Reverb pedals are a great addition to acoustic guitars. They help musicians create and control tones, emulating sounds of concert halls, cathedral spaces, or small rooms. There is a range of acoustic guitar reverb pedals available today. Choosing one can be a daunting task.

The article aims to simplify the process of buying a reverb pedal. Avoid these five mistakes to find the best reverb pedal suited for your requirement.

1.     Not Understanding the Different Types of Reverbs Tones

The most common types of reverb tones are:

  • Hall
  • Spring
  • Room
  • Plate
  • Chamber
  • Ambiance

Room reverb is used to recreate the sound one typically hears in small rooms. On the other hand, Halls is a tone one would expect he hear in an acoustic environment like a concert hall. The tones are more extended, and they swell at the tail rather than at the beginning. Spring reverb is wherein a metallic spring’s vibration is picked up.

Today, acoustic guitar reverb pedals are capable of creating a variety of tones. If you are looking for specific tones or want the full range of reverbs, do the research beforehand.

2.     Buying an Oversized Reverb Pedal 

Do you have the space available for a large-sized reverb pedal? For example, Eventide Space reverb is a versatile reverb with an extensive array of features. Compared to other reverb pedals, products like Eventide Space’s body are big and would be a more suitable option for professionals than beginners.

Look for the size of the pedal and if space could be a constraint during your performance.

3.     Investing in a Complex Reverb 

As mentioned above, you can create different reverb tones with a single pedal. Depending on this feature, there are several knobs and buttons to deal with. As a beginner, you could go for a pedal like Fender Tre-verb. It is an ideal tool for musicians who play a wide range of genres, has an independent and defined Tremolo, compact in size, and easy to use.

Acoustic reverbs like Boss RV-6, on the other hand, provide advanced features, sound control, and quality, but it is not a beginner-friendly pedal.

4.     Not Checking the Power Requirement 

Reverb pedals come with different power requirements. Some pedals have batteries, and some require a specific voltage to work. You need to verify if the pedal works on AC voltage or DC voltage. Depending on the model, you might have to also invest in power adapters. 

Supplying the wrong polarity or high voltage supply could potentially destroy your pedal. 

5.     Going Overboard With the Budget

There are several budget-friendly options in the market today. You can find good-quality reverb pedals under $100. Especially if you are a beginner, it’s recommended you do not go overboard and invest in a premium quality professional pedal. Understand how pedals work, gain experience and eventually move to professional-grade pedals.

Understand and prioritize your requirement before you shop for acoustic guitar reverb pedals. What tones are you looking for, do you have any space constraints, how much you are willing to pay for reverb, and can you handle a sophisticated reverb? Answering these questions will help you choose the best reverb pedal.

One of the most beautiful experiences in life is to learn an instrument. It’s fun and exciting. If you are interested to learn guitar and are on a quest to find the best one then there are a few things which you must pay attention to as well. If you want to purchase a new guitar, then it is vital to be familiar with the guitar parts to make the best choice.

A lot of first-time buyers are reluctant to spend a lot of money on the first instrument thinking that will they be able to learn and continue or not. This is one of the reasons for a large market of inexpensive instruments. To meet this demand, a lot of suppliers offer cheap guitars and for an inexperienced learner, child or parent this is not a good situation as you may end up purchasing a guitar which is not very playable and hence many individuals give up in frustration thinking that they are not able to learn the instrument. Therefore, it’s vital to know your guitar.

Let’s first understand the parts of a guitar neck. It includes headstock, frets, fretboard, tuners, and truss rod. The narrow section of guitar that has strings which you need to press down while playing a note or chord is known as the guitar neck.

Neck joint: The place where the body to the neck connects is knowns a neck joint. Some guitars do not have guitar neck screws to hold the neck joint in place. However, some guitars have the neck screws. This depends on how the guitar is constructed. For some guitars, it is required and for some, it is not. Some professionals do use neck screws even if it is constructed well.

Fingerboard or fretboard: Just under the strings you will find the fretboard that is marked and shaped so the strings can be pressed at proper points to get the required sound. These fingerboards are made up of many materials, but the most common ones are maple and rosewood.

Frets: On the fingerboard, you will notice some raised bits of wires and these run from top to bottom. They help the strings to be shortened when they are pressed down behind the frets. You don’t have to worry about finding the notes as these frets make it easier to find the notes.

Headstock: You will find a headstock at the end of the strings where the strings end. It is home to the bits so you can easily tune the guitar which is known as the tuning pegs or tuners.

Tuners: These bits are twisted to tune the guitar. Tightening and loosening the strings helps to make changes to the pitch of the guitar strings. You can do this with the guitar tuner buttons.

Body: The body of the guitar is the big curvy part which needs to rest against your body when you play the instrument. You strum the guitar strings on the body which is hollow and has a hole in between. It is known as the soundhole.

Soundhole: Soundhole amplifies the noise of the guitar strings when you strum. The soundhole is like a speaker of the guitar and it is found only on acoustic guitars and not on electric guitars.

Bridge: The bridge is useful for supporting the guitar strings as they travel over the body. It works like a component that helps in transferring the string vibrations to the body so the acoustic guitar can amplify them. That’s how the guitar sounds good. On most of the electric guitars, the bridge height can be adjusted which changes the distance between fingerboard and strings which is also called the playing action.

Nut:

The place where the headstock joins the neck, strings run through a piece of wood, plastic and sometimes other materials. It is known as the nut. Thus, the nut helps to understand where the playable part of string ends.

Saddles: Just opposite the nut you will see the saddles which defines where the playable string ends. On the electric guitar every individual string has a saddle and therefore the string has to be adjusted individually. A saddle is a single piece of material which is quite similar to the nut. Many purchase guitar saddle screws to keep the saddle in place.

Tailpiece:

If the strings of the guitar are not anchored from both sides then it will flip around. Strings are secured on the tuners at the headstock. On an electric guitar with the help of the tailpiece that sits behind the bridge, strings are secured by running them through the body on a bridge.

Conclusion:

So, if you know these basic parts of the guitar then purchasing a new one will be easy. Knowing these parts and their functions will allow you to understand the functions and help you make a decent choice to pursue learning the guitar properly.