What is spring reverb? How to give your music a brighter sound

Of all the different types of reverb, spring reverb is arguably the most recognizable. Even if you think you don’t know what spring reverb is, you have likely heard it before. Ubiquitous to the sound of 1960s surf rock, early blues, and later 1970s dub music, spring reverb is more than just a tool for adding space and depth to a recording. It is very much its own unique character and iconic within the context of music and music history.

In this article we’ll first discuss what spring reverb is and how it works. We will briefly explore its history and how it came to be so iconic in popular music. And finally, we’ll take a look at a few different ways that we can use it in order to enhance or add character to our own music today.

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What is spring reverb?

Spring reverb is a very simple device. It consists of typically two or three metal springs suspended within an aluminum box, also referred to as a “tank,” hence the term, “reverb tank.” At one end of the spring is an input transducer.  When a signal is applied to the input transducer, similar to how a speaker works, it causes the springs to vibrate. At the opposite end of the spring is an output transducer. When the spring vibrates it creates an alternating electrical current at the output which is analogous to the vibration of the spring. This output can then be mixed back in with the original dry signal to create an artificial reverb effect. The physics of the design are very similar to that of a plate reverb, except that it uses metal springs instead of a metal plate.

Physical spring reverbs when compared to plate reverbs however are a great deal smaller. They can weigh as little as 2 lbs., and are relatively inexpensive. These factors greatly contributed to its wide use and popularity when it was first introduced. More on this later.

What does spring reverb sound like?

We are surrounded by natural reverb every day. Whether very dry like a bedroom closet, or reverberant for tens of seconds like a stone cathedral, every room has its own sound, and, even though we may sometimes notice it, we rarely give it a second thought. Our ears are accustomed to this type of sound and we are undistracted by it. Spring reverb, however, is nothing like this.

Spring reverb is completely unnatural. Nothing like it exists in nature. The forward and backward movement of the vibrating springs creates an echo effect that, not too surprising, sounds like what you might imagine a metal spring would sound like: metallic, edgy, and present, with a spacey echo.

Spring reverb vs. plate reverb

In order to get an idea as to just how unique the sound of a spring reverb is, let’s compare it to a plate reverb. To hear the reverb clearly, I have triggered it with a single snare drum sample.

Check the volume on your headphones or speakers before playing as the snare hit may be a bit loud!

Notice that the plate has a “shimmery” tone, it is quite dense and has a fairly smooth decay. It is a very rich sound.

The spring reverb on the other hand is quite different. There is first a quick blast of high frequencies that then dissipates almost immediately, followed by a mid range, metallic, edgy, and slightly fluctuating reverberant echo. 

A brief history of spring reverb

Before going any further, I would be remiss if I didn’t take a moment to briefly mention how this truly bizarre reverb came to be, and how it found its way into popular music.

Inspired from an earlier design developed by Bell Labs, (Bell Labs was also responsible for the vocoder, but that is another story for another time), the first implementation of spring reverb in a musical context was in 1939 when Laurens Hammond repurposed the device for use in Hammond Organs. This was very appealing to consumers who were used to hearing an organ in the natural reverberant space of a church. Now there was something that could replicate that sense of space artificially at home.

By the 1960s, Hammond had developed the “Accutronics Type 4,” a stand alone spring reverb unit that could fit inside a guitar amp. Because of its small size and inexpensive cost it was licensed by Leo Fender who installed it in two of his guitar amps in the early 1960’s; the Fender Twin Reverb (1962) and the Vibroverb (1963). 

Once incorporated into the electric guitar amp, the sound of spring reverb became common in rock and blues recordings, and ubiquitous to the sound of surf rock dub music.

When and how to use spring reverb

Due to its unique qualities, I tend to approach spring reverb, not only as a tool for adding space and depth to a mix, but also an effect in its own right, not unlike chorus or tremolo, that I can use to add character to a mix. Unless of course you are producing a surf rock or dub album, in which goes, go all in!

1. Adding edge and character to vocals

Historically, physical spring reverbs are not very bright. In fact, everything from around 7kHz and above dissipates very quickly. However, when used with very short decay times, or manipulated digitally, they can add a touch of brightness, or metallic edge to a vocal giving it a subtle lift.

Here is an example from a track called, “Tanzania,” that I recently worked on for the artist Mogul Da Savant. In this case I used a dense stereo plate to add depth and width to the lead vocal. I then layered a mono bright spring reverb on top to add a touch of edge to the vocal without, avoiding the use of eq or any other processing.

The spring reverb that I chose to use for this is from Guitar Rig 7. Apart from the wide selection of amp and speaker models that Guitar Rig 7 offers, it is also full of many great processors and effects that can be used on any track in your mix, not just guitar!

Because of its relatively bright character I chose to use Guitar Rig 7’s, “Spring Reverb,” with a short one second decay time. It’s simple, it's bright, and in this case does just what I need it to do.

2. Using spring reverb creatively

In this next example I was working with an arpeggiator at the intro of a song that I was mixing for the same artist as the last example. The artist wanted something “aethereal,” but also “futuristic,” were the terms that he used. In this case it was not only about adding depth but also about adding a certain character. 

In the spirit of comparing and contrasting I first applied a plate reverb and then I changed it to a spring reverb. Let’s listen to the original dry track first and then we will compare the two reverbs.

When comparing the plate with the spring, they both technically work, however in this case, I don’t find the plate reverb to be as interesting or unique in any way. It sort of falls a little flat. Certainly we could add eq to make it a bit brighter but it still wouldn’t have the edge or the inherent wobble that you get with a spring reverb, which in this case is what gives it its more futuristic, and for lack of a better term, “sputinik” type echo that is more in line with what the artist was looking for.

I used Guitar Rig 7 for this. The Vintage verb reverb offers a “Studio” setting that is mono in and stereo out. I also inserted Guitar Rig 7’s graphic EQ after the reverb in order to notch out a couple of overly resonant frequencies.

4. Creating old school character

Sometimes you just want that lo-fi vintage sound. In order to demonstrate this I’ve gone a bit overboard with the following track. You will hear what I meant when earlier I said, “go all in!”

In the first example we have a relatively tame mix of a great funk band, “AyTrick,” that I have done some recording and mixing for. There is a bit of chamber and plate reverb on the drums and guitars, and a small hall on the horns.

In the second example however, I have muted the original reverbs and replaced them all with a healthy dose of spring reverb, on everything! By modern standards it may be considered overly reverberant, but considering the throwback vibe I was looking for, it makes total sense to me!

Snare and tom

For the snare and the tom I simply used the stereo version of Guitar Rig 7’s Vintage Verb with cut at 342 Hz. using Guitar Rig 7’s graphic equalizer to clean up some of the low end thump of the snare that was clouding up the reverb.

Rhythm and funk guitars

For the rhythm and funk guitars I used Guitar Rig 7’s Vintage Verb on the “Amp” setting which models the mono spring reverbs that you find in many guitar combo amplifiers.

Distorted guitars

For the distorted guitars I opted for Guitar Rig 7’s brighter “Spring Reverb.”

Horns

Finally for the horns I used the stereo “studio” setting of Guitar Rig 7’s Vintage Verb.

Due to its very unique and identifiable sound, I feel that spring reverb often gets passed over by many mix engineers, both beginners and some pros. Yes, I can agree that it is not always the best choice, but when mixed with over reverbs it adds an extra layer of texture that can bring your mixes to another level. It doesn’t need to be so blatant that it takes over your entire mix, or makes it sound dated, unless of course, that’s what you are going for.

In the end, spring reverb is another tool in the toolbox that is sometimes exactly what you need. So before instinctively reaching for your favorite plate or echo chamber that you use on everything because you love it so much (I have my favorites too) try instead using a spring, or layering into your already existing reverb for the little extra something! Check out the spring reverbs included in Guitar Rig 7, within Music Production Suite.

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