GFI SYSTEM
SPECULAR
REVERB 2
REVIEW BY FLETCHER STEWART
STREET PRICE $239.00
THE BLOOM BOX
FROM BEYOND
In the realm of guitar, I love
sounds that are instantly
recognizable with a unique
character that can only
come from one source.
I personally have two
favorite characterful guitar
reverbs—neither of which
manage to mimic real-world
spaces, both of which sound
otherworldly. Having cut
my teeth as a surf guitarist
in my formative years, I still
have to pick my jaw up off
of the floor when I hear
the tube-driven splash of a
Fender Reverb Unit with the
Dwell control cranked. My
other favorite guitar reverb
that I have mentioned many
64
GEAR REVIEW
//
times before comes from
the 16-bit ‘80s—the mighty
Midiverb II. Though clunky
and outdated on paper
by today’s standards, the
Midiverb II sports the fabled
Bloom algorithms that were
painstakingly programed by
none other than MXR and
Alesis founder Keith Barr.
I have been searching for
a long time, but no pedal
I have tried can quite nail
the mystery and expanse of
those Bloom patches. . .
until now.
The Specular Reverb 2
has been on my hit-list for
some time after hearing
immersive stereo demos
from Mike Hermans, Brett
Kingman and others. So, I
GFI System Spectacular Reverb 2
simply had to get in touch
with GFI System designer
Henry Widjaja to get a unit
to review for myself. During
our email exchange, he
did confirm that both the
late-great Keith Barr and
Lexicon’s David Griesinger
had an influence on the
algorithms, but the SR2 has
a sound and design concept
all it’s own.
VARIATIONS ON A
DREAM-THEME
Starting with the Normal
reverb patched into the
effects loop of a Victory
Kraken, I wanted to see just
how much gain it would
take before a muddy mess
ensued. This sounds crazy,
but my criteria for a good