EPIC REVERB SHOOTOUT // My Favorite Pedals (Eventide, Empress, Strymon, Hologram, Chase Bliss, DBA)

[@murrrr8288]

This video was probably the most important reason why I bought Rooms. And I haven't regretted it for a second.

[@OoraMusic]

thanks, glad it was helpful

[@ukura]

Me too. Rooms was my first ever reverb pedal. Ive since sold it due to noise issues but have another on order, here I am a year later going in circles. Hows your experience with rooms, noise floor or head room etc.

[@murrrr8288]

@@ukura I'm synth player so I don't have problems with noise :) But Rooms and Mercury7 are my absolutely favourite pedals! I even use rooms sometimes as a preamp if I'm singing with a mic.

[@delatronics]

As an ex Roland senior engineer since 1988; I have worked with many manufacturers. Sound quality and stereo separation is a must. A lot of these reverb units seemed to have a remote effect and almost sounded mono in the centre stage. IMHO I was very impressed with Empress and Eventide with respect to sound quality and sound stage. I am going with the eventide as it can also do chorus modulation and delay! It has proper MIDI in, out and thru, great spring and it's built like a tank.

[@OoraMusic]

thanks for sharing , really interesting hearing from a former technician!

[@edwinkimmusic]

The empress sounds so good.

[@Jason75913]

I am most impressed with the sounds from the Eventide Space and Empress Reverb.

[@OoraMusic]

both great ones

[@LoVeAmBiEnT]

The chase bliss verb is great to mix with a stereo verb. Both work really well together

[@Karl_Hogarth]

Wow that first algorithm on Death By Audios Room, so wide, beautiful. Thanks for putting this comparison together.

[@OoraMusic]

Love that too!

[@MichaelVictory]

This is exactly the kind of demo I need to evaluate these units. Thanks.

[@OoraMusic]

Thanks!!

[@artysanmobile]

Excellent collection. I remember my first listen to the Empress just flooring me. It’s good to see that hasn’t changed after all the years. It can be hard to find a really fine sounding near field reverb. The Empress seems to have this as a feature. Very useful for a vocal chamber. Rooms would be fantastic in my guitar rig.

[@anothamatt]

Let's all agree.... they're all great.

[@OoraMusic]

Amen!

[@themisterno]

Eventide Space is so amazing... using it since 2011 (!!) and still being amazed everyday, it’s an incredible instrument, not only an "effect" IMO :)

[@BXLrules]

Yes. It was my first reverb pedal and it's a keeper. I like to modulate it over midi which works great for me. The drums through the dark world sounded amazing by the way! Serious GAS territory...

[@AdamsBrew78]

How does the Eventide blackhole plugin compare to their Space pedal? Love sending my HW through that plugin on iOS.

[@BXLrules]

I don't use the plugin, so I cannot answer that. Generally I believe one could mimic anything using software... I prefer hardware because of the haptics, the value and the design.

[@Jason75913]

I love its sound, too, looking forward to eventually buying one.

[@aaronjaffe4931]

Rooms is such a creative device - like opening so many doors

[@patrickmckay6621]

wonderful beautiful sounds and playing from min 5 on ! Very nice for me as a guitarist to hear what you as a tweakmaster are creating with your keys

[@OoraMusic]

Many thanks!

[@varde6965]

Empress reverb blows my mind. Silky smooth reverb !

[@OoraMusic]

it is gorgeous yes

[@rivagesfm5018]

I just went on Reverb to see how pricey it is. More than 500 euros I see. Well, it deserves it. EVERY sound he pulled out in this vid impressed me.

[@CloserApproximations]

Oh noooo so many great reverbs - I need them all!!! Great video 👍🏼

[@OoraMusic]

:)

[@matrixmodulator]

43:00 why one of the output cables is not fully in?

[@OoraMusic]

my bad, did not see it !

[@sandyturner1911]

Cool Demo! I have the microcosm, but I'm looking for a Reverb for my small Synth setup. The DBA Rooms, looks and sounds Fantastic! Thanks!

[@sebastianmoggia4800]

This is the kind of review that have good value 👏👏👏

[@OoraMusic]

thanks!

[@jonnyidle]

Great video, really helpful to compare the sounds, and your music sounds great. Recently bought strymon nightsky and its amazing as well

[@OoraMusic]

Glad it was helpful!

[@user-tf3jh8ew9q]

That was an Epic Review!! Thanks You!

[@OoraMusic]

My pleasure!

[@robinhood95320]

Was looking for a nice reverb and thanks to you I discover the DBA Rooms, it's so deep, definitly going for this one ! Thank you ! Also the melody you put on is really sweet sounding, would love to know how you made it...

[@OoraMusic]

I use the Octatrack and Vermona perfourmer for melodies!

[@MsAppassionata]

I’m purchasing a DBA Rooms tomorrow. Can’t wait to get it!

[@kickinballistics]

And now you use the CHASE BLISS AUDIO / MERIS AUTOMATONE: CXM 1978...which once you had coupled with the Vermona DRM MKIV I just fell 'head over heels' for. Expensive by comparison, but OH SO GOOD.

[@OoraMusic]

I didnt have it back then. The CXM is really great as a studio reverb!

[@cameronscottcairney8852]

Thank you for the demos. I think I’ll go for the empress. It’s got weird in it but can definitely provide a solid reverb to use in production.

[@OoraMusic]

is probably the most versatile with the space

[@OlivierSarfati]

Love the Death by Audio Rooms and the Chase Bliss Dark World. Have you tried the Audiothingies Doctor A? This is a must have ;) Thanks for showing these :)

[@OoraMusic]

never heard, will check it out

[@TeddehSpaghetti]

You should get a Night Sky too. It's super unique. But I got mine just before the Microcosm came out. I probably would have gone with the Microcosm instead, but Sweetwater doesn't carry Hologram products either. But the Night Sky has been a dream for glitching and modulating reverb, as well as huge reverb and a built-in arpeggiator that can be played using a MIDI controller, which I acknowledge starts to get out of the realm of an effects processor.

[@OoraMusic]

Yeah I need to get one i guess!

[@gyastly2737]

Microcosm > All I have to 2022 March batch and it beats any reverb I have/seen/heard hands down no dispute. Honorable mention to Slotva and Juliana by Walrus Audio.

[@OoraMusic]

Microcosm is a beautiful thing!

[@treesurgeon2441]

Isn't Juliana a chorus?

[@gyastly2737]

@@treesurgeon2441 idk. But doesn’t matter kid. Microcosm over all.

[@NunyaB1s]

The best thing about this particular demo, is that you cleanse the palate seamlessly between units, and then you dial in various sweet spots that all demonstrate a musical use that separates each unit from the other. It’s good I don’t have all these because I found at least one patch worthy for every unit. I couldn’t easily narrow down to more than a handful, and that would be too much for most genres. For a single long musical phrase like that you’re spoilt for choice!

[@OoraMusic]

Thanks for your kind words :D

[@jramosmusic]

I think I need more reverb pedals in my life. Awesome video and music.

[@OoraMusic]

more reverb ALWAYS

[@matrixmodulator]

4:23 what are theses smalll 1/4" silver plugs going from dark world out to strymon in?

[@LCRLive687]

There's something about the Eventide has a very wide and a clean 3-Dimensional high-def sound. Empress is #2 for me having similar clarity.

[@OoraMusic]

true!

[@frankschneider7190]

great job! very inspirational

[@devinbelangermusic]

This is perfect as I'm in the market to add a high quality reverb pedal to my synth rig! Rooms is the winner for me. My takeaways were: - Rooms: winner. This is the coolest and most unique one. I am leaning towards getting this for the quality, character and playability - Empress: this sounded the most realistic and the best on drums. However, I preferred the character of Rooms. Second place here. - Dark World: incredibly unique effect, but the mono output killed it for me - Blue Sky: sounds fine, but boring. I prefer the Big Sky for synths from Strymon's offerings - Microcosm: very cool effect and super unique vibe, but somehow the Ad/da conversion sounded worse than the others (?) as it sounded muffled and not very hi-fi. - Space: solid all-arounder but I think the empress outclasses it for a workhorse reverb

[@OoraMusic]

Thanks for sharing! I agree on most of the points, but also love to collect all of these cool pedals and find them useful for different task. Rooms definitely is a charming one!

[@devinbelangermusic]

@@OoraMusic totally! Each has its own magic, I can see why you collect. For my budget right now I just had to brutally narrow down to just one 😭 Ordered Rooms last night!

[@Dolle_Man]

@@devinbelangermusic I saw you're video "3 revebs, one winner" Second place it got, do you still use it?!

[@poolpartyfy]

Great video. Thank you so much for it. Same with delay pedals please. 🤓

[@ftlaud911]

Can see why you own them all. All different and unique. Been eying the Microcosm, but liked the Rooms, Space, and Empress as well.

[@OoraMusic]

yes these are my favorite ever. add also night sky to the team now!

[@johnslater154]

This was great thank you but why is the stereo out on the space slightly plugged in?? 😂😂😂

[@jonah_hosea]

sold my Empress and Big Sky. Now have a ROOMS and a Gamechanger Light. Might go back to empress or something multi in future but I mostly play at home for fun now.

[@OoraMusic]

Good choices!

[@doingittodeath3858]

I love my Empress, Dark World, and Microcosm. I’m just getting into the Specular Tempus now and it sounds great but the menu diving can get annoying.

[@OoraMusic]

heard lot of things about that one

[@HigherEnergy]

only reason I got rid of it was the strange switching between fx, menudive and no way to do a factory reset.

[@pepeivanez1632]

I just bought rooms and is huuuuuge, thank you for The recommendation!!!

[@Dolle_Man]

Gonna head straight away to your channel now

[@JoshuaChan]

Awesome shootout!

[@ZetaCarinae]

Fantastic and very helpful video, thank you!

[@OoraMusic]

thanks!

[@MeExpressing]

I agree with you every single one are awesome with their own flavor 👏🏽👍🏽

[@tendingtropic7778]

Thanks! I have OTO BAM and Empress Reverb. Want a third one. Which one of these would complement it best? (for synths)? thanks!

[@OoraMusic]

the Rooms!

[@bunen7135]

nice video and thanks for trowing in the Microcosm for a wider perspective. Now tell us about Strymon NightSky :D

[@OoraMusic]

Tried for few minutes, is gorgeous but I cant justify buying another pedal. If strymon want to send one for a test...... :)

[@bunen7135]

@@OoraMusic they should!

[@herschelvonrudiger]

Great video! Have you ever tried a GFI system reverb pedal?! Cheers!

[@OoraMusic]

Not yet!

[@benwallace560]

Great stuff again, cheers!

[@Paulo-ut1li]

Great review! I wonder what Empress Reverb can do that Zoia can't in term of reverbs.

[@OoraMusic]

I think it has few more algorhythm, but zoia ca definitaly do similar things ( and way more)

[@NunyaB1s]

Zoia gives you enough tools to literally build your own reverbs from scratch. It’s possibly the deepest effects unit I own.

[@Christopher_mason]

Thank you for this amazing video. I like to keep my gear minimal... if you could choose only one for aux send on a mixer (Digitakt, Sirin etc.) would it be Blue Sky or Rooms? P.s. I love your Instagram - it’s been really inspiring for me to create music without the computer 🙏🏼

[@fibiger12]

what a cool melodi you play

[@OoraMusic]

thanks!

[@michaelcraig9449]

What are some good ones, easy to use, that get good effects for all the reverb styles in one pedal. I want to get a good all around one, will get hall, spring, plate, shimmer, etc. I dont want one that I need to program, look at a lot of stuff on a screen, or any of that. Can you post up some good ones for all around use?

[@Dolle_Man]

Have you even done any of your'e own research? Seems like a newbie question to me

[@gebhardmeilinger8578]

I saw the first pic and knew all ! Cool

[@mondbird]

rooms is lovely

[@OoraMusic]

it is!

[@G0nz0uk]

Great video as usual. I have yet to choose an effects pedal. I love ambient music and want to get something that lots of different effects, I think the Microcosm does this, what else would you suggest?

[@OoraMusic]

Microcosm is a great choice, lot of versatility

[@dazisk5355]

hey, tanx for the detailed video ! Could you also consider to make a video about how to pick few MUST-HAVE effect pedals for beginners? 'cuz as you already know there are so many of them, and it is hard to pick 3 or 4 of them for beginners like myself. for example I thought that Monome Nors could be good choice, but for starters it expensive (900$ its almost ( I know that is not just effect pedal its way much more, but still ) ) Or a single IG post about this topic also could be nice too. Tanx

[@thesebastiankuntz]

Nice Video! I made a video with the BlueSky compared with the Empress Reverb myself. Love these pedals.

[@OoraMusic]

I'll check it out!

[@alexgordonepic]

eventide space is the og for a reason. :)

[@OoraMusic]

nothing to object !

[@fredericklyons4397]

That Empress sound is so lush…

[@OoraMusic]

Yeah it sounds massive

[@charlespancamo9771]

For the space Dual Verb would have been amazing as well as Fishhole.

[@Jimantronic]

Great demo, thank you. Did you try the GFI Specular Tempus?

[@OoraMusic]

Not yet! heard great things!

[@gregcabrera6461]

Have you ever tried an OTO BAM? How would you compare?

[@OoraMusic]

I used to have it, it was great. Wish i didnt sell.

[@ericpeters0n]

Such a great one. Unabashedly "digital" so it's less versatile, but really great sounding. (I have Big Sky, Eventide H9, OTO Bam)

[@Klocaine237]

Very clean and nice mahn

[@OoraMusic]

thanks!

[@atommachine]

What power supply are you driving these with? great review.

[@OoraMusic]

im using the Strymon zuma

[@tomnowak5610]

Wow, great video! 🤘

[@OoraMusic]

thanks

[@flob7753]

Thank you for this Great Video. Helps me so much finding „the One“ for me 🤙❤️

[@OoraMusic]

Happy to hear that!

[@tendingtropic7778]

no such thing as the one, thats the painful part haha (for your wallet)

[@Jamooshoe]

Wondering how the Vongon compares to these? I’m trying to decide between empress and Vongon currently - Thanks :)

[@jonah_hosea]

vongon is gonna be less versatile, but gorgeous. I have ROOMS now but I sold my Empress and sold Big Sky. I may go back to one of those in the future but I like exploring new pedals and the ROOMS is my newest.

[@OoraMusic]

vongon is a great end of chain reverb, but has not lot of flavors. If you have other verbs, id get one for sure.

[@jonson808]

Don't forget the awesome Boss RV-6, probably the best reverb for the money out there!

[@OoraMusic]

never tried one!

[@lefunghi6151]

Man I really want the Microcosm but its so hard to get in the EU.. and expensive too. 600€ including tax. Guess I'll settle for the Empress instead. Anywys, fantastic shootout, really helped me consider a more varied pedal pallette!

[@OoraMusic]

You will be happy with the empress too, great choice

[@tendingtropic7778]

The lofi setting on the empress kinda looks like the shallow water, but then stereo! or am I wrong?

[@OoraMusic]

yes, its not the same vibe tho

[@FuZZbaLLbee]

If you put a reverb on an instrument, do you add more reverb with the send and return?

[@OoraMusic]

the instruments usually go into the mixer dry and then i add fx with send and return!

[@sidtinsley6727]

Hey man great video! Not sure if you know, but the Empress Reverb firmware can be updated for even more beautiful algorithms! Awesome demonstration by the way

[@OoraMusic]

Thanks for the info!

[@johnnyraphaell]

Wow great reverb sounds- did you never had problems with the line level / impedance difference with these pedals? Thank you

[@OoraMusic]

While I always thought I would have problem, I never did. A couple of pedals are very temperamental tho: rooms and microcosm need to have the right gain staging.

[@johnnyraphaell]

@@OoraMusic ok thanks for your answer. Good to hear. Rooms seems to be a special one for textures.

[@johnnyraphaell]

Ive heard there is a problem with rooms with clipping when its used with stereo input. Im really wanting to complement with my digital monster nord lead 1, wich is a character instrument. I really love the gritty grizzly highs and want to reverb it with noisy dark halls.

[@chinmeysway]

@@johnnyraphaell hmm maybe a compressor pedal after the verb or two then play w parallel compression (mix knob 50% ish) to take the peaked volume areas down.

[@R1GAMBLER]

*SPACE* is still the G.O.A.T.

[@OoraMusic]

always on my desk!

[@albertwesker2050]

The jack for the Eventide Space isn’t in all the way :(

[@OoraMusic]

my bad!!

[@seoverus7805]

Hi Great Overview - Subbed. What about the Eventide H9 MAX? This comes with Fantastic Editor for Iphone/Pad/PC/MAC & is updated all the time 500+ EFX so far including the Space modules built in. I can get one locally for nearly same price (Mint) as Space so considering it seriously. My Fav is the Microcosm but need to sell house to buy it as even 2nd hand its still crazy price. Thanks !

[@OoraMusic]

Used to have the H(. Stellar effects but was not happy with the interface and the hands on control. Eventide algorhythms are amazing tho.

[@brianreilly6545]

Great vid, so much good info. How does Rooms handle line input levels? (Synths, eurorack, etc) Thx

[@OoraMusic]

Id say Rooms doesnt like strong signals, it distorts really fast, so I try to be careful with that.

[@newdensity7553]

@@OoraMusic Seems to be a consensus on the Rooms pedal to my current dismay.

[@SkyscanX1]

I love when you turn the Pre-delay knob at 10:35 on the blueskyyou get that swoosh/delay sound - almost like a choir sound. I tried to recreat on my bigsky but cannot do it. Maybe it's a parameter change I need to make or a difference from the Bigsky and Bluesky. Thanks for any advice!

[@miguelpanta]

what does it mean 'as send and return effect'?

[@OoraMusic]

Using a mixer, you usually have aux sends, check on KZbin, many interesting tutorial about that!

[@miguelpanta]

@@OoraMusic ok i got the concept, i just dont see how you would connect those pedals without being in the main signal chain. anyway, im new to this, so ill pick that up at some stage. if that would be of interest to you, you could make a video at some point about different setups for your signal chain. thx for your content, namaste🙏

[@michaelmadcat]

Anyone had a chance to use the Strymon BigSky? If so, I'm curious to know what you think.

[@OoraMusic]

Never had a chance sadly, asked many time Strymon for a demo unit but so far did not happen

[@ConnahJay]

I'd love to hear your picks for best sounding Tape Echo pedals, I bought the Rooms pedal because of this video... now I just need some tape echo!!!

[@OoraMusic]

I like the benidub echo the most, then empress ecosystem and strymon el capstan are great

[@yannickrolland630]

take a look at meet maude from fairfield

[@ShaighJosephson]

Surprised that you don't have a NightSky in this... I have most of these pedals and the Nightsky is by far the most useful...

[@OoraMusic]

Tried to get one demo unit to test but sadly did not happen. I'd love to demo a nightsky but cant have them all :D

[@SimonBelowpiano]

great video, thank you!! So in the end: What should I buy? The Empress or the Eventide?

[@OoraMusic]

hard to say: I have eventide always on my send return mixer chain, I use the empress for more creative uses. you can't go wrong anyway

[@SimonBelowpiano]

@@OoraMusic thanks guys, I bought some Empress machines & experimenting with the empress Echosystem & Reverb at the same time. It's lots of fun i can say! :D

[@SimonBelowpiano]

@@OoraMusic I should use Stereo, right? I never tried it, because my prophet 5 has a mono-out! You guys have a suggestion? I don't want to miss my lovely Prophet!

[@FuZZbaLLbee]

Do you use MIDI with your pedals that support it?

[@OoraMusic]

almost never, I prefer tweak with my hands!

[@FuZZbaLLbee]

@@OoraMusic do you use tap tempo for delay timing?

[@symbiat0]

Does the Zoia have the same reverb algorithms as the Empress Reverb? I got a Zoia but now I’m thinking I should have the Empress Reverb...

[@symbiat0]

@@OoraMusic I think Im beginning to think the same :-)

[@danielbertola7868]

Hey guys. I have the Zoia and the Reverb. The Zoia can make some amazing verb sounds but nothing I've concocted yet sounds close to the verbs on the Reverb unit. Plus you get a five separate track looper and cabinet simulation, not to mention the amazing expression capability. Definitely worth the money even if you have the Zoia already. The Zoia is a different animal.

[@symbiat0]

@@danielbertola7868 How do these compare to BigSky ?

[@ericpeters0n]

@@symbiat0 Zoia doesn't have all the Empress reverb algorithms, but is a much different tool. The BigSky has the Blue Sky algorithms, plus quite a number more. The Strymon reverbs have a particular 'sound' to them vs Empress, and you can find various comparisons online. Enjoy!

[@compucorder64]

Great shootout. For anyone looking for anything cheaper than these. The GFI Skylar is also a really beautiful sounding reverb. It's a small selection of the best reverb algos from the also great Specular Tempus. I think it's cheapest reverb pedal that still sounds great; and it's also compact and simple to use. EHX Oceans 12 is pretty good too, but GFI is better and only a little more expensive.

[@future3ful]

Where do I even start?

[@VEsound]

Hello, as a reverb lover like me you should try the Oto Bam... ❤

[@OoraMusic]

I had it and sold it and regretted it :(

[@chateautemp]

Does the stereo field lean left?

[@OoraMusic]

mmm not sure what you mean

[@silversulu]

GFI Specular Tempus.....gotta try that beast - different from all of these

[@OoraMusic]

heard about that one!

[@provence73]

that bass of the Vermona Perfourmer

[@OoraMusic]

yeeep!

[@chaosercan]

Maybe microcosm is not that good or you passed it quickly? Empress, Death and Dark World are impressive to my ears. Space sounds a bit like default syhnthesizer reverb but as an improved way. What do you think?

[@OoraMusic]

Microcosm is not really a reverb, so I just mentioned it. Rooms and space are my most used ones

[@VEsound]

It was clearly not a good demo of the Microcosm reverb with Activity & Repeats knobs at 100% + moving the Shape knob during the demo... If the idea was to hear the algos, even the Reverb knob should have been shut down. Anyway, the Microcosm reverb (accessible via the dedicated knob, not via algos) sounds really good to my ears and a few others (look at the other comments mentioning it). Space reverb.

[@theviolinoob]

the best is your lagosta tattoo

[@OoraMusic]

fun fact it was supposed to be a scorpion and it looks like a silly lobster

[@Robguitarjarvis]

You need a Chase Bliss 1978 CXM, only thing that’s close to the Eventide and Empress

[@OoraMusic]

I have one, did a demo too!

[@EarlyMist]

Wow, these sound even better than the Alesis Microverb. Or Reason RV7000.

[@OoraMusic]

thanks for watching

[@christippett73]

Good stuff!

[@OoraMusic]

Thanks!

[@Gigosula]

Wow Chase Bliss Audio Dark World

[@OoraMusic]

fun one

[@LimGiong]

Thanks.

[@OoraMusic]

You're welcome

[@MusicFed]

Ventris dual reverb missing! It’s amazing

[@OoraMusic]

I heard!

[@buschovski1]

It is. The Shimmer man, Omg. it is so beautiful. i adore my Ventris!!

[@Sonikbytes]

I'm was surprised by Rooms gets very Spacey with good stereo depth image. Microcosm has no stereo depth of field? maybe the way it was set up? I do have Big Sky and to fully know it is overwhelming. I cannot stop tweaking it ;)

[@Pha1don]

DBA Rooms eats the rest for breakfast!

[@OoraMusic]

I wish it has more gain tolerance, but is amazing yes

[@shckltnebay]

Just learned the Blue Sky doesnt have an expression jack what a bummer

[@OoraMusic]

maybe they added it on version 2?

[@shckltnebay]

@@OoraMusic They did exp/mine 1/4" jack but $400 pedal with one onboard preset unless you have a midi controller

[@grzzl]

so you sold the Night Sky?

[@OoraMusic]

I did not have it yet!

[@grzzl]

@@OoraMusic sure? :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z5jXe6KqgJyfmac

[@smalltown4855]

Metal peanuts and a rabbits clog, wrapped in a monsters bonnet, Gifted to the King of the gong people.

[@OoraMusic]

Love this!

[@buschovski1]

Dude that rules. Whatever you said there...i like it

[@SocialGore]

how u doin a reverb shootout with no BigSky

[@OoraMusic]

bc I don't own one :)