Andrew Scheps and the Obsession with Real Reverb

Andrew Scheps and the obsession with the reverb (the real one)

There are reverbs.
And then there are places that become reverb.

When it comes to pushing the concept of sonic space beyond all limits, it is impossible to ignore Inchindown Oil Tanks, in the Scottish Highlands: an environment so extreme that it holds the world record for the longest reverberation ever recorded in an artificial structure.

And that is exactly where Andrew Scheps decided to take his sound.

112 seconds of coda: when space becomes an instrument

The Inchindown Tanks are not a studio, nor a concert hall. They are six huge military tanks built in 1938 for the Royal Navy, hidden under a hill near Inverness.

Numbers that throw off the sense of scale:

• 237 meters long
• 13 meters in height
• total capacity of 32 million gallons

In 2012, Professor Trevor Cox recorded a 112-second impulse response here. For comparison? The previous record was 15 seconds.

Here we no longer speak of "reverberation." Here sound lives in space.

Enter the tanks: zero glamour, maximum results

Forget any romantic notions.

To enter the tank:

• you go through a narrow pipe used for oil
• you are literally pushed into it on a kind of "giant shovel"
• arms above your head, minimal space, gear included

Inside?

• 8°C
• total darkness
• 10 cm of mud mixed with oil underfoot

Poor condition. Perfect acoustics.

The reason is simple: the oil sealed the imperfections in the concrete, creating almost completely smooth surfaces. Result: endless reflections and incredibly uniform.

Minimal setup, maximum impact

Scheps did not get there to tour.

His setup was basic but surgical:

• PMC6 for playback
• 11-microphone immersive array (7.0.4)
• DAD AX Center interface
• laptop with Pro Tools

The choice of PMC6s is not random. Something was needed that was:

• compact enough to fit in the tank
• powerful enough to move real air
• linear enough to capture reliable sweeps from 20Hz to 20kHz

Scheps makes it clear: many small monitors simply couldn't do it.

Re-amping in the most extreme place possible

The heart of the project? Re-amping.

Among the materials used was House in the Woods by Low Roar, released on Tonequake Records.

The process:

• reproduce the song in the space
• let the tank transform it
• record the response

The result is not a simple effect. It is a physical transformation of sound.

In addition to the tracks, full impulse responses were also recorded, which are essential for those working with convolution and virtual environments.

PMC: a choice of consistency, not branding

Scheps already works in full PMC in his studio, with an immersive 9.1.4 setup based on MB3 XBD-A and wafer2.

Bringing the PMC 6s inside such an environment was not just a matter of logistics, but of trust: he already knew their response, their balance, and how they would translate the material into such an extreme space.

And yes, there was also a real risk of ruining them in oil and mud.

Spoiler: they survived. Unlike hundreds of meters of cables, which ended up directly to be thrown away.

It didn't end there

This was not an isolated experiment.

Scheps is considering turning it into a series of recordings in extreme spaces around the world.

Because in the end the question is always the same: How much can sound really affect a space?

• Reverberation is not a plugin: it is physics, space, matter
• Reliable monitors make a difference when the context is extreme
• Real impulse responses remain one of the most powerful tools for producers

Above all:

If you want something unique, you have to get out of the studio.

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