Summer School Electronics Spring Break Reverb Review

The latest creation from Summer School Electronics brings spring reverb that lets you add delay to the trail.

New For Spring 2025, It’s Vacation In A Pedal

As everyone knows by now, Summer School Electronics makes fantastic pedals with school-themed aesthetics and names. I’m an avid user of their Gus Drive, Science Fair, and Class Reunion amongst many of their other wonderful creations. Their latest creation is a single knob spring reverb that can get a lot more complicated, if you’re into that sort of thing. The Spring Break Reverb is a great sounding spring reverb that is perfect for slight verb or washed out surf tones, but the delay circuitry is where it gets really exciting. The three blue knobs are only active when you use the toggle to enable the delay circuit, and let you control the mix, feedback, and length of delays on the reverb trail only. It’s not really complicated, yet there is a huge range of sounds available to explore. The Spring Break Reverb is $199 and currently available from the Summer School website or their reverb page.

Demo Time

I’m running my trusty Fender Strat into the Spring Break which then hits the UAFX Dream (amp & cab), Walrus Canvas Stereo (DI box), and UA Volt276 (interface) for recording.

Why Do I Like It?

I’m an avid user of spring-style reverb. I usually dial it in via the UAFX Dream, but when playing through an amp I usually use the Keeley Caverns instead. The Spring Break is a serious contender to be my new #1 reverb. It nails the washed out spring sound, but it’s not a totally drippy reverb for those 60 Cycle Hum fans out there. I use the washed out sound for more of a Dead Kennedys-style punk tone, but the best part of this pedal is the delay feature. It’s almost an old school tape delay sound, perfect for recreating Mick Jones’ tone with The Clash. I really like oscillating between the two sounds in one small, simple to use pedal. That’s the key thing here, lots of capability without needing a larger enclosure or multi-fx pedal.

The delay sounds from the Spring Break Reverb can also get into some loud, self-oscillation that would fit well on many lo-fi or noise rock boards. So far I’m more of a fan of the shorter delay times (think slap-back echo) or using longer delay times with the mix really low. This creates a bit more of an ethereal and haunting reverb sound, without overpowering the spring reverb on the guitar’s signal. The mixing and matching of signals has become a trademark of Summer School Electronics thanks to their Science Fair, Snow Day Delay, and Class Reunion pedals, and I really like what Mark (the man behind SSE) has gotten up to with this pedal. In fact, I could see this being explored further and further in the future with new effects and configurations.

Overall, the Spring Break Reverb is another winner from Summer School Electronics and a nice departure from the gain pedals they usually focus on. If you’re looking for a very punk rock-friendly reverb, this is definitely one of my new go-to recommendations. It’s simple, stripped down, and easy to fit on a board versus some of the more “boutique” verb and delay options out there.