A little background on my journey to the Boss RV-5. When I transitioned from acoustic to electric for leading, I had no money. I was essentially being paid a stipend in a church-plant situation and gear purchasing was the last of my worries. To kick things off, I was using a mixture of borrowed gear and some pedals that were bequeathed to me by some generous guitarists. Needless to say the pedals were a mix of decent sounds and some, for the worship space anyway, really bad sounding pedals. One of the really bad pedals was a reverb. And I was desperately trying to find a way to upgrade to something usable. The cacophony of sounds coming from my fellow gear heads were advocating the great boutique reverbs I should get. My non-existent budget was saying something else entirely. So I pieced together a bit of less than stellar gear I had: a MIC Bullet Strat, the aforementioned abomination of a reverb, and a few other odds and ends, and went on a search to trade for a more affordable, but upgraded reverb. I was thinking about the RV-5.
I had originally encountered the RV-5 on a fellow worship leaders rig. He had paid to have his rehoused and moded so he could toggle between two settings, which is dead useful if you need to switch from an all-around reverb to something more robust to do ambient stuff or swells. So I figured the RV-5 would be good place for me to start. Boss is a respected name, and I liked the sounds available in the RV-5. Long story short, I was able to convert my “super-awesome” gear into an RV-5, because it is a pedal that can be found both new and used for very affordable prices. I was very surprised by the overall quality and usefulness for a pedal in this price range. No, it is not hand made, and no it is not boutique, but it is a Boss, a workhorse that sounds like it should sound.
The Sounds
On to the sound itself, I will say it is pretty stinking good. Have I heard better? Absolutely! But the reverb algorithms included mostly work as they should, only getting sloppy or harsh when pushed to the limits. Here are my thoughts on the various reverb algorithms included in the pedal:
- Modulate – This is a pretty cool sounding reverb. By adding a chorus or modulation effect to the trails, this sound can be combined with delay and a volume pedal to produce pretty effective swells. Again, not the best on the market (and to be honest the newer RV-6 has a shimmer setting that is much more effective).
- Gate – This sound is very short. The decay is quick enough that is it almost imperceptible. This is very good if you need to add depth to your sound but still want clarity.
- Room – Another really subtle reverb. Like playing in a small room. Not a lot of trail. Sounds decent, but not too noticeable if you have a lot going on. Better for acoustic by itself.
- Hall – The tone I was looking for! Very big and expansive sound. Like the name suggests it is like playing in a concert hall, with longer decay that is very melodic and will sit overtop your playing a bit longer without changing the tone.
- Plate – Here is another subtler reverb, but one I am not altogether in love with. Unlike the other tones that give the guitar some good sounding depth, this tone just sounds harsh to my ears. It could just be me, but it makes it sound like my guitar is way cheaper than it is.
- Spring – I like spring reverb for some stuff, none of which has been worship yet. But this spring reverb is pretty gnarly. It feels, unlike the better recreations above, to be very fake. The spring comes in awkwardly late with a tone that I am not sure I dig either. It is even more harsh than the Plate reverb. I was not a fan.
Overall this is a pretty good reverb pedal, especially for the price. It is a Boss so build quality and durability are going to be top of the line. I like the sounds overall, save for the Spring and Plate reverb settings. I would not recommend this for big ambient stuff, as there are way better options out there. But for an all-around often-on reverb this is a great and affordable option. It is subtle enough when it needs to be, sounds great, and has enough options to stand on its own if you push it. However, the pedal shines when it is subtle, which is also prefect for the acoustic guitar, where other reverb pedals would be overkill.