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Fireguy8402 « Modulated Reverb and many others. »
Published on 12/23/11 at 07:51The Boss RV-5 is a stereo Reverb pedal from Boss. This next pedal in the RV series does away with the delay settings found on the discontinued RV-3 model, and that’s a shame. This reverb has a four knob design. The pedal has an Effect Level knob that adjusts the amount of reverb that is mixed with the dry tone, a Tone knob that allows the reverb to be brighter or duller, a Time knob that adjusts the length and amount of reverb, and a six way Mode knob that adjusts between the pedal modes. Spring, plate, hall, and room modes are all standard reverb models that are available and then Boss throws in a couple specialty verbs for us, modulate and gated. The first of it’s kind, modulated reverb, detunes the reverb for added spatial effect. The gated reverb was taken from high end Roland gear and applies a gate to the reverb sound. The pedal can be powered by 9 volt batter or external AC adapter. Dimensions of the pedal are Boss’s typical 2.4" x 5.1" x 2.9" and it weighs about a pound. This pedal has stereo inputs and outputs.
UTILIZATION
Boss is known to be a quality company when it comes to the durability of their pedals. The RV-5 can take a beating and provide studio quality reverb that used to be available only in rack mount gear. It is a very reliable pedal and I’ve never heard any complaints in the build of the pedal or quality control. . The housing and jacks are metal and will deal with life on the road. This pedal is great for guitar and can be used in a mono fashion with one amplifier or in a full on stereo approach using two amps. Boss also added stereo inputs so this could be used after other stereo effects in your signal path, or with keyboards and syths.
SOUND QUALITY
With this pedal Boss really does pack studio quality reverb into a small, sturdy, gig-able pedal. Hall and plate are probably the most convincing to my ears, but spring is pretty close to an onboard spring tank and room, though subtle, is usable as well. I use amp reverb, so I only use this pedal for airy effects, but it works well. I believe Boss is the first to put the modulated reverb sound into a pedal, and that’s why a lot of people go with this pedal. It’s a very neat effect and is something all on it’s own. The gated reverb has never been of a use to me, I don’t like how it chops off at the end of the trail, though it works as it should.
OVERALL OPINION
Overall the Boss RV-5 is a really great reverb pedal that captures a lot of tones that could only be obtained from rack mount units in studios years ago. It’s reliable and sturdy, so it beats worrying about a vintage reverb tank and the maintenance and added noise if you ask me. There are several different reverb effects available via the mode knob, so surely there is something in there that can be dialed in to work with any genre of music you play from short and barely there, to drenched lush soundscapes.
UTILIZATION
Boss is known to be a quality company when it comes to the durability of their pedals. The RV-5 can take a beating and provide studio quality reverb that used to be available only in rack mount gear. It is a very reliable pedal and I’ve never heard any complaints in the build of the pedal or quality control. . The housing and jacks are metal and will deal with life on the road. This pedal is great for guitar and can be used in a mono fashion with one amplifier or in a full on stereo approach using two amps. Boss also added stereo inputs so this could be used after other stereo effects in your signal path, or with keyboards and syths.
SOUND QUALITY
With this pedal Boss really does pack studio quality reverb into a small, sturdy, gig-able pedal. Hall and plate are probably the most convincing to my ears, but spring is pretty close to an onboard spring tank and room, though subtle, is usable as well. I use amp reverb, so I only use this pedal for airy effects, but it works well. I believe Boss is the first to put the modulated reverb sound into a pedal, and that’s why a lot of people go with this pedal. It’s a very neat effect and is something all on it’s own. The gated reverb has never been of a use to me, I don’t like how it chops off at the end of the trail, though it works as it should.
OVERALL OPINION
Overall the Boss RV-5 is a really great reverb pedal that captures a lot of tones that could only be obtained from rack mount units in studios years ago. It’s reliable and sturdy, so it beats worrying about a vintage reverb tank and the maintenance and added noise if you ask me. There are several different reverb effects available via the mode knob, so surely there is something in there that can be dialed in to work with any genre of music you play from short and barely there, to drenched lush soundscapes.