Doepfer A-199 Spring Reverb Module

Spring reverb is NOT like pristine digital reverb. Don't get it for that, but do get it. When added to the end of a patch, you can use it as a strange, otherworldly, organic reverb that leaves a metal taste in your mouth. But this is a modular synthesiser, so you're not confined to that. You can instead put it before the VCA, which stops it being reverb and starts it being a strange little creature that makes your patch sound more organic or real-world in a way that's hard to identify. It stops sounding like a synthesiser and starts sounding like a weird thing that might physically exist. In short, it introduces some complicated real-world physics into the mix.

So let's look at this particular spring reverb by Doepfer. The build quality isn't great, and it might benefit from a little re-soldering. If you're into modular synths, which are a pretty niche market, this probably won't be too difficult for you. It works just fine straight out of the box, but looks like you need to treat it carefully if you're not confident repairing it yourself later down the line.

Having said that, the features are great. The "emphasis" knob EQs the midrange, I believe, making it sound brighter if need be. As well as the regular inputs and outputs, there are extra ones for the feedback loop, so you can amplify the signal to lengthen the tail, filter it with any filter you already have, and so on. These simple features make it very open ended.

I also hear it's pretty easy to swap out the reverb tank -- the physical spring reverb in a metal case, that you plug into the main module -- for a different one, should you want to, for even more possibilities. Personally, though, I haven't found the need: this module is already providing me with so many things to try out, that I've still only begun to scratch the surface.

Spring reverb in general has a very distinctive sound, so check out some examples online before you decide whether this is for you. Personally, I'm making it a big part of the latest evolution of my signature sound.

The a199 has a lovely dark spring sound, the provided spring tank is a great match and starting point for a collection of tanks. Spring reverb is not the clean realistic sound associated with reverbs today - its clangorous, shonky and unmistakably mechanical in nature. The A199 is slightly l less feature filled than some other spring reverb modules available (no vc of feedback amount or wet/dry mix, no tank selection etc - all easily patchable though) - but a fraction of the cost. Follow the mounting instructions carefully to avoid unwanted artifacts (they are very susceptible to interference) - I've opted for keeping the tanks out of the case. You may consider also buying a decent external phono switch so you can have multiple tanks linked to the unit at once - saves popping the module out to change tanks.

I love playing with the feedback path of the a199 - it can even play self patched, great for drones... A typical drone patch for me would go:

A199 with no audio being fed to it, high feedback -> feedback insert goes to a vca -> A189-1 bit mangler -> Freqshifter -> A106-5 sem filter -> feedback return of the A199. Modulate away on the modules in the feedback path and the results are stunning - so organic, dark and ethereal.

I also like using it to add body to drum sounds or synthesised pianos, keep feedback low and run the mix output to a vca to shape the level contour.

The A-199 Spring Reverb is a nice addition to the system if you don't want DSP, I would say once paired with the BBD you'd have all you need in terms of effects. In my opinion the spring tank is a bit small, I agree it has to fit in the case, however, it is very sensitive to magnetic fields and to make it run silently I have to have it outside the case, so even if the spring tank was larger it would have been fine. Other than that it sounds good.

Edit: The noise it produced despite its placement far away from MF was due to poor quality RCA cables supplied with old units. I found this out after I got in touch with Dieter Doepfer, who, kindly sent me the better quality cables needed. Now everything runs smoothly and quiet!

Sounds lovely, big and deep, I use for studio as an FX send not just for synths.

When i saw a picture of the tank I bought a bigger one to arrive to hook up to the Doepfer unit, don't do this, the tank supplied may be small but it's perfect and sounds big.
I found the unit was very noisy, the RCA cables supplied are not of adequate quality and I was about to return this unit when I replaced it with higher quality shielded RCA cables, and immediately 75% of the noise went away, make sure you roll the 'emphasis' knob to 1 o'clock to get rid of some the noise.

Also i found the feedback knob to be an unpleasant effect.

Otherwise, sounds great and great price, would recommend.

It's a spring reverb for your modular!

To be honest, it's hard to think of more to say than that. It works, and it sounds just like the spring reverb built into the Carlsbro keyboard amp I had when I was a teenager. The only point to be aware of when mounting this unit is that the spring tray itself needs to live somewhere -- it's attached to the module by a generous 60cm flying lead, but if you're housing it within your modular rack, it needs to go as far from the PSU as you can get it so that you don't get any induced hum. It may be sonically cleaner, if aesthetically more cluttered, to put it outside the rack entirely -- which has the added advantage of letting you smack it with your hand without killing all your precious valve-based modules. Once that's sorted out, though, you're in for lots of spoingy, boingy fun, for not much money. What's not to love?

I would say at the outset: don't buy this module expecting the best reverb sound available. There are other external (and much more expensive) units which will claim to give you that. This module comprises the main unit with amplifier, sockets and controls mounted to an 8hp front panel, and a satellite reverb tank connected to the main unit with standard RCA phono connectors. The nature of the tank (which is a medium spring low-cost Accutronics tank such as you would expect to see in a medium-priced guitar amplifier) means that it must be mounted as far away from the power supply as possible to avoid interference. I have a P9 case, and found that mounting the unit with velcro at the top of the left side of the case resulted in the hum being reduced to a negligible level. The interesting element of this module is that it provides a feedback control which allows you to feed the reverb signal back into the unit OR feed an external signal in there instead, which can lead to all kinds of crazy sounds. I've found that with a bit of tweaking I can get an acceptable reverb sound with this module, but most of the time I'm happy to use external effects for this purpose and use this as a rather interesting way to manipulate audio.

When I bought this I read about the hiss and noise of the module/tank combination. Others said that placement made a huge difference and that by moving it to a certain magic spot the noise would disappear. I never found the magic spot and the noise ruins for me what otherwise would be a lovely module. I read that Doepfer issued them with poor quality RCA cables and that if they are changed that it can be significantly improved.
Pros - the effect is lovely, the module is well built and has good options for output of treated sound. Physical interaction with the tank itself also creates new options.
Cons - unwanted hiss and noise, placing the tank outside the modular case means an unsightly opening and long cable, putting it inside the case may mean no ability to control the noise. In my case the latter option was not possible as the case is too small.