Here’s something we can both agree on:

No pedalboard is complete without the right reverb pedal.

The reverb effects pedal is an essential ingredient if you want to make playing electric guitar work.

There is a reason why you came to this page …

You want to know what the best reverb pedals are.

Luckily for you, we’ve assembled a list of the best reverb pedals of 2018.

Based on your personal preferences you can pick the best suitable reverb pedal.

Here it is:

List of the Top 6 Best Reverb Pedals to Become a Rockstar

This is how we’ll do it:

There will be two parts to this article; List of the Best Reverb Pedals and Reverb Effects Pedals 101.

So without further ado, here’s the list of the best reverb pedals on the market today.

Reverb Pedals	No. Reverbs	Stereo	Presets
BOSS RV-6	8	IN/OUT	No	Check Price
tc electronic HoF 2	8	IN/OUT	3	Check Price
EHX Holy Grail Neo	3	No	No	Check Price
Eventide Space	12	IN/OUT	100	Check Price
Digitech Polara (Editor's Choice)	7	IN/OUT	No	Check Price
Walrus Audio Descent	3	OUT	3	Check Price

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Best Reverb Pedals

You’ve made it to the best part, great.

We will begin laying out the best reverb pedals shortly.

So, here they are …

1. BOSS RV-6 Digital Reverb (Best Reliable Reverb Pedal)

When BOSS has to deliver, they deliver …

And when they deliver, they deliver outstandingly.

The RV-6 Digital Reverb has joined BOSS’s line of great effects pedals …

Here’s what you need to know:

With the BOSS RV-6, you will get a versatile setup.

There are up to eight reverb modes on it, that’ll enable the full reverberation potential of your guitar.

This is a delay and reverb pedal because of one reverb mode that adds delay to the reverb.

This reverb pedal is not the best in terms of versatility, although beginner guitar players might think it is too complex.

Let’s do a quick rundown of the settings:

• E. Level – for adjustment of the volume,
• Tone – the full tone spectrum, from warm to bright,
• Time – a.k.a. decay, amount of time the effect will last,
• Mode – this knob selects the 8 different reverb styles,
• Stereo IN/OUT – enable this pedal’s full potential with Stereo IN and OUT,
• Expression – hook up an expression pedal.

Because the BOSS RV-6 is one of the smaller reverb pedals, it has a problem showing all of the settings properly.

On the right knob for instance, display of all the reverb modes isn’t very clear.

Personally, I don’t think this is a big deal, but this could’ve been designed better.

As always BOSS produces pedals that are absolute tanks …

And in BOSS’s business point of view, they might last a bit too long.

It was to be expected that a guitar pedal like this would get the “award” for being the best reverb pedal in terms of reliability.

This BOSS digital guitar reverb pedal has a very good audio signal when used in every setting.

And although it’s not at the top in terms of signal quality, it can compete with the more high-end reverb pedals.

Here’s the deal:

Overall the BOSS RV-6 is a great reverb pedal and amazing value for money.

It has got more than plenty of settings for most of the guitar players and very good signal quality.

Are you ready to add one to your pedalboard?

Buy BOSS RV-6 now on Amazon

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2. tc electronic Hall of Fame 2 Reverb Pedal (The Juiced up Popular Reverb)

Now, the story began with the tc electronic Hall of Fame …

As you might know, it was a very popular reverb pedal.

But now they are back with the Hall of Fame gen 2.

And it is just as compact as the first HoF.

Here’s the deal:

Products can get better or worse with new versions.

Let me assure you that the Hall of Fame 2 only went to become more amazing.

Let’s go through the list of new features:

• Added shimmer – for those heavenly sounds;
• MASH technology – integrated expression pedal alike effects;
• 3 instead of 1 TonePrint slots – save customized presets;
• Increased Pre-Delay – feedback time up to 300 milliseconds.

From the new features mentioned above, Mash technology definitely jumps out.

Depending on the amount of pressure you apply with your foot, you will get a small or big expression.

Controlling this reverb pedal is quite straightforward.

This is what you will get:

• Decay – control duration of reverb;
• Tone – low-end to high-end;
• Level – this is your wet/dry blend;
• Type – 8 types of reverb and 3 TonePrints;
• Pre-delay – feedback time for a small or huge room;
• MASH – depending on “Type” selected this will change volume, decay and modulation;
• Stereo IN/OUT – experience the full glory of this stompbox.

“When going to church” it is quite astonishing the amount of decay time you will be able to get with MASH …

For a very dramatic effect, you can reach up to 20 seconds(!) of decay time.

Look there is a reason why the old tc electronic HoF was named best reverb pedal…

It is simply a very good reverb pedal.

With the Hall of Fame 2 by tc electronic, you will get that same quality plus new and improved features!

Want to know the best part?

It only costs you 30 bucks more …

Quite hard to leave it on the shelf.

Buy tc electronic Hall of Fame 2 now on Amazon

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3. EHX Holy Grail Neo Reverb Pedal (Easiest to Use Reverb)

The Holy Grail Neo Reverb Pedal is easiest to use, or foolproof you could say.

There are not a lot of things that could go wrong when playing with this reverb pedal.

Three types of reverb can be found on this guitar pedal:

• Spring;
• Hall;
• Plate.

It is clear that electro-harmonix wanted to stick to the essentials:

Because that way they had all the more resources to perfect these 3 reverb styles on the reverb effects pedal.

And they did a very good job …

Some people even go the great length and say this is the best spring reverb pedal.

Besides the control for the reverb style, it’s also possible to adjust the level of reverb.

This wet/dry control affects the reverb very subtlely, from minimum to 12 o’clock and very drastic on the wet side, from 12 o’clock to maximum).

The Holy Grail Neo has a good name for its awesome spring reverb tone qualities.

When these qualities are put to the test with a 1600 $ vintage style amp, this is what you’ll find:

Yes, we can conclude that the Holy Grail Neo can’t beat a 1600 $ amp …

However, it does put up a fight. The tonal structure is actually quite similar.

So, great … is it only upside to this reverb pedal?

Unfortunately not, and it’s about the power supply.

As you might know, most guitar effects pedals use 9V DC …

This reverb pedal, sadly not. It uses a 9.6V DC.

Which is a bummer because you wouldn’t be able to hook it up to your daisy chain.

This pedal compensates with its easiness of use and the focussed efforts on 3 truly essential reverb types.

If you feel like this is the best reverb pedal for you let me assure you …

The EHX Holy Grail Neo is a reverb pedal you will be able to use for many years to come and will even fit on your smallest pedalboard.

Click below to check it out …

Buy EHX Holy Grail Neo now on Amazon

Or keep looking in the candy store of reverberation awesomeness.

We have something awesome in store for you.

Get ready for another reverb pedal review.

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4. Eventide Space Reverb Pedal (The Overall Best Reverb Pedal)

If you came for reverb, then eat your heart out with the Eventide Space.

This monster of a reverb pedal delivers a whopping 100 presets!

These include presets from vintage pedals, artists and their own designs.

For a quick peek at the complete list, click here.

If, magically, there isn’t a preset that you like, there’s another way …

Because luckily Eventide added a way to add presets yourself.

Oh yeah … or you could just tweak a reverb manually.

Crazy enough the Eventide Space reverb pedal comes with 12(!) reverb types.

The Eventide Space could easily be rated as best reverb pedal for ambient reverb.

It easily deserves “Best Versatile Reverb Pedal” award.

It could possibly also earn a “Most Confusing Reverb Pedal” award.

Some people couldn’t handle this beast because of it being too complex.

That would probably be the only downside to this pedal.

But, in my opinion, with the number of settings crammed inside this reverb pedal, quite understandable.

Products will naturally become more complex when adding more settings.

Let’s quickly go over its features:

• 12 reverb combo algorithms;
• 100 factory presets;
• Infinite possibility of adding personal presets;
• Mono and Stereo IN/OUT;
• Expression pedal input
• Studio quality;
• Real-time control with 10 knobs, MIDI or expression pedal;
• True analog bypass.

Let’s be honest here:

This pedal is not for everyone, because these features come with a certain price tag.

If this is not in your price range, then take a look a the POLARA.

Here’s what it comes down to:

The Eventide Space Reverb Pedal will make 99 % of its owners very happy.

It could sculpt your dry signal into anything you want …

And it does so with crisp clear professional quality.

Buy Eventide Space now on Amazon

If you’re still here, don’t worry …

We have more stompboxes coming that could be the best reverb pedal for you.

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5. Digitech Polara Reverberation Pedal (Most Value for Money Reverb)

If your budget is not as high to be able to afford the Eventide Space, then the Polara is a great choice.

This is definitely the best reverb pedal in terms of value for money.

The Polara is actually a quite cheap reverb pedal.

With a selection of 7 reverb types, this guitar pedal is far from basic.

All of the reverb effects are digitally produced by Lexicon reverb algorithms.

Which means a high-end organic reverb sound.

One of the reverb types is the new, all talked about, “Halo” effect.

Let’s do a quick rundown:

• Room – subtly fatten up your sound;
• Hall – for small to big reverb sounds, this is your spot;
• Spring – a great natural sound of a vintage amp;
• Plate – recreate that high-end, studio, metallic, reverb effect;
• Modulated – ambient attractive modulation effects;
• Reverse – freakish sounding reverse reverb effects;
• Halo – shimmering with modulated cascading octaves.

All of these reverb effects, of course, can be tweaked with the standard:

• Level – wet/dry mix;
• Liveliness – low to high frequencies;
• Decay – reverb fade out time;
• AND Tail – ability to decay the reverb naturally after switching to bypass.

You might be wondering:

“What are the downsides?”

In this price range, not really any, to be honest.

The settings might be a bit hard to read …

But hey, you’ll get a sick art nouveau style artwork in return.

There is more:

With Stereo IN/OUT you can actually hear the full potential of the organic sounds of the Lexicon reverb algorithms.

Digitech has really put a lot of work into perfecting the sound quality in such a compact pedal.

With this reverb pedal, you will leave a relatively small footprint.

Do you want to know the truth?

This pedal is actually my favorite reverb pedal on the list.

It covers the entire ambient spectrum, from spring drip to attractive modulation effects.

And it does so with high quality organic reverb sounds.

The best reverb pedal in terms of amazing value for little money.

Buy Digitech Polara now on Amazon

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6. Walrus Audio Descent (The Best Special Reverb)

If you’re not into the conventional reverb sounds, but would rather stray off the beaten path …

Then this might be the best reverb pedal for you.

The Descent by Walrus Audio is anything but the standard.

If you are into special reverb effects like Reverse or Shimmer Reverb, then this is the perfect fit.

Although the reverb styles you are able to choose from are limited, there still is a lot of room for tweaking.

Let’s review how you can adjust the “Hall”, “Shimmer” and “Reverse” reverb pedal effects.

• Dry/Wet Mix – separate knobs to control your dry/wet blend;
• Reverb time – a.k.a. decay time, reverb effect time;
• Diminish – changes the “walls” of your room;
• Tweak – warm/dark tones to bright and chimey tones;
• Dry Signal – amount of dry that goes to -1/+1;
• -1/+1 – separately regulate octaves up and down.

All of these settings might be a little bit confusing.

It can definitely take you some time to get the exact reverberation you are after.

This is not a pedal you would tweak during gigs.

Luckily Walrus Audio took care of that with 3 programmable presets.

You will find that you’ll be using these most often.

This is important:

This reverb pedal is not for the guitarist that is after traditional reverb effects.

Rather, this reverb pedal is for the guitarist that is after a very specific set of reverb sounds.

“Shimmer” and “Reverse”, the Descent by Walrus Audio does them outstandingly.

Playing around with this guitar reverb pedal it’ll make you believe …

It’s a complete instrument on its own.

There is also a downside:

Some users reported that this reverb pedal gives a clicking sound when switching between settings.

I wouldn’t be too bothered about that.

Probably you won’t continuously be switching settings and especially not in the middle of a song.

On the brighter note:

As you would expect with one of the best reverb pedals, this pedal features a Stereo output.

Also, it has a studio quality audio signal and is cheap compared to its high-end competitors.

This is what it comes down to:

If you’re into the special kind of reverberation effects, then this is the best reverb pedal.

It’s easy to get around the minor shortfalls of this reverb pedal.

Adding the Descent to your pedalboard will bring luscious reverb sounds to your rig at only half the price compared to other high-end reverb pedals.

Buy Walrus Audio Descent now on Amazon

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Reverb Effects Pedals 101

Before we dive in head first into the list of best reverb pedals …

It’s important to understand what kind of reverbs are available.

You might think:

“That’s easy, digital and analog reverb.”

Yes, kind of, but not the answer we’re after.

Close to all reverb pedals are digital and here’s why:

It’s impossible to create analog reverb effects in a guitar effects pedal.

This is only possible with a spring reverb and those kinds of reverb pedals are quite rare.

We’ll go over the different types of reverb effects first, to try and make things a bit clearer.

Types of Reverb Effects

Before we’ll find the best reverb pedal for you, first this:

I will list the most common styles for reverb effects.

You’ll be finding these kinds of reverb characteristics in guitar reverb pedals.

1. Room Reverb

Now, this is where we will find natural reverb.

Rooms come in all shapes and sizes, but there is something they have all in common.

There will always be an echo because the sound is able to bounce around on the walls.

Back in the days, this was how people used to record reverb.

Sounds

• Short to medium amount of reverb;
• Slapback kind of sound.

2. Hall Reverb

Think about your regular size room, now multiply that x 100.

Hall reverb is the type of reverb you will find in huge rooms, like concert halls or churches.

With this reverb, you will get a lot more echo and decay time than with room reverb.

Sounds

• Smoothly dissipating sounds;
• Less high frequency, making it warmer/darker;
• Big open sounds.

3. Spring Reverb

This is a very mechanical type of reverb. 

From an input signal, multiple springs will start vibrating.

The vibration in the springs will pulsate back and forth through the length of the spring.

This signal is then sent to the output.

Sounds

• Vintage tube amp sounds, like a Fender ’65 Deluxe Reverb;
• Wavering, “zingy” kind of sound.

4. Plate Reverb

Just like the spring reverb, the plate reverb is a mechanical type of reverb.

A large, thin, metal plate is being used to resonate sounds.

With plate reverb, you will not only have vibrations over the length, but in all directions of the vibrating body.

As a fun fact, this was the first type of “portable” reverb mechanism and was used in the 60s and 70s.

Sounds

• Metallic kind of sound;
• Crashing kind of sound.

To make sure you understand this:

The characteristics of the reverb types listed above are digitally simulated in the reverb pedals.

There are other reverb types, these are also digitally simulated

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In Conclusion to the Best Reverb Pedals

So that’s it …

You’ve made it through the list of:

Top 6 Best Reverb Pedals to Become a Rockstar

If you’re out pedal hunting and running on a budget, go for:

BOSS RV-6 Digital Reverb
tc electronic Hall of Fame 2
EHX Holy Grail Neo
Digitech POLARA Reverberation Pedal

Now, if you’re looking for something truly amazing in terms of tone quality and options …

Then there’s a good chance this is the best reverb pedal for you:

Eventide Space Reverb Pedal

If you are after those very specific shimmer effects and love rocking out with reverse reverb definitely go for:

Walrus Audio Descent

Feel free to slowly go over this list of best reverb pedals anytime again.

We will still be here.