REVERB
WHAT IS REVERB?
Perhaps our favourite effect of all!
Reverb is pretty much the oldest effect in the book. It’s the sound of the space around you, albeit in this case, a series of spaces packed into a handy-sized box that can take your tone from abrupt and direct, to colossal and cavernous!
Spring reverb is the most common type for guitar effects, given that it comes included with a great many amplifiers, and has done since the 1960s. More recently, digital algorithms and powerful processing chips have enabled designers to pack in all manner of room, hall and plate reverbs into tiny pedals, not to mention an incredible array of modulated, octave and harmonised reverbs: truly other-worldly.
You can hear reverb almost everywhere in all kinds of music past and present, but before you get into that, check out some of the videos below where we guide you through some sonic spaces that may inspire your next tonal quest!
WHY DO I NEED A REVERB PEDAL WHEN MY AMP ALREADY HAS REVERB?
WHAT ARE SOME TYPES OF REVERB?
You may have a reverb pedal that can emulate lots of different types of reverb, or it may just specialise in one type of reverb, but what's the difference between them all?
Let's take a look at some common types of reverb to find out!
Hall reverb emulates the reverberation you would find in large concert halls or auditoriums. It creates a spacious and lush sound with a longer decay time, suitable for adding a sense of grandeur and ambiance to your guitar tone.
Room reverb is similar to Hall reverb in that it simulates the sound of a smaller room or studio space where you would have a more intimate and natural-sounding reflection, with a shorter decay time. Room reverb can add a subtle sense of depth and space to the guitar sound.
Spring reverb simulates the sound of a physical spring system commonly found in vintage guitar amplifiers. It provides a characteristic "boingy" or "drippy" sound and is often associated with classic surf and rockabilly guitar tones.
Plate reverb replicates the sound of a metal plate vibrating to create reflections. It offers a distinctive, smooth, and slightly artificial-sounding reverb. Plate reverb is often used to add shimmer and sustain.
CHECK OUT THE VIDEOS BELOW TO LEARN MORE ABOUT REVERB...
REVERB - THE BASICS
Amp Spring Reverb, Amp Digital Reverb & Reverb Pedals
In this video Daniel and Mick take an introductory look at reverb.
We begin by comparing a guitar amp with a valve-driven spring reverb to an amp with a basic digital reverb section, offering some tips and hints about where and how you might like to use those sounds.
They then move on to two different reverb pedals – one simple and one much less simple - as a primer on the kinds of reverb effects you can achieve when thinking about reverb as a specific effect, rather than just a bit of ambience.
10 Ways To Make Reverb Pedals Work For You
Reverb: pretty much the oldest effect in the book. It’s the sound of space, packed into a handy-sized box that can take your guitar from flat and direct, to colossal and cavernous!
There was a time, not so long ago, that reverb for guitarists was that mysterious knob on your amp that you simply set to ‘not too much’. The last decade however has seen a veritable tidal wave of reverb pedals, offering us ever new ways to wash our tones clean… or dirty.
Most of us are still confused.
So join us as we run through 10 ideas designed to get you vibing on verb.
Ideas For Using Reverb On Guitar In Your Band
In this video we revisit perhaps our favourite effect of all: reverb. We’ve done many shows on different reverb types and applications… but here we are putting it into musical context with some band jams.
We run through the common 'spring', 'plate', 'room' and 'hall' reverbs, before heading into swells, shimmers and reverse ‘verbs to really get those creative juices flowing.
For sure the musical style may not be to your tastes, but we really hope it can nevertheless spark ideas of how you can take some of these tones into music that you actually do like!
