software

My Fender Super Reverb has a pair of RCA jacks for quot;routing the reverb signal to and from the reverb pan.quot; When would you use these jacks? This doesn't strike me as a standard effects loop configuration.
- Keith

Those jacks are similar to an effects loop, but they are designed specifically for a reverb tank. The output to the tank wil have a stronger signal that your usual quot;effects outquot; jack, and be designed to drive a low impedance (8 ohms?). The quot;driverquot; end of a reverb tank is electrically more like a speaker than an effects device input.

The return is similar to a normal parallel effects return. I'm not sure if it'll give you 100% wet or not.

Back in the 70's, there was a thing called the quot;Ice Cubequot;, a little blue plastic block that bridged the reverb in/out jacks on Fender amps. Internally, it matched the impedances (and maybe tamed the reverb out signal), so that the reverb circuit could be used to dial in additional gain. Of course, you lost the reverb. I guess it was a cheap way to make your Fender sound like a Boogie, which had just come out, and were extremely expensive.

It's been 30 years, but I'm pretty sure my '73 MV Twin with the Ice Cube in it sounded like poo.

I figured the use had to be at least somewhat different from that of a standard effects loop since the jacks are RCA, not quarter-inch.