EMT 140

In 1957, the German Elektro-Mess-Technik company (EMT) released the EMT 140, the very first plate reverb. The EMT employed a small transducer attached to the center of a thin metal plate; vibrations from the transducer were sent across the surface of the plate, which were then detected by one or more small pickups attached to the edge of the plate. This created a dense, warm sound reminiscent of natural room echo, but with its own unique characteristics. EMT plate reverbs were large and unwieldy, and didn’t offer a ton of sound-shaping control, but nevertheless they were cheaper and more portable than building a dedicated echo chamber. The unique character of plate reverb from devices like the EMT 140 has become an essential part of every recording and mix engineers arsenal, whether from the “real thing” or a digital simulation or model.