How To Use Reverb on Guitar | What EVERYONE Should Know

Learning how to use reverb on guitar can be a daunting task, there are so many different kinds of reverb sounds out there, and even knowing where to put the reverb in your signal chain can confuse some players. In today's video Ill show you how I use my reverb pedals, and what I think about when Im dialing in my reverb tones.
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[@Paulio91184]

Reverb is by far my favorite effect. No matter how subtle it is it still makes a difference. You may not even be able to tell when it's on but you can always tell when it's off 😁

[@Paulio91184]

@@incognito4354 Not sure. I don't own nor have I ever played a Katana. from what I understand they're pretty awesome so I would assume it has a decent reverb. There's so many amazing reverb pedals out there now I'm sure you'll find something to suit your needs

[@tiagogrcia]

Rhet should do a solo album with these intros omg

[@martmakesmusic]

Right?!

[@rickettsaudiodesign]

Seriously, that was a sick intro

[@internalmethods]

I'll 4th that one!!! Best idea for videos. It hooks you right away.

[@jeffmarchant4312]

Give him time he's got a plateful...

[@fredstevens799]

@@jeffmarchant4312 I see what you did there...

[@amberwoodstudio]

I’ve heard so many guitar tones ruined with reverb. I love reverb. One trick I’ve learned is to bring it up till I can hear it then back it off a little

[@texasnewt]

Prudent approach.

[@ricardorodriguez5549]

Same goes for setting a chorus or flanger imo

[@BenCaffrey]

Also Saxophone players.

[@simon_patterson]

I barely used reverb for the first 15 years of my playing. I always knew something was missing but didn't want to admit it was reverb. Of course, it was reverb.

[@ndothager]

Dude that opening track sounds MASSIVE!!!

[@DavidDiMuzio]

I hadn’t thought about using a higher pre-delay to make a smaller room type reverb sound bigger (like a larger room than it is). Cool idea 💡

[@SeanAllocca]

I don't trust anyone who doesn't like reverb.

[@gregmize01]

OR WHO HAS THE LAST NAME OF A CITY

[@briansardinha5396]

@@EarthSouthside Great username

[@ghost79ish]

I had to practically beg the guitarist in an old band to just use a little bit of reverb on his completely dry, cranked fender super reverb. The attack of the pick felt like an icepick directly in the eardrum.

[@kyyowa129]

My reverb taste is very polarized. Either I have just enough for a bit of texture (or non at all) or I have it outrageously present. I used to find it unnecessary (a lot of the time I still do), but now I see value in it. Nothing beats natural reverb of a venue, but some occasional layers to the guitar do add something.

[@mackenlyparmelee5440]

Nor should you

[@johanneslauke]

These Intros dude, so haunting !! 👌🏼

[@MattyPanda]

Between Rhett and Benn Jordan, Atlanta guys just seem to be the best at making great nature B-roll with dope music.

[@jeffmarchant4312]

Practice Slowing down more and stop doing the continuous runs,...

[@mananchaturvedi6173]

that fucking intro dude, its insane

[@maggieo]

As I like to say about reveb in production and mixing- "It's the rug of effects; it really ties the room together, man."

[@wereallthinkingit9389]

And they peed on it

[@erikr968]

Finally someone who understands that to demo reverb, you need to use a lot of percussive tones and chords, and that the reverb level needs to be turned up a bit. I've seen so many reverb demos where you can barely hear the reverb, because of only playing sustained notes and/or using not enough reverb level. Great demo and descriptions!

[@markjones2349]

I've been playing for 23 years and I never knew that putting the reverb anywhere but the effects loop was a thing that anybody ever did. I love the sound you got putting the reverb into overdrive/distortion. So I will experiment for sure now. Very cool. I had no idea that was even a thing. I've been missing out.

[@BrooksShepherd]

I was one of those who avoided reverb because I didn’t understand the pre delay ... I got the concept but didn’t put the pieces together. Your vid was very helpful, thanks!

[@jeffmarchant4312]

One only has to listen...

[@GuyNarnarian]

When I got my first solid state amp in the 90s I used to play at home with the reverb basically dimed. After I started playing with people I realized you don’t need as much. Usually keep it around 2 or 3 on my Princeton Reverb which some would say is a lot of reverb. But I always have a little bit on. Really dig the UA pedal and the Capital records preset.

[@dr.gregoryweisswassernd7251]

Hall of Fame 2 at end of my signal chain into amp works great for me.

[@Steve_ATL]

Epic intro music. I’d listen to an album of that.

[@LeMans512]

This video exemplifies why I watch every one of your videos. 👍🏻👍🏻

[@matiasmetsavainio9674]

You should really make a video on your recording process (gear, plugins, track order...). Especially on these great intro tracks.

[@AdAstraOnYafro]

The example no. 2 that begins at 18:38, is not only the best tone of those two, but one of the best guitar tones I’ve ever heard.

[@calebtylershepherd21]

Every time I hear you do these incredible ethereal intros, I just think man you need to make a solo record like this! I know someone else also made that comment, but seriously I think you’d find massive success with it. Reverb is my favorite effect hands down. I stack reverbs on top each other, but like you said in an effective way. I love great guitar sounds soaked in Reverb when it’s done right, and isn’t too overwhelming.

[@longnailsareok]

Or a mini course with a song like this and a breakdown of each part with big sky/timeline parameter settings

[@fredianacci8283]

Dude, love the new studio, and digs!

[@joep5803]

Holy shit, Rhett. Amazing intro jam (and video).

[@hibernative]

You realize how vibe that Solus F1 is when you see it without warning in the intro. It catches your attention.

[@etlipo1]

Opening intro is FANTASTIC!

[@Icebergwallst]

Having been one of those guitar players that just turned on reverb and never gave any thought to the room space, where to place the reverb. This has been a very enlightening experience. Always learning something new, wish we had the Internet while I was growing up. If you wanted to learn new guitar tricks back in my day you had to steal them 😂

[@matcoffidis1135]

Man, that intro jam! Loved it! So cosmic....

[@CerealDust-nStuff]

A sound engineer once told me that when playing guitar in a gymnasium, you can actually turn up your reverb and cancel out the reverb in the gym creating less mud and wash out. I don’t know how that works or if that’s even true, but I certainly would like to know more about that.

[@OtherTheDave]

Not sure I buy that.

[@CerealDust-nStuff]

@@OtherTheDave - me either.... But....

[@OtherTheDave]

@@CerealDust-nStuff All I can think of is EQing your reverb to be kinda the inverse of the room’s natural reverb (like, super bright if the room sounds dark) so that the reverb at least sounds even.

[@CerealDust-nStuff]

@@OtherTheDave -I think you're on a something there and that's very helpful and a great idea! The person who told me this was one of the sound engineers at Colorado Sound when we were recording our first album. Colorado Sound is pretty legit establishment. I was in there after Eminem on our time recording slot. I didn't really think much of it at the time because I never played in any gymnasiums back then.

[@rcnewman51.]

Hall of fame reverb is a great pedal with many reverb options, super modular. Great video!

[@martyfleszar5950]

I have it and love it- so many great options on it

[@melexdy]

Had it but sold it for oceans eleven because of its spring reverb. Though I lost the dry signal option. I guess it all comes down to what you want from your pedals..

[@finctank]

Wow that opening jam was mind blowingly good Rhett

[@kevon217]

Sick intro. Loved hearing all the guitars and vibes.

[@boabglen]

That intro! Holy moly could be easy a Kings of Leon track or something. Epic

[@joelwhite2361]

Whoa. That intro was incredible.

[@svenjeschke5025]

Wow, Rhett, that intro is beautiful. :-O

[@spacelab2756]

Production quality improved!! Intro jam was smokin’

[@mastermachetier5594]

Man that tone at 1:37 just incredible!! Also love that your using a jazzmaster now !

[@maxscott8119]

These shots look amazing in the new studio!!! Amazing vid.

[@MarcoCirillo]

Great video man 🤟🏻🎸

[@robertwynkoop7112]

Marco you have a great channel too!

[@whippledakota806]

I can't tell you how much I love your videos and how inspiring they are to me.

[@spacemissing]

Another superb entry, Rhett!

[@altbouch]

Excellent lesson Rhett. YOU are the Tonemaster of KZbin Guitar Vloggers.

[@bripslag]

I've been playing guitar for over 50 years, and didn't really understand the purpose for predelay until now. Thanks, Rhett!

[@gbass7328]

Hitsville USA house #2 attic, the reverb we all heard on every Motown hit.

[@glenkepic3208]

Great opening. Fortunate to grow up on the Cali coast (pacifica) and the Surf craze. Now, like Mark says 'Just a little reverb'. gotta have that bounce.

[@mrtnbrwn]

new studio setup looks great! great video

[@lenny8983]

that intro song is kicking asses man! great video as always :)

[@liamouziel211]

Nothing better than some clean reverb sounds😍 I got the 63 fender vintage reverb by boss last year and I LOVE it

[@LiamNashMiller]

My Big Sky is coming in on Monday. This is video is very helpful. I love plate and spring reverb.

[@bluestarorion]

PREDELAY! Thanks for this lesson, Mr. Shull!

[@Ghostflasher]

a new video by rhett feels like christmas in my childhood. I’m 40 though. Keep up your outstanding work!

[@carlthegnarl]

What a killer tune at the beginning!

[@jonjoe5833]

Appreciated. But I think dry is way under rated.

[@joemiller7541]

I absolutely love the Ambi-Verb on the Headrush Pedalboard. It really blew my mind. Capo on 5th fret and just doing arpeggios of chords. Very lush and ambient sounding. Love your vidoes by the way! Keep on rockin'!

[@dustinthiessen]

Hell of an intro track bud! Love me a good plate reverb 🤘🏼

[@AdAstraOnYafro]

Additionally on your last point, I was watching another recovering reverb addict, Tim Pierce, he rewards himself for hard work by adding a little extra reverb.

[@HofiAgilAghov]

First bid gig I played when I just bought my Strymon BigSky, years ago, I cranked the reverbs so high and in stereo, only to find out later in the recordings that I was completely lost and mud in the mix. We had a video crew shooting that show too and eventually couldn’t use most of that. Lesson learned.

[@JDStone20]

This video helped a ton! Picking while the string was muted really helped me isolated the reverb sound.

[@johnbrasher1495]

Now THAT'S how you start a video! Delay/echo can accomplish a lot of the same things as reverb.

[@ddack809]

I am one of the people who doesn't use reverb because I didn't understand it. I can't wait to try it out now! Thank you!!

[@ieblack37]

Love the spring in my Princeton. The Keeley Caverns is a lot of fun and versatile.

[@hijmestoffels5171]

Thank you for explaining and demonstrating pre delay. I had a vague idea of what it does and now I know exactly.

[@michaela.friestbigmikesbas2508]

Great to see you utilizing the new space. Seems like you feel real comfortable in it. Congrats. Nice video too. Good hear someone talk practically about verb usage.

[@maxpeck4154]

I like the reverb in the front of the overdriven amp. Just my preference.

[@rjeremymartin]

Good video, Rhett. These are my favorite videos of yours - quick, but educational. You are on of the few YT’ers that seems to understand that 99% of your subs are amateurs.

[@andrewstevenson3807]

Reverb changes with the times! Years ago most of my mixes had ample amounts of verb. Then it became very dry for a good while. Now I’m back to healthy dollops of reverb on all sorts of instruments!

[@kerryreedus333]

Finally, after erronously thinking that Echo/Delay was what I needed, then too many pedals later..... I have found my Reverb ~ and it starts with Hall leading up to this glorious Shimmer. Many Thanks, got my Boss R6 today and you, Sir, are playing this very informative video -on a Loop. (Have a Loop Recorder too .... just waiting....🎵

[@SingleCoilVoodoo]

Fantastic video! It has my mental wheels turning

[@Frostylyxxx]

Very educational video for me. Always just used reverb for light ambience.

[@ColemanBales]

Wow man, intro song absolutely blew me away

[@ag6478]

This is a fantastic explanation. Great sounding gear too!

[@sinenkaari5477]

For me that reverb going through the distortion sounded epic

[@FabrizioCalderara76]

I literally love the reverb, it is the first effect that I have discovered when I started playing guitar ❤️

[@alecstone7503]

I literally just traded a Digitech Drop for a Keeley Caverns and then you released this. Timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

[@unacuentadeyoutube13]

That mini solo (just some phrases together but really well used) remind me of Pink Floyd's time, and since you've said that solo was once of the most important for your musical development, I have no doubt you've been unconciously inspired by it in this intro

[@johncox2552]

That opening track had some fire in it!!!! Way cool.

[@void0094]

There is so much cool stuff you can do with reverb.

[@teleoneil7214]

Thanks for all the sensible comparisons Rhett! You've done a fantastic job of comparing all the different ways of placing the Reverb in the right & wrong place in the chain, & what to expect from the Reverb when doing so. By the way. The sound quality you've achieved in this Video demonstration is excellent. You've surrounded yourself with first class gear & you have learned to use it extremely well. Considering this is being transmitted Via KZbin, I find it very refreshing! Too-Shay Rhett!

[@mileswatkinson8135]

I've noticed some nice differences in color between using reverb either before or after a drive pedal, pedal reverb on one side or amp reverb on the other. Brett's demonstration of pre and post reverb explains a lot about why those approaches sound so different.

[@RipVDub]

Good stuff Rhett. For a long time, I ran a 100w Marshall dry with a boost and some delay. I graduated to plate and and never left. In the end, it depends on what you're trying to achieve. Always appreciated.

[@waynetykocki3964]

Your hearing & musicality amaze me, the only other person I can immediately think 🤔 of with such an ear for music is your old friend Rick B always just enough & not to much I’ve just began to realise some time’s less is more, thanks to listening to you guys. Thanks 🙏 so much

[@thisdyingsoul76]

I love a good reverb, but one place I seldom use it is in my distorted rhythm tones. Especially when the dirt is fairly saturated. The sound is much tighter without it. Occasionally, I'll use a very small delay on a doubled guitar track that is mixed lower than the dry track.

[@damnfreakingsien]

Yup same, reverb can muddy up the distortion sound. Otherwise, it adds a nice sparkle to most sounds 👍🏻

[@dominicktabaretti5651]

New studio is AWESOME man...

[@basilandrigsby]

Great video and congrats on the new space!

[@ChrisM541]

Thanks Rhett, fantastic advice here.

[@StevenAlwine]

Rhett: "When not to use your reverb..." Worship guitarist: no.

[@jeffmarchant4312]

They do that a lot don't they???

[@JacobH93]

As a worship guitarist, I definitely thought that! 😂😂

[@DMSProduktions]

WHAT do 'worship' guitarists know? Hail Mary!

[@randygomez9595]

And they'll use reverb effects in addition to playing a very echoy sanctuary 🤣

[@viktortulbya2107]

Lol true

[@CO-254]

Opening tune was freaking amazing!!! Great video!!!

[@spyderlogan4992]

Bought and sold 1/2 dozen of all the usual Reverb pedals, settled on the Strymon Flint: 60's/70's/80's; Decay, Color, Mix. Effects Loop. Done, finished.

[@SergeiVlassov]

I may add advice to use a lo-cut (hi-pass) on a reverb when using plugins - further helps to keep notes clearer and avoid muddiness on low freqencies.

[@581937]

Thanks Rhett, I learned a lot from that video.

[@samsantanamusic]

The intro alone deserved a like. 👍🏻

[@ianguitar7532]

Very informative video. I made the mistake of playing with no reverb for a long time.

[@daviddisharoon]

That opening jam! 🤯🤘🏻🤘🏻

[@alanagottalottasay997]

love being able to stack reverb plugins and seeing what combos with hammer ons and palm muting etc can add rhythmically...can give new ideas/perspectives on how things can be played or improved...

[@buddacreem6877]

I don’t have tons of pedals (can’t afford em) but I do have a reverb. I have the Earthquaker Devices Ghost Echo.

[@bazzboy6739]

I use way too much reverb but it’s my style 🎸. Thanks Rhett.

[@roncorral7903]

My first reverb amp was 1964 Super Reverb. Gorgeous reverb. I was stuck on the blackface Fender sound for years but then got into very old smaller tube amps....like Bogen military PA's. At one point early 1990's I had a Premiere external reverb. Less intense than blackface spring. It crapped out and I never got it fix. Always had a Boss RV-3 but never could find a nice sound. After various amps with spring...deluxe re-issue, silverface super reverb, a handful of blues juniors....I gave up on amps with built-in reverb. Ive had great success with a Digitech DIGIVERB through small amps....reverb on dirty tone. These are harder to find but the spring reverb setting as well as the plate and church settings are sweet. The keys is to run the level not to high, 9 o'clock position is great. I know there are a million reverb pedal. I got a RV-6 and found it to change tone too much. YMMV.

[@becknader2337]

Thanks for sharing Rhett. Very good

[@bryanp8010]

I run two verbs. One mild, always on, spring and one that does everything. Reverb with overdrive gets muddy quickly so a mild amp reverb is excellent

[@lucaguerrinimusic]

that new studio is 🔥

[@mpactdesignmedia]

HO-LEE HELL that is one sweet ASS vibe, tone and tune at the first of this vid! WOW! Absolutely love this channel! Cheers!!

[@jamesparr6840]

Very instructive. Thank you Rhett

[@LegionDe75]

Golly... that intro clip was amazing!