Realistic 32-1110 Electronic Reverb

Summary:

The Realistic Electronic Reverb 32-1110 is not a true reverb unit but a tabletop mono analog BBD delay. Due to its gain function and possibly the combination of the low headroom of its BBD chip and choice of transistors, it has a unique overdrive/fuzz sound. Where the sound falls on that spectrum seems to depend on the age, condition, or production run of the individual unit. Additionally, the unit was equipped for both 1/4 inch mono in/out jacks (from low-level sources) and RCA in/out jacks (from high-level sources). In order to produce stereo delay, two separate units must be used. The original manual specifies that the unit was for use with instruments, such as electric guitar and synthesizer, microphones, public address amplifiers, amplifier/receivers, and tape decks. This wide range of uses accounts for the two types of inputs in the unit, which was unusual for effects units of this size and type.

Sales history:

The unit’s model number (referred to in manufacturer or sales literature as the catalog number) is 32-1110. All 32-1110s were manufactured in Japan and sold exclusively by Tandy Corporation’s RadioShack stores and catalogs under their house brand Realistic. According to the 1983 US catalog, the 32-1110 was first available for purchase on October 30, 1982, and was aesthetically designed to match a line of other audio equipment released at that time.* The 32-1110 last appears in the 1989 catalog.** For all but one year of its run, it was sold for $39.95 (US). If someone purchased a unit in 1988 at that price, it would be $80.34 in 2014 US dollars.ª (The 1988 catalog lists the actual price, for that year only, at $44.95.?) Despite its explicit application for music, however, RadioShack continually shoehorned the unit into the public address systems section of their catalog.

Design and controls:

As it was not designed exclusively for guitar, it does not have footswitches or a bypass, nor does it have footswitch inputs. Instead, it is controlled by four sliders: Microphone, Delay, Repeat, and Depth. Each slider is numbered from 0 at the bottom to 10 at the top.

Microphone is actually a gain control which boots the source signal. Generally, if placed up to 4, the signal remains undistorted. However, if used past 4, the unit produces a noticeably clipped sound, getting progressively more distorted the higher the slider is pushed. The relative intensity of the distortion varies with individual effects units. It seems unlikely that this distortion was an intentional design feature but it is one that makes the 32-1110 stand out among other BBD delay units. If the sound source is a vocal microphone or tape deck, this distortion is a problem, but if the source is a guitar, keyboard, or drum machine, this distortion is an asset. Also, the distortion sounds different depending on whether the Mic In or Line In is used. Additionally, the delay effect stays at the same level whether or not the Mic slider is high or low. If the Microphone slider is pushed to the top, the signal will get louder and more distorted, but the delay effect will stay at about the same apparent level. The Microphone slider, however, is not really a blend, mix, or wet/dry control, as there is no way to totally turn the delay effect off using Microphone: to turn the delay off, the user must set the other three controls to zero. In this case, just using Microphone and not the other controls, the unit produces a midrange-boosted overdrive. In general, this stage of the unit behaves very much like an overdrive or fuzz effect: it “cleans up” responsively in combination with a guitar’s volume control.