Delay or Reverb?

[Jimi75]

Hi friends,

As my new amph will not be equipped with reverb, I wonder which pedal I could buy. How are the Digitech digital reverbs, do they colour the sound? Do you think it makes sense to buy a delay instead of a reverb? I heard some demos of tc electronic delays and it seems as if you can tweak them in such a way that you have a good echoe that substitutes the need for a reverb.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

I don't have direct experience, but in asking my instructor who is a good player and really picky about sound, that is exactly what he does. He has the TC Electronics Nova unit and the MXR Analog Delay, and uses one as a substitute for reverb. He is picky about tone and sound and finds reverb a bit muddying at times. His sound is quite clean, and I would describe it as a strat based, fenderish style amph (Carr Rambler), sound ranging from bluegrass influences to cleaner versions of rock and blues depending on what he is doing. I only tell you this so you can have some background on where the opinion is coming from.

 

[Spudman]

I think stacking delays might be a good solution. The Ibanez DE7 is a real sleeper of a delay pedal. It sounds very organic, has several switchable modes and once you set it the way you want it you can then lock the knobs in place to retain that setting.

Then you might want a Digidelay or Boss DD5. Both have tap tempo. Stack the DE7 with one and you should be able to get everything you want and you wont spend an arm and a leg.

 

[Blaze]

One of these maybe or both...



Digitech HardWire RV-7 Stereo Reverb Pedal

Seven Lexicon reverbs in one pedal

Electro-Harmonix #1 Echo Three Knob Digital Delay

digital delay with analog tone

 

[markb]

You can sort of fake reverb with a delay but it's still a bit hard edged. Try an analogue delay (or an analogue voiced digital unit) and keep the effect level lowish. The Boss DD7 looks like an ideal unit for this, it models the DM2 analogue delay and a socket for a tap tempo function.

 

[Jimi75]

Thanks for the input folks! I think an analogue dealy is a good solution. I don't want it to coluour the sound of the guitar/amp, so this will be a though search. I will check your suggetions like Boss and Ibanez etc. I think it is hard to find a good reverb unit unless you spend a bunch of money.

 

[oldguy]

Jimi, for what it's worth.......
I use a Digitech Digidelay straight into the front of my Overtone amph, and it's quiet and transparent. However...I remember the Bonamassa video that was up recently, and he uses Boss delays.:AOK:
As for reverb pedals, I've only tried the Danelectro corned beef and the Behringer digital reverb, and wouldn't recommend either. The Dano has noticable noise, as does the Behringer, and they both color the sound to some degree, through the effects loop or straight in, makes no difference.
I realize some people use and like both these brands, and I use them for some depth on my amphs, but they do color the sound, and add some noise, at least in my rigs.

 

[Jimi75]

Jimi, for what it's worth.......
I use a Digitech Digidelay straight into the front of my Overtone amph, and it's quiet and transparent. However...I remember the Bonamassa video that was up recently, and he uses Boss delays.:AOK:
As for reverb pedals, I've only tried the Danelectro corned beef and the Behringer digital reverb, and wouldn't recommend either. The Dano has noticable noise, as does the Behringer, and they both color the sound to some degree, through the effects loop or straight in, makes no difference.
I realize some people use and like both these brands, and I use them for some depth on my amphs, but they do color the sound, and add some noise, at least in my rigs.

Thanks Glenn! I have checked a video of the Boss Delay and they are awesome!

 

[tunghaichuan]

Jimi,

I like my Boss RV-5 Reverb pedal. It has a nice lush sound and the one thing that I like about it is that I find it easy to get a good mix of the wet and dry signal. On some reverb FX, the wet reverb can overpower the dry signal and every setting sounds like your playing in the bottom of a canyon. The downside is they are kind of pricey, list is $160 or thereabouts.

I also have a Boss DD-3 Delay that I like, but I find it kind of sterile and hard to dial in a good delay sound. Probably not for you.

tung

 

[Algonquin]

Getting both would likely be the ideal solution, but maybe not the most affordable way at the moment.

I picked up a Digitech Digiverb last year on sale and I'm pretty happy with it.

 

[Robert]

Does your amp have an FX loop Jimi? If so, get a good unit like the Boss SE-70 or similar. Alesis makes some good ones too. I find that live, a delay works better than a reverb. Put delay or reverb in the fx loop for best results.

Reverb sounds nice at home, but it can make your guitar sound disappear in the band mix. My Lexicon LXP-1 that I got for 100 bucks on eBay will elegantly slay any kind of reverb pedal you bring over. It is so good you won't believe it. However, I find that a guitar amp doesn't need the best reverb around necessarily. Live, you won't be able to tell much difference anyway, so it might be moot point. If you enjoy playing at home with seriously good reverb however, a Lexicon LXP-1 would do you good!

My Boss DD-20 does a great job for delays, and it works great in the loop. The LXP-1 has delays too, but there are no presets to be stored. The unit is old.

 

[sumitomo]

That's good stuff to know Robert.I was thinking about so pedals for my jv and I thinking now its a OCD and maybe a carbon copy.Sumi

 

[Jimi75]

Does your amp have an FX loop Jimi?
However, I find that a guitar amp doesn't need the best reverb around necessarily. Live, you won't be able to tell much difference anyway, so it might be moot point.

Thanks for your input Robert! My new amph has no FX loop. You are right regarding the point that the amp does do not necessarily have to have the best reverb. But I do not want the pedal I buy to colour the sound. I think the Boss DDs and the MXR Carbon Copy are very good options.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Jimi, I posted good demo vids for the MXR and also that TC Electronics unit that show a variety of uses for each pedal, including a slap back to substitute for reverb, over in the TC Electronic, MXR Carbon Copy delay thread I have going. Just in case you are interested in watching. I think in the long run, I would love to stack a good digital and an analog delay. I hope that Santa brings the MXR Carbon Copy analog, and I will wait and see what digital, if any, I add later. I would like one with a tap tempo, and the Boss units, and the TC Electronics units look the most promising to me so far. But recall, I am just a researcher amateur player. You pros would know better what you really want. :beer:

 

[Robert]

The DD-20 is an amazing deal. It's got a lot of great delays and sounds in it. Extremely versatile. Maybe even overkill for a home player? I sure like mine though. Then again, I'm getting a multi-effect soon, so maybe I won't need my DD-20 once I get it.

 

[Andy]

I also believe delay is more , usefull for gigs.
reverb is supposed to mimic the sound of a large room /club.
If your playing a large room/club well there you go, unless your going direct to the board. thats the basic purpose atleast

 

[ZMAN]

+1 on the DD-20. I turn my reverb off on the amp and use the DD-20. If you use a very minimal time on the delay you get a really nice reverb.
Great unit for just over 200.

 

[hubberjub]

I personally use both. If you are looking for reverb I would check out the Electro Harmonix Holy Grail. It's supposed to be one of the best.

 

[Jimi75]

Jimi, I posted good demo vids for the MXR and also that TC Electronics unit that show a variety of uses for each pedal, including a slap back to substitute for reverb, over in the TC Electronic, MXR Carbon Copy delay thread I have going. Just in case you are interested in watching. I think in the long run, I would love to stack a good digital and an analog delay. I hope that Santa brings the MXR Carbon Copy analog, and I will wait and see what digital, if any, I add later. I would like one with a tap tempo, and the Boss units, and the TC Electronics units look the most promising to me so far. But recall, I am just a researcher amateur player. You pros would know better what you really want. :beer:

Thank you Steve! I will watch the videos straight away.