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Review: TC Electronic Nova Reverb
by John Bohlinger
The NR-1 cuts through the mud
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I've
always been a bit of a dinosaur with gear. I like primitive things that are
somewhat uncontrollable and tend to break, like tubes and springs. Outside of
the studio, I've never used anything other than spring reverb and could see no
reason why I should – it's the model that all ‘verbs try to duplicate...
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I've gotten to the point where I rarely use reverb and
when I do, it's usually in very small portions unless I'm copping some
weird surf guitar thing or old jazz. ‘Verb made my guitar get lost in a
rocking mix; instead of making the guitar bigger, it seemed undefined
and muddy. The NR-1 Nova Reverb forces me to rethink my ‘verb use
because of its new DynaMix feature. TC describes it as, “a dynamic
ducking effect that turns down the reverb while you’re playing and
turns it back up again when you’re not playing. This prevents the sound
from getting muddy – especially when using large hall reverb types –
but will still give you that huge live venue effect while the notes
decay."
The NR-1 Nova Reverb actually delivers on that promise and
the DynaMix alone is worth the price of admission. DynaMix works like a
tiny recording engineer living in your pedalboard, bringing a subtle
effect increase only when you want it. Best of all, you don't have to
do anything – just play and it happens.
The NR-1 has
most of the sounds you would find in a good studio plug-in, and they
actually sound pretty much like studio plug-ins, which is great. The
"Classic" setting worked best for my bag but I like to have many
options even if I will probably use them rarely. The pedal sounds great in
mono but best when bouncing between two amps.
Everything on the
NR-1 is well-labeled and easy to run. The manual gives you all the info
you need without a lot of geek talk to confuse you. Finally, the NR-1's strong
casing ensures no mechanical breakdowns on the road. It felt durable,
like it could take many kicks and a few spilled drinks.
The
NR-1 Nova Reverb is a great pedal. It seems silly to look to improve
upon something that works so well, but for the NR-2 I have a
suggestion. Space is always a concern in pedalboards, so it would be
great if this pedal was a bit smaller. The NR-1 is about
the same size as most of TC’s stuff, and it’s been my only major
concern about their great gear. Granted, a tube reverb is gigantic by
comparison, but mine tend to already be installed in my amp. Second,
I'd love to be able to run the NR-1 off of my 9V DC power like the rest
of my gear – I hate those big, clunky wall warts.
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you find yourself frustrated with muddy 'verbs
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you will never, under any circumstances, use reverb on your rig
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Comments, Rants and Raves
Wayne Alexander on 3/6/2008 4:34:00 PM
I've got one too, I share your annoyance with the power supply. I wish this ran off a 9V connection like everything else on my pedal board.
Matt Lamborn on 3/26/2008 10:10:00 AM
I used it on a gig last week and it did exactly what I'd hoped it would - that is, giving me a lush ambiance that used in conjunction with the Nova delay brought out a nice Knoffler-esque warm but stinging presence to my Carvin bolt and Suhr tele (modified with Lollar pickups). Both pedals fit in with the higher tech side of boutique. my friend has an Analogue Man delay which is nice but not nearly as versatile, and I feel the TC sounds equally good. I know this is supposed to be in reference to just the reverb, but as a pair they are unbeatable. While I agree about the wall wart thing, it is certainly not something that would spoil my night.
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