Many very good reverb pedals exist , although only a few have garnered the sort of acclaim which places them in the pantheon of the greats . The designers at Boss must be quite ambitious , because the company ’ s new RV-500 Reverb attempts to outdo the competition not only in terms of sound quality , but also in terms of sheer tweakability .
Boss has definitely upped the ante , because the RV- 500 features 32-bit , 96kHz AD / DA converters . Just in case anyone has forgotten , the bit-depth of the RV-500 is twice that of a compact disc . The end result is a digital signal which more closely resembles the original analog signal . I would venture to say that the difference is so slight that under most circumstances , the human ear cannot distinguish it .
Although the RV-500 is initially somewhat overwhelming , with a bit of experimentation and reading I was able to create some really , really cool sounds . I don ’ t know if the RV-500 is the most feature-laden reverb on the planet . I do know , however , that it is one of
the most fun pedals I ’ ve played with in quite some time .
The RV-500 features 12 reverb modes , all of which were of a high quality . Included are standard spring , plate , and room reverbs , in addition to more specialized settings such as gated reverb and a faithful reproduction of Roland ’ s Space Echo . The RV-500 even features a special Dual mode which allows for two simultaneous reverb effects .
To some people ’ s minds , however , 12 might not seem like a large number ,
GEAR SPOTLIGHT
BOSS
RV-500 REVERB
REVIEW BY DAVID A . EVANS STREET PRICE $ 349.99
Many very good reverb pedals exist , although only a few have garnered the sort of acclaim which places them in the pantheon of the greats . The designers at Boss must be quite ambitious , because the company ’ s new RV-500 Reverb attempts to outdo the competition not only in terms of sound quality , but also in terms of sheer tweakability .
Boss has definitely upped the ante , because the RV- 500 features 32-bit , 96kHz AD / DA converters . Just in case anyone has forgotten , the bit-depth of the RV-500 is twice that of a compact disc . The end result is a digital signal which more closely resembles the original analog signal . I would venture to say that the difference is so slight that under most circumstances , the human ear cannot distinguish it .
Although the RV-500 is initially somewhat overwhelming , with a bit of experimentation and reading I was able to create some really , really cool sounds . I don ’ t know if the RV-500 is the most feature-laden reverb on the planet . I do know , however , that it is one of
the most fun pedals I ’ ve played with in quite some time .
The RV-500 features 12 reverb modes , all of which were of a high quality . Included are standard spring , plate , and room reverbs , in addition to more specialized settings such as gated reverb and a faithful reproduction of Roland ’ s Space Echo . The RV-500 even features a special Dual mode which allows for two simultaneous reverb effects .
To some people ’ s minds , however , 12 might not seem like a large number ,
46 GEAR SPOTLIGHT // Boss RV-500 Reverb