Keeley Aurora review

A reverb worth slapping on your board?

  • £135
  • $229
Slapback sets the pre-delay, allowing separation rather than immediately swamping the dry signal

MusicRadar Verdict

Cool parameter adjustment makes 7 this not your standard reverb pedal.

Pros

  • +

    Great reverb tones. Choice of reverb styles. Slapback control.

Cons

  • -

    No spring simulation.

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The Aurora offers a choice of hall, plate and room reverbs with four knobs to control the action.

"This is a great sounding reverb with some very clever instant tweaks on board"

The Blend knob adds reverb to the 100 per cent analogue dry signal, while Decay determines the length of the tail that seems to go on forever for some cool shimmery effects, especially with the Warmth knob at minimum - turn it up to dampen the top end and calm things down.

Slapback sets the pre-delay (zero up to 100ms), allowing separation rather than immediately swamping the dry signal.

Two possible deal-breakers are that there's no spring simulation, although we didn't miss it because some of the room settings come pretty close, and that bypass cuts the reverb dead - which won't suit those who'd like the 'trails' option of it decaying naturally.

This is a great sounding reverb with some very clever instant tweaks on board to get your sound just right.

Trevor Curwen has played guitar for several decades – he's also mimed it on the UK's Top of the Pops. Much of his working life, though, has been spent behind the mixing desk, during which time he has built up a solid collection of the guitars, amps and pedals needed to cover just about any studio session. He writes pedal reviews for Guitarist and has contributed to Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Future Music among others.