The Steel Guitar Forum

Erv Niehaus wrote:Or you could just set your guitar up in a big restroom.
That's how they used to do it before electronics.

In an interview with Chet Atkins he once stated that the acoustics for his guitar in the grade school bathroom were "Great" and he said the studio acoustics in his adult life were "ok"

My Nano Holy Grail does it all!
Simple, small and pretty cheap as well!

Here's something that is reverb with delay.


Take a listen at the difference of these two time effects in this one pedal. You can use delay-reverb separate or together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1e9BESlEic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBTzKdmw8Do



I'm wanting to hear steel through this... dial down the delay even...ethereal..ambient

I have used the Boss SE-50 quite a bit over the years, find them to be a pretty good processor for pedal steel. I think some have also used the SE-70 version, but I have never had a chance to try one of those, but like most Boss [Roland] equipment, they are probably pretty good also.


I have 3 of them at this time, probably consider selling one for $60.00 if anyone would want one, I do have the manual that goes with them.

Ernie Pollock
301-264-4172

I highly recommend Fender tube amp Reverb, the stand alone Fender Tube Reverb unit, or the Boss Fender Reverb pedals. I have a choice of different Fender amps to choose from, depending on the power I'll need for the gig. If the stage is bouncy, the Boss pedals are the best, if it's sturdy, the spring reverbs are fine. A good friend down in East Texas gave me his old Fender Tube Reverb Unit that I love to play thru when stage space isn't cramped. Some folks like the Fender reverbs and some don't. I Do.

I'm with Bill on this - the outboard tube reverb by Fender not only has the best spring reverb sound, the preamp adds quite a bit to the overall tone of the rig.

Most combo amp spring reverbs (all Fender and most others) work only on the high frequencies. This may sound OK *if* that's where you want reverb, but in reality it creates a washed-out, muddied tone. I use several Fender tube amps with reverb but NEVER use the spring reverb - I use analog delay instead.

Analog delay covers the full frequency spectrum; two set to different repeats and depth sounds like reverb - but FAR better. Be aware that many of the reverb pedals on the market are designed to emulate combo spring reverb and are voiced for highs (and digital reverb generally sounds incredibly artificial).

The two best pedals I've found are the EH Holy Grail and the little Hotone "Verb". If you want real spring reverb outboard boxes like Fender that plug into the front of the amp (NOT in an effects loop - puts the preamp in the wrong place); the only combo spring reverbs that are full-frequency that I'm aware of are a few early Amps amps, most Magnatones and all Holland combos (the Holland Little Jimi essentially uses the Fender 3-tube reverb as the basis for the preamp).

I bought the holy grail reverb today and tried it out at home,,,I think I am going to like it...both the spring and the hall reverb sound is very good....like most, I dont see any use for the flerb. Thanks for this thread. I would never have looked into it before, but this weekend my analog delay pedal went out, so I figured it was time to try something else.

Jim Sliff wrote:I'm with Bill on this - the outboard tube reverb by Fender not only has the best spring reverb sound, the preamp adds quite a bit to the overall tone of the rig.

The Fulltone Tube Tape Echo does the same thing, and since there is a dry level control you can turn the effect of the preamp up and down as well, which can give either a boost or cut to the overall volume.

Have any of you guys tried sending the reverb circuit on a two channel Fender amp out to channel one for an extra gain stage and tone control? I've known about this for a while but only recently tried it. It's probably more useful for getting your reverb to sound more surfy than less but really fun to play with nonetheless.

Larry, if you like the chorusy sound of the mid-80s, I think the Flerb sounds better than the chorus.
Also, it adds a neat "fullness" if you are playing harmony parts with the fiddle or guitar.

Any unit with a reverb "pre-delay" control will greatly aid in dialing in a nice setting. It gives you control of your dry signal before the reverb interacts. It will fatten your tone and give a more realistic reverb sound. Most reverbs don't have this control and you're constantly searching for a way out of the "well" without sacrificing a longer reverb tail. You'll hear the note followed a split second later by the reverb.

Questions for the original poster:

Are you using this reverb on the front end of the amp, or in an effects loop?
What type of amp is it?

These answers could affect your choices.

Dennis Detweiler wrote:Any unit with a reverb "pre-delay" control will greatly aid in dialing in a nice setting. It gives you control of your dry signal before the reverb interacts. It will fatten your tone and give a more realistic reverb sound. Most reverbs don't have this control and you're constantly searching for a way out of the "well" without sacrificing a longer reverb tail. You'll hear the note followed a split second later by the reverb.

I'm with Dennis on this one, which is why I have settled on my Zoom MS70CDR. The "pre-delay" setting leaves the picked notes sounding clean and out front, not lost in the "well", and you still get a nice reverb tail.

The Strymon Flint is excellent. Two pedals in one. I have a sack of old Fender amps and even a separate external vintage Fender reverb unit. Sounds pretty darned close.

Plus you get two more reverb options and some really glorious tremolo/vibrato options, too.

It's pricey, but, to my ears, worth every penny. It's also super small with noiseless transparent footswitching and easy to see on/off LEDs. Controls make good sense and easy to manipulate. It has made every single amp (tube and SS) that I play through for standard, pedal steel and lap steel sound more musical without altering the basic sound and tone of the amp.

I'm currently using mine in the effects loop of my Quilter 201. I love the variety of sounds I can get. Also, very portable.

Just my .02.
LC

I love the combination of Neunaber's Stereo Wet Reverb with Strymon's El Capistan. These two pedals give you a lot of range to work with especially with the middle tone control on the Wet Reverb. I use just a touch of delay to the point where it just thickens the sound. It almost doesn't seem worth it until you turn off the delay and hear the difference it makes. Both of these pedals are also extremely quiet.

New on the market > > >

I love my Van Amps Sole Mate analog spring reverb. Here's a demo of one.
https://youtu.be/aDzRTd6pEhQ

The Tube Works reverb is hard to beat. I believe it has 12 springs and they can either be split into two channels or used in series for an outstanding effects.
These units bring big money when you can find them for sale. That is the unit I have in my rack system.

Some great suggestions on this thread but your original question mentioned the "Upper Registers", your not going to get a Fender Spring (tank) sound out of it but the organic tails of the TC Electronic Arena with the pre-delay enabled are mind blowing and especially ear pleasing in the upper registers. Also check out the TC Electronic T2 on setting IV, amazing! Features tone print technology so you can download presets from a huge library online or use the desktop editor to customize your own. Half the price of the Strymon Blue Sky. The Wampler is a sweet pedal too.

Gary Peaslee wrote:I love the combination of Neunaber's Stereo Wet Reverb with Strymon's El Capistan. These two pedals give you a lot of range to work with especially with the middle tone control on the Wet Reverb. I use just a touch of delay to the point where it just thickens the sound. It almost doesn't seem worth it until you turn off the delay and hear the difference it makes. Both of these pedals are also extremely quiet.

I'll bet that these two DO make a great combination! But, at $540 for the pair, they certainly ought to!!

Dennis Smith wrote:I love my Van Amps Sole Mate analog spring reverb.

It's surprising that so few steel players are hip to the Sole Mate. It's basically a solid-state version of the classic Fender 6G15 stand-alone reverb unit that features an integral MOD 3-spring reverb tank in a compact package. Anyone who likes the sound of the classic Fender spring reverb should love the Van Amps Sole Mate.

http://vanamps.com/products/sole-mate/

I've have a Boss RV3 and like it a lot, and it has stereo output. I recently bought the Neunauber Immerse and it sounds really great too. Along with different types of reverb it has two "shimmer" settings. I use the RV3 normally, and sometimes at the end chord or notes I'll hit the Immerse set on shimmer, and get a cool sounding, trailing synth-like sound. I'll also use it in the effects in-out on my recorder, adding it in the end mix. Pricy, but what isn't.

IMHO the Holy Grail is the best I've ever used. Several of the before mentioned ones, I've never tried. Have always loved the crisp & clean reverb's in the Fender tube amps.
The Holy Grail Nano resembles it very close. Plus you can dial in how much you need. Very reasonably priced for the product.

This is a reissue of the 1st reverb unit I ever used. This and a Fender bass amp made for a really good sound. I traded them both in for a Twin Reverb w/JBL speakers.
I pickup up this unit a little while back.

Hey Erv, since you seem to have about every gadget imaginable, do you have a Van Amps Sole Mate reverb pedal? Believe they're assembled in Norwood Young America, which is up in your neck of the woods. If so, how do you like it?

Jack,
That unit is a surprise to me.
Yes, Norwood/Young America is just down the road a piece from me.
I'll have to check into it.
Thank you for alerting me to the pedal.