As an effect, reverb seems to have undergone something of a renaissance of late. YouTube has perhaps played a part in that; you'll find as many videos of people playing synths through reverb pedals as you will guitarists.
Musical styles and fashions have had an impact too. Post-rock and synthwave, among others, have brought the humble reverb roaring back into contention. Without getting super nerdy, even the tech within reverb pedals has changed. So if you're looking for your first 'verb, or you’re in the market for something new, this guide to the best reverb pedals is a great place to start.
On top of the classic plate/spring/room choice, you now see features like shimmer and freeze reverbs in the mainstream offering musicians new and interesting ways of realising their creative potential.
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If there's one thing reverb pedal buyers aren't short of, it's choice. There are pedals of many different types, to suit all different requirements. It can be hard to know where to begin. As we often do with these guides, we'd suggest giving some thought to the type of application you'll be using the item for before you part with your cash.
For example, if you're a blues player looking to add a bit of room or colour to your playing, you will want to consider a pedal that majors in the classic reverb sounds – plate, hall, and spring. Many amps come with these settings included, so there are no major surprises involved. Hall mimics the effects of playing in a large hall – obviously – while plate and spring give the effect of a sound being played into an object which then alters the tone.
In this setting, reverb is used to add character and depth to a sound, rather than change it drastically.
If your musical style is more adventurous, or you want to cover more tonal bases, you can start to look at some of the more advanced pedal types. Often you'll find shimmer included here; this adds a pitch-shifted copy of the signal through the reverb to offer a lush, choral effect which works great with single notes or synths.
And, our personal favourite gizmo, freeze, takes a snapshot of your sound at a granular level and replays it infinitely as if you've frozen a particular sound in time. Both are hugely inspiring and, above all, great fun to work with. As ever, the price you pay dictates the levels of functionality and audio quality. Eventide and Strymon are the kings are the top end, but there are superb sounds to be found right across the spectrum.
These are the best reverb pedals you can buy
The BigSky has fast become the weapon of choice for many pro players and, should you be in a position to stump up the considerable funds, you'll quickly discover why. It's flexibility is astounding and considering the borderline academic nature of Strymon's research, you'd be disappointed if the BigSky sounded anything less than extraordinary.
All that homework paid off: the 12 on-board reverb machines are as natural or fantastical as you want. The atmospheric settings have made it a favourite among the post-rock crowd, but this is a pedal that is capable of endless adaptation – and convincing with it, too.
The functionality is staggering, but it's the sounds that will make your jaw drop and your playing soar - and it's that which helps Strymon justify the lofty asking price. If you're looking for 'the one', this is it.
The original Hall Of Fame adopted a kitchen-sink approach with multiple options and the addition of TonePrint (which enables you to download user-made profiles for other reverbs) for even greater functionality and flexibility.
The Hall Of Fame 2 picks up where it left off, bringing a new shimmer octave reverb mode to the table and adding a ‘MASH’ footswitch that functions somewhat like an expression pedal. What remains is the quality of reverb sounds, which are simply fantastic and cover all the bases you could wish for.
The RV-500 can be thought of as Boss' take on a BigSky-like one-stop reverb toolbox. With three footswitches, 12 reverb modes and digital delay options, not to mention a massive array of editable parameters, you won't run out of tonal options any time soon.
We get the classy reverb of all varieties that Boss/Roland is capable of but they have also thrown in a Space Echo multi-head tape delay emulation for extra flexibility and an alternative to the delays with the reverbs.
There’s plenty to be explored in this immensely practical pedal that brings reverb and delay together. With all that memory and the various footswitching options, it’s the perfect tool if you need different ambiances for different songs.
The compact Walrus Audio Slö features three different reverb algorithms, each designed to create an individual texture with the option of integrating modulation into the wash of reverb.
The main controls are nicely laid out and easily operated, but you have to hold a footswitch down to access some secondary functions such as choosing the modulation shape.
This pedal sits in between a compact stompbox offering simple spring emulation and a jack-of-all trades pedal offering multiple. It’s a top choice for players who crave the ability to inject some deep ambiance in their signal chain without taking up loads of room on their 'board.
What you get with Space is 12 effects from the Eventide H8000FW and Eclipse V4 rackmount processors. Some of them are pure reverb, but others are combinations where it's paired with delays, pitch-shifting, tremolo, modulation and spatial effects.
If you want a stompbox for reverb and other ambient effects, Space is the most comprehensive around and if you have a home studio, you'll get tons more out of this in stereo.
The price may be high, but rather than compare the Space to other stompboxes, think instead of how much a rackmount reverb processor or the best quality plug-ins cost, and suddenly it doesn't seem that bad a deal, especially when Space sounds so good.
In the Ventris, finally, we have a pedal with a relatively modest footprint that contains two totally independent reverbs that can be used singly or combined in parallel, in series or Left/Right - with various modes of mono and stereo operation being available.
There are 12 distinct reverb engines available from the front panel but, like previous Source Audio pedals, there are more available via the Neuro software. The outstanding impression of hearing the Ventris in action for the first time is the quality of its reverbs, but we also really like its pedalboard-friendly footprint and easy hands-on functionality.
You can get as complex as you like with the Neuro editing app, but if you want simplicity it’s there straight out of the box.
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