Reverb. It could be said that it was the first "effect" for sound.
But man there are so many questions. Like, what was the first "reverb"? Was reverb there at the beginning? Is reverb even an "effect"?
(this existential conundrum brought to you by my stupor from four hours of gardening before sitting down to write this...)
Well I'm not here to answer those questions. BUT...I am here to tell you about a brand new reverb from Westminster Effects called Spurgeon V2. This Hall-style reverb pedal is both simple and a bit unique. But first, we answer another question...
Does a fancy name make a good pedal? Click the photo to find out!
Who is this Spurgeon dude?
Charles Haddon Spurgeon was 19th century English preacher. He is considered by many Christians and Theologians to be one of the most influential preachers of his time. His sermons are considered to be amongst the most thought provoking of his time. And above all else, he was a gifted orator who was said to be able to hold his congregation spellbound during service. Even after his death, his influence is such that many denominations refer to his works and sermons. All of this has given him the legacy as the "Prince of Preachers".
It must have been quite an experience to see Charles Spurgeon at the height of his career: preaching to thousands on any given Sunday morning. In my head, I can imagine Spurgeon's voice reverberating around the Tabernacle. The swirling reflections creating a wash that makes his voice sound grander with each syllable. Much like a great concert hall and a solo instrumentalist the mood is made greater thanks to the atmosphere. So it makes sense why a Hall reverb pedal would bear the name and image of the Prince of Preachers.
Hall the Small Things
The Spurgeon V2 is a great exercise in simplicity: four knobs, one Two-Way toggle switch, Mono In & Out and a footswitch. And yes...THIS PEDAL IS MONO! Get over it...Stereo doesn't work live most times anyway.
The controls are pretty self explanatory and do exactly what you would expect them to do. So if everything on the pedal is so simple, what is it that makes the tone of this reverb unique?
It's all in the REGEN control and a little psychoacoustic phenomenon called
EARLY REFLECTIONS.
The REGEN control is not something you'll find on other Hall reverbs. This knob controls a feedback circuit of the high frequencies in the Reverb's decay. As you turn the REGEN knob up more of the high end content is fed back into the reverb engine. What effect this has on the sound can be as subtle as a modulation to as extreme as an I-just-self-oscillated-my-delay-pedal-into-my-reverb noise! The range is very striking and the Voice toggle plays a large roll in how extreme the effect is. But then there's the early reflections...
If you're not familiar with this term, don't feel bad. It's the kind of term only an audio engineer/nerd would use. But it's something you encounter everyday. In basic terms, Early Reflections can be seen as a "slapback" echo that gets heard before the full reverberation takes place. You'll hear them almost immediately after the Direct Sound (aka the original note). Although many folks argue that Early Reflections are an abstract concept that doesn't need to be replicated in signal processing I found it pretty wild that I HEARD them in the Spurgeon V2. Not like a crazy in-your-face echo but something that isn't a washy smear is there. And I like it! It's different. It's unusual. And it's welcome.
I have ZERO issues with the Spurgeon V2! It's easy to operate, sounds great and comes with a great story. Of course, the lack of Stereo capabilities will turn off members of the "Stereo Mob"...and that's too bad!
I'm glad Cody always thinks of me when he has a new pedal coming out. Westminster Effects always delivers.
If you haven't yet checked out any of the pedals he offers, do yourself a favor and check them all out!
I certainly thinking ol' Charles would approve of his name being on this pedal.
Happy Stomping! - SPJ