The Boss RV-5 is a digital reverb pedal. It has 1/4 inch inputs and outputs and is not rackable as it is a stomp box. It has ten different types of reverbs and four parameters to control them. It has a wide variety of reverb sounds and easy to use overall. UTILIZATION The setup of this pedal is extremely easy, as is getting a good sound out of it. It has five knobs total - one for to choose the type of reverb, one for tone, one for time, one for decay, and one of mix. These controls are basic and manipulating it is quite easy. Some of the types of reverbs include hall, chamber, gate, spring, and plate. I don't have a manual for this pedal, but have never had a use to look into getting one. SOUND QUALITY The sound quality of the effects on this pedal are top notch. I have only used this with guitar - usually a Schecter Ultra III and a '76 Fender Twin Reverb. With this set up I am able to get some great reverbs from this pedal. Being that it has ten different types of reverbs, the pedal has the capability of getting a number of different types of reverb sounds. My favorite reverbs on this pedal are the plate and the chamber effects. This is a high quality pedal with a number of very usable reverb sounds. OVERALL OPINION I've been using the RV-5 for two years. I have found it to be an above average reverb pedal because of the overall sound quality and its ability to get a vast number of different types of reverbs. It is hard for me to choose between both pedals, as I think both are great options. The Verbzilla has great tone quality and it won't break the bank. It has a sleek design and its versatility makes it a great all purpose reverb pedal.
The BOSS FRV1 is a more recent offering from the company that uses COSM amp modeling to try and recreate the iconic clean and semi gritty tones of the famed Fender Deluxe Reverb '65 amplifier. This pedal not only claims to alter the tonal structure of your sound, but it also contains within it reverb and vibrato effects too in one closer step to the original amp. It's housed in a fairly standard BOSS chassis and has controls for gain/volume, EQ adjustment, and reverb/vibrato. It's able to run off of a battery or an adaptor like nearly all modern BOSS pedals in this format. UTILIZATION Setting this pedal up for good tones is pretty simple. The interface is easy to understand and navigate, and I had no issues with dialing in sounds. It's a surprising little pedal for sure. Though it'll never replace a genuine DRRI combo, it does a good job at some killer Fenderesque cleans or as a mild booster to push an overdriven amp even further. I particularly liked using it to augment the tone coming from my amplifier for a totally separate tonal colour that I could add to my palate. SOUND QUALITY Where this pedal is meant to sound like the Deluxe Reverb, it does best at taking a standard clean sound and transforming it into a quasi Fender. It has a nice natural compression that is surprising and the way the gain breaks up is fairly convincing. I particularly liked using it with a Strat for some classic funk, blues or surf textures. It goes from fairly clean to mild gain type tones which is a definite plus for versatility. The onboard reverb and vibrato sound fairly good for being emulations, and they are certainly a nice pair of extra features that bring the pedal a step closer to tonal truth. OVERALL OPINION All in all I think the BOSS FRV1 is a cool little pedal that has some classic blackface type tones on hand for not a lot of cash or space. At about $150 new these pedals are reasonably priced and have the unmistakable BOSS look at feel backing them all the way. If you want a decent "Fender in a box" you really cannot go wrong with this pedal. Definitely worth a second look for sure!
