jp said:
The thing is they sure don't have the character that a Fender spring reverb, Echoplex, or an Electroharmonix Electric Mistress have.
I can see there's a difference between the cheese-like food substances in your sig (and fridge?) and your tastes in effects gear. Without arguing sound quality, I have Gibson (Hammond) spring reverb in the GA19 and not prepared to take the financial hit with an Echoplex - they are not inexpensive; in the Binson range.
That leaves the Electric Mistress which I'll probably take a shot at. I have a GA18(T) no reverb but with 12AX7s, not 6EU7s and a 10" speaker that I like better than the GA19; quieter and not as dark. I've been using the DanoEcho in front of it; for not very much money, I get not very good reverb ... whoa baby ...
I have a running copy of a Gibson / Tel Ray GA4RE; Ray Lubow's effort at reverb and delay / slapback / Wailey thing ... not sure there's a better way to say it. Spinning metal disc bathed in conductive oil, signal imprinted, read by head, wiped by wiper, and then round again... When working well, produced weirdo wailing jittery tone - unique and interesting.
The reverb is pretty good by which I mean musically interesting but the unit is something of a Gyro Gearloose special ... I'm guessing the bushings at the junction of the spinning shaft and 'oil can' housing are worn or shot; the unit produces a high-speed wump wump wump wump / 'hammering' sound.
Just guessing but I think the only virtue in having this gadget in my 'arsenal' is if I get booked to an engagement that's free to get in but people have to pay to leave ... let's say you needed to drive the audience away...wump wump wump wump wump wump wump
Regards,
capnchedder