Surfy Bear FET Reverb!

[Kinski]

Just want to get the word out about this thing. Its a FET version of the Fender 6G15. And it sounds amazing. Runs on 12v. If anyone ever wanted to add real springs to an non-verb amp, this is the way to go.

There are 2 PCB versions. Un-populated through-hole and fully-populated SMD. I went with the SMD as it is significantly smaller. Comes with matched FETS on board as well.

If size is not a major issue, the larger through-hole board would do the job (and be cheaper).

I decided to build the guts into a 125B using the enclosure as the heat-sink. Mount the reverb pan in the back of the amp, then run the RCA from the pedal to the pan. Works perfectly. I've been gigging with it and its totally quiet this way. Also, now I can add reverb pans to my other non-verb amps and use the same pedal for all of them.

You could also just build the PCB and Pan into a big head like the original 6G15.

Only mod I did was to have switchable MIX pots, by putting them on a 4PDT along with a bi-color LED so I can toggle between 2 different reverb settings with the LED color to match. Works perfectly, with ZERO popping.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Link: http://surfybear.weebly.com/fet-reverb---project.html

[Kinski]

Some pics. Sorry, forgot to get pics of the guts. But they are nothing amazing anyway.
Box is pretty bland. I've got no time to spare on making enclosures look nice anymore when I've got a 10-month old baby crawling around. I'll probably get some nicer knobs on it though. And one green, one blue so the two mix pots match the bi-led colors when switching.

[Beaker]

That's great Kinski! This has been on my hit list for a while now, as my son wants a stand-alone reverb unit.

Did you use the reverb tank that is recommended for this, or have you got it to work with another tank?

[Kinski]

Thanks! I used the recommended tank. However, I've heard that its pretty forgiving with other tanks with different impedances, unlike other reverb circuits out there. You can always try it out with whatever tanks you have on hand and see if it sounds any good.

Here is a pretty big thread on this reverb. There is talk of different tanks, brands, mods, build pics, etc. Nothing super technical to be found, but may be worth a read.

http://surfguitar101.com/forums/topic/24295/?page=1

Happy to help if you got any other questions.

[Beaker]

Thanks for the link - I've read it before, but handy to have link available.

Good to hear about the different tanks, although I can get the recommended one from Watford Valves.

[Frank_NH]

Thanks a lot for your review.  I've had my eye on this project for a while, and I even have a custom enclosure that I had originally built for a Stage Center Reverb that I couldn't get to work (a few years ago).  Maybe later this year...