The echoing quality of reverb remains one of the most widely used effects in modern music, despite being around for longer than most.
Much like its spacious sound, the term ‘reverb’ is huge in its reach, with a rich history, plenty of variations and countless brands offering their own take!
The massive advances in digital technology during the last few decades have made it easier than ever to replicate different types of reverb at the flick of a switch.
In this article, we’re going to explore the history of reverb as an effect, and how it’s come to be such a hugely popular tool for musicians, producers, sound designers and countless other creatives! But most importantly, we'll be helping you find the best reverb pedal for your board, no matter what genre of music you play and what real estate you have left in your rig! Let's take a look...
The term ‘reverb’ is short for reverberation, which in scientific terms means the persistence of sound after a sound is produced. When you clap in an empty room, the sound you hear coming back at you is a reverberation.
Although reverb occurs naturally in scientific terms, it can be replicated by mechanical means or indeed digitally, as it often is today. Laurens Hammond was first granted a patent for a spring reverberation mechanism in 1939; this involved a sound being passed through a series of springs that’s then fed back into a pickup. It became a built-in feature of the early Hammond Organs, and is still used in many guitar amps to this day.
Here’s a breakdown of the basic types of reverb you’ll come across:
A reverb pedal can be used to attain a number of different effects; whether you’re looking to capture a certain space such as a church hall, drench your clean lines in hypnotic ambience, or simply mimic an old-school spring mechanism, there’s a wealth of options available on the market. When it comes to choosing the reverb pedal that’s right for you, there are a number of things that you need to consider – before we delve in, check out this uber-cool video of Rabea & Danish Pete comparing reverb & delay pedals from GFI System - this just goes to show what a decent reverb pedal can do!
Each reverb pedal or effect has its own character, but they’ll all have some degree of tweakability. These are some of the more common examples of controls you might find on a typical reverb effect:
It’s worth noting that there are some additional controls that you may encounter when looking for the perfect reverb effect. Here are a couple of less common examples:
A reverb pedal, as with any ambient effect, will sit most comfortably at the end of any effects chain. This allows you to make use of its full ambient potential; if you add reverb before other effects, its sound will be altered or in some cases cut short. This is subjective however, as you may want your reverb to sound gritty or affected in some way!
It’s also quite common to run reverb through your valve amp’s effects loop, if it has one. The effects loop sits between the power amp and preamp valves; the preamp valves provide your amp with its overdrive or distortion, so putting reverb in the loop before the preamp means you’ll get a cleaner, more accurate reverb sound! Again, this is subjective – why not experiment and see what you prefer?
When you yell into a valley or a mountain range and you hear your voice repeat several times, those are clear reverberations bouncing back at you – repeats of the same sound. Delay is the repeating of the same signal, like an echo, gradually decaying. You can change the number, volume, modulation and space between each echo.
‘Reverb’ as we know it is essentially the same thing, except there are more echoes (reverberations), and they end up so close together and interwoven that they merge into one long, slow-decaying echo. The parameters that you can adjust are very similar, but because of the frequency of the reverberations, they have a slightly different effect! Here's a handy diagram that sums up the difference:
There are loads of ways you can use a reverb pedal in your rig. Here are some of the most common applications that you might want to consider:
2. The Universal Audio UAFX Heavenly Plate Reverb is a fantastic pedal choice for those lusting after the shimmering Plate Reverbs found all over many of the greatest recordings of the 50s,60s,70s and even today. Famed for its smooth and haunting tonalities it's regarded as one of the classic reverb flavours. Universal Audio have been forerunners in the world of digital guitar amp and effect simulation, and it goes without saying that their algorithms are world-class. Taken from their larger multi-reverb unit, the Golden Reverberator pedal, the Heavenly Plate Reverb is simple to use yet packed full of premium features such as analogue dry-through and switchable between true bypass and trials.
3. Popularised in the 1980s the Hall Reverb is a go-to for musicians seeking the complex three-dimensional reverbs that can be found in large rooms, halls, chambers and cathedrals. With the ability to fully encompass your dry signal, it’s the perfect reverb choice for near-infinite soundscapes and otherworldly ambient drones. We love the JHS 3 Series Hall Reverb pedal due to its simplistic user-friendly layout without any compromise of reverb sounds.
4. No ‘Favourite Reverb Pedal’ list could be complete without at least one entry from Strymon. Regarded by many as one of the industry standards in DSP guitar effects, especially in regards to Time-Based effects, Strymon Reverbs can be found in one form or another on many of the most in-demand players' pedalboards around the world. From simple Springs and Plates all the way to Shimmers and complex multi-textural ambient washes, Strymon has you covered. Since its release in 2024 the Big Sky MX has been a firm favourite among staff here at Andertons. Its world-leading reverb algorithms and Convolutional Reverbs are guaranteed to keep you coming back for more, session after session. Another worthy Digital Multi-Reverb pedal that couldn’t be left off the list is the Boss RV-500 Reverb Effects Processor. Like the Strymon, the RV-500 uses DSP processors to produce the most advanced, powerful and versatile reverb effects pedal that has ever been produced by leaders in guitar effects, Boss.
5. The Octave or Shimmer Reverb effect has become a key ingredient for ambient pad-like guitar passages. Pioneered by Brian Eno and Robert Fripp in the 70s by blending large digital reverbs with polyphonic octave effects to the reverb decay, the Shimmer effect quickly rose to the mainstream by the mid-80s thanks to bands like U2. The JHS 3 Series Octave Reverb takes inspiration from this complex effect in an affordable and user-friendly unit.
6. Taking on from the Shimmer effect, Strymon pushed the concept of synthesizer pad-like guitar effects even further with the introduction of the Cloudburst. With the ability to turn your guitar into something more reminiscent of a string ensemble the Cloudburst is the ultimate reverb pedal for guitarists who like to experiment and push boundaries.
7. Finally, another reverb effect that absolutely can not be left out is the Poly Effects Verb. Instead of using computer algorithms to recreate a reverb based on an idea or memory/recording of a reverb, the Poly Verb uses Convolution or IR technology to perfectly capture the exact reverb of a specific space or piece of music gear. Much in the same way Amps and Speakers are captured or Profiled on modern digital modelling units. Bar actually playing in that space or using the piece of gear that’s been captured, this is the most accurate form of reverb. It blew us away when we got our hands on it and we are sure that this pedal will become the jewel in the crown of your guitar rig.
Multi-FX pedals often have great reverb sounds alongside tons of other tonal options, from chorus to delay, amp simulation to octave effects. If you want plenty of great effects and options without taking up too much space on your pedalboard, a multi-FX pedal might be what you need!
It’s worth mentioning that although there’s a wealth of options on the market for guitar reverb effects units, amp modelling and plugins becoming more and more popular as an effects solution. Kemper, Line 6 and many other amp manufacturers offer top-quality onboard effects that can be incorporated into presets. Pretty much every DAW or recording software release offers some sort of reverb or ambience plugin, and there are plenty of expansion packs and individual plugins that you can buy or download!
Reverb is, rather fittingly, a vast category that reaches far beyond many other guitar effects. In this article, we’ve covered its rich history, its most common applications, the typical ways in which you can adjust it to your liking, and some of the key players in the category.
With all of this in mind, the term ‘reverb’ may be a little less daunting now, and the idea of incorporating it into your rig may seem like more of a reality. Whether it’s a simple one-effect solution, a fully-loaded professional grade effects unit, or just something that you can experiment with – we’re confident that this article can help you make the right choice!
