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: it produces long sustained sounds without decay, creating a looping effect. The Enhance function further enhances a sound without adding reverb.

The Quantec QRS reverb has been one of Peter's go-to devices for treatments on his keyboards. He'd been using it 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 used the Quantec's freezing function like a "digital mellotron" according to Front Of House engineer Pete Walsh: he 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" (collaboration with Laurie Anderson) from early 1984... Producer Nile Rodgers remembered Peter Gabriel turning him onto the Quantec in a 1984 interview: this could have either been during the "Excellent Birds" session (which he played guitar on) or when he produced "Out Out" with Peter for the Gremlins soundtrack....