Vermona Retroverb

This is not the kind of unit you turn on and get great reverb out of. It takes a bit of work and constant tweaking at both the input and output gains along with the EQ to make it really happen. The envelope generator and gate add so much versatility that you can forget what your looking for and end up with really cool sounds that don't suit your purpose so focus is very necessary.

I've been using this on everything. It's a subtle and lush spring reverb. You can get a nice springy twang off transients with a bit of effort but the key sound here is smooth,lush and spacious. Make sure to EQ on the way in and if possible on the way out too. If you lose control of this you can start hearing a buzz or hum but I'd be surprised if you had your reverb return up loud enough to hear that on a track. It's nice on everything but it is subtle so takes a while to really appreciate what it's doing. The crash function is a little underwhelming but I just pick up the whole unit and give it a shake from time to time for that dubby thunderous crash.

I have never gigged with this and just use it as a studio effect so far. It's built like a tank and I can't really see where anything could go wrong but apart from the odd shake it doesn't get much abuse.

Haven't been in touch.

I play all styles of music and bearing in mind this is a spring reverb unit, not a multi-effects processor, I find it very versatile and really sweet and lush sounding. If it was stolen I think I'd have to replace it. The gate on the envelope filter is what makes it really versatile as you can shape the tail ends to suit your purposes and it's a feature I would miss on any other spring reverb I tried to use now. There's nothing I would add to this unit and it's so pretty that it probably makes me use it more than I should because you just want to touch it all the time.The only reason I'm not giving it a 10 overall is that it's not exactly a bargain at 425euro but maybe I'm just cheap. I wouldn't take any points off for ease of use as I don't have a problem with a unit that being a little difficult to get the hang of, you get back what you put in and I love this unit.

this is a tweaking verb and processor. the many configurations of knobs can be confusing but with work will be able to be quite tasty. i do have a few problems with this unit. that is the sensitivity to the input and gate triggering on the vca. both will start to clip if not set or the input is not sufficient enough to drive. but on the vca this does introduce unique effects on its own.. interesting but not what i was looking for in the unit. the flexibility is great however there is one serious flaw that keeps this from me being able to use it in my rig. it has a mix knob yes but you can mix the reverb independantly from the filter or the vca. you must saturate their levels together with the mix knob.. although you have various settings there is no way to mix the reverb from the vca and filter and vice versa. this gives knocks to the points here.

great sound. if you want a spring reverb this is great. it is not useable on everything tho. maybe on just slight mix in levels but when you start to fully mix in the reverb anything you input starts to sound the same even tho completely different sonic events happen. that is just a murky metal underwater resonance.. i'd be afraid to use this cleanly for things with fast attacks as it does indeed clang from time to time.. very solid filter, solid sound.. the filter and vca are somewhat limited. i think you'd be better off finding individual units for each of these functions.

i'm using this unit through a slew of analog effects, analog synths, woodwinds, radio, experimental noise, circuit bent.. voice..

it's rock solid. it shalln't fail you. trustworthy.

no comment available.

i am going to return this. although i love spring reverb and can impulsively buy something thank god for returns on products.. i'd love this unit more if it had independant mix on the verb from the other effects on this unit but they share the same mix. bad news for what i need done. i think i'm better off with individual units such as a digital reverb (sorry guys) such as the holier grail or the tc rack unit i have. and the moogerfooger filter. both together would be cheaper this unit especially if you buy your units used but almost new on ebay. plus you would have more flexibility.. if all you wanted was a mono-taste reverb that happens to be spring this might be your unit. i think the vermona team was aiming for tweakers to have fun with this thing. which true.. is fun to tweak but eventually kinda gets old. neat idea but doesn't come through for what i need it for. i honestly tried to open my heart to this product and give it enough time to open up but i just can't use it..

Very easy to setup, send your signal into either a single mono or stereo input (stereo signals gradually get summed into mono as the Dry/Effect mix knob is turned to Effect ) plug the stereo outputs into your mixer and off you go.
Controls are very clearly laid out and the manual is simple yet sufficient. If you are familiar with the basics of a synth, then this will be no problems.
Overall great ease of operation.

I am using this with various synthesizers and drum machines for processing and it is extremely flexible in that sense.
The unit is extremely quiet and overall the sound quality is superb. Vermona are really making a name for themselves in the quality of engineering department as this unit is built superbly just like a lot of the old retro gear (pun intended), shame we are settling for so much plastic nowadays buts thats a whole other story.

The filter is great and combined with the envelope generator and trigger sensitivity it works great at mangling drum loops and mimicking that kind of envelope followed sound. Although the filter sounds nice i would have prefered them to stick in a 24/db 4 pole affair as apposed to a 2 pole, as i find myself craving that extra bite although as 2 poles go this does sound quite meaty.

Now the reverb. Well this is my first ever spring reverb so i cannot speak from experience here, but all i can say is i've always had a fascination with the spring reverb and just recently thought i'd dip my toe and buy the Retroverb. But to be honest i really wasn't expecting to be able to use the unit in so many situations but it just sounds so great that i use it on just about everything!

You know, there are some instruments that are so inspiring to play that you can spend hours just listening to them without actually getting anything done. Well this unit falls into that catagory. There's something in the incredibly smooth and analogous sound this thing puts out that is just instantly gratyfying, and simply running a little loop into this unit and tweaking the controls leaves one's sound cravings totally fulfilled and i can say i have never had that experience with digital reverbs.

When i first received it i sent some crappy preset loops i had on my Electribe through it with a little reverb decay, and instantly popped out the most classy reverb treated signal i have ever produced with absolutely no effort and i hadn't even touched the filter section or eq.

It can create all kind of reverbs using a combination of the envelope generator and repeat knob (LFO), from a short slap back, medium room, hall, delay and of course the full on sustained spring reverb. The decay knob kind of acts as the room size (depth) and the attack knob can create a delayed reflection.

The Eq is an excellent inclusion and facilitates the ability to shape the tone of your reverb and stamp your own mark on the spring reverb sound. Can create a great toned down dark and rumbly effect with the bass turned up and treble down, but usually i have the treble tweaked up slightly and a slight roll off on the bass for normal duties as the springs tend to dampen the sound.

Unit can also be overdriven for a wide range of distortion effects/tones when combined with the fiter/resonance and eq.

The unit overall is extremely quiet.

Built superbly, completely analogue, the sort of thing that would remain with you for the rest of your life.
Completely reliable.

Not dealt with Vermona yet.

This is one of the finest instruments i own and is so much a part of my sound that i define it as one of my instruments and i have never thought that about any other fx units.
The absolute icing on the cake would be if this unit had a 4 pole filter, but hey, nothing's perfect and this is close!

Hence my glowing review i do not work for Vermona and i can be emailed at jameswhiggins@hotmail.com if anyone would like to know more info.

I am simply over the moon with glee, at owning such wonderful piece of modern instrumentation, a future classic!