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.

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.