Danelectro Spring King Junior

The Danelectro Spring King Junior (SKJ-1) is a reverb pedal with a real spring tank inside, built into a small die-cast case that fits on a pedalboard¹. Where most reverb pedals model springs digitally, the Junior drives actual springs and picks up their motion, the same principle as the spring reverb in a vintage amp. Danelectro pitches it as "THE BEST REVERB TONES EVER....WITH A REAL SPRING TANK!"¹

Inside is an Accutronics-Belton spring tank with three short springs, aided by a delay chip in the circuitry that lends the reverb some length². The pedal also carries over the original Spring King's party trick: a Kick Pad that lets you physically jolt the springs for thunderous reverb crashes³.

A real spring tank in a pedalboard-sized box

The Spring King Junior's whole reason for being is the tank. Guitar World's reviewer, Trevor Curwen, describes the circuit as "a clever combination of a miniature three-spring Accutronics-Belton tank and a delay chip to lend some length"⁶. The springs supply the splash and boing of a genuine spring reverb; the delay chip stretches the decay so the small tank does not sound too short.

In gearnews.com's spring reverb buying guide, Julian Schmauch contrasts it with the alternatives: "Unlike digital emulations, this effect features a genuine spring tank inside, delivering the unmistakable character"³. For players who want the physical behavior of springs, including the crash when they are jolted, that is the draw.

The Kick Pad sits on the pedal's surface so you can thump it with a palm or a foot. gearnews.com calls it "a fun bonus... which lets you physically jolt the springs for classic thunderous reverb crashes"³. A soft footswitch is also included for gentle activation of the effect itself⁴.

The controls

The control set is minimal: two knobs, Reverb and Tone⁷.

Curwen found both knobs do their jobs well: Reverb "adds the 'verb into your dry sound through amounts that'll add depth to a non-reverb amp (up to a maximum that works for heavy surf sounds)," while Tone "tempers the overall sound very effectively, travelling from the darker end of things to bright and splashy"². A small indicator light beneath the Tone knob illuminates when the pedal is engaged, so you can see when the spring reverb is on⁸.

Power and connections

The Junior runs on a 9V DC center-negative supply drawing 50 mA; the adaptor is not supplied²⁴. Connections are a standard input and a standard output². The pedal is true bypass, so your dry signal passes untouched when it is off¹², and it comes in a sturdy die-cast enclosure with a soft footswitch¹³.

From the original Spring King to the Junior

Danelectro debuted the original Spring King reverb in 1999, a much larger pedal with a real spring tank and a kick pad⁴. It was later discontinued, and by the time the Junior was announced the original had sold out³⁹. In 2024, 25 years on, Danelectro launched the Spring King Junior as its successor, repackaging the circuit in a slimmed-down stompbox⁴⁵⁹.

The size difference is the headline. RockBoard's product page notes the Junior "is but a fraction of the size of the original pedal"⁴, and GuitarPlayer described the return as Danelectro "bringing back its oversized spring reverb pedal in a slimmed-down stompbox"⁴¹⁰. At 68 x 151 x 70 mm², it occupies a normal pedal footprint instead of the bench space the 1999 unit demanded.

MusicRadar's Jonathan Horsley reported the SKJ-1 available at retailers in December 2024, priced £183/$199 street⁵. Guitar World's review lists it at $199/£199², and gearnews.com noted an affiliate retailer price of $187.00 at announcement⁸.

What reviewers said

Guitar World's Trevor Curwen gave the Spring King Junior four and a half stars, concluding²:

gearnews.com's buying guide counts it among the best spring reverb pedals, alongside entries from Electro-Harmonix, JHS, Catalinbread, Source Audio and Universal Audio³, and Guitar World's best reverb pedals roundup likewise highlights its tank-plus-delay-chip solution for getting spring character into a small box⁶.

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