We got some nice pedals for you today, that will help you achieve those lush echoey delays with gloriously cavernous reverbs with the best delay-reverb pedals you can get for your money.
Quick answer:
EarthQuaker Devices Dispatch Master V3 if you’re looking for easy-to-use, affordability, and great-sound.
Strymon El Capistan dTape if you need a compact, versatile, unit with 3 great-sounding tape echo emulations.
Strymon NightSky if want something extremely user-friendly that has tons of great-sounding presets to choose from.
Get excited, because we have a few you’d definitely love!
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Table of Contents
- About Our Top Choices
- The Top 7 Best Delay-Reverb Pedals
- Delay-Reverb Pedals Reviews
- The Buying Guide
- FAQs
About Our Top Choices
EarthQuaker Devices Dispatch Master V3 Delay and Reverb Pedal
See price @ Amazon / @ Sweetwater
A great choice for someone who is looking for an easy-to-use, affordable, and great-sounding combo of delay and reverb.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Affordable
- Great-sounding
Cons
- Delay time is very sensitive, it’s hard to dial a slap-back delay
Strymon El Capistan dTape Echo Pedal
See price @ Amazon / @ Sweetwater
A great choice for someone who is looking for a compact, versatile, and great-sounding pedal which offers you 3 very accurate tape echo emulations.
Pros
- Very accurate emulation
- Great-sounding
- Compact form factor
- Versatile
Cons
- It’s a bit difficult to access secondary functions
Strymon NightSky Time-warped Reverberator Pedal
See price @ Amazon / @ Sweetwater
A great choice if you’re looking for an extremely user-friendly pedal that offers great-sounding reverbs and a diverse choice of presets.
Pros
- Great-sounding reverbs
- Diverse choice of presets
- User-friendly
Cons
- Not exactly budget-friendly
- Secondary functions are hard to come by
Top 7 Best Delay-Reverb Pedals
- EarthQuaker Devices Dispatch Master V3 Delay and Reverb Pedal
- Strymon El Capistan dTape Echo Pedal
- Strymon NightSky Time-warped Reverberator Pedal
- Analog Alien Rumble Seat Overdrive / Delay / Reverb Pedal
- Strymon Volante Magnetic Echo Machine Pedal
- Keeley 30ms Automatic Double Tracker Delay Pedal
- EarthQuaker Devices Ghost Echo V3 Reverb Pedal
Best Delay-Reverb Pedals Reviews
EarthQuaker Devices Dispatch Master V3 Delay and Reverb Pedal
Pros
- Easy to use
- Affordable
- Great-sounding
Cons
- Delay time is very sensitive, it’s hard to dial a slap-back delay
See price @ Amazon / @ Sweetwater
EarthQuaker Devices Dispatch Master V3 is the best buy for the price, as it offers you a chance to experience both delay and reverb in one box. You get it all, from a shimmering pool of echo to a subtle ambience.
Best features and specs
With this pedal you have up to 1.5 seconds of delay with almost infinite repeats and a reverb that is capable of producing anything from shimmers to the subtle ambience.
User impressions
Most of what users say they appreciate is really in the quality of this 2-in-1 device. Besides that, it’s very compact and easy to use.
What we think
Of course, we like having two things combined in one package. Especially when we talk about pedals and pedalboards. What’s more, if you don’t need both of them, you can use reverb and delay separately.
Bottomline
EarthQuaker Devices Dispatch Master V3 is a great choice for someone who is looking for an easy-to-use, affordable, and great-sounding combo of delay and reverb. Note that delay time is very sensitive, and you may experience some issues while trying to dial in a slap-back delay.
Strymon El Capistan dTape Echo Pedal
Pros
- Very accurate emulation
- Great-sounding
- Compact form factor
- Versatile
Cons
- It’s a bit difficult to access secondary functions
See price @ Amazon / @ Sweetwater
It’s definitely a no-brainer why Strymon El Capistan dTape Echo Pedal is a top choice for features. It offers you three tape machine styles echo, which are easily tweakable all the way you like it.
Best features and specs
dTape Echo has 3 tape machine styles Fixed, Single, and Multi, with their 3 operation modes. Also, you have a tape looper and spring reverb. You can easily shape the desirable effect using 5 accessible knobs and 10 parameter adjustments.
User impressions
Users like dTape Echo for its absolutely beautiful-sounding delay emulation, plus allowing for complete control over manipulating the pedal. This pedal is very user-friendly and easy to use as well.
What we think
What we like the most about the dTape Echo is that it emulates 3 classic tape machine technologies and 3 models for each machine type. We can’t choose our favorite one among others because we find all of them to our liking.
Bottomline
Strymon El Capistan dTape Echo Pedal is a great choice for someone who is looking for a compact, versatile, and great-sounding pedal which offers you 3 very accurate tape echo emulations. The only downside is that it might be difficult to access secondary functions.
Strymon NightSky Time-warped Reverberator Pedal
Pros
- Great-sounding reverbs
- Diverse choice of presets
- User-friendly
Cons
- Not exactly budget-friendly
- Secondary functions are hard to come by
See price @ Amazon / @ Sweetwater
It’s always a pleasure when you have a wide range of creative options when it comes to what you want to achieve with a pedal. So we consider the Strymon NightSky Time-warped Reverberator Pedal undoubtedly a top choice for versatility.
Best features and specs
The Time-warped Reverberator features 3 reverb engines, 2-octave harmonics generator, 6 modular waveforms, and synth-style filter and drive controls. Additionally, it has an 8-step sequencer with auto-advance, true bypass or analog buffered bypass, access to favorites and other 300 presets.
User impressions
Most users like that it has a variety of functions to choose from, giving you more options that you need, without compromising on offering a really high-quality sound you wouldn’t be shy of flexing, whether on the stage or in the studio. Users like that it’s easily tweakable and gives an almost infinite number of presets to choose from.
What we think
What we really like about the Time-warped Reverberator, again, is the potential for creativity that this unit can offer. The atmospheric reverbs are good as well. This pedal should definitely encourage you to explore your musical horizons and look for new tweak combinations.
Bottomline
Strymon NightSky Time-warped Reverberator Pedal is a great choice for someone who is looking for an extremely user-friendly pedal that offers great-sounding reverbs and a diverse choice of presets. Note that you might experience some issues while trying to access secondary functions, and this pedal might be a bit over your budget.
Analog Alien Rumble Seat Overdrive / Delay / Reverb Pedal
Pros
- Compact form factor
- Great-sounding
- Good build quality
Cons
- Reverb sounds a bit too present
See price @ Amazon / @ Sweetwater
Analog Alien Rumble Seat is what you need if you want to go straight into a new rockabilly adventure. This cool pedal features 3 effects in 1, giving you rich-sounding overdrive, reverb, and delay, all of the highest quality.
Best features and specs
The Alien Rumble Seat is a multi-effects pedal for electric guitar that has Delay, Reverb, and Overdrive circuits.
User impressions
Many users consider this the best-sounding pedal, with “mind-blowing” reverb and delay often being the comments used frequently. It’s also really easy to use and tweak and users find the right tone in a matter of seconds. Some portray the sound range as a light edge of the breakup and really smooth to full-blown wide open crunch.
What we think
What we like the most about the Alien Rumble is its smooth overdrive that gives you extra harmonic features. When you start up the gain, you’ll instantly get a sweet, tube-like overdrive. Even when you decide to crank the gain up to the max, clarity, bite, and definition is still there to be had.
Bottomline
Analog Alien Rumble Seat is a great choice for someone who is looking for a great-sounding, well-built, and compact multi-pedal that offers you delay, reverb, and overdrive. The only downside is that you might find a reverb sounding too present.
Strymon Volante Magnetic Echo Machine Pedal
Pros
- Vintage-sounding
- Tweakable
- Diverse choice of presets
Cons
- Not so easy to master
See price @ Amazon / @ Sweetwater
If you’re looking for an absolute beast and king of echoes, then Strymon Volante Magnetic Echo Machine Pedal is definitely what you need. Aside from echoes, you get a stereo multi-head delay, onboard looper, and independent vintage spring reverb.
Best features and specs
You’ll get a wide variety of analog-style echoes, 3 magnetic delay types, 4 playback heads, 3 echo machine speeds, a looper with reverse, tape stop, and speed change effects, spring reverb, and access to over 300 presets.
User impressions
Users agree that the Strymon Volante Magnetic Echo Machine is the best in what it does, recreating the sound of vintage echo machines and giving a bit aggressive and deep spring reverb simulation. Users like that this pedal offers a lot to master, and it stimulates creativity. Though, some users wish that it would be a bit easier to acknowledge all the functions that this yellow beast is offering.
What we think
What we like the most about this pedal is the endless amount of creativity that this pedal sparkles in its users. In addition, we like the vintage vibe that it gives off, that goes from a soft clipping of overdriven magnetic media and natural saturation to wear, mechanics, machine speed, and head spacing.
Bottomline
Strymon Volante Magnetic Echo Machine Pedal is a great choice for someone who is looking for a beast of the echo machine that gives you a lot of vintage-sounding echoes and a diverse choice of presets. The only downside is that it has a very steep learning curve.
Keeley 30ms Automatic Double Tracker Delay Pedal
Pros
- Affordable
- Great-sounding
Cons
- Isn’t exactly a delay
See price @ Amazon / @ Sweetwater
If you want to achieve the famous tones of The Beatles and The Killers, Keeley 30ms Automatic Double Tracker is here for you. This pedal should make it easy to get a stereo guitar track from a single take.
Best features and specs
Keeley 30ms Automatic Double Tracker gives you a chance to try a vintage-style Abbey Road Studio Two reverb that adds lush texture in mono. Additionally, you are given a stereo slapback delay and stereo chorus that easily creates new textures for drums, keyboards, vocals, and bass.
User impressions
Users like Keeley 30ms Automatic Double Tracker because it truly creates beautiful chorus, double tracking blends, and chamber reverb sounds magical. Also, this pedal lets you achieve a nice full sound that makes this pedal definitely worth the money spent.
What we think
We like how many options this pedal actually offers. You can find pitch, delay, stereo chorus, and slapback delay.
Bottomline
Keeley 30ms Automatic Double Tracker is a great choice for someone who is looking for an affordable and great-sounding delay with the addition of stereo chorus and pitch. Note that this pedal isn’t exactly a delay in the full picture.
EarthQuaker Devices Ghost Echo V3 Reverb Pedal
Pros
- Affordable
- Easy-to-use
- Minimalistic
Cons
- Doesn’t have a stereo in and out
See price @ Amazon / @ Sweetwater
If you’re looking for an extremely easy-to-use reverb pedal, then EarthQuaker Devices Ghost Echo V3 Reverb Pedal could be your choice. It’s based on the vintage spring reverbs, but it’s capable of giving you hall-type reverbs as well.
Best features and specs
The Ghost Echo has a mighty attack knob that controls which effects and when entering the signal for not clarity. Also, it is able to simulate a slapback delay. It features a 100% analog true-bypass construction.
User impressions
Users like the Ghost Echo pedal because it sounds amazing and works great in every genre and with every instrument. Users say that they could get a pretty good plate reverb out of this pedal as well.
What we think
What we really like about this pedal is that it’s capable of giving you all sorts of iconic spring reverb sounds, hall tones, total reverb washes, and shorter room-type reverbs.
Bottomline
EarthQuaker Devices Ghost Echo V3 Reverb Pedal is a great choice for someone who is looking for an affordable, minimalistic, and easy-to-use reverb pedal that is based on vintage spring reverbs. The only downside is that this pedal doesn’t have a stereo in and out.
Delay-Reverb Pedals Buying Guide
What is a delay-reverb pedal?
It’s a pedal that lets you create a copy of the signal and play it back several times as the delay does, and it is combined with emulating sound waves that are reflecting from surfaces, so they create a 3-dimensional space as reverb does.
Why would you need a delay-reverb pedal?
When these effects are combined in the single pedal, you are open to creative opportunities to produce very interesting results, starting from ghostly atmospheres to washed-out soundscapes. Why would you not want that?
Important features
When choosing a delay-reverb pedal, you should pay attention to whether the pedal has mono or stereo input and output and extra effects.
Stereo vs Mono
Stereo input and output pedals are good when you aim at achieving the sense of 3d space placement, plan to experiment with modulation and be extra creative. Also, those pedals tend to be bigger as they have more switches and knobs. Mono input and output pedals are good when you plan to use only them with a single amp.
Extra effects
Some pedals may have extra effects included on top of delay and reverb. You should choose based on your artistic needs and preferences and probably don’t pay extra for things that you most likely won’t use.
How to choose the right one for you?
When you are choosing the best delay-reverb pedal, you should think about how much free space you have on your pedalboard. Whether you need a stereo or mono input/output pedal, and do you really need any extra features.
FAQs
Can a delay pedal do reverb?
Yes. The biggest amount of repeats with very little decay and little blend.
Should I get delay or reverb pedal?
It totally depends on what result you want to achieve. If you want to achieve a fuller sound, then you need a reverb pedal. But if you aim at having more experiments and making solos sound cooler, you need a delay pedal. If you aim to achieve both results, you need a combo pedal.
Do I need both delay and reverb pedals?
If you can find a suitable combo delay and reverb pedal to your liking, then no, you don’t need these pedals separately.
Should you put reverb on delay?
You can if you want to. But you can risk sounding too muddy.
