · Post by **ubertar** » Tue Apr 03, 2012 7:23 am

Hey Dave. How do you like living in England so far? Say hi to Jen for me.

markjazzbassist · Post by **markjazzbassist** » Tue Apr 03, 2012 11:39 pm

is it noisy? i had a pioneer reverberation unit and the more i cranked the verb the more noise/hum i got.

ubertar · Post by **ubertar** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 7:33 am

Not noisy. It's no different from using the spring reverb on an amp that has one built in.

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 10:18 am

That's cool, Ub. I've got a Pioneer that rocks, but the Olsen is so small, it looks a little less than "half-rack," yes? Plus, you got it for $6??? Very nice.

GJ

ubertar · Post by **ubertar** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 1:30 pm

It's not much bigger than a guitar pedal.

EasyGo · Post by **EasyGo** » Wed Apr 18, 2012 9:19 pm

ebay seller '9guitar' has the same Olson unit, and wants more than $300.

Olson Reverb on ebay

The Scum · Post by **The Scum** » Wed Apr 18, 2012 10:12 pm

Yeah, the flowerpot guy.

Seems like most of his prices are on the high side, put put it gently.

If he can get $427 for a Furman RV3, maybe it's time for me to sell mine...

EasyGo · Post by **EasyGo** » Sat Apr 21, 2012 4:21 pm

I've often wondered how that seller can charge so much for gear that is not recapped/refurbished, and have such glowing feedback. Are those buyers real?

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spring reverb guitar pedal (sort of)

spring reverb guitar pedal (sort of)

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