The RCM-2R
The RCM-2R is a brand new reverb concept and design, based on traditional technology. It is 100% analog, all tube dual tank spring reverb. It offers and requires both a new way of approaching reverb in your mixes and the integration of true tube gain staging, 12 springs and analog filtering offers a huge range of special and tonal options.

The Background
I am a big fan of the Jule Amps Santa Cruz guitar reverb. On a mix I experimented with using it on an aux buss from my console using impedance matching devices to match it to my pro audio set up. This got me thinking about having Jule build me a custom Santa Cruz with balanced I/O. When he agreed to do that I kept pushing my luck with other customized features, and eventually the “modified Santa Cruz” had morphed into a completely different beast all together bearing almost no resemblance to the Santa Cruz except for great tone. I was able to dream up a box that I had always wanted in my studio and Jule Potter figured out a way to make it all work, sound great and brought valuable input on some of the gain and interface issues. We loved the idea on paper, but it was not until I was able to put the unit in action that we were really excited. Even after the first positive tests, Jule and I experimented with lots of gain options and various spring options until it was just right.

The RCM-2R was dreamt up and designed not to replace any piece of equipment in a pro studio, but to expand the palate. The goal was to create an incredibly lush and complex analog reverb that was all about vibe and tone. We wanted a reverb with amazing depth in a classic style with a unique feature set.

The RCM-2R is actually two completely discrete reverb units in one box with a tube summing bus and mixer. Each reverb has a separate reverb tank with its own unique tone, length and dwell response (more on dwell later). Combining two separate analog reverbs with a wide range of sound allows tonal options never available in a reverb unit.

Frequently asked Question: Is it stereo?
No. This is mono unit where both tanks are blended for the richest reverb possible. Most people that spend time with a great mono reverb (such as the RCM-2R, a mono plate or chamber) rarely miss stereo, but if you really want stereo, Pete’s Place will be happy to sell you two units.

To understand the RCM-2R, it’s important to keep in mind that it was designed by two guitar players/ tube guitar amps freaks that are pretty fanatical about tone. We wanted to bring some of the tone of great guitar amp design into the pro audio field but we also wanted the unit to have the flexibility and dynamic response and tonal variation that we are accustom to in great guitar amps. The RCM-2R may be more responsive to what you feed it and how you manipulate it than other piece of outboard gear in your studio.

Although the specs are different for each of the two internal reverbs, the functionality is the same.

High Pass Filters.
This limits the amount of low end that will hit the reverb. High pass filtering (or cutting off the low end so to speak) will radically change the tone of the reverb as well as the sense of space. This is a good trick with almost all reverbs but it makes a huge difference with the RCM-2R. In general, low end in an audio signal has a lot of energy and that energy will excite the springs in a very dramatic way. Less low end will allow the springs to be exited in a more gradual and natural way. The three positions are off, less low end and even less low end. Don’t worry about the numbers, just trust your ears.

Dwell.
Dwell will be a completely new concept to a lot of people. The Dwell control is a tube gain stage at the reverb tank that determines how hard the reverb will be driven. A low dwell setting will give you very smooth natural reverbs and extreme ones will give you out right reverb insanity (and probably a bit of distortion). Each reverb tank has its own dwell control and will respond quite differently to amount of dwell.

Tone.
This is pretty self explanatory. It gently shapes the tone of the sound passing through the reverb. Keep in mind however that you may find the dwell and high pass controls to have a more significant impact on tone than the “tone” control.

Level.
This controls the level from each tank sent to the tube mixer of summing bus. This is very key in the concept of the RCM-2R. By blending the two tanks in various combinations you can create and infinite array of sounds.

What you don’t see.
Aside from the tube summing buss and the cinemag transformers on the input and output, there is a tube pre-amp. This is important to remember when managing your gain staging with the RCM-2R. Much like a great tube guitar amp the reverb will respond to the input. Hot input signals will gradually drive the unit into distortion and a low input will give you beautiful clean sounds.

IN USE
The RCM-2R is not meant to duplicate any of the features in your high end digital reverbs, but to offer something completely different. It offers a rich, visceral and complex analog reverb that is a perfect complement to your digital reverbs. Both tanks and internal reverbs are designs to sound different. They will reverberate for different lengths and have very different tonal qualities. Even with the same settings both internal reverbs will sound very different. To get the most out of the RCM-2R set each internal tank to different characters and blends them to taste. This will give you dense, lush reverb sound like nothing you have ever heard (even though one early tester did state he thought is sounded like the chambers in Capitol Studios.)

In use the RCM-2R has a unique sound. Like other great physical there is something about true mechanical reverbs that depth and texture that is not replicated in digital reverb devices. They tend to blend into mixes in a very natural and unobtrusive way. A few tricks to get the most out of the reverb is to experiment with adding EQ and delay to your send to the RCM-2R, and well as adjusting the level. This will open up a whole range of creative options.

A warning to dub producers. We designed the RCM-2R to be as smooth as possible. The “boing” often associated with spring reverbs in not so easy to coax out of the unit. You have to work to get the springs to freak out.

Ronan Chris Murphy