Quantec QRS

The Quantec QRS (a.k.a. the Quantec Room Simulator) is a digital reverberation unit introduced in 1982 by German audio company Quantec. It was revered by musicians for its range of reverb times (from 1 to 100 seconds), the realistic simulation of ambient room sounds and its simplicity to use (featuring just 8 parameters). Besides being a reverb unit, the Quantec also housed the Freeze and Enhance functions: the Freeze function "freezes" the sound, producing long sustained sounds without any decay, thus creating a looping effect. The Enhance function further enhances a sound without adding reverb.

Peter Gabriel is known for being a longtime user of the Quantec QRS reverb for treatments. It has featured prominently in his solo efforts since the Birdy (1985) soundtrack, which saw a shift to greater emphasis on effects processing than before. The Quantec was also used for effects on Peter's lead vocals on So, sometimes coupled with an AMS delay and digital reverb, tape slap and/or a Roland SDD-320 Dimension D chorus in a variety of combinations.

On the Secret World tour, Peter reportedly utilised the Quantec's freezing function like a "digital mellotron" - Front Of House engineer Pete Walsh used the 100-second reverb setting, then froze it so Peter could layer voice upon voice. A similar effect can be heard in the introduction to the video version of "This Is The Picture" from 1984.