Empress’ new reverb: “Reverb!”

At our recent Toronto Stompbox Exhibit we had the chance to check out Canadian manufacturer Empress‘ new reverb pedal (shipping on May 31st!) appropriately called “Reverb.” Here’s the full Empress pedalboard displayed at the Canadian event.

Like its line predecessor SuperDelay, this effect seems to insert itself (both in size and concept) somewhere  between a regular “few knobs” stompbox and the more complicated but flexible reverb units with display manufactured by companies like Eventide and Strymon: like these, the effect comes with a fair amount of knobs which open up a lot of options, but unlike them it has a smaller footprint (5.7″ by 3.75″) and no display.

Empress stresses the fact that all the pedal’s controls are always in front of the player and readily accessible, and that the lack of a display allows for faster learning curve and more intuitive control. But this doesn’t mean the Empress Reverb doesn’t give you a ton of options, here’s a quick list of some of its main features:

• 24 algorithms, with the option to add more via an SD Card.
• 7 knobs (two of which controlling mode-specific parameters),
• Up to 35 presets,
• Tap function,
• Switchable true/buffer bypass,
• Expression pedal control input assignable to more than one parameter
• Control voltage and MIDI compatibility
• Cabinet Simulator
• Stereo Output

Check out the demo of the Hall mode below – you can find videos of other modes here.