After the success of the DD-500 Delay pedal they put out late in 2015, Boss decided to ride the wave and issue two more similarily-shaped but vastly different effects machines, one of which we’ll take a look at today. The MD-500 focuses on modulation effects, and we have a review coming up for that one, but let’s check out the RV-500 right now, a mega-powerful reverb with more ambient options than you can shake a Fender at, and sounds that will fit perfectly into any live or studio project.
The RV-500 boasts a number of killer modern features, with studio-quality sound, first-class 32-bit AD/DA conversion, 32-bit floating point processing and a 96kHz sampling rate. Using twelve different modes containing 21 unique algorithms, you’re able to create vast sonic landscapes and huge tonal washes with little to no effort. You can also dial it back and get some wonderfully subtle but present overtones to beef up your dry signal just a hint, adding a bit of magic and sparkle into your sound.
The modes include Room, Hall, Plate, Spring, Shimmer, Fast Decay, Early Reflection, Non-Linear, SFX, Dual, SRV and Space Echo, each containing special algorithms to explore. There are a ton of parameters to adjust and shape here, too, like decay, density, modulation, EQ, ducking and more. Hook up your RV-500 to your computer and get ready for some great editing as well – the RV-500 Editor/Librarian is free software you can use to dial in exactly what sounds you’re looking for, and experiment with new ones along the way.
There’s also a number of option on the back of the unit, like external expression/footswitch control, MIDI I/O, USB connectivity and both Stereo Ins and Outs. The large LCD screen on the front makes changing patches on a dark stage a cinch, as well as letting you always know exactly what mode you’re in at any given moment. You can even select if you want the effect to run in buffered-bypass or true-bypass operation, for even more customization.
For the demo below, we just ran through some of the patches in the first few banks, but the RV-500 Reverb has a TON to offer, if you’re willing to sit down and figure it out. Once you do, new worlds will open up right before your eyes and ears, and send you on a journey from which you just might not return. In case you missed it, check out our review of the DD-500 Delay, and stay tuned for our demo of the MD-500 Modulation effect coming up real soon as well!
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