Reverb Hall Of Fame - 7 Best Reverb Pedals - 2020

We've rounded up the best reverb pedals in the world today, so you can make the right choice when adding to your board.

Reverb is one of the most important effects in the world of music. Just like salt & pepper on a dinner table, reverb appears in almost every studio, live and recording environment - I’ll let you argue over what the other effect might be! Put simply, reverb is an essential tool and can be the all-important difference between a completely dead sounding performance and one full of lively, warm nuances.

Once the benefits of reverberation were discovered in rooms and halls, and then eventually harnessed in Medieval times, cathedrals, amphitheatres and places of worship were actually constructed with performances in mind. A building’s natural reverb was used to bring out the best sonic nuances in choirs, musical performances and even add weight to spoken word. Fast forward to modern times and musicians and producers will choose to record in certain studios/environments based on the reverb effects inherent within the building.

Fortunately, these days, you don’t need to travel to the Sistine Chapel to record the best guitar sound (although it might be a cool idea) or construct an entire building to get the best Hall reverb as there are a myriad of different amps with reverb built-in and reverb pedals that can essentially replicate these coveted sounds, whilst adding their own spin on things.

When Spring Reverb was created and eventually patented in the 1930’s it paved the way for amplifier manufacturers to capture the sound of an entire Hall in a box. This meant that you could add lush reverb to your guitar sound anywhere, anytime. A few decades later, we now have an arsenal of reverb pedals to choose from packed full of different reverb sounds including, Spring, Hall, Flerb and so much more. These days you can sound like you're performing in Walt Disney Concert Hall or on top of a mountain when you're sat in your bedroom.

So which reverb pedal is right for you? There are so many pedals to choose from and finding the right one for your sound can be a little daunting. So today we’re looking at some of the best reverb pedals that we think you really need to hear. Here’s our top 7!

1. MXR M300 Reverb Pedal

First up we have the MXR M300 Reverb Pedal.

The MXR M300 pedal is easily one of the best reverb pedals in the world today as its small chassis, range of built-in reverb sounds and easy to use knobs make it an impressive addition to your pedalboard.

You actually have 6 types of reverb at your disposal including Plate, Spring, Epic, Mod, Room and the very interesting Pad effect.

Plate gives you that classic shimmering reverb sound made famous by recording studios, Spring gives you the awesome reverb found in some of the most famous amplifiers in the world whilst Epic is a unique combination of multiple interwoven analogue-tone delay lines and complex modulation.

Mod provides reverb with added modulation, Room gives you a classic room style reverb that adds weight to your sound whilst Pad is a combination of sub-octave + octave-up with echoes + "shimmer" + synth/organ modulation + reverb - basically a completely insane amount of effects that simply work.

Although brand new on the scene, the Electro Harmonix Oceans 11 Reverb Pedal is gunning for throne thanks to the fact you have 11 studio quality reverb effects built in, including all the most popular options from the Electro Harmonix catalogue. You have the classic Hall, Spring and Plate reverb effects that put the likes of the Holy Grail on the musical map, but there’s the addition of the REVRS (revers) Echo, SHIM (Shimmer) and more that really sets this pedal apart from the competition.

An internal Tails switch allows you to fade out your reverb naturally or end abruptly whilst you have the option to keep your reverb going indefinitely by holding down the footswitch. This takes inspiration from the Freeze pedal released a few years ago but allows you to enjoy a more ethereal tone whilst you play a completely fresh reverb effect over the top. Super easy to operate and you can blend effects together too – nice! For just over £100 you’re getting some of the greatest reverb effects known to man. Well worth it.

The Electro Harmonix Nano Holy Grail reverb pedal is a scaled-down version of the coveted EHX Holy Grail – which is now out of production. Fortunately, you don’t have to trawl the 2nd hand market to get your hands (and ears) on the classic Holy Grail sound as the Nano option is pretty much identical.

Used by rock, emo and country players, the Electro Harmonix Holy Grail Nano is by far one of the best reverb pedals ever made thanks to the epic sound within this tiny casing. Versatile and easy to use, the Nano Holy Grail is a plug and play reverb powered via 9V power adaptor or 9V battery and features an input and output – easy.

There’s three reverb effects to get to grips with such as Spring, Hall and Flerb and they can be quickly accessed via the toggle switch. Adjust the amount of reverb you want via the single knob and choose from subtle surf style reverb or go all out with epic, reverb drenched sounds.

Check out our review below.

The BOSS RV-500 Reverb Processor is one of the best reverb pedals available today, providing players with 12 modes and 21 different reverb sounds that range from mind-bending reverse reverb textures to studio plate reverb sounds, as well as classic spring reverbs and everything in between.

The BOSS RV-500 makes our best reverb pedals list thanks to the fact it sounds great (of course) is particularly hard wearing and is extremely easy to use despite looking complicated.

You have Room, Hall, Plate, Spring, Shimmer, fast Decay, Early Reflection, Non-linear, SFX, Dual, SRV, Space Echo and control over each effect.

The large LCD screen gives you access to patches, delay time (it's got an included delay!) and other vital information, so you have total control over your sound. The EQ section is easy to use thanks to grab and go rotary knobs and the use of bank up/bank down switches means you can store a range of your favourite reverb patches for later use.

It's also ready to record at studio-level quality. In fact, the RV-500 records at 32-bit/96 kHz AD/DA, exceeding industry standards for pedals.

The Boss RV-6 reverb pedal is yet another in a long line of superb quality stomp boxes from the brand. Within this great pedal, you have 8 extremely versatile reverb effects ready to be sculpted to your ideal sound including Delay (reverb with delay), Shimmer, Dynamic, Room, Hall, Plate, Spring and Modulate. It’s quick and easy to use and built like an absolute tank, so it’s ready to stand up to years of touring.

A huge benefit here is the fact it can be used within a mono and stereo environment. Hook it up to your fx loop and enjoy shimmering reverb with lush delay sounds or simply plug direct into the front of your amp and get stuck into the ethereal sounds on offer via the mono connection. The choice is yours!

For the discerning reverb users out there, you’ll love the fact you can connect an optional expression pedal which allows you to take complete control over your effect. Enough talking! Listen to the Boss RV-6 reverb below!

Since the Strymon range of pedals burst onto the scene a few years back, they’ve quickly become some of the most widely used effects pedals in music. Thanks to their lush array of sonic options, almost indestructible build quality and versatility, Strymon pedals have been appearing on professional pedalboards across the entire spectrum of musical genres more and more.

The Strymon BlueSky Reverberator is now considered an industry standard thanks to the sheer scope of reverb sounds on offer and the fact you can use it in a stereo setting. You have access to Plate, Room and Spring reverb modes to choose from and can manipulate them further thanks to the Normal, Mod and Shimmer settings. Change up the Decay, Low Damp, Pre Delay, High Damp and Mix of your reverb sounds too!

The high-end SHARC processor and 24-bit 96kHz A/D and D/A converter within means you can use the BlueSky as a reverb guitar pedal, but also hook it up to your mixing console too – versatile is an understatement.

Check out the Strymon BlueSky Reverberator pedal and try not to fall in love – we dare you!

Ok, the Fender Marine Layer Reverb Pedal is basically 3 reverb pedals in 1, and easily one of the best reverb pedals you’ll ever play. It may look complicated considering the fact there’s 4 dials and 3 toggle switches to navigate, but once you get stuck in, it’s extremely easy to get your perfect reverb sound.

Now we mentioned that there are 3 different types of reverb built-in, but thanks to the "1 & 2" settings, each reverb has 2 different types of sounds. So you're actually getting 6 different types of reverb built-in - which is great!

The 'Special' mode deserves notable mention as it's actually a shimmer style effect on setting '1' whilst the '2' setting gives you a more modulated sound.  We could go on all day about why this pedal deserves that space on your board, but we'd rather let Sam explain below: