AudioThing Springs Vintage Spring Reverbs and Baxandall User Guide
- June 6, 2024
- AudioThing
Table of Contents
SPRINGS
USER GUIDE
v1.2.6
SPRINGS
Springs is a plugin which features a collection of vintage spring reverbs paired with an authentic Baxandall EQ emulation. Springs features emulations from 9 types of spring reverbs, ranging from a long 6-spring pipe to a tiny battery-powered single-spring unit. We have used a combination of convolution and modelling to recreate the vintage character of each reverb.
Spring reverbs were usually paired with tone stacks from guitar amplifiers. Springs features one of the most iconic and unique sounding tone stack equalizers: the Baxandall EQ. A classic Baxandall tone stack usually features just the bass and treble bands, but we have also added a Mid band (with control over the Q).
INSTALLATION
MAC OS
- Double click on the DMG archive to extract it
- Right click on the PKG installer and click open
- Follow the instructions to install the plug-in(s)
WINDOWS
- Extract the ZIP archive
- Double click on the setup file (.exe)
- Follow the instructions to install the plug-in(s)
REGISTRATION
You can open the registration window by clicking on the icon next to the bypass button, in the top-right corner.
You can choose between Online and Offlline authorization.
ONLINE
- If you haven’t created an account yet, you can signup here using the same email address used at check out.
- Just input your credentials into the text fields and click on Log In
OFFLINE
- Download the license file from your account.
- Copy the file to your offline computer.
- Just drag and drop the license into the registration window or click on the Load License File button and browse to the downloaded license.
PARAMETERS
LIST
Main
Bandwidth| Dual filter: LowPass (right), HiPass (left)
Input| Controls the amount of input signal
Drive| Controls the amount of pre-amp distortion
Dry| Controls the amount of dry signal
Wet| Controls the amount of wet signal
Springs
Decay| Selects a short or long decay for the reverb
HQ| Toggles the High Quality mode on/off. HQ mode uses more CPU but adds more
details to the emulation
Phase| Inverts the phase of the reverb signal
Noise| Controls the volume of the background noise
Env| Enables/Disables the envelope to activate the noise only when an input
signal is passing through
Pre Delay| Applies a delay in ms before the reverb signal
Stereo Width| Controls the amount of stereo width (from mono to wide)
Emphasis| Boosts a specific high frequency (slightly different for each
emulation)
Compress| Applies a soft compression to the reverb signal
Baxandall EQ
Freq (Bass, Mid, Treble)| Controls the frequency of the selected band
Gain (Bass, Mid, Treble)| Controls the gain of the selected band
Mid Q| Controls the Q of the mid band
Bypass| Enables/Disables the EQ
Mode| Applies the EQ to the Mix (dry+wet) or Wet only signal
Soft Clip| Applies a Soft Clip that smooths the peaks over 0dB
SPRING REVERBS
We have collected and emulated several spring reverbs. Each one has its own sound, with different amounts and length of springs, overdrive, and noise.
GBS
Used by the BBC. A feat of British ingenuity – a pair of Accutronics spring
tanks housed in a length of plastic drainpipe.
Circa 1970-79
6 springs, 28cm / 11″
RE-201
Classic Tape Echo with Reverb Tank. Although used mostly for their echo
sections, these units have a very distinctive and raw spring reverb sound.
Released in 1974
2 springs 15.5cm / 6.10″
1 spring 12.7cm / 5″
(less wide than the other two)
RV-1
Classic American Spring Reverb.
Re-capped and serviced for a cleaner sound.
Circa 1970-79
3 springs, 28cm / 11″
SR-202W
Solid-state reverberation amplifier. Originally designed to add reverb to home
stereos, this unit was modded to be “studio-ready”. Used by many artists as
the “secret weapon” to add depth and character to vocals.
Released in 1971
2 springs, 14.5cm / 5.70″
(one spring wider)
HR-12
Vintage Japanese spring reverb. As per their Owner’s Manual, a “Superior
System Selector Unit”, branded as “Echo Unit”.
Dating from the late 60s or early 70s
2 springs, 28cm / 11″
A-199
Modern eurorack spring reverb module.
3 springs, 8cm / 3.15″
REV-25
Vintage Japanese spring reverb. Also rebranded as AM-534.
From the 70s
1 spring, 15.2cm / 6″
RA-844
Very small, battery powered, solid-state reverberation amplifier. This one is
an OEM version as the unit was often rebranded by several companies.
From the late 70s or early 80s
1 spring, 8.5cm / 3.34″
Audition
A small guitar head amplifier, very noisy, and with a very basic spring
reverb.
Released in 1975
1 spring, 15.2cm / 6″
Echo Box
Probably the smallest spring reverb ever.
Due to the tiny spring, this unit sounds more like a boomy echo than a spring
reverb.
Circa 1970-79
1 spring, 5cm / 1.96″
HVS-1
Germanium-powered spring reverb made for vintage Stereos/Tuners. Made in
Germany but with a USA reverb tank.
Released in 1964
2 springs, 14cm / 5.5″
BAXANDALL EQ
The
Baxandall EQ is a classic type of EQ, mostly found in guitar amps, and is
usually limited to only a single tone control or two bands (bass and treble).
We have added a third band (mid with Q control) to further shape the reverb
sound.
Our Baxandall EQ emulation is based on a passive circuit. The important characteristic is that the bands interact with each other. This may seem like an unwanted behavior, but it’s one of the reasons why the Baxandall EQ curves are smooth and musical.
BANDWIDTH
With the
Bandwidth control you can filter the input signal that goes into the spring
emulation.
Some springs have a boomy low end, some are too bright and boingy. By limiting the bandwidth of the signal you can dampen these characteristics.
EDITOR
By clicking on the wrench tool button
you can open the editor window.
Springs uses a combination of convolution and modeling to recreate each spring reverb. Here you can edit the impulse response of the reverb directly.
This can be useful to fine-tune the size/decay of the reverb, but can also be used to completely mangle the source.
FEATURES
PARAMETER LOCK
If you want to keep the value of one or more parameters while changing
presets, or when using the randomizer button, you can use the Parameter Lock
feature.
Right click on a parameter and choose Parameter Lock.
Lock/Unlock If locked, the parameter won’t be updated when changing presets
Lock All No parameters will be updated
Unlock All All parameters will be updated
EDIT VALUE
You can also manually change the value for knobs and sliders. Right click on a parameter and choose Edit Value. You can also access this feature with a SHIFT
- Click.
By clicking on the icon you can access additional features.
CASE SOUND FX
If this option is enabled, by left clicking on the wooden side panels on the interface, you can hear a “thump” spring reverb sound, similar to hitting the real object…which you shouldn’t do…maybe!
WINDOW SIZE
You can resize the plugin window using three predefined sizes (small, standard, big). You can also resize the plugin window by clicking and dragging the bottom-right corner of the interface. Double clicking will reset to the standard size.
PRESET COPY/PASTE
You can easily share presets by using this Copy/Paste feature.
Copy to Clipboard the status of all parameters will be saved to the
Clipboard
Paste from Clipboard load a preset from the Clipboard
ENABLE/DISABLE NOTIFICATIONS
You can enable or disable the notifications for updates and news (shown by the bell icon). This option is global and it will affect all AudioThing plugins.
SWAP MOUSE BUTTONS
If you are using the right button as your primary mouse button, the plugin might not recognize it. Use this option to enable it internally in the plugin. This option is global and it will affect all AudioThing plugins.
ENABLE/DISABLE GUI ACCELERATION
You can enable or disable the GUI acceleration supported by your system. The current and default library is OpenGL.
DARK / LIGHT THEME
You can choose a dark or light appearance for menus, popup values, and windows. This option is global and it will affect all AudioThing plugins.
END
WHERE IS EVERYTHING?
The installer will place the plugins, presets and other data in these folders.
MAC OS
AU: /Library/Audio/Plug-ins/Components/
VST: /Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST/
VST3: /Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST3/
AAX: /Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins/
Data: /Users/Shared/AudioThing/
WINDOWS
VST: custom path from installer
VST3: \Program Files\Common Files\VST3\
AAX: \Program Files\Common Files\Avid\Audio\Plug-Ins\
Data: \Users\Public\Public Documents\AudioThing\
CREDITS
DSP & Code: Carlo Castellano
Additional DSP: Natanael Nieland
Design: John Gordon (vstyler)
QA Engineer: Giuseppe Marrazzo
Presets: RM (Ry Manning), GM (Giuseppe Marrazzo)
EULA
Please visit www.audiothing.net/eula/ to
review this product EULA.
THANK YOU
Thank you for your purchase! We hope you will have as much fun using it as
we had making this product.
For help or any question, feel free to contact us here:
www.audiothing.net/contact/
AudioThing - Springs