Roland RSS RV-800 Stereo Reverb

This is an excellent and uncommon piece of studio gear: a Roland RV-800 Stereo Spring Reverb from Roland’s Studio Series. A very clean sounding unit with an almost plate-like quality.

It has been serviced, is in excellent condition and sounds great. The only outstanding issue is that the bulbs in the VU meters are not working.

There are a few minor dings and scratches, some wear to the handles but overall it is in good condition. As with most vintage gear some crackle may occur when pots and switches are moved but this will clear with use.

Spring reverbs are a great ‘secret weapon’ to have in the studio arsenal – not just for the ‘boingy’ effect as used by dub and reggae pioneers such as Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, but also for adding that unmistakable classic shimmery vibe to electric guitars. It’s a sound that lends itself well to modern production: the perfect treatment for overly-sterile  digital delays and reverbs and it can be heard all over today’s music. Whether it’s cutting-edge dubstep from Rusko, or a top pop mix engineer like Tom Elmhirst (who used vintage spring reverb all over the last Adele album), the sound of springs is everywhere right now (check Alabama Shakes’ album, Boys & Girls).

Of course this sounds great with guitars – but we’ve found it really shines as a studio effect with whatever you put through it: keys, synths, vocals, loops, beats… it has a character that is very hard to replicate digitally and sounds great in the mix – almost plate-like (and of course you can always give it a little knock if things are getting too polite during the mix…).

Try using a little tape delay before sending to a spring reverb, or use a digital/plug-in reverb and send the wet output from that to the spring to add character.

Price includes VAT at 20% (for sales in UK/EU) – buyers outside the EU please contact us for tax-free prices. VAT-free sales possible to businesses and individuals in the EU with a valid VAT Number.

It is a 100v Japanese model and will run fine on North American mains 115/120v without a transformer (we run all our tests using 120v power); however, a step-down transformer is recommended for extended use.

A step-down transformer is required in the UK/EU.

We do not recommend using cheap generic Chinese mains transformers and can supply a high quality UK-made unit if required.