The echoing, spacious qualities of reverb makes it one of the most widely used effects in modern music. Much like the natural spacious sound, the term ‘reverb’ is huge in its reach, with a rich history, plenty of variations and countless brands offering their own take on the effect.
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 a large room, that echo is considered a form of reverberation.
For all types of musicians, music engineers and producers, and particularly guitarists, reverb is as close to an essential effect as it gets. It's a sound you'll hear in just about every genre or piece of contemporary music and features in most professional guitarists' setups. You can apply reverb to your guitar tone in various amounts, from a short little snap which you can hear in Taxman by The Beatles to the long, drawn out ambience of Heaven or Las Vegas by the Cocteau Twins. Reverb is extremely pleasing to the ear and it pads out what would otherwise be a completely dry and abrupt guitar tone.
Let's explore how to use this hugely popular effect and help you find the best type of reverb pedal for your sound, no matter what type of music you make.
Advances in digital technology in the 1980s made it possible to replicate different types of reverb at the flick of a switch on a guitar pedal. Before that, larger mechanical devices, or natural acoustics were required to produce reverb. That's why you've got a plethora of reverb types to pick from, including spring, plate, hall shimmer and convolution effects.
The first spring reverberation mechanism emerged in 1939 and it went on to become a built-in feature of many guitar amplifiers. It involves a sound being passed through a series of springs that’s then fed back into a pickup. The metallic twang of a spring reverb often evokes a vintage vibe as the oldest form of reverb as an artificial effect.
Spring reverb can be digitally mimicked, but some manufacturers such as Fender, Mesa Boogie, Blackstar and more still include spring reverb mechanisms in some of their amps. If you’re a rock’n’roll or blues player and you want to add a little sparkle to your tone, a subtle spring reverb effect will go a long way.
A similar concept to spring reverb but the sound is instead produced by large metal plates. The resulting sound is far smoother and less bouncy than a spring reverb, but it still has a vintage metallic tint.
The idea behind a hall reverb is to emulate the natural characteristics of playing in a large echoey space. This is far more practical than simply playing and recording in a big hall or church. Our ears are naturally attuned to hall reverb and it therefore feels the most real of the bunch.
This is a modern type of reverb that adds a glassy, shimmery octave above or below the notes you play (depending on the capabilities of the pedal). It's a sweet, angel-like glistening that catches your attention, but best used in small amounts.
Not so much a sound in itself as a means of capturing a sound, a convolution reverb is a modern technique utilising impulse responses (IRs) to produce different reverb effects. To get these IRs, a pedal maker will record themselves clapping in a specific large space and edit it to be customisable from a guitar pedal's settings. It allows a pedal to pack in lots of unique reverbs.
Before we look at specific pedals and how they sound, it’s worth brushing up on some reverb controls you'll frequently encounter:
• Mix/level: controls the amount of the reverb mixed with the guitar's dry signal. Set it low for a subtle hint of reverb, or turn it up to soak the signal in a deeper ambience.
• Decay: determines how long before the reverb trails after you've stopped playing a notes before it dies back down to silence. When set low, your reverb sound will be short, and set high it'll have a long-lasting wash.
• Attack/pre decay: controls how quickly the reverb effect is heard after a signal is detected. Keep the attack down low if you want the reverb to be immediate and textural, or turn it up higher if you want to convey a larger sense of space and distance.
• Tone: although the tone dial has many variants, it most commonly controls the EQ or ‘colour’ or of the reverb. This can mean anything from a bass-heavy rumbling echo to a breathy reverb sound. Set to taste.
Reverb pedals come in a bunch of shapes and sizes, range of prices from cheap to boutique and even in both digital and analogue formats. There really are a ton to pick from, but I'll keep it simple with some of the most popular reverbs of all time, plus a few of Andertons' best-sellers and our team's personal favourites.
A fantastic starting point for anyone new to reverb or for the guitarist looking for lots of options without breaking the bank, the TC Electronic Hall of Fame is an unmissable red pedal stacked with all your essential reverbs. The standard HoF 2 features the controls and classic reverbs we've covered, but also includes a cool lo-fi and a modulated setting. It's also got a unique MASH footswitch, meaning it increases the effect intensity the more you pressure hold down on the switch.
If you really love the sounds of the Hall of Fame, then the HoF X4 is just more of everything: two extra modes, more custom save slots to find your unique effects and four easily recallable settings thanks to four switches. Heading in the other direction the HoF 2 Mini is a streamlined version but still with the capabilities to use lots of tones through the free TonePrint app.
Strymon changed the game for many of us guitarists when it came to a combination of both quality and features. The Big Sky was a huge development for digital reverb, harnessing the power of 12 reverb types, 300 presets, easy recall and saving abilities and deep editing potential.
They improved on their incredibly popular with the Big Sky MX, with which they've overhauled a lot of the sounds and added seven algorithms including new impulse and chamber modes. The customisation potential here is basically endless, with an IR engine capable of 10 second playback and editing, an infinite freeze and a new OLED display to clearly see what you're crafting.
The Cloudburst offers a more streamlined experience with the same glorious quality, requiring minimal tweaking – and it's Strymon's first standard-sized pedal. It's got a lovely harmonically rich pad reminiscent of a string section called the 'ensemble', which is a further evolution of the shimmer effect.
It's impossible to make a reverb list without mentioning the company that kicked off digital reverb with the RV-2. The latest RV-6 iteration is a versatile compact box with eight modes, includes the standards and a lush reverb and delay mode. It's compatible with an expression pedal, which means you can control the intensity of the effect as you play, and it has stereo ins and outs for your expansive stereo rigs.
The RV-200 is a big step up in what it has to offer across 12 reverbs, including some innovate creations like the reverse 'verb, a gated reverb that abruptly cuts of the trail and an arpeggio effect. You get 127 slots to save all your fun presets and great compatibility with the rest of your setup. Most powerful of them all is the RV-500 with a class leading 32-bit AD/DA (analogue to digital conversion, which relates to the detail and quality of the reverb emulation). With 12 modes with 21 reverb types and an insane amount of customisation, this is the pedal for the players who love to spend time crafting their perfect tone for studio or pro use.
The octave/shimmer 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 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.
JHS have pursued other classic reverbs in extremely simple, high quality designs, like the Hall Reverb, which can produce massive infinite reverberation. The standard 3 Series Reverb is a more versatile option ranging from snappy bursts to digital washes, and has a cool pre-delay switch to add variation to your tone.
For those who won't stand for anything other than genuine analogue spring reverb, then the Gamechanger Audio Light Optical Spring Reverb could be your dream pedal. With sounds ranging from a simple amp-like 'always-on' style reverb, all the way to dream-like experimental ambient reverb washes, this is a creative marvel that'll keep you inspired for many years.
The Universal Audio UAFX Heavenly Plate is a fantastic choice for those lusting after the shimmering plate 'verbs used extensively throughout the greatest albums of the '50s, '60s and '70s. Universal Audio have sprung up as the leaders in world class digital amp and effect simulation. Borrowed from their larger multi-reverb unit, the Golden Reverberator, the Heavenly Plate is simple to use yet packed full of premium sounds and vintage bright, vintage dark, and modern full plate settings.
Multi-FX pedals often have great reverb sounds alongside tons of other 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.
Line 6 are widely credited with carrying the multi-FX concept into the 21st century. Because of their experience in digital effects, they’ve managed to hone their digital reverb game to near-perfection in their flagship Helix modelling units.
Boss also offer a range of simple multi-FX processors that have graced countless pedalboards in recent years. These units offer heaps of tonal flexibility at affordable prices points with the ME and GT ranges.
Eventide were founded in the early 70s and made their name as a pioneer of digital effect units. Still industry leaders today Eventide can be found on the boards of many of the greatest live and studio guitarists around the globe in any genre of music.
Valeton are a relatively new in comparison to some of the other brands listed, but have taken the digital guitar effects by storm by offering high-quality units at incredibly good prices. The team has over 10 years of experience designing and building effects for other brands and so are not strangers to performance-ready stage gear.
Mini pedals are great for saving space on a pedalboard as they're generally half of the size of a regular stompbox. They're also quite often cheaper than their larger counterparts, so guitarists working on a budget should strongly consider one. The downside of that are the more streamlined controls – but if you're after a great reverb effect straight out the box, then the Landlord Banging Hangover, Mooer Sky Verb and Tone City Tiny Spring should make it onto your shortlist. The former two both offer room and plate reverbs, while the Tiny Spring specialises as a one-dial-does-it-all spring reverb.
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:
Ambience: if you feel that your sound is just too ‘dry’, and you need to add some padding to it, a little reverb can work wonders. With delay, the audible repetitions of your playing can sometimes interfere with the rhythmic aspect of your playing, whereas reverb simply adds a nice wash. Perfect for when you want your lead parts to reach a little further or your cleans to have a real sense of space.
Smooth out your mix: adding some reverb with a quick attack and decay can help fill in the gaps in your sound. Do you ever feel like that space in between riffs or song sections is abrupt and unattractive? A tiny amount of reverb can help smooth over your playing, helping you sit better in the mix – whether it’s live or in the studio.
Abstract texture: when you want your guitar to adopt a different tonal flavour entirely, or add texture to an otherwise formulaic mix, only a feature-packed reverb will do the trick. Making use of controls such as decay, tone and shimmer on some more complex reverb pedals can make for some really interesting effects.
A reverb pedal can be used in a number of ways to add depth, padding, or ambience to your guitar tone. The type of reverb you use can determine how the effect is utilised. To add a touch of depth, use your reverb in a small dose so as to not envelope your guitar tone completely. To get a vintage tone, opt for a spring or plate setting. Use a hall setting to capture the real world reverb effect of a church or a large space. Turn up the mix to increase the intensity of the effect and eventually drench your guitar tone in ambience. For something a little more experimental, consider a reverb with a shimmer for angelic octaves floating above your choice of notes.
A reverb pedal, as with any ambient effect, will sit most comfortably at the end of any effects chain or within your guitar amp's effects loop, which adds a chain between the preamp and power amp sections. This allows you to make use of its full ambient potential. The preamp valves provide your amp with its gain, so putting reverb in the loop before the preamp means you’ll get a cleaner, more cohesive reverb sound. 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.
When you clap your hands in a huge space like a valley or mountain range and you hear your voice repeat several times bouncing around, that's a natural delay effect. 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 with a delay pedal.
‘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. It's more common in a large indoor space. The parameters that you adjust are very similar, but because of the frequency of the reverberations, they produce a slightly different effect.
Absolutely, reverb is a standard effect across the board in music. When you listen to a song, see if you can identify the reverb applied to each instrument. That means acoustic guitarists, keyboard and synth players, vocalists, bassists, drummers, and anyone playing an electric instrument can use a reverb pedal.
Shimmer: this nifty reverb setting shifts the input signal up by an octave (12 notes) and adds it to the reverb mix. This makes for a truly dreamy, otherworldly soundscape.
Dampen: this control is designed to round off the high frequencies of reverberations, making them sound warmer and less harsh. This works particularly well if you want a subtler ambience that doesn’t highlight the attack of your tone.
Modulation/sway: this modulates the pitch of the output signal in a similar way to a chorus effect. Keep it down low for a subtle, wavy texture, or crank it for a wild and wobbling echo.
Pre-delay: this is similar to attack, but can sometimes be used for a delay-like quality by creating an audible gap between the original signal and onset of the reverb sound.
For extra information about some other types of pedals mentioned here, have a read of our other guides:
