Updated by Bobby
Updated on April 19th, 2023
Added two new analog reverb pedals, the Surfy Bear Classic and Carl Martin HeadRoom. Awesome finds from Mike in the comments section.
When I set out to build this page, it was in my head that there were a lot of analog reverb pedals floating around.
To my surprise, there aren't.
I think I was associating the much wider scope of the analog delay pedal market with reverb, which shares in the ambient effects category. But I was only able to track down a handful, with several being a hybrid circuit, and one that only employed an analog dry signal which I did not include.
Read more: Analog delay pedal roundup
Reverb pedals - and ambient effects in general - are easier to customize and manipulate with digital algorithms.
That said, if you're looking for an analog reverb pedal, this simple list will show you your options.
If you know of one we missed or you see a mistake that needs fixed, feel free to let us know in the comments section below.
List of 9 Analog Reverb Pedals
All of the links in this list lead to Sweetwater and Reverb, which are retailers we partner with and use ourselves. If you buy through them, we might earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support.
- Danelectro Spring King Reverb
- Gamechanger Audio Light Pedal Optical Reverb (hybrid circuit)
- TC Electronic Fluorescence Shimmer Reverb
- Keeley DDR Drive Delay/Reverb (hybrid circuit)
- JHS Spring Tank Reverb (hybrid circuit)
- TC Electronic Drip Spring Reverb
- Crazy Tube Circuit White Whale Analog Spring Reverb
- Electro-Harmonix Super Space Drum Reverb (analog synthesis)
- Surfy Industries Surfy Bear Classic
- Carl Martin Headroom
Reader Submitted Inclusion
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You'll run into several different types of combination effects and configurations of analog circuits. We'll cover those in the paragraphs below, for those interested in reading more on this topic.
The JHS Spring Tank is a hybrid circuit with both analog and digital components.
Multi-Effects Pedals
One of the things you'll run into when looking for analog reverb pedals is (surprisingly) several multi-effects pedals. We didn't include these in the above list, just because we wanted to keep our focus narrow.
For reference - and for those interested - here are the analog multi-effects pedals that contain reverb:
Most of these include reverb, delay, and some form of gain or drive.
Reverb/Delay Combos
The other thing you'll see is pedals that are a reverb/delay combination with an analog circuit. We did include these because reverb and delay are in the same effect category (ambience) and thus similar in how they function. Plus, an analog reverb and delay pedal is more focused than an analog multi effects pedal.
What about analog dry signal?
The analog-dry pedal I mentioned earlier has a circuit, where the "wet" signal (the one that outputs the effected sound) is separated from the dry signal (the one coming just from your guitar).
An analog path for your dry signal is still technically a digital effect, but just preserves the original tone from your guitar with an analog signal path.
It's a slightly more thorough form of true bypass, which is great, but doesn't equate to a true analog reverb pedal.
Lack of Flexibility
I think the reason analog reverb pedals are not as widely popular is that it's difficult to add much functionality without a digital signal processor. When the signal is digitized it's far easier to add modes, algorithms, and tools for manipulating the sound.
Plus, brands have been making incredible strides in the quality and functionality of digital effects.
Strymon - particularly the Strymon BigSky reverb - has made some incredible reverb effects pedals that are entirely digital.
Better off with a digital reverb pedal?
There's nothing wrong with digital or analog reverb pedals. The trade off used to be that tone in analog pedals was a lot better, while digital pedals gave you more functionality.
But since tone in the digital algorithms has gotten so good, the digital pedals - particularly reverb - will often be able to give you the best of both worlds.
It's up to you, but if you're just looking for your best overall options, we've put together a best reverb pedal roundup without regard to circuit type.
Read more: Best reverb pedals
Conclusion
Check into the digital reverb pedals, or pull the trigger on one of the analog reverb pedals we have listed. You can get a good deal and a great sounding reverb either way.
If you have questions about our list, feel free to drop it in the comments section below.
Better yet, if you know of any analog reverb pedals we missed, let us know and we'll list it in the user-submitted section.
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Written by Bobby on Pedals and Roundups
Written by Bobby on Pedals and Roundups
Hi, have done a lot of research into the analog/analogue reverb world. Would suggest you consider adding two:
– SurfyBear Classic (or Compact)
– Carl Martin Headroom
Both are analog spring-driven reverb units, and have been on my list for a bit. Also courtesy of a vid I watched (https://youtu.be/DmTJmuWE-r8). Cheers!
Wow, nice finds! Added with a shout out at the top of the page. Thanks, Mike.
I am a little confused, I can see the danelectro being fully analog since it has an actual spring.
But in which way is the catalinbread burnout or the tc drip verb analog?? Don’t they employee some sort of digital effect meant to emulate a real spring to mix it with the dry signal of the guitar??
Thanks in advance for the answer!! 🙂
Hey, Rico – thanks for commenting. I think there may have been an analog version of the Catalin, but you’re right about the one listed. I’ll go ahead and remove it. The Drip is still listed on Sweetwater as analog, but I’ll try and double check with TC Electronic on this one.
both the tc electronics drip and the shimmer are not analog.
The only analog ones are the pedals that employ actual springs to get the effect, all the others use DSP (digital signal processing)
There were back in the 80s two reverb pedals that were fully analog and achieved that with the use of bucket brigade circuit, like analog delays do.
The two pedals were dodd fx 45 and arion srv-1.