A great pedal for sure, but more capability and a bigger footprint than I am looking for.
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Ok Hive Mind: Reverb questions
- Thread starter HolmeBass
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- reverb poll
Man, this thread is eye-opening. I was on the hunt for a reverb pedal recently and didn't find much information about something that could offer a subtle reverb to bass and sound good w/o getting muddy. This thread essentially confirms that there is no consensus on what pedal would be good for that.
I did go with a SA Collider for a few reasons.
1. It had delay also.
2. One came up on Craigslist for a good price.
3. It has the ability to tailor the EQ a bit so it won't get muddy.
I'm still not happy with this pedal, but the shortcomings are with the user and his patience more than the pedal's ability to deliver good sounds.
I did go with a SA Collider for a few reasons.
1. It had delay also.
2. One came up on Craigslist for a good price.
3. It has the ability to tailor the EQ a bit so it won't get muddy.
I'm still not happy with this pedal, but the shortcomings are with the user and his patience more than the pedal's ability to deliver good sounds.
I’ve been using slapback for a long time; I am looking for true reverb.
I Never really wanted "reverb" when playing,but I do use a Phase for ambience.in fact my Aphex Big bottom is quite the opposite! I refer to it as a reverse Reverb as it sounds like it pushes my sound Forward not back!
I’ve tried many reverbs over the years with bass. My vote is for the Iron Ether Nimbus. Hands down best IMO. Highly recommended.
I’ve since found a touch of additional sustain from some compression supplemented by a some ambience obtained by a touch of harmonic tremolo set for minimal depth mixed with the dry signal (or maybe the merest hint of slapback from a decent quality delay if you’re not running a wet/dry signal path) works much better. This arrangement is easier to control and gets that extra sustain and ambience you mostly want reverb for without introducing any of the usual downsides or mud. And if you want some of that reverb “bounce” a slight slapback echo gets it for you much better IMO.
When it comes to bass effects my rule of thumb - purely based on my own experiments with my gear and playing style (so YMMV) - is to try:
I’ve since found a touch of additional sustain from some compression supplemented by a some ambience obtained by a touch of harmonic tremolo set for minimal depth mixed with the dry signal (or maybe the merest hint of slapback from a decent quality delay if you’re not running a wet/dry signal path) works much better. This arrangement is easier to control and gets that extra sustain and ambience you mostly want reverb for without introducing any of the usual downsides or mud. And if you want some of that reverb “bounce” a slight slapback echo gets it for you much better IMO.
When it comes to bass effects my rule of thumb - purely based on my own experiments with my gear and playing style (so YMMV) - is to try:
- Compression before resorting to delay - and go delay rather than reverb
- Phasing rather than flanging
- Tremolo rather than vibrato
- Vibrato rather than chorus
- Have only as much in your signal chain as is necessary to get the sound you’re after.
- Don’t be afraid to experiment and mix effects in nonstandard combinations and positions.
- If using effects, go with a wet/dry signal path whenever possible. Or if that’s not possible use a parallel effects blend pedal or a mixer and sum a clean and wet signal before going to your amp.
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Getting some great replies, thanks everyone!
I will discuss Source Audio’s offerings, the Collider and the newer Ventris. These feel like the Strymon pedals and the H9 to me - just over-powered, over-sized, and over-priced for what I am looking for. Plus I do want to have something that is as tweakable as it can be while sitting on my pedal board.
Not to take anything away from SA, but I just find it very difficult to dial in pedals with an outboard programming interface, at least for my current projects. My band mates just don’t care enough about my effect tones to allow the time and effort required to run a particular section while I tweak. If I can just move some knobs I might get one go-back to see how it works with everyone playing, so instant tweakability and small size are constraints I am currently committed to.
I will discuss Source Audio’s offerings, the Collider and the newer Ventris. These feel like the Strymon pedals and the H9 to me - just over-powered, over-sized, and over-priced for what I am looking for. Plus I do want to have something that is as tweakable as it can be while sitting on my pedal board.
Not to take anything away from SA, but I just find it very difficult to dial in pedals with an outboard programming interface, at least for my current projects. My band mates just don’t care enough about my effect tones to allow the time and effort required to run a particular section while I tweak. If I can just move some knobs I might get one go-back to see how it works with everyone playing, so instant tweakability and small size are constraints I am currently committed to.
I have been using an MXR Script Phase 90 and I love it, except for the slight drop in average volume. In looking for replacements the size limitations on my Metro 20 have really hit home.
So I am thinking of moving up to a PT JR, or Novo 18. That will give me more space.
Enough space to add my new EQD Grand Orbiter, my Subterranea, and a reverb pedal. And so here we are!
Exactly this. I bet the Collider will be great when I dial it in. I like the addition of delay to it as well as being able to save presets. However, if I can't get the presets dialed in in a reasonable fashion then they are useless too.
The Nimbus is looking a lot better now. The fact that they don't come up used often and sell on Reverb for close to the new price is probably telling of how good it is.
I am interested in how vital you feel the HPF and LPF are in dialing the pedal in.
I am guessing the HPF, to clear the bottom end up, is pretty crucial?
But flexible and useful do you find the LPF at “darkening” the verb? Do you use that control much? Thanks.
I am a huge IE fan and I’d say the Nimbus is in the #2 spot behind the Neunaber Wet.
Neat discussion. My fav on bass is definitely the Holy Grail reverb. I've yet to find anything that sounds so lush and natural. Though my preference is a fairly subtle reverb, not something that's hugely out front of noticeable, so I don't use a lot of the more over the top and wilder settings on my Grail.
I really like my Nimbus for what it is. The HPF is very useful. The LPF less critical since I use a very light touch with effects most times. So taming crazy highs is seldom an issue for me.
I think it’s essential in a bass modulation or time-based effect or signal chain employing those to split the signal and remove some lows first. I didn’t mention filtering because I assumed anybody seriously using bass effects was already up on the benefits of a HPF and using one.
If you go up in the thread, I have another post about my approach to selecting bass effects which I offer for consideration. Can’t speak for anyone other than myself, but I found it a good starting point anytime I put a signal chain together. Something I do regularly since I don’t have a permanent pedalboard. I just plug an effects chain together when and if I need or want one.
I’ve had a nice pedalboard for few years now. But I’ve yet to load it with anything. It’s still in the box it came in. Maybe someday…
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These reasons are why I second guess my Ventris purchase and still want to buy myself an IE Nimbus when I get a chance.
Doesn't change how amazing the pedal is but it also taught me I don't really like having to plug into a computer to tweak my pedals. I did it a couple of times last year when I first bought the pedal and have not plugged it in since... The pedal sounds great though which is why I still recommend it to people. Even just last night was discovering awesome new sounds from the pedal.
But yeah computer editing is not for everybody.
Can I change my vote to Nimbus?
I think you may have added a lot of detail after I first read your post. Maybe I missed it - but something would have had to distract me.
I do not split clean and wet. Many of my effects have a blend or even better, separate clean and FX volumes.
I have not found delay, set as a slapback for ambience, to be very successful for me. The subtlety of the effect seems to vary significantly with the soundstage - solo it’s a little too much, with quiet or moderate band volume it works really well, but at louder volumes I can’t hear the effect except as mud detracting from the bass tone.
Maybe reverb will be the same. But so far the only reverbs I have access to are of the “cavernous” variety so I am looking to try some more constrained styles with shorter max echo times/decay times.
I have to say I cannot see how compression will achieve what I am looking for from delay or reverb, but I do have an always on comp now that I love, a Cali 76 CB.
Also the vast majority of effects I use I want to be extremely noticeable, not subtle at all. So for me the difference between a chorus, a flanger, and a phaser is definitely noticeable. They do not strike me as interchangeable. Same for chorus vs tremolo (or vibrato). I would set these effects such that one could not reasonably sub for the other.
In fact I don’t use modulation in my chorus. I have an IE Polytope and I just use the multi-voice detuning for my chorus needs. Lots of shimmer, minimal swirl.
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Meris Mercury 7 is on 50% of the time for me in 4 different settings.
I also have a Walrus R1 that sees a lot of use.
I don't like shimmers (or haven't found one that sounds good on bass), but the Walrus has a ton of nice textural blips and warbles and other things going on, and I really like the swells it can do.
The Mercury 7 just sounds GOOD.
It is easy to get a good sound out of, and also easy to get lost in the knobs if you dive in deeper.
However, you'll want a separate midi device or preset switch whereas the Walrus can switch presets on the pedal itself.
I also have a Walrus R1 that sees a lot of use.
I don't like shimmers (or haven't found one that sounds good on bass), but the Walrus has a ton of nice textural blips and warbles and other things going on, and I really like the swells it can do.
The Mercury 7 just sounds GOOD.
It is easy to get a good sound out of, and also easy to get lost in the knobs if you dive in deeper.
However, you'll want a separate midi device or preset switch whereas the Walrus can switch presets on the pedal itself.
My experience was that, while the Nimbus doesn’t have the range of reverbs other pedals have, it has precisely the reverb effect I wanted for use with bass. I also liked its ability to move the perceived distance of the reverb source in the sound field by varying the clean and reverb settings. That was a surprise psychoacoustic effect I hadn’t experience with any other verb pedal I ever tried or owned before.
And another big plus with the Nimbus was it’s simplicity IMO. No computer interface. etc. What you see is what you get. And each control has an immediately apparent effect on your sound. So it’s easy to get your head around and dial in good settings.
Much to like.
That's why there is its little sibling, the Strymon BlueSky, which gets my vote.
I've always liked reverb in my signal chain and I tried a lot of them. The BlueSky came into my house when I was in a pedal trading frenzy. I found one used for about a hundred bucks too cheap and snagged it up with every intention to sell it on more or less directly. Apart from my tuner, this is the oldest pedal on my board now.
I personally use it for just a touch of plate reverb as an always on feature - it's hard to spot exactly when on, but the sound grows a bit dull when you switch it off while playing. The 'favorite' function gives me a rich shimmery 'verb for picking chords and creating soundscapes.
I did. You didn’t and weren’t. I accidentally bumped the post button before I was finished.
There is that. I mostly play at lower volumes these days. Cranking at typical loud stage volumes I’d probably prefer to let the FOH handle my effect chain. But I’d probably just forgo effects entirely in that situation since there’s no hope of pursuing sonic subtlety at high volumes on any stage or in any venue I’d likely ever be performing in. So I’d just opt for a solid good sounding bass tone and call it a day. But that’s me.
It depends on what you’re using reverb for. Many players are just using reverb to increase note sustain or add some warmth or special sauce to the mix. In those cases, the right compressor can get that for you. I own a half dozen compressors for the different things each can bring to the party. (Compression is a real rabbit hole!)
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Reverb can be tricky on bass, less low end helps a lot but that doesn’t work for me lol I want ALL the low end. I pretty much only use it on fretless these days or when I want to get a synth vibe I’ll use it alongside fuzz.
I’ve owned too many reverb pedals lol EQD (IMO) has the most beautiful reverb voicings on the market and you likely won’t find a clone..
You have the best one! I sold mine and got the Avalanche which is the same unit in essence but with wayyy more control. I liked it on bass until I tried keys and guitar on it…. AMAZING.
On my F16 I am using a Zoom MS60B for my modulation, delay and reverb needs because I can save my settings of those for particular songs or needs and find the selection of effects to be useful and sufficient for live. I use a laptop with that board so it is easy to access all the effects I need. On my other live board I'm still using my trusted B2 or B2.1u. The sound design is pretty much set in stone for those songs. In the studio if better quality effects are needed I have access to them.
I am building a Synth ~ Electronica ~ Experimental board but with the exception of a Sushi Box Echosaurus I plan to use either an MS60B or MS70CDR for delays and Reverbs as I will also be using a laptop.
I am building a Synth ~ Electronica ~ Experimental board but with the exception of a Sushi Box Echosaurus I plan to use either an MS60B or MS70CDR for delays and Reverbs as I will also be using a laptop.
It is still pretty big compared to the Neunaber-sizes boxes, which are about MXR-sized.
But at the price you got the Blue Sky at it would be very hard to pass up.
