Ugly Guitar Truth: TC Electronic Drip Spring Reverb

Spring reverb. It's probably what most guitarists think of when you say reverb. That's one of the reasons why spring reverb is a hard thing to emulate. Not only do people have lots of different experiences with different reverb units, but to get a handful of electronics to make the same sounds as reverberating spring is no small feat. Many have tried and have had great levels of success. However, those units are typically expensive. TC Electronics has announced a pedal that wants to give us an authentic spring experience for a fraction of the cost. How well have they done? Well...

It gets close. It's not the most spot-on sounding pedal, but maybe my point of reference is a little off. I compare all spring reverbs to my Fender Twin or Blues Jr. But the name Drip probably points to a more vintage style. Reverb was used a little differently in the 50's and 60's. It was an effect. Think of nearly any classic surf song and the guitar will have a heavy spring reverb. That specific effect is called "Drip".

Will this unit do a subtle spring reverb? I don't know. The video by TC showcased a few interesting tones. But it's hard to call it a very detailed review of the pedal. It's almost like a teaser of the pedal. It shows just enough so that we say, "Hey, that's interesting. I want to know more about that." And that's where they leave us.

Fittingly, this pedal is about like the others in this line of affordable TC Electronic pedals. It's fine for what it is. It is a $60 reverb. I'd say that I like this one a little more than the Skyverb based on the fact that it can neat surf sounds. I could probably do something similar with my current reverb set-up but it could be nice to have a different style of reverb on tap. I'm not too crazy about these one-trick ponies. It does a neat trick, but it's only one trick.

Ugly Guitar Truth: JHS Sping Tank Reverb

According to the JHS website, the Spring Tank Reverb will be able to provide the washed out layers that only true amp style spring reverb can give you. The pedal brings you an arsenal of settings to tweak with an utilitarian simplicity and usability. The pedal features controls for Depth, Length, Highs, Boost (to control your overall volume) and Two independent and switchable reverb mixes called Tank 1 and Tank 2. Seems like a solid feature set from here, but lets take a closer look.

Springs

No, there aren't any springs in this pedal, but there is a lot more to this pedal than just simple reverb. The pedal sounds convincing. That right there makes this pedal a contender in the simple spring reverb 'boutique' market, but it has a few more tricks up it's sleeve. When running "regular" reverb, I do like the spring type. Plate, Hall, Room, and other types have their use, but the sound of springs just feels right to the ear for me. Real spring units are expensive and fragile. At this price point and quality, the Spring Tank is already a tempting option


Tanks


Why not just use the reverb on your amp? Well, if you are using an amp without a quality spring unit on board, then you're already out of luck. But the Spring Tank has the one-up on your amp's reverb. Tank 2 can be used as a second setting to be used on the fly. Set Tank 1 to your base level and then use Tank 2 for a huge, exaggerated sound, or anything else for that matter. What, your pedal only has one sound?


Boost


Yeah, this reverb has a boost in it. Any questions?


Other Features


Sure, this pedal has Depth and Length just like any other reverb, but you can set the brightness of your reverb so that it can sit in the back ground, or pop out in front. That not enough for you? Well, good. Because this pedal also has an effects loop that allows you to add addition effects just the reverb trails. You can even choose to only engage the effects loop when Tanks 2 in on. What more do you want?


Conclusion


Can you guess what I think about this pedal. I know this the Ugly Truth, but it's looking rather pretty from here. The Topanga, Dewdrop and Spring Thing are all in the same class as this pedal, but lets be honest. The feature set only makes this unit stand out. This pedal is well thought out and well executed. Personally, I get by with a digital reverb (gotta have my shimmer) but I have to hand it to JHS on this one. They put out a impressive pedal.