The TC Electronics Hall of Fame is a compact and convenient digital reverb pedal. With ten separate modes along with TC Electronics’ TonePrint options, the Hall of Fame is one of the most versatile reverb pedals in its price range. The pedal’s deceivingly simple design conceals just how adaptable it truly is. Through the Decay (sets the duration of the reverb), FX Level (controls the intensity of the effect) and Tone (determines how dominant the sound is), the Hall of Fame allows for a wide array of customization options. On top of these controls, it contains a Pre-Delay toggle switch which allows you to select either a short or long pre-delay. Whether you’re looking for the sound of a massive, cavernous hall or just trying to add a subtle ambience your guitar sound, this pedal can get the job done well, supplying some great sounding reverbs.
Reverb Types
Spring: This mode does a fantastic job of emulating a vintage spring reverb tank; in fact, it’s one of the better sounding digital spring reverbs I’ve run across in any price range. With the Decay and FX Levels turned up, you will have no problem getting that wet surf guitar sound.
Hall: This type simulates an acoustic hall. This mode can add subtle ambience to your sound at lower levels, but offers beautiful, almost endless trails when the decay is turned all the way up. Great for space rock and shoegaze.
Plate: This mode does a magnificent job at simulating a bright, metallic plate sound. It’s another personal favorite of mine; its diffuse trails capture that vintage plate sound perfectly.
Room: The Room setting gives an understated touch of reverb, simulating a small, furnished room.
Church: Like a dirtier version of the Hall mode, the Church setting can provide the long trails present in a large, mostly empty room.
Mod: Without affecting the dry signal, this type adds modulation to the reverb, leaving you with a very lush and visible sound.
LoFi: The dirtiest of all of the reverbs on this pedal, this mode leaves a substantial physical imprint largely eschewing the sleek, smooth route for something truly different.
Tile: The Tile reverb simulates a small to medium sized tile room. Basically, this mode gives you the short reflections you’d get playing in a bathroom, without the hassle of actually setting up your gear in the bathroom.
Amb: The Ambience mode is another short reverb and the most subtle of all of the options on the pedal. It just gives enough to boost your guitar’s presence that extra little bit.
Gate: A reverb typically used for drums, this mode gives you drastically shortened trails preventing the reflections from muddying up your mix. It’s not typically used with guitar and will definitely give you a unique sound.
In my opinion, the Spring, Hall and Plate reverbs are the most impressive featured on the Hall of Fame. These classic sounds aren’t always easy to replicate properly with a digital pedal, but on the Hall of Fame they sound remarkably natural. With just a little bit of tweaking, you can likely meet most of your reverb needs with these alone. The other seven modes help to ensure that you have plenty of other options at your disposal. Although the differences between a few of these modes are pretty subtle, they really do help you fine tune a reverb sound that meets your specific needs.
As is the case with most recent TC pedals, the Hall of Fame has a TonePrint option allowing you upload different presets designed by TC or various pro guitarists. When using a TonePrint preset, all of the controls have been redefined by the artists. This unleashes a whole new set of possibilities. There are some pretty out there presets that expand the Hall of Fame’s power to an even greater degree. Luckily, even if you don’t feel like getting your hands dirty with all of the TonePrint options available, Hall of Fame’s controls are pretty straight forward and you are likely going to be able to get what you need out of the basic reverbs already on the pedal. Also worth noting, the pedal has both monophonic and stereo inputs and outputs which come in handy when using the pedal with synths or maintaining the stereo features of pedals in front it in your chain. Basically, if you’re looking for a compact digital reverb pedal, the Hall of Fame is without a doubt one of the best options out there.
