reverb pedals

The Meteoraā€™s upscale second outing has a lot more in common with its offset siblings than its sleek modern looks implyā€”and thatā€™s a wonderful thing.

Excellent array of tones, from heavy to bluesy, indie, and funky. Great playability.

Pricey. Knobs feel somewhat rough. On-the-fly contour adjustments take some getting used to.

$2,249

Fender American II Meteora
fender.com

4
4
5
3.5

When Fender debuted the Meteora body shape in 2018 (as the Parallel Universe Meteora), I was among those who immediately thought it looked like a pretty worthy addition to the companyā€™s venerated line of ā€œoffsetā€ guitars. Taken in hand, though, the guitar may have struck some as having a bit of an identity crisisā€”which may account for the changes we see in the third iteration, the new American Ultra II.

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EarthQuaker Devices Ledges Tri-Dimensional Reverberation Machine Demo | First Look

An expansive palette of room, hall, and plate sounds enables exploration of reverb tones from modest to monstrously huge.

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A maze of modulation and reverberations leads down many colorful tone vortices.

Deep clanging reverb tones. Unexpected reverb/modulation combinations.

Steep learning curve for a superficially simple pedal.

$209

SolidGoldFX Ether
solidgoldfx.com

4.5
4
4
4

A lot of cruel fates can befall a gig. But unless youā€™re a complete pedal addict or live in high-gain-only realms, doing a gig with just a reverb- and tremolo-equipped amp is not one of them. Usually a nice splash of reverb makes the lamest tone pretty okay. Add a little tremolo on top and you have to work to not be at least a little funky, surfy, or spacy. You see, reverb and modulation go together like beans and rice. That truth, it seems, extends even to maximalist expressions of that formulaā€”like the SolidGold FX Ether.

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