Anasounds evolves its Element Spring Tank Reverb to create Signature Jack White Third Man Records La Grotte one box solution
The Anasounds Element Real Spring Tank Reverb took the world by storm when it was released at the start of 2019. It consisted of a compact enclosure control unit with 5 controls, and an option of 3 different spring tank sizes - from the smallest ’Le Bon’, then mid-size ’La Brute’, and on to the largest ’Le Truand’. And on sort of the 5th anniversary of that landmark pedal we have a brand new edition essentially!
Anasounds / Third Man Records have named this new collaborative edition ’La Grotte’ (The Cave), where it would seem to combine the smallest ’Le Bon’ spring tank with the Control unit - but all in the same sort of mid-size box. The key difference here is that a 3rd spring has been added to the tank to deliver more depth and decay.
The original Element Control unit had a central ’Saturation’ toggle switch which I guess Jack felt was surplus to his requirements as that is no longer part of the control interface - you just have the 4 main knobs now - Dry Level, Wet Level, Low (Bass), and High (Treble).
The design look-and-feel is much more Third Man Records here - with the typcical Anasounds etched / pyrographed bamboo facia replace by the usual Third Man Black and Yellow styling.
I own the first 4 of Jack’s Signature Third Man Records / Third Man Hardware pedals - with only my Plasma Coil being in the limited primarily yellow colourway. You normally can just buy those pedals direct from the Third Man Records Store for the first few weeks - before they become generally available through other dealers. The Limited Edition is usually only ever available direct from the Third Man Records Store - Hardware & Pedals.
As is the usual form for these collaborations - we have a mostly yellow limited edition which goes for $349, where the standard mostly black version goes for $299. Occasionally I prefer the limited edition, while mostly - and as is definitely the case here - the stock standard one is the more appealing / attractive for me.
You obviously don’t get the flexibility of the Element solution - in being able to swap out different spring tanks - while this La Grotte edition is a lot more self-contained - with all the same electronics and that extra 3rd spring. Will be interesting to see if Anasounds chooses to add in a third spring for any of its own Spring Tank options!
As with most Anasounds pedals - we have several internal controls as can be seen in the above visual - 3 x slider switches for Pad, Fade-In, And Trails : True Bypass / Reverb Trails. We also have 2 x Trim-pots for Preamp Gain, and Fade-In.
I always love these Jack White / Third Man Records collaborations, while the recent Donner Triple Threat and MXR Double Down weren't really for me - and not particularly suitable for my rig.
And the same is a little true of this La Grotte also as the last 3rd of my pedalboard consists of full stereo pedals - and generally I tend to favour Stereo Delays and Reverbs pretty much exclusively - which is why I also didn't get in on the recent excellent Anasounds Utopia / Dystopia Delays - which I really liked the sound of, but those were Mono only also. I was sorely tempted by the Dystopia variant - but decided in the end that I would not use it enough to fully justify its acquisition.
You can currently get an all 3 spring tanks Element Premium Bundle for €449 / $499, where the Le Bon Bundle is €299 / $329, La Brute Bundle is €319 / $349, and Le Truand Bundle is €399 / $449. The Third Man Records Standard La Grotte @ $299 is therefore relatively good value. You do loose the ability to further isolate the spring tank, and have it for instance separated and hidden under the board - which you can do for both the Le Bon and La Brute Element tanks - while the combined La Grotte solution would almost certainly sit up top!
There are other spring tank solutions out there, while overall I feel that Anasounds' approach is the smartest, and therefore the most worth getting - and this La Grotte is another excellent variant of that platform.
This is another fantastic Jack White collaboration - which has been beautifully executed. Jack white actually first acquired an Anasounds Element back in 2021, and always harboured ambitions to evolve that more towards his own requirements - which kind of mostly happened courtesy of a couple of NAMM Show meetups! An advanced prototype was shared with Jack at this year's NAMM - and we now have the final results of that collaboration!
"It's been a lifetime of searching for a small real spring reverb effect unit that could be used as a stomp box on stage or in the studio. The hang up is that you normally have to use really long springs to get a good sounds, making the unit too large. With the La Grotte pedal, it was the addition of the third spring that really brought this sounds alive and gave us the ability to have that long decay from a real spring in a small box. In addition the built in drive/boost feature you get from the 'Dry' knob is very impressive in how it elevates the signal you are sending to the springs" - Jack White III
Demos
12 Degrees of Saturation 2023 Compact Edition
