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 himself adopted the Quantec into his equipment arsenal during the early-mid 1980s. It became one of his preferred units for treatments and effects, using it a lot for his solo work (studio and sometimes live) from the Birdy soundtrack onwards. The Quantec is still around at Real World.

On the Secret World tour, Peter 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.