Build your own spring reverb with Mod Kits DIY’s The Wave

Those of you who like to challenge themselves with DIY projects in the realm of electric engineering applied to music, should take a look at MODKits DIY‘s authentic spring tube reverb design called The Wave. For the the young and unaware, spring reverbs are an electromechanical reverb device that produces a reverb effect by inducing sound vibrations at one end of a long wire shaped like a spring. They were among the first reverbs on the market, and you can find them in many now vintage guitar amps from the 50s and 60s.

The coolest feature of this stand-alone? It’s equally at home in front of an amplifier or used to taste in the recording studio, and can be used as an effect or line level unit for recording and live sound applications.

Sporting a genuine spring mechanism and controlled by four tubes (12AX7 x3 and 12AT7 x 1), the Wave parameters are very simple; pretty much just an input and an output. The ‘Dwell’ parameter controls how much input signal the reverb tank receives, and the ‘Reverb’ control adjusts the output reverb.

While The Wave is one of the more difficult projects to take on from MODKits DIY, the versatility of the design really makes up for it, not to mention the bragging rights you’ll earn by completing one!

Also included in the purchase is the high-quality 3U chassis, as well as all necessary components and very clear instructions. The Wave has unbalanced ¼” inputs for guitar applications as well as a line-level RCA standard I/O on the rear for use in recording situations.  – Brandon Stoner