DIY Plate Reverb The ultimate Guide

Video Tutorial on how to build a plate reverb with the best value for money.
No IKEA! No welding! No grinding! :)



Signal chain:
Audio source (e.g. mixer)- shielded cable (e.g. XLR) - amplifier (PCB) - two short, one lead cables - exciter of the plate (e.g. speaker) - sound pick-ups (e.g. piezos) - shielded cable (e.g. Jack) (- maybe u need to amplify again)* - mixer/audio interface

*try it without first, because cheap digital amplifier modules will reduce the signal quality (refer to data sheet, e.g. for the sample rate)


Soldering the leads to the piezos is not easy. Consider buying piezos with leads. (If you solder it, you may remove some coating from the metal of the piezo and flux paste will help you!)

Don’t forget to insulate your cables after soldering. (In most cases you need to put the heat shrink tubing on the cable before soldering.)

If you need to solder a lot, consider buying flux paste.



Links:

Online Distributors:

Mouser: https://eu.mouser.com

Digi-Key: https://www.digikey.com

Farnell: https://www.farnell.com


Piezos:

2.2 kHz and 300 Ohm:
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/d...

6.3 kHz with 350 Ohm:
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/d...

6.3 kHz with 1 kOhm:
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/d...

9 kHz and 1 kOhm:
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/d...


Transducers:

SparkFun Electronics COM-10975:
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/d...

PUI Audio ASX07008-WP-R:
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/d...

PUI Audio ASX10108-SPD-R:
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/d...

PUI Audio ASX08604-SW-R:
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/d...

transducer screw mount:
https://www.mouser.de/ProductDetail/V...


Speaker:
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/d...

Tape:
„Tesa filming mounting tape“

Amplifier PCB:
„TDA8932 35W Mono Digital Amplifier Board“ from KKmoon or MissBirdler




Additional Info:


No series connections - What does that mean for me and my sockets?

The ground potential of your sockets may be different. This may result in unwanted noise and ground hum. To prevent that from happening use one socket and connect a big multi-plug (with 10 plugs). Depending on the amount of your electronic studio gear you may need to connect triple plugs to the multi-plug again. I wouldn’t connect more to one socket, if you need more sockets, group your devices into sound making and non sound making. That means use one socket for computer, desk lights and similar and one socket for Mixer, Speaker, Main Amplifier, Synthesizers and similar. If you use one socket with a 10 multi-plug and triple plugs you will have 30 sockets. Group your devices too. E.g.: first triple plug: main mixer, main amplifier and main speaker. Second triple plug: main synthesizers / drum computers. And so on...



Always read data sheets:

I recently bought a crappy amplifier PCB. After a closer look at the module and the data sheet I realized they mounted a fake IC on the PCB. The labeling was the original IC which has 32 pin outs, but the mounted IC had only 28 pin outs. That means they copied a PCB and mounted cheaper parts instead, but labeled them with the original part names.

Generally, you can compare the prices of the mounted ICs and similar ICs to evaluate a PCB and it’s mounted parts.

You can read at witch voltage your amplifier IC gives the best results.

You can get the impedance of the inputs / outputs of your devices. Try to match the impedances when you connect output to input. (U may need to read the section ‚technical specifications’ (or similar) in the user manual or directly at the supplies website)

AND MANY MORE! If it’s a good data sheet you get ALL the information.

Get the latest data sheet at the suppliers website.



Clean and oil your plate, to prevent it from rusting.




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