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What’s not to like about proper spring reverb that should easily fit on any pedalboard? In our view, not a lot: the Spring King Junior is a solid implementation of a great idea.
Pros
+
Compact size for a real spring reverb.
+
Standard nine-volt operation.
+
Soft-touch switch.
Cons
-
We’d be mindful of placement due to the risk of springs crashing during any onstage disturbance.
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Spring reverb and electric guitar go together exceedingly well, and players who have it built into their amps can take full advantage.
If you don’t have this setup, however, but still want the real electro-mechanical thang, rather than a digital emulation, there’s always the option of an amp top-box or a reverb pedal – usually one with a large footprint due to the space needed to accommodate the springs.
Now, for anyone who has passed on having real spring reverb on their ’board because of size restrictions, Danelectro has come up with a solution in the Spring King Junior, which is housed in a chassis that’s slightly narrower than a Boss Compact pedal and about an inch longer.
The Junior is based on the original Spring King that first appeared in 1999. That was a much larger pedal at about five times the width and equipped with Volume, Tone and Reverb knobs as well as a Kick Pad for anyone who might enjoy the sound of the springs crashing.
Of course, anyone can knock a reverb tank, violently disturbing the springs to get that thunderous sound, and that’s certainly true of the Spring King Junior. But Danelectro has revived the Kick Pad idea with a rubber stick-on illustration of a boot, which the brand encourages you to attach to the small end of the pedal near the footswitch.
(Image credit: Future/Phil Barker)
Inside the pedal is an Accutronics-Belton spring tank with three short springs, aided with a delay chip in the circuitry.
While it doesn’t give you the expansive depth of a large spring tank, such as in a Fender 6G15 outboard unit or certain amp models, it does give the Spring King Junior a consistent sound with plenty of vintage flavour.
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That sound is dialled in with just two knobs: Reverb adds the ’verb into your dry sound through amounts that’ll add depth to a non-reverb amp (up to a maximum that works fine for those Dick Dale-style heavy surf sounds); while the Tone knob tempers the overall sound very effectively, travelling from the darker end of things to bright and splashy.
Verdict
Verdict: ★★★★½
Guitar World verdict: What’s not to like about proper spring reverb that should easily fit on any pedalboard? In our view, not a lot: the Spring King Junior is a solid implementation of a great idea.
Hands-on videos
R.J. Ronquillo
Danelectro Spring King Junior Reverb Pedal - YouTube
Trevor Curwen has played guitar for several decades – he's also mimed it on the UK's Top of the Pops. Much of his working life, though, has been spent behind the mixing desk, during which time he has built up a solid collection of the guitars, amps and pedals needed to cover just about any studio session. He writes pedal reviews for Guitarist and has contributed to Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Future Music among others.
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