Best Reverb Pedal – Extensive Gearank Research Results

Reverb Types

Digital Signal Processing and Convolution technology have allowed us to better replicate the ambience of actual physical rooms, modify their parameters, and even create our own rooms. Below are the most common reverb types along with a feature on special types that don’t fall under the five main types.

Room

As the name suggests, it replicates the quick sonic bounces of a regular room. With its early reflections and quick decay of no more than a second, room reverb is the most discrete of the lot, so it is often used for adding subtle warmth and realism.

Hall

Hall reverbs are usually based on the actual acoustic space of a large music hall, only digitized for use with your pedal. Since the virtual space is bigger, the decay is usually longer, ranging from 1 to 3 seconds. It is usually employed to give the guitar sound a three-dimensional ambience to emphasize certain parts, especially in rock music.

Chamber

Chamber reverbs are also like hall reverbs. It’s an actual room where you place a speaker in, record the reflections using a mic, then route the signal back to the mixing console. This reverb works well with all kinds of instruments, but mainly vocals, acoustic guitars, or any stringed instruments.

Plate

The plate reverb mode found on guitar pedals is a digital simulation of an analog plate reverb which was widely used in the past. It works by sending your guitar signal to a virtual metal plate that vibrates to create reflections and echoes that are usually very quick and full. This reverb type tends to be brighter and is commonly used for subtle enhancement.

Spring

Like plate mode, the spring reverb mode is a digital emulation of an actual analog reverb unit that is driven by a metal spring. The resulting reflections are fast and decay quickly, while the bass frequencies roll off as the sound decays. This makes the resulting sound brighter than other types, making it the ideal reverb for many guitar styles that emphasizes the upper frequencies, including surf, country, and blues.

Special Reverb Modes

With so much processing power at our disposal, manufacturers have been experimenting with other ways of providing reverb, outside the usual room emulation. This has resulted in special reverb types that include Reverse (reverses the sound reflection), various types of Modulation (applies modulation effects to the reflections including flanger, chorus, phaser, etc), Filter (applies sweeping eq filter effects to the reflections), and many more. These reverb types are usually employed for more experimental and modern sound ambience.

Parameter Controls

The general idea is that more control knobs allow for deeper editing and better personalization, at the cost more complex setup and interface. So, if you are looking to add subtle reverb that’s always on to enhance your sound, you’re better off with tried and tested classic pedals with as few configuration controls as possible. The opposite is true if you want more control and options, be it for customizing or for crafting the textures of your sound reflections.

Budget and Pedal Board Space

It’s not just that “reverb side” of things, but also the affordability and space. Right at the get-go, you can narrow down your choice by establishing a reasonable budget range. Note that you’ll want to invest a bit more if reverb is a primary part of your sound, especially for ambient and experimental guitar styles.

We know that pedalboard real estate is also an important consideration, so we have provided the dimensions of the pedals above. If you’re looking for more functionality from your reverb pedal, you can go combo pedals, or multi-effects units. The best delay reverb pedal can give you plenty of delay functionality without compromising reverb features.

True Bypass vs Buffered

Some guitar tone purists look for true bypass pedals as they totally ‘bypass’ the pedal’s circuitry when the effect is switched off – leaving it just like you’re plugged directly into the amp. However, one thing to be aware of with reverb pedals is that a true bypass will cut off the reverb decay as soon as you hit that switch. Some people might find this a little jarring in the signal chain.

Buffered bypass pedals continue to feed their output actively so the tail end of that huge cathedral sound can continue to sweep over as you’re starting to play the next ‘dry’ part. A number of these pedals can be configured to either true or buffered bypass. Of course if you’re planning to leave your reverb pedal switched on the whole time then it’s always being buffered so there’s no difference.

The information here is just but an overview but if you want to know more about the types of guitar pedals you might encounter we’ve also provided a guide for you.