An all-analog pedal that aims to capture the sound of a well-used classic.
Nice, France (February 7, 2019) -- Since 2017, at Anasounds we took the challenge to offer you a reverb with the tone of the legendary Fender Twin Reverb!
To do this, we worked on several technologies, including dedicated digital processors, FV-1s, Belton BTDR. We tried everything!
Then we finally made this observation. There are very few solutions of 100% analog reverb. We were surprised to see that this exceptional combination was so underused. The few competitors that started to do it, did not go deep into the concept, large boxes and fairly rudimentary settings. So with the aim of improving this situation, we’ve continued our research in order to propose a new approach of the spring Reverb. A Twin Reverb in a pedal and much more…
The Element is a pedal that takes back the very essence of the analog reverb, which is obtained by physically stimulating springs thanks to the guitar signal. Simply. No artificials. No calculations. From beautiful mechanical coupled to analog signal processing.
It’s still a classic pedal, same size as all of our other pedals. You scratch it (or not) on the pedalboard. It always has an input jack, an output jack and a 9V power jack.
What’s more? There’s a mini jack to plug on the back of the pedal. Then, it will be connected to the box full of springs (called a tank) via RCA connectors. This tank is mandatory because it is the one that allows to generate an analog effect of reverb.
Compared from other Spring Reverb that use huge boxes, the tank is detached from the pedal, and connected by a cable. Then the tank can be hidden under the pedalboard or kept on top of the board, this is up to you!
Self-drilling screws are supplied with the tank to help you attach the tank to the desired location on the pedalboard.
Controls
Before introducing you the various settings, we need to make a little reminder!
The Dry signal is the signal that enters into the pedal without any modifications. The Wet signal is the one that has been processed by the effect, hence the output, in a classic pedal.
These terms are often used when it comes to parallel sound processing. Because, we want to keep the dry signal and then, add a dose of wet signal to it, according to our taste.
So we got on the top of the pedal :
- Mix: A pot that set the Dry/Wet ratio of the signal. Primordial for dosing the amount of reverb. At min, there is no more reverb (100% dry, 0% wet) and at max, we only have reverb (0% dry, 100% wet).
- Out:, A pot that set volume of the Wet branch only. At min, there is no more reverb and at max, the reverb gains about +9dB. +18dB in SPRING SATURATION mode.
- Low: A pot playing on the 2 band active EQ, precisely on low frequency side. At min, we remove completely the basses, at max, we gain +6dB. This is very useful when you want to make big layers or just a tiny reverb on the back of the mix.
- High is the same setting but for the treble.
- Spring Saturation: A switch to put springs in saturation mode. When switched up, the spring is intact, the signal passes normally through. When switched down, the spring saturates and the output level increases significantly, you get a kind of fuzz/overdrive that comes from the spring!
Thanks to these advanced settings this pedal becomes really unique. Even for our old friends, fan of Surf Rock music but also for many guitarists of all kinds, modular geeks and MAO killer. The possibilities are very wide!
Tank variations
Le Bon, La Brute et Le Truand (The Good, The Bad and The Ugly). These acolytes are very well named, indeed :
- Le Bon, is the smallest of them, small in size but full of resources, it is amply enough for guitar and will save room to the point of leaving it scratched on top of the pedalboard, while admiring the beauty of moving springs!
- La Brute, well, that’s the middle choice! Big enough to offer a lot of shpouing and make most of musicians crazy. Its average size makes it possible to fit easily under a pedalboard, right next to the pedal power supply block or on the keyboard table. It provides much more harmonics than its friend Le Bon.
- Le Truand, is simply out of competition! This is the one that offers the richest sound! With endless shpouingwingwigouing! A monstrous cavity and an unusual resonance. You will have to find a place for him not far from the amp or near the pedalboard because his size is really big! This is the team’s favorite. That’s why we decided to propose it despite its size.
Shoot the tank!
Be careful not to shoot in it permanently, the public will simply move to the bar. Rubber tampons are also provided with the tank in order to secure it and to calm the brutalizing drummers with their big kicks.
For more information:
Anasounds
