In this article, we’re going to be discussing the 10 best guitar reverb pedals that you can purchase in 2023.
If theres one common element to guitar tone that guitarist claim instantly improves their sound, it’s reverb. The issue is that quality reverb is not always simple to find on an amplifier, therefore pedal companies are constantly looking for new technologies to create authentic reverb sounds.
What Is A Reverb Pedal?
Reverb is a reflection of the world in which we live in, by that I mean we hear reverb constantly in every day life, to the point in which we don’t really notice it anymore. For guitar players, reverb can be used as an effect to create atmospheric sounds and enhance moods, something that many guitarists such as Jeff Buckley have achieved.
Here at Guitar Effects Pedalz, we love reverb as an effect, even as much as overdrive pedals. This natural phenomena can be recreated and housed inside a guitar pedal with countless parameters to control and tweak the sound. Typically, a reverb pedal will have several different reverb types available with controls such as Mix, Dwell and Tone. Furthermore, some reverb pedals are basically huge effects units where you can store pre-sets and save sounds for another day. Other reverbs are simple stompboxes with a single reverb type that replicate a certain amplifier tone.
Guitar Reverb Pedals
Strymon BlueSky
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The Strymon BlueSky boasts incredible technology that has created the most lush reverbs that have ever been created by a pedal. A lot of work has gone into this pedal to ensure the processing power was used to maximum potential resulting in three different types of stunning reverb. These reverb types comprise of Normal, Mod and Shimmer.
Normal – simply provides a version of the selected reverb tone that hasn’t been manipulated
Mod – Adds modulation to the current reverb sound
Shimmer – Also known as ‘Pitch shifting’ mode adds a trail of reverb resulting in the heavenly shimmer sound that guitarist love
Looking at the Strymon BlueSky, you will realise a lot of potential to shape tone by the controls on the pedal. Here you will be able to easily change the mix of the reverb, decay of the reverb as well as switch between plate, spring and room reverb types. Additionally, the Strymon BlueSky includes a favourite switch which allows for a reverb sound to be stored for later use.
Who Should Buy This Pedal?
The Strymon BlueSky is a top of the range reverb pedal that is perfect for professional guitar players. The pedal performs really well in a live band situation and is just as capable when used in a studio environment. Despite it being top of the range, anyone who appreciates the beauty of reverb will appreciate this pedal and will not be disappointed with its return on investment. We fully recommend the Strymon BlueSky and it’s probably the best reverb pedal around.
Click here for the full review of the Strymon Bluesky
Boss RV-6 reverb
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The Boss Rv-6 uses the latest technologies to create high end reverb sounds packed into a robust compact pedal that optimises the Boss pedal. This is a real plug in and play reverb, which allows guitarists dial in a useable reverb sound instantly. From subtle room and shimmer to long delays this pedals provides all the needs of a guitarist who utilises reverb in their guitar tone.
The Boss RV-6 is the result of professional guitarists helping the experts at Boss to create the ultimate easy to use reverb pedal that offers amazing tones as soon as the pedal is activated. However for this to happen, many parameters are simultaneously working to change the voicing and tone of the reverb.
Ultimately the Boss RV-6 is a classic Boss pedal that will be reliable and offer top quality reverb sounds that any guitar player could utilise.
Who Should Buy This Pedal?
Anyone who is partial to compact Boss pedals should own this reverb pedal. It serves fantastically as a constant reverb with the added functionality of shimmer and delay. The RV-6 works especially well for clean guitar tones across many genres of music like blues and country. All the classic reverb setting are included like spring, room and plate. Check out the video above to hear it’s beauty.
Click here for the full review of the Boss RV-6
TC Electronic Hall Of Fame
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The TC Electronic Hall of Fame is a reverb pedal that has been used by many famous musicians and featured on countless records, making it another classic guitar effects pedal. In similar fashion to the Boss RV-6, the Hall of Fame is a compact pedal with four knobs that change parameters in the tone of the reverb. This ensures ease of use as the player can simple adjust the knobs and listen to the change of tone.
The Hall of Fame offers a generous ten different reverbs to choose from including plate to spring also including a really cool modulation setting that offers something different to typical reverb sounds.
TC Electronic designed this pedal with the users creativity in mind. The decay, tone and level knobs effects the tone drastically to provide a wide spectrum of sounds that you should explore to spark your creativity. The response from these knobs reiterates the quality of the pedal and the reason why so many professional guitarists use it religiously.
Who Should Buy This Pedal?
The TC Hall Of Fame is a great for guitarists who like a pedal they can plug-in and get luscious reverb sounds instantly. If you want an inexpensive reverb thats compact in size and has a large range of setting than this pedal is for you. The Hall Of Fame is controlled from four knobs making it easy to tweak without having to go into presets and edit things electronically. However with the tone print functionality, the option to expand the Hall of fames ability is always there.
Click here for the full review of the Hall Of Fame
Digitech Polara
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The Digitech Polara is branded as the ‘new architect of your soundscape’ and it’s easy to see why Digitech make such a claim. This compact reverb adds another dimension to guitar playing with expansive takes on classic reverb types such as plate and room. Additionally, the Polara has a new reverb type named ‘Halo’ offering a godly glow to the decay of the reverb, something we have not seen before!
Additional controls to the Polara are level, liveliness, decay and type with stereo in and out and a quality foot switch. A striking feature of the Polara is the art work that covers the front on the pedal, on top of which are high quality knobs that a very responsive and excellent for altering the tone of selected reverb sounds.
Check out this video of the Digitech Polara to hear the tones in action!
Who Should Buy This Pedal?
The Digitech Polara is often complimented for having the luxurious tones of a far more expensive pedal, therefore we believe that any guitarist should be looking at the Polara. One main advantage over the top range reverbs is that the Polara is very compact and takes up little space on a pedal board. If you take a particular fancy to ‘plate’ reverb, we believe that the Polara is the best pedals around for reproducing old studio reverb tones. Plus the Hola setting is quite unique and special!
Click here for the full review of the Digitech Polara
The Void – Deadbeat Sound
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The Void by Deadbeat Sound may not be a reverb pedal that you are familiar with, making it a wildcard for our list. However after experimenting with this pedal it is easy to understand why many guitarists are beginning switch on to this pedal and enter the void!
The most simplistic design on our list, The Void offers one excellent reverb sound which is controlled by a decay and mix knob. It’s as simple as it gets and perfect for guitar players who just want access to that perfect reverb when required.
In terms of the sound, the Void offers a luscious yet ambient sound reverb that we think are full of character. This can be heard especially well when playing with out much distortion, although adding a distortion to the mix will create stunning tones which are simply breathtaking.
Check out this video of The Void by deadbeat to hear the ambient tones.
Who Should Buy This Pedal?
The Void reverb is the cheapest pedal on the list, making it a great first reverb pedal for a new guitar player. The beauty of this pedal in comparison to others is that there is only one reverb type to play with (albeit a very nice reverb). This pedal takes all the complication out of reverb pedals and gives instant gratification as soon as the pedal is activated. More experienced guitarist looking for more functionality in a reverb pedal may want to look at others pedals on this list.
Check out the full review of the The Void Reverb
Boss RV-500 Reverb
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The Boss RV-500 is perhaps the most advanced yet of all the Boss pedals on the market. This reverb has 12 reverb types covering all basis for live, home and studio use. Very much a hands on pedal, the RV-500 has a series of control knobs on the pedal to fine tune aspects of each reverb preset to shape the tone to with exact precision. Likewise simply switching between the presets will instantly produce ideal sounds making this pedal plausible as a plug in and play unit.
The quality of this pedal is something that guitar players will admire for a long time to come.. 32-bit/96kHz processing provides studio quality sound with built in patch memory allowing you to save your sounds as you create them. Tap tempo feature is available on this pedal and all setting can be controlled with an easy to use graphic display.
Who Should Buy This Pedal?
The Boss RV-500 is a pedal with infinite customization potential and therefore will appeal greatly to guitarists who love tweaking sounds until they achieve tone perfection… “It’s a versatile beast and I feel like I still haven’t scratched the surface of its potential even after months of using this thing.” At it’s price point, the RV-500 is aimed at serious guitar players who want the best guitar effects. We believe that Boss have delivered an advanced reverb unit that can only be considered as one of the best on the market.
MXR M300 Reverb
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MXR are not particularly well known for producing reverb pedals, so the M300 is a much welcome addition to their collection. Like most MXR pedals, the M300 is compact with three knobs controlling six different reverb types including room, plate, spring and modulation. From this pedal you can expect wonderfully clean and crisp reverb tones due to the 100% dry analogue dry signal with a digital chipset.
We often describe pedals as being ‘plug in and play’ type stompboxes and the MXR M300 certainly fall into that category. Use the ‘mix’ control to vary the level or dry and wet signal, and the tone control to add more high end frequencies into the sound. This pedal also features a decay knob which controls how long the reverb lasts for.
Who Should Buy This Pedal?
Despite it’s simplicity, we see the M300 as a high end reverb pedal with quality tones expected from a pedal much more expensive. If you’re looking for a quality reverb pedal without the extra complications of control that the Strymon and Boss RV-500 include, then this is probably your best option. Also a must have pedal for MRX lovers.
Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Nano
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The Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail is part of a collection of reverb pedals produced by EHX. This simple yet compact looking pedal packs a surprising punch with a wide range of atmospheric reverb. Switch quickly between two classic reverbs in room and spring and control the level with the Holy Grails single knob feature.
Not only that, the EHX Holy Grail holds a secret weapon in the ‘Flerb’ setting, which produces an unearthly unique reverb by incorporating flanging with spatial reverb. In addition, the Holy Grail has had the backing of many pro guitarists over the years of its existence which makes it a real player in the world of reverb.
Who Should Buy This Pedal?
Looking for a compact yet affordable new reverb? The EHX Holy Grail may well be the one for you. We love how its simplicity in design and functionality really helps the pedal flourish as soon as its activated, every setting on this pedal sounds great instantly. Due to its size we recommend this pedal to anyone who is a little tight for space on their pedal board.
Catalinbread Topanga
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The Catalinbread Topanga has quickly come to our attention as being one of the quality spring reverbs on the market. With it’s classic surf rock sound, the Topanga captures the 60’s flutter amazingly well in a visually stunning chassis. There are four controls to shape the tone including mix, tone and dwell as well as a volume control that controls a preamp, allowing for a clean boost then required.
The mix control on the Topanga allows for extra functionality as you can set the knob anywhere from 100% wet to 100% dry, this is something that vintage reverb units were not capable of. The overall build of the pedal is outstanding and is build in the USA.
Who Should Buy This Pedal?
If you’re into your 60’s rock and wish to emulate the surf rock spring reverb tone, then this pedal is a must have for you. In terms of it’s overall quality, the boutique looking Topanga would be a great addition for any guitarist who utalizes spring reverb into their sound. Check out the video above to hear the Topanga in acton.
Check out the full review of the Catalinbread Topanga
Boss FRV-1 63 Fender Reverb
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The Boss FRV-1 is a collaboration pedal by Boss and Fender, to recreate the classic reverb tones of the ’63 Fender amplifier. Amazingly, this classic guitar amplifier reverb has returned as a compact pedal ready to be used live and in studio situations. The sound was born from the 60’s surf era and is a staple of rockabilly, country, and blues music genres.
Similar to the Topanga, the FRV-1 has three knobs to control Dwell, Tone and mix to fine tune a sparkling twang sound. The chassis is typically durable as all Boss pedals are and the the design of the pedal is wonderfully fitting for the era it recreates.
Who Should Buy This Pedal?
“This is probably as close as you’re going to get to recreating the sound of the classic Fender reverb tank short of the real thing”. Simply put, any guitar player who appreciates the classic Fender amplifier tones of the 60’s will adore this pedal. It works brilliantly at recreating the sounds in a compact pedal. Also as this pedal may well become hard to get hold of in the future, any Boss pedal lover should have this pedal kept safe in their collection.
Check out the full review of the Boss FRV-1 Reverb
if you found this roundup of the 10 best reverb pedals both enjoyable and informative. Comment below your own review or any questions you may have regarding this product.
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Last update on 2023-10-02 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API