# What's a Verba phonic speaker?



## troutbumwannab (Mar 6, 2009)

Fellow goat fans,

Call me crazy but I bought a 67 GTO from Fraser Dante a few weeks back sight unseen (saw the pictures, talked to them a bunch but have yet to see it). They are finishing up some work it and will ship it down to Florida in time for my vacation there in a few weeks time. I'm trying to order stuff for it so that it's there when I arrive as I'll have a week to work on it while there (I'm on assignment in Belgium currently).

To the point, my car has this Verba phonic speaker system in the rear. I'm putting in a new radio (same as the original but with new guts) along with the kick panel Pioneers (so I don't screw up the side panels). I guess I won't attempt to change out the front dash speaker as it sounds as though there's not a lot of room in there for a newer model, but the back I hope is a different story.

So is a Verba phonic a normal speaker? Where is it mounted? How many are there? Can I replace them with newer ones that fit into the same mounts and holes? Like most of you, I want to keep the car as original as possible, but only AM is a stretch. Any pictures would be great.

Thanks a bunch!

Chris


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## silversport (Mar 23, 2007)

are you talking about a Vibrasonic radio...should be some controls under the dash board for reverb???...if this is what you mean...and I am only going on memory (I have a newer GTO but I grew up in the 1960s ) the reverb gave a more "airy" sound to what was not yet stereo...perhaps they offered it on stereo as well (stereo in cars was somewhat newer as many bought AM only or radio delete) but it would give a "concert hall like" air to the sound...cool...share pics please...and I hope someone who *REALLY* knows what they're talking about pipes up for you...

Bill


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## Too Many Projects (Nov 15, 2008)

I'd like to see pics too as my 67 originally came with this option. The rear speaker is still in my car but the reverb unit is gone and may have mounted in the back, near the speaker. When I removed the wire harness for the speaker and power antennae, there is another harness that was cutoff near the speaker that goes to the radio location and is cut off there as well. The dash is just a shell and many wires were cut off....


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## 67/04gto (Jan 15, 2005)

i beleive it mounted under the rear package try form inside the trunk and had a special cover to go over it.i made the speaker put off a weird sound for its tiem


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## silversport (Mar 23, 2007)

...there was life before stereo...on monaural radios this was an option to give a more open sound...one front and one rear speaker...quasi stereo with that reverb "echo."...
Bill


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## Too Many Projects (Nov 15, 2008)

silversport said:


> ...there was life before stereo...on monaural radios this was an option to give a more open sound...one front and one rear speaker...quasi stereo with that reverb "echo."...
> Bill


That's right !!! A neighbor bought a new 67 LeMans with the reverb and rear speaker and he was the talk of the town !!! That was the coolest sounding radio anyone had ever heard.....arty:


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## Koppster (Jul 27, 2008)

Mitch, I'm glad I'm only 52 and don't remember any of that "pre-historic" stuff!


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## Too Many Projects (Nov 15, 2008)

Koppster said:


> Mitch, I'm glad I'm only 52 and don't remember any of that "pre-historic" stuff!


OUCH...... at 52, you were around in '67, Dude. I got my permit that year and my license in '68. Coming of age in the muscle car and rock era was great....:cheers


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## Eric Animal (Oct 28, 2007)

A verbra sonic unit mounts in the rear shelf of a 67 GTO. It is a box with some "electronic stuff" including a long, loose spring. The motion of the car causes the spring to flex. This causes a delay in the signal to the rear speaker. The effect, sounds like a slight echo...a cool sound. Now all this stuff is done digitally, and are called " sound fields "....You must have a 2nd speaker to hook to the reverb box . It need not be a special verbrasonic speaker...Verbrasonic is a brand name. Eric:cheers


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## troutbumwannab (Mar 6, 2009)

Thanks all for your responses and help. I also ordered a bunch of books from Amazon which should help.

I'll post pictures of the speakers when I finally get to see them - before and after (shouldn't be able to tell the difference I hope other than the quality of the sound).

Thanks again!

Chris


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## nedorama (Sep 13, 2010)

Eric Animal said:


> A verbra sonic unit mounts in the rear shelf of a 67 GTO. It is a box with some "electronic stuff" including a long, loose spring. The motion of the car causes the spring to flex. This causes a delay in the signal to the rear speaker. The effect, sounds like a slight echo...a cool sound. Now all this stuff is done digitally, and are called " sound fields "....You must have a 2nd speaker to hook to the reverb box . It need not be a special verbrasonic speaker...Verbrasonic is a brand name. Eric:cheers


that sounds like a straight up guitar reverb. The sound is amplified, goes through the spring, and comes out the other end; I think there was a mix lever to add in the "dry" signal as well. Very similar to Fender reverb springs with a tank; Very cool.


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## 672brlbaby (Feb 10, 2010)

i bought the dual front speaker i think it is called from ames, for under the dash. it is for the new unit i put under the seat. after getting the am/fm/8track, heating and a/c stuff out of the way, it wasn't very hard to install. if you like laying on your neck off the bench seat that is. together with the new speaker i put in the back deck, the sound is pretty good. i decided not to do the door speakers along the way, but am happy with the front and back set up.

jim


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## Jeff's Classics (Feb 24, 2010)

I had the front dash speaker, came in a box of parts when I bought the car. I installed it, but it blocked the center AC duct, so I pulled it out. In Texas I'd rather have lot's of cold AC than one extra speaker in the middle of the dash :lol: I think I'll see if it fits my Javelin instead.
I also have the front kick panels with Pioneer 6-1/2" speakers installed, running off the Custom Autosound head unit. Not really pleased with the sound, but kick panels are not an ideal place for mid-high range speakers. I put a pair of 6X9s in the back deck, and there was already a Kenwood amp installed back in the '80s I think. The rear speakers sound so good that I basically turned the balance so that you don't really hear the front kick panel speakers. This is how I ran my cars in high school back in the day. A high wattage pair of 6X9s in the rear deck and that was it. Probably sux compared to today's factory stuff, but we thought it was GREAT back then. May add some tweeters hidden up around the dash eventually, but for now I'm just rockin' what I got!
Later
Jeff


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## Eric Animal (Oct 28, 2007)

Jeff, I had the same kicks with the same sound, a little tinny and dead. 6x9 with an amp in the rear deck, sounded great. How do you like the Custom auto sounds unit??????? I am considering the Retro Sound unit also, as i like to shop our supporting vendors when I can. They seem very similar. Thanks, Eric


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## Jeff's Classics (Feb 24, 2010)

Eric Animal said:


> Jeff, I had the same kicks with the same sound, a little tinny and dead. 6x9 with an amp in the rear deck, sounded great. How do you like the Custom auto sounds unit??????? I am considering the Retro Sound unit also, as i like to shop our supporting vendors when I can. They seem very similar. Thanks, Eric


Seems to be good, but I just installed it a few days before I headed out of town so I've only had a few minutes of listening time. I really like the MP3 player input, very convenient. I do wish it had more power for the front kick panels speakers, but I haven't checked the specs to see what it's supplying. It came in the box of parts with the car so I didn't make the purchasing decision on this one. Fit is good, wiring kit is great, functions are good, it will take a little time for me to sort out if the weak sound in the front is speakers, speaker location, the head unit itself, or some combination of these.
I am glad to see that Retro Sound is out there now, as a just a couple years ago I think Custom AutoSound was the only player for old-style stereos, and generally a little competition is good for the consumer.
Later
Jeff


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## Eric Animal (Oct 28, 2007)

Thanks Jeff!....Eric


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