La Grotte is a spring reverb pedal from the French maker Anasounds, designed in collaboration with Jack White for his signature product brand, Third Man Hardware1. Unlike a digital emulation, it is a mechanical reverb: a real three-spring tank sits inside the enclosure, visible through a plexiglass faceplate so you can watch the springs vibrate as you play23. Anasounds describes it as giving access to ambient sounds rarely found on analog reverbs, with the watery feel of surf music and a dynamic, transparent texture from its preamp1.
The pedal grew out of Anasounds' earlier Element spring reverb, and it carries that lineage into a single-box design with a warmer preamp and a more flexible EQ. It launched in August 2024 at $299 for the standard mostly black version and $349 for a mostly yellow limited edition4; Guitar World lists the launch price as $300/€3492.
A real spring reverb with a visible tank
The heart of the pedal is a genuine three-spring reverb tank, a quality Accutronics/Belton unit5. Because the springs are physical objects, the reverb behaves like the spring units built into vintage amps: Delicious Audio notes the three springs give a more dense and modern sound compared to classic spring reverbs3, and MusicRadar reports an extra-long decay with super-authentic spring character8.
The enclosure is built around showing the mechanism off. Guitar World's reviewer found it to be a ruggedly built, one-of-a-kind analog spring reverb with a visually striking engraved surface and a plexiglass faceplate that lets you observe the three springs actively vibrating2. When the effect is engaged, the Anasounds and Third Man Hardware logos light up in white1.
Anasounds also built in an anti-pop system borrowed from studio practice: a fade in / fade out on the wet signal, activated internally, with the crossover time set to 2 seconds by a Fade_In_Time trimpot1.
The controls
La Grotte keeps the control set simple: two volume knobs, a two-band EQ, and a footswitch719.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Dry | Volume of the original, unreverbed signal7 |
| Wet | Volume of the reverb; also adds gain to the reverbed sound only9 |
| Low | Low band of the reverb EQ795 |
| High | Balance of the wet signal's high frequencies; turn left to cut highs1 |
| Footswitch | Switches the pedal on and off; logos light up in white when active1 |
The EQ is an ultra-efficient two-band active EQ that affects only the reverb sound, never your dry tone15. Guitar.com's reviewer found it lets you emphasise the amount of high or low frequencies that resonate in the reverb9. Guitar World's reviewer went further on the volume controls, finding the Dry and Wet knobs are dual volume controls that can increasingly boost or clip either signal into overdrive2.
Power and connections
La Grotte requires a standard 9V DC center-negative power supply with a current of around 100mA1. Jacks are 1/4" input and output with a top-mounted power input2. One practical detail from the manual: make sure you use mono jacks to connect the pedal, so the circuit can be powered1.
The pedal is mono, not stereo. Guitar Pedal X's reviewer noted it is mono, unlike the stereo pedals he prefers for his rig4. It can still be used with electric guitar, bass guitar, electronic keyboards, or as a studio tool8, and a -10dB pad inside lets you plug line-level sources in easily3.
From the Element to a Jack White collaboration
The story starts with the Anasounds Element, a two-part pedal where the Element serves as the preamp hooked into an external Anasounds spring tank offered in three sizes210. After playing the Element, Jack White got in touch with Anasounds about designing a spring reverb for Third Man Hardware, his signature product brand710. The collaboration that produced the La Grotte ran almost four years, with the final version approved by NAMM 20246. The finished pedal debuted on 29 August 20246.
Compared with the Element, La Grotte puts everything in one box and adds a third spring. Anasounds says it delivers deeper lows and brighter highs than the Element11, and where the Element had a single Tone control, La Grotte has two recalibrated EQ bands for better control10.
The preamp
La Grotte's preamp is based on the Tone Oven by Tampco11. Anasounds describes it as a very warm preamp set at the edge of breakup, pushing the dry/wet section of the reverb circuit, with an internal Gain trim pot for setting it clean or saturated13. The pedal also features a PAD to adjust the input level to 0dB or -10dB, on top of the preamp's substantial volume headroom1.
What reviewers said
Reviews were positive across the board.
- Guitar.com rated it 9 out of 10, praising wonderfully authentic spring reverb sounds, huge versatility and an impressively punchy preamp, with the caveat "don't knock it by accident"9. The reviewer found the depth and lushness of the sound much more alive and vibrant than a standard digital spring setting, even on the polite vintage setting9.
- Guitar World called the build quality "an incredible work of pedal design" and rated it four and a half stars2; in the magazine's roundup of pedals of the 2020s, its writers judged that "both the sonics and the features are brilliant"512.
- Guitar Pedal X named it among four true spring tank reverberators, calling it the most appealing solution of the group in terms of feature set, format and aesthetics13.
"the depth and lushness of the sound is so much more alive and vibrant than your bog standard digital spring setting"
A limited edition black-and-yellow swirl finish was sold exclusively through Reverb.com2, and the mostly yellow limited edition has generally been available direct from the Third Man Records Store4.
Videos
Palf
Reverb
Tone Factory
Questions
Is La Grotte true bypass or buffered?
It can be either, selected by a toggle switch inside the pedal, and it ships in true bypass mode. In true bypass the reverb cuts off abruptly when you switch the pedal off; in buffered bypass mode the reverb trail fades off naturally instead.
Is the Anasounds La Grotte stereo?
No. La Grotte is a mono pedal with a single 1/4 inch input and output. Guitar Pedal X's reviewer noted it is mono, unlike the stereo pedals he prefers for his own rig.
How is La Grotte different from the Anasounds Element?
The Element is a two-part design: a preamp pedal hooked into an external spring tank sold in three sizes. La Grotte puts the tank and the circuit in one box, adds a third spring, and offers deeper lows and brighter highs than the Element, plus two EQ bands instead of one Tone control.
What preamp is La Grotte based on?
Its preamp is based on the Tone Oven by Tampco. Anasounds describes it as a very warm preamp set at the edge of breakup, with an internal Gain trim pot that lets you set it clean or saturated.
Can La Grotte overdrive the signal?
Yes. Guitar World's reviewer found the Dry and Wet knobs are dual volume controls that can increasingly boost or clip either signal into overdrive, and the Wet control also adds gain to the reverbed sound.
Sources (13)
- La Grotte, Anasounds, 2024-08-28
- Anasounds La Grotte Analog Spring Reverb review, Guitar World, 2024-11-06
- New Pedal: Anasound + Third Man La Grotte Mechanical Reverb, Delicious Audio, 2024-08-29
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-08-29
- Guitar World's 30 favorite guitar pedals from the past 5 years, Guitar World, 2025-06-02
- Jack White's Third Man Hardware & Anasounds debut La Grotte, Guitar World, 2024-08-29
- La Grotte, Anasounds, 2026-09-16
- “It's been a lifetime of searching for a small spring reverb effect unit that could be used as a stompbox onstage or in the studio”: Third Man Hardware and Anasounds unveil La Grotte, a Jack White reverb pedal with real springs in the tank, MusicRadar, 2024-08-30
- Anasounds/Third Man Hardware La Grotte review, Guitar.com, 2024-10-07
- La Grotte, Anasounds, 2024-08-28
- La Grotte, Anasounds, 2024-08-27
- Anasounds Element Analog Spring Reverb, Delicious Audio, 2020-09-22
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-12-12
Jack White
