Plate reverb (EMT 140)

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Technology

Plate reverb (EMT 140) · Reverb is the sound that goes on floating through a hall after a note. Studios made reverb with a separate echo chamber, but such a room takes up space and always sounds the same. In 1957, the German company EMT in Lahr released the EMT 140: a thin steel plate of about one by two metres, suspended in a wooden cabinet. A driver makes the plate vibrate and pickups capture the reverb. With a damper, you make the reverb shorter or longer. At RCA Studio B in Nashville, the engineer Bill Porter used such a plate to give the voices of Roy Orbison, the Everly Brothers and Elvis Presley a clear sheen.

Listening

• 
  Only the Lonely · Roy Orbison, 1960
• 
  Cathy's Clown · The Everly Brothers, 1960
• 
  Are You Lonesome Tonight? · Elvis Presley, 1960

In School of Rock

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See also

• Gated reverb
• Slapback echo
• Rock 'n' roll
• Country