The Best Reverb Pedals for Electric Guitar: From Budget to High-End
For beginners and pros!
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Besides distortion, few pedal categories are as versatile as reverb pedals. New effects are constantly being released, ranging from classics and emulations to effects behemoths. We’ve got the best ones for you!
Key Takeaways
- Reverb pedals add depth and space to your sound, ranging from subtle to ambient-style clouds
- The main types of reverb are spring, plate, and hall. They form the basis of almost all reverb pedals
- For beginners, a simple hall or plate reverb with mix and decay controls is often sufficient.
- For ambient sounds, shimmer, advanced modulation, and long decay times are important.
Our Picks:
The Best Reverb Pedals: What Should You Look For?
In recent years, reverb pedals have become increasingly diverse, more expensive, and more widespread. From plate reverbs to emulations of old studio classics to complex, modulated granular reverb monsters, the field has become increasingly diverse. That’s why there’s a pedal here for every budget.
In addition to the price, the overall sonic character (and, to many, of course, the size of the pedal) plays a role. After all, crowded pedalboards are the enemy of massive reverb units! When it comes to sound, that depends just as much on personal taste as on the genre. For glam metal, ’80s pop, or funk, the best reverb pedals need a more tinny, metallic quality; a plate reverb, for example, is a good choice here.
In Lo-Fi or ambient productions, you might want to experiment with a freeze effect, perhaps even a granular reverb, a shimmer effect that shifts the reverb tail to higher octaves, or a combination of several reverb effects. To that end, many manufacturer websites (as well as Stompenberg FX from Thomann) allow you to explore the sound of their pedals in detail.
TC Electronic Hall of Fame 2: Affordable Reverb Pedal
To kick off our list of the best reverb pedals, we start with a classic: the TC Electronic Hall of Fame 2. Released in 2016, this most affordable of our reverb pedals has become a true long-time favorite.
Using TC’s proprietary TonePrint technology, you can load a wide range of high-quality reverbs from TC Electronics onto the pedal. This includes a beautifully shimmering Shimmer reverb. Check out the Hall of Fame 2 from TC Electronics at Thomann*.
Walrus Audio Slö: Multi-Texture Reverb
Dancing in Slö-Motion… or something like that. In any case, the Walrus Audio Slö isn’t one of those reverb pedals that gets you crisp, short reverb tails. This reverb swirls and echoes, whether for Doom productions, ambient soundscapes, or the next jam, so epically, you’ll play a single note, close your eyes and let it take you on a journey.
The basic idea of the pedal modulated reverb. In other words, its reverb tail is processed through a variety of chorus, flanger, or vibrato effects, causing it to become increasingly blurred as it decays. Anyone who wants to lose themselves in the reverb tail until the end of time will likely enjoy the Sustain parameter.
Like many Walrus Audio effects, Slö isn’t exactly one of those reverb pedals you grasp right away. But once you do, you’ll take off and never come back down. Get one of the best reverb pedals at Thomann*.
Hotone NC-200 Verbera
The Verbera from Hotone features a rather rare reverb technology for pedals: convolution reverb. The included impulse responses are like acoustic fingerprints of a variety of spaces, ranging from a bathroom to a cathedral to an aircraft hangar.
The Verbera comes with 120 of these impulse responses pre-installed, all available in full stereo if desired, with decay times of up to 20 seconds (in mono) or 10 seconds (in stereo). The pedal also features a trails function, which ensures that reverb tails aren’t cut off when you deactivate the effect.
What’s truly unique, though, is the effect’s ability to create your own impulse responses right from the pedal. Just connect it to your audio interface and “steal” a reverb setting from your favorite reverb VST, or “copy” a reverb sound from your friend’s boutique pedal. Brilliant! You can get the Hotone NC-200 Verbera at Thomann*.
Universal Audio Golden Reverberator
With the recent launch of its UAFX series, Universal Audio has poured all its expertise in DSP chips, emulations, and premium studio sound into creating top-of-the-class emulations of famous effects and studio gear. The Universal Audio Golden Reverberator is no exception.
There’s hardly any other effect where a stereo signal flow is as important as it is with reverb pedals: the sound needs to be wide. The Golden Reverberator not only offers a whole range of reverb emulations, it also does so in Stereo.
Like all other Universal Audio pedals, this pedal can be updated to include new reverb algorithms via the USB-C port and UA’s UA Connect app. The Golden Reverberator is available at Thomann*.
Strymon BigSky: The “Biggest” of The Best Reverb Pedals
It’s already been around for a good ten years, but BigSky is still so popular that Strymon even released a plugin version. After all, the Strymon BigSky is still considered one of THE reverb pedals to this day.
The pedal features 12 reverb types, over 300 presets, nearly every parameter controllable via MID – and then there’s the sound. Few reverb pedals are as versatile across so many genres and for so many purposes. It also features a freeze function for ambient soundscapes and momentary sustain. Find all the details and buy it at Thomann*.
Meris Mercury X: The Rolls Royce of Reverb Pedals
Epic, more epic, BigSky, Mercury X: It doesn’t get any more intense or reverb-heavy than this monster. The features and sound quality that Meris has packed into the Mercury X would normally be enough to fill an entire pedalboard of reverb pedals. The Mercury 7 already had a huge fan base, so the manufacturer thought: Why not build the most powerful reverb pedal of them all?
The result is a pedal that comes with eight completely different reverb algorithms (compared to just two on the Mercury 7), 99 preset slots, a built-in tuner, and a gate for gated reverb effects. And that’s just the tip of the reverb iceberg, get it from Thomann*.
Conclusion on the Best Reverb Pedals
Of course, we could only include a tiny selection of the best reverb pedals. Which classic did I miss? What’s your hidden gem?
Let us know in the comments!
FAQ on the Best Reverb Pedals for Guitar
What is the best reverb pedal for beginners?
For beginners, the best reverb pedals are simple and intuitive, with just a few controls like Mix, Decay, and Tone. You don’t need 10 different algorithms; a good plate or reverb sound is more than enough to get you started.
Analog vs. Digital Reverb Pedals: Which One Is Better?
Most reverb pedals are digital, since true analog reverb pedals (such as spring reverb) can be bulky and are prone to noise. Many digital pedals can reproduce classic sounds with extreme precision and usually offer far greater flexibility.
Do I need a reverb pedal if my amp already has one built-in?
Not necessarily! But a dedicated reverb pedal gives you more control and often better sound quality. Amp reverb can be rather limited, whereas pedals offer multiple reverb types and more adjustment options.
Where should a reverb pedal be placed in the signal chain?
A reverb pedal is typically placed at the end of the signal chain or in your amp’s effects loop. This prevents the reverb from becoming distorted.
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