The Empress Effects Reverb is a multi-mode pedal stacked with tweakable features including some standard ones AND bizarre ones like “beer”, “sparkle”, and “ghost”. The combinations are nearly endless as there are four settings for the standard plate, room, hall, and spring reverb and then another 8 less conventional settings.
The pedal has three footswitches, which allow for bypass, tapping, and even scrolling through the settings. There are also a couple of odd settings among the seven dialable knobs, most notably the Thing 1 and Thing 2. These dials function as variable settings depending on the mode. So in some cases they might controls the decay, delay speed, or modulation depending on which mode the pedal is set to use.
I’m sure most people are curious about what the Beer setting does. It’s actually a glitch setting where the reverb tail is fed through a filter that randomly deviates between high pass and low pass.
Overall, this pedal looks like a highly diverse reverb that can do just about anything from traditional reverb to experimental psychedelic tones. The pedal is also MIDIcompatible and has a foot-controlled save function for quickly pulling up your most memorable custom settings.
We added it to our article about the Best Multi Reverb Pedals. – Ryan Dembinski
Empress Effects Reverb, Builder’s Notes
Realistic simulations of spaces, as well as never-before-heard surreal ambiances are represented with stunning sound quality. Sporting stereo ins and outs, a small footprint and all the controls at your finger-tips, it strikes the perfect balance of control and ease of use, avoiding laborious menus. Presets, the versatile control port, and MIDI open up a world of possibilities for live performances. Whether you’re looking for a classic spring, realistic room or new sonic flavors to expand your creativity, this pedal delivers. And….it’s got a beer mode!
Features
- 32 studio quality algorithms as of firmware 6.0 and counting – The pedal has 12 algorithm types, some include multiple variations. For example, vintage and studio plate, dark and bright springs. Also, as more algorithms get added you can update your pedal via the SD Card. It’s the pedal that keeps on giving.
- Pristine Classic Sounds – pristine sounding classic hall, plate, spring and room sounds that rival or surpass studio units costing many times more.
- Ambient Sounds – A complete palette of tweak-able ambient sounds that offer the creative player so much territory to explore and make their own.
- Easy to use and fast to dial in – All the algorithm controls are sitting on a knob in front of you, no fiddling through laborious menus.
- Tap Functions – many algorithms have infinite hold settings or the ability to tap in delay time.
- Low Noise signal path – Features a signal to noise ratio of >104dB and maintains an analog dry path.
- Up to 35 Presets – Settings can be saved to 35 presets. With three stomp switches, accessing the presets is easy.
- 2 Preset Modes – Bank style or scrolling style preset modes.
- True Bypass and Buffered Bypass – It can be configured to run with true bypass or buffered bypass if you want to hear trails.
- Cabinet Simulator – 3 variations to choose from, perfect for recording, practicing or for gigs without an amp.
- Output Transformer – Get hum-free operation when operating in stereo with two amps. Output 2 is isolated with a transformer to eliminate nasty ground loops.
- High Quality Audio – 48kHz sampling, with 24 bit conversion and 32 bit internal processing.
- Analog Dry Path – Dry signal is left untouched, and blended with the wet signal using VCA. (no zipper noise, hooray!)
- Unsurpassed Connectivity – The Universal Control Port allows you to connect an expression pedal, external tap switch, control voltage, external audio input and MIDI – all using a standard 1/4″ jack!
- Advanced Configuration Menu – The Advanced configuration menu lets you configure how your reverb works. Select from true or buffered bypass, 0-35 presets, MIDI configuration, Control port control(expression pedal, external tap, control voltage and MIDI) as well as which style of preset system to use, input signal pad, output transformer enable and more!
- Small Size – The enclosure measures approximately 5.7″ by 3.75″ by 1.75″, which is delightfully small when considering all the features packed into this unit.
