S1E14: Reverb vs. Delay - Which One to Buy First?

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In this episode, I want to help Hobby Musicians learn ways of making certain types of effect pedals mimic other types, in the never-ending pursuit of flexibility. As I’ll mention in the video, I’ve been in the situation many times where there would be a whole list of effects that I plan to buy, but my bank account would dictate that I will have to prioritize, perhaps buying a single pedal first, then waiting until I saved up a little more to buy another.
In that context, I will take a look at the realms of reverb and delay. Since these two “families” of guitar effects do share some fundamental characteristics, we’ll see how it’s possible to essentially make a delay pedal roughly mimic a reverb effect, allowing someone on a really tight budget to perhaps buy a delay pedal first, use it to cover both reverb and delay workloads for a while, then build their budgets back up to ultimately get the reverb pedal too.
Both of these effect types operate by imposing the “sound of a space” onto your guitar signal. If you’re in a large auditorium or cavern, it’s the time between when you make a sound and that sound travels out to the walls, bounces back, and gets to your ears that your brain interprets as something sounding “spacious”. When these effects are on the subtle end of things, we can broadly classify them as “reverb” but when they’re more pronounced, resulting in defined ‘echoes’ that sound like they repeat, we would classify them as “delay”. In either case, both are caused by essentially the same phenomenon, the interaction of your sound and the space you play it in. With that basic understanding, we can then cleverly set up the parameters of a delay pedal to be subtler, creating a reverb-like effect, while still retaining the ability to bring them back up and really punch out those echoes when we need them!
So, with that quick lesson in gear flexibility, I hope you enjoy this episode and, as always, until next time…play on my friends, play on!

Want to check out these pedals?? Here are some affiliate links:

Equipment I used to make this video:
Garage Band (audio recording):

Shotcut (video editing):

Line 6 Helix (for audio recording interface and amp/effect modeling):

iPhone (for video recording):

00:00 Intro
1:17 What this video is NOT...
1:37 What this video IS...
2:04 Basic Lesson on Reverb/Delay
4:01 Initial Sound Samples
6:01 Settings to Mimic the Effects...
7:58 Wrap Up

[TheHobbyMusician]

Want to check out these pedals?? Here are some affiliate links:

[mtflieutenant]

You talk and explain so calmly and smoothly, also the video is so informative. I'm a new subscriber now.

[viviansilvacunha]

This video was soooo helpful! Thank you sm! I just got my first electric guitar yesterday and was wondering which pedal to get first. The explanations and the demonstration helped me so much! Definitely subscribed!

[odairsilva]

This guy has passion for what he does. This video is a clinic. Superb job king :)

[keittven]

This guy could be teacher . So clearly and easily way to understand. Thanks for explaining:)

[apokswitch]

Such a great video! Thank you for this. I have the unfortunate condition of being a gear head musician (who has only recently decided to rebuild my guitar stuff I sold when I switched to keyboards and EDM for a while) who happens to be broke right now.

[jadelyel]

cool I was trying to decide this. I almost ordered a reverb but yeah I think delay will be much more fun to experiment with and I can add the reverb pedal later, thanks! Im thinking about the mxr carbon copy or that tc pedal.

[SarodeAtish]

Very helpful video. Very simple and clear explanation. Good job.

[evanjohnson]

Love your perspective and coverage on the topic. Delay it is!
Thank you!

[SantiagoGT]

Very helpful bro! Keep up the good work!

[jimmy]

It all depends on your needs.
I use a reverb a lot more than my delay.
Mostly the delay I use is for a “Slapback” effect for my Tele.
Reverb gives a nice sweet “fullness” for playing rhythm and for arpeggios and fills.

[Gary-zqpz]

I could be a warning to those wanting to play...it started with a few instruments and one little amp. Now, I'm several thousand dollars into a music hobby(2 keyboards 12 guitars three bases seven amps, and 54 effects devices of all kinds. It's hurt my bank account, but I guess it's cheaper than drugs(in the long run). Be careful starting this hobby, cause it can get out of hand real quick.

[jaibruce]

I bought Boss RV-6. You got both reverb( in different spaces) & delay(w/ +delay mode); Shimmer, Dynamic, and Modulate (like Chorus + reverb) are bonuses. Nice tutorial by the way. Play on man. Cheers!

[WetRadioYouTube]

Really really helpful...keep going bro🤘🏻

[ferdaniel]

Excellent Video, congratulations. Best reggards from Argentina

[michaelmorales]

The exact video I was looking for. Nice lol

[alexandervue]

Dude you're so helpful and awesome. I'm getting into pedals for the first time, this video should be required to be watched by beginners

[angusorvid]

I've rarely use delay, in fact, don't even own a delay pedal these days, just reverb; and I use it sparingly. Whenever I gig I leave it up to the soundman as to how much reverb I should use, if at all, and walk around the venue with my wireless to get a sense of things. You have to trust the in-house soundmen because they know their venues and their system.

[ahmettalha]

I usually prefer reverb.Because it feels more natural and soft.

[jbeeyes]

Thank you, im now building my small pedal board. I have a tuner, overdrive and bought a delay after watching your vid. I have a question though, some people say that you can use a distortion pedal as a pre amp or boost, is it true? since im planning to buy a distortion too. Thanks in advance