Hear The Gear: Teaching Machines Wellspring Reverb

Teaching Machines Wellspring reverb

Available exclusively at Vintage King, the Teaching Machines Wellspring is a boutique analog spring reverb with two delay lines, four stereo filters, advanced modulation controls, and a magical ping-pong feedback loop for causing all sorts of controlled chaos. Perfect for subtle spring reverb effects, far-out delays, and everything in between, the Wellspring reverb makes it easy to dial in a wide range of vintage-inspired sounds.

We've currently got a Wellspring reverb installed at our Nashville showroom, which you can demo in person by scheduling an appointment. But for those located outside of Music City, we asked Vintage King Audio Consultant Cody Angel to record some audio samples of the Teaching Machines Wellspring.

Keep scrolling to hear how the Wellspring sounds on vocals, guitar, drums, and more. But first, let's take a closer look at what makes the Wellspring such an interesting piece of gear.

History Of Spring Reverb

Spring reverb was patented in 1939 by Laurens Hammond, and was later used in his other innovation, the Hammond organ, in 1960. It was eventually adapted into a standalone unit called the Accutronics Type 4. Spring reverb technology was much more compact than the popular plate reverbs of the time, making it a popular choice for recording studios to use on amps and organs.

In 1963, Leo Fender adapted the spring reverb for his Vibroverb amp. Hammond licensed his innovative technology to companies and innovators like Fender, Moog, and Buchla, making the spring reverb sound a sonic staple of the time.

Spring reverbs work by using an input transducer to vibrate a series of spring coils, and recording the output. In some cases, the springs were oiled at different points and by varying degrees to slow the vibrations down, creating a delay.

Fast forward to today, Teaching Machines' Wellspring reverb combines the heart and soul of vintage spring reverbs with enhanced controls and modern features.

About The Teaching Machines Wellspring Reverb

The Wellspring reverb's controls are broken into three distinct sections; Delay, Filter/Modulation, and Feedback Loop. Within the delay section, there is a stereo pair of delays that feed into the reverb tanks. Both delays have independent time controls and can be synced, making it easy to dial in the perfect reverb tails.

The filter/modulation portion helps contain the ring created from some of the longer tails. Along with the modulation, the filters help break up the feedback tails that commonly occur, creating a much smoother-sounding stereo reverb while still allowing plenty of control. There are also four sweepable stereo analog filters to further sculpt your sound.

The Feedback Loop controls are out of this world magical and can send a feedback loop through the whole system, increasing the "sing or scream" qualities of the sound. Simple controls allow you to adjust how much of the spring sound is fed back into the delays. Using the built-in cross-over, the right spring is fed to the left delay, and vice versa, creating intense and magical feedback.

Alright, enough talk—let's hear how this thing sounds! Check out dry and processed audio samples of the Teaching Machines Wellspring reverb below.

Teaching Machines Wellspring Reverb Audio Samples

Vocals

VintageKingAudio · Vocal Dry

Vocal Slap

Delay Time 1: Noon

Delay Time 2: Off

Delay Follow/Free: Free

Delay Feedback: 8 o'clock

Mod Parallel/Ping Pong: Parallel

Wave Type: Sawtooth

Mod Delay: Off

Delay Sync/Invert: Invert

Mod Filter: Off

Filter Sync/Invert: Invert

Mod Speed: Max

Speed X1/X10: X1

Filter Type: Bandpass

Filter Frequency: Noon

Filter Wet/Dry: Wet

Springs Wet/Dry: Dry

Magic Intensity: Off

VintageKingAudio · Vocal Slap

Vocal Slap And Verb