NRD- R for Reverb, the UAD Golden Reverberator

[Doug Young]

I've been waiting for the UAD reverb pedal to be released, and it's finally here. I've tried so many reverbs, most recently having good luck with the Ventris. But I've not found a reverb that sounds as good as the UAD reverbs in my recording setup. I even bought the UAD Apollo originally with plans to use it live, to get those reverbs. It sounded great, but using a computer on stage was a pain.

Now the Golden Reverberator promises those reverbs in a pedal. Just got mine yesterday, got it hooked up and here's a few samples, laying it on rather heavy so I can really hear the reverb. So far, I'm pretty happy, none of that tinny sound I often hear from reverbs on an acoustic. Pretty simple controls, easy to understand, with quite a bit of control and options at the same time.

Here's a short little lick three times, first time with the 140 Plate, at a fairly reasonable level, then again with a longer delay and with the reverb mixed way high just to hear the quality of the reverb. Last, the 224 Plate that comes as a bonus download. A bit more lively, and I'm also pouring it on way heavy here...This is just direct out of my board.

[lppier]

Sounds great Doug, almost impulse response like to me. Do u prefer this or the ventris?

[jklotz]

Sounds great! I'm a big fan of UA products in general, and love the 224 plugin for acoustic. I'd really like to have it for live use. The price has been holding me back, but knowing myself, I will own this pedal sooner or later.

[PANDAPANDELO]

I would get this one... But we dont have It in Brazil

So I went with the Collider (Reverb + Delay) from Source Audio.

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by lppier

Sounds great Doug, almost impulse response like to me. Do u prefer this or the ventris?

The Ventris has more features, including things like shimmer, but I really just mostly want a good organic-sounding reverb. After playing with the UAD, the Ventris sounds thinner and slightly metallic to me. We'll see how it works on a gig, but I'm thinking the UAD wins out.

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by PANDAPANDELO

I would get this one... But we dont have It in Brazil

It hasn't been available anywhere until a couple of days ago. You mean you can't get any UAD products there?

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

...Here's a short little lick three times, first time with the 140 Plate, at a fairly reasonable level, then again with a longer delay and with the reverb mixed way high just to hear the quality of the reverb. Last, the 224 Plate that comes as a bonus download. A bit more lively, and I'm also pouring it on way heavy here...This is just direct out of my board.

That 140 plate sound sounds pretty transparent. I always hear reverbs for the way they build up lows and mids, and I'm not hearing that here.

[dogdog49]

Thanks for the heads up, Doug. How does the basic reverb tone compare to the Baggs Align, my current favorite? I've had the Blue Sky, Neunaber Seraphim and GFI Specular 2 on my board at different times over the past couple of years, and although I enjoyed fooling around with all the options for a while I found the Align to be far more natural and organic sounding for acoustic guitar in general, adding a richness and depth to my sound while letting the individual tone of whatever guitar I'm using shine through. If the UA can match or surpass that I'd be interested.

[dogdog49]

Nice acoustic demo on YouTube, especially starting at 5:40 after he's done with all the spring reverbs which do nothing for me. I'm crazy about the Lexicon Chamber effect at 15:16. Sounds amazing before he lets the wet mix level get a bit too high for my taste. I think I might have to get one and see for myself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoFUF8Wh6K4

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by dogdog49

Nice acoustic demo on YouTube, especially starting at 5:40 after he's done with all the spring reverbs which do nothing for me. I'm crazy about the Lexicon Chamber effect at 15:16. Sounds amazing before he lets the wet mix level get a bit too high for my taste. I think I might have to get one and see for myself.

He definitely lays it on heavy, but it sounds good. I think that's the patch where the treble control tends to produce an almost shimmer effect as you crank it up, but less fake-sounding than many shimmers. Nice demo.

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by dogdog49

Thanks for the heads up, Doug. How does the basic reverb tone compare to the Baggs Align, my current favorite? I've had the Blue Sky, Neunaber Seraphim and GFI Specular 2 on my board at different times over the past couple of years, and although I enjoyed fooling around with all the options for a while I found the Align to be far more natural and organic sounding for acoustic guitar in general, adding a richness and depth to my sound while letting the individual tone of whatever guitar I'm using shine through. If the UA can match or surpass that I'd be interested.

I don't have an Align here to compare it to, but I agree that the Align is one of the nicest basic reverbs I've heard for acoustic. So many of the reverb pedals sound great on electric guitar, and somehow don't sound as good on acoustic. I think Baggs voiced the Align very well for acoustic guitar. I run in stereo, usually, so I appreciate a stereo reverb, but for a mono reverb, the Align is a great choice.

[scoden]

Those samples sound beautiful. I had an Align but I just didn’t bond with it. It seemed too “all or none “. I’d love to try this one but it may be overkill for my type of gigs and my set and forget approach.

[lppier]

For owners of the align reverb, did u notice any white noise? Saw some reviews which said that there is white noise when it’s switched on.

[dogdog49]

Originally Posted by lppier

For owners of the align reverb, did u notice any white noise? Saw some reviews which said that there is white noise when it’s switched on.

Nope, quiet as a mouse.

[4wheeljive]

Originally Posted by lppier

For owners of the align reverb, did u notice any white noise? Saw some reviews which said that there is white noise when it’s switched on.

In my setup, the Align Reverb adds a tiny bit of hiss to the signal, but it's really nothing to speak of.