Spring Reverb Calculator
Spring reverb is the twangy splash of a signal rattling through coiled springs — the sound of surf guitar, dub and vintage amps. Enter your tempo above for pre-delay, decay and total times for four spring presets that keep the sproing in rhythm.
| Preset | Pre-Delay | Decay Time | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surf Spring1/2 note total | 7.81 ms | 992.19 ms | 1000 ms |
| Dub Spring1 bar total | 15.63 ms | 1984.38 ms | 2000 ms |
| Vocal Spring1/4 note total | 7.81 ms | 492.19 ms | 500 ms |
| Tight Spring1/8 note total | 3.91 ms | 246.09 ms | 250 ms |
How spring reverb timing works
A spring reverb tank is a metal box holding two or three long springs stretched between a transducer and a pickup. The transducer shakes one end of the springs with the dry signal; the waves travel down the coils, reflect back and forth, and the pickup reads the result as reverb. Because the energy literally bounces along a coil, loud transients make the springs collide and chirp — the famous "boing" on a hard-hit chord and the "drip" on palm-muted surf lines. It is the least realistic reverb ever made and one of the most loved: built into guitar amps since the 1960s and bolted into dub studios as an instrument in its own right.
One honest note before the math: a real spring tank has almost no natural pre-delay — the splash starts essentially with the note. The pre-delays in these presets are therefore tempo starting points for plugin spring models and send setups, chosen so the effect locks to your groove; they describe musical timing, not tank physics. The totals follow the same framework as the combined reverb and delay calculator:
Surf Spring runs 2 quarters with a 0.015625-quarter pre-delay. Dub Spring stretches to 4 quarters with a 0.03125-quarter pre-delay for thrown echoes of splash. Vocal Spring runs 1 quarter at the same small pre-delay fraction as Surf, and Tight Spring runs just 0.5 quarters with a 0.0078125-quarter pre-delay — a percussive tick of spring rather than a wash.
Spring presets at 120 BPM
Spring totals stay deliberately short. The table fixes all four presets at 120 BPM; enter your own tempo above to rescale them.
| Preset | Length | Pre-delay (ms) | Decay (ms) | Total (ms) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surf Spring | 2 quarters | 7.81 | 992.19 | 1000 |
| Dub Spring | 4 quarters | 15.63 | 1984.38 | 2000 |
| Vocal Spring | 1 quarter | 7.81 | 492.19 | 500 |
| Tight Spring | 0.5 quarters | 3.91 | 246.09 | 250 |
Notice how small the pre-delays are next to the other reverb types — that is deliberate, and it reflects the hardware. If you want a spring-flavored tail with a real rhythmic gap in front of it, you are really designing a delay-into-reverb effect, and the delay calculator will give you the dotted and triplet delay times to feed it with.
Practical spring guidance
Surf, guitar and the amp tradition
Spring reverb lives in guitar amps, so guitar is where these presets feel most at home. Surf Spring at a moderate tempo reproduces the splash of an outboard tank driven hard: keep the return bright and let muted strokes drip. The same settings suit skanking organ and rhythm guitar in reggae, where the spring is part of the instrument's voice rather than a space placed around it.
Dub throws and feature splashes
Dub producers treat the spring as a performable effect, punching a snare or a vocal fragment into the tank for a bar and pulling it back out. Dub Spring's longer total suits that move: automate the send so only chosen hits splash, and let the tail ring for its full four quarters. Because the total is tempo-locked, the splash lands back on the grid when it fades.
Keep totals short so the sproing stays rhythmic
The spring's chirp is a pitchy, mechanical event. Stretched over a long total it stops sounding like rhythm and starts sounding like clutter, which is why even the longest preset here is half the length of a mid-size plate. If a part needs both spring character and a long tail, layer rather than stretch: a short spring for texture under a plate reverb set to the longer time. For near-invisible small-space support instead, the room reverb calculator covers similar totals with a far more neutral texture.
Limitations
No calculator can give you the boing. The drip and sproing of a real tank depend on spring length, tension, drive level and how hard the transients hit — none of which a timing tool controls, and plugin spring models imitate them with varying success. What this page can do is place the effect in time: totals and starting pre-delays that fit your tempo. It also cannot help a hardware amp's fixed tank, whose decay is set by its springs; there, your only timing control is how you play into it.
Frequently asked questions
Why does spring reverb "boing"?
Because the sound is made by waves traveling along a coil. A sharp transient sends a pulse down the spring that reflects and disperses unevenly, producing the chirping, twanging splash players call boing or drip. It is a mechanical artifact no real room makes, which is exactly why it reads as vintage and characterful.
Do spring reverbs have pre-delay?
Real tanks have essentially none — the splash begins with the note, since the springs are driven directly. The small pre-delays in these presets are tempo-synced starting points for plugin models and send chains, useful when you want a slight rhythmic separation before the splash. Treat them as a musical choice, not a hardware fact.
What is spring reverb used for?
Surf and instrumental guitar first of all, where the drip is part of the genre's sound, plus dub, reggae and lo-fi production where the tank is used as a featured effect. It also adds retro color to vocals and snares. In each case the totals stay short so the character stays rhythmic.
Spring or plate reverb for guitar?
Spring if the guitar should sound like it is coming through a vintage amp in a specific era — the splash is unmistakable. Plate if you want smooth, polished sustain that supports the part without dating it. The plate reverb calculator covers the longer, denser option with the same tempo math.
Can I tempo-sync a real spring tank in my amp?
Not its decay — that is fixed by the springs themselves. What you can sync is everything around it: the delay feeding it, the gating or muting of its return, and the parts you choose to send. Use these totals as a guide for how long the splash will occupy your arrangement at a given tempo.
- Wikipedia — Reverberation — Background on reverberation methods including spring reverb tanks.
- iZotope — Learn — Reverb mixing guides covering spring character and effect use.
- Sound on Sound — Technique articles on spring reverb in guitar and dub production.