If you enjoy a lush musical atmosphere – whether you want to recreate the feeling of a church or create an intimate landscape, ambient guitar pedals are all you need.
From peaceful to gloomy, soothing to menacing, your options are endless.
In this article, we've provide information about ambient guitar pedals and examine the best products of the year.
At a Glance: Our Top Picks for Ambient Guitar Pedals
- OUR TOP PICK: Wampler Ethereal Delay and Reverb Guitar Effects Pedal
- TC Electronic Hall Of Fame 2
- BEST BUDGET OPTION: Mooer EchoVerb
Table of Contents
What is an Ambient Pedal?
Sometimes the venue is not exactly what we need to create the atmosphere we require for impressing the audience – and setting the right atmosphere is as important as anything else. An ambient pedal is an effect pedal that helps you recreate and sustain ambient music, such as emulating the conditions of a room, a hall, or even a church.
There are different types of ambient pedals, such as loopers, reverbs, delays, and volume pedals. They can be used separately or in conjunction in order to create unique experiences for your audience.
When Would You Use an Ambient Pedal?
Ambient pedals allow you to replicate all reverbs we usually find in natural surroundings, only that you use a small device to help you. The ambient pedals can be helpful in several situations; the most important are:
Instrument Proximity
Ambient pedals can be used to create the effect and the impression as though the instrument is closer to the listener than in reality; they can also achieve the opposite, making it sound like the instrument is further away. You can do so by altering the dry sound and the wet sound, or the unaffected versus reflected. Higher dry sounds mean closer, wetter mix means further away.
Room Dimensions
You can use the pedals to alter the actual size of the room, or at least this is what it sounds like. If you want to create the illusion that the venue is bigger, you can use a longer decay time.
Perform for a Large Crowd
If you perform in front of a large crowd, you can use the pre-delay time to make it feel as though you are in the middle of the venue, rather than in the front where people in the back cannot hear you as well. Delaying the sound can achieve this – making both the listener and instrument seem to be in the middle of the room.
What to Look for When Buying an Ambient Pedal
There are numerous ambient pedals available on the market – some combine two features such as delay and reverb, others are only reverb. With that degree of variance in products, you can be sure that the majority of pedals feature diverse and unique sound effects. So, how do we choose the optimal ambient pedal? Here’s a shortlist of what to look for when buying an ambient pedal:
Value and Features
Once you establish a budget for your new ambient pedal, make sure you consider what kind of feature you would like to try out.
Flexibility and Versatility
This is important if you are looking for a simple ambient pedal with basic controls or if you want a more sophisticated device that allows you to experiment and discover new tones for yourself.
Pre-Settings
If you have never tried one before, you might consider buying an ambient pedal with presets instead of you manually adjusting all the controls – it will be a great starting point. This will work well with experienced players looking for standard effects.
Size
Are you willing to compromise on size or is your pedalboard is already crammed with pedals? Make sure you have enough space for the ambient pedal before purchasing or go for a mini-size.
Comparison Chart of the Best Ambient Guitar Pedals
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Our Top Pick  |
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Best Budget Option  |
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Review of the Best Ambient Guitar Pedals
Now that we have taken a look at what you should consider when looking at ambient guitar pedals, let’s check out the best options on the market.
Best Overall:
Wampler Ethereal Delay and Reverb Guitar Effects Pedal
PROS
CONS
What Recent Buyers Report
The combination of reverb and delay is definitely an interesting one, taking the listener through a trip in different acoustic dimensions. While the algorithm for reverb is only one, the controls are quite varied, and combined with delay, you can create some interesting effects.
Why it Stands Out to Us
This pedal is our top recommendation due to its ethereal properties. You can definitely create some interesting combinations through the delay and reverb mix, and it comes with a compact, sturdy casing that is space-saving and easy to use. It also includes a fair share of controls.
Who Will Use This Most
This pedal is great for any guitar player – either amateur or professional. If you’ve never experimented with reverbs and delays, this might be just the right opportunity for you to do so. You can either experiment with the effects separately or combine them for a deeper, ethereal feeling.
Bottom Line
Overall, this pedal is an excellent 2 in 1 pedal, saving space and of course finances, since you do not need to purchase two separate ambient pedals. Apart from this, the pedal allows you to either combine them or use them separately, which is a great feature to have.
Runner-up:
TC Electronic Hall of Fame 2 Reverb Pedal
No products found.
PROS
CONS
What Recent Buyers Report
What is truly great in this pedal, apart from access to pre-set, already tweaked effects through TonePrint is that you have a lot of options and features packed into a tiny, extremely affordable case. It is pleasant and easy to use, although it might take a while to get to know your way around.
Why it Stands Out to Us
This pedal has ten distinct modes for reverb, with much more available through TonePrint for more flexibility and versatility. It is professional, top-notch quality, yet the interface is user-friendly, and you can easily start playing with the highly intuitive controls. It is so versatile it is impossible not to find a reverb style you like!
Who Will Use This Most
This pedal is a great option for amateurs, simply because it allows you to choose one of the already popular reverbs or go through to TonePrint and use templates created by professionals around the world. For more experienced players, a more complex and tweakable pedal might be a better choice.
Bottom Line
Overall, the TC Hall of Fame is an ideal purchase if you are looking for great quality, easy to use pedal to complement your performance. The design is sturdy, yet user-friendly, and the controls are intuitive. The variety of reverbs available on TonePrints is a great addition if you are an amateur.
Best for the Money:
Mooer Audio Micro Echoverb Digital Delay & Reverb Effect Pedal
No products found.
PROS
CONS
What Recent Buyers Report
This pedal is a great asset if you are a fan of the ambient pedal. What is great is that it combines two different effects – reverb and delay – in order to create unique tones. The design is small, yet sturdy, and it performs as well as any other pedal with only one effect.
Why it Stands Out to Us
The Echo verb made its way on our list due to its high-quality performance – not only does it save money and space by combining reverb and delay, but it also has a sturdy design made from premium materials. It provides a wide spectrum of choice – from subtle enhancements to amazing special effects.
Who Will Use This Most
This pedal is a must-try for both amateurs and professionals. It can be used for recordings, on live stage performances or during rehearsals. It offers great features, such as delay of a maximum of 1.6 seconds; it can alter feedback and decay, among others. It is easy to use and convenient.
Bottom Line
Overall, this pedal has three strong points – reverb, delay, and tap tempo, which can be controlled via the footswitch. You can dial in endless combinations and sound variations, creating otherworldly atmospheres. It is a massive helper for any guitar player!
4. EarthQuaker Devices Afterneath V2 Reverb Guitar Effects Pedal
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PROS
CONS
What Recent Buyers Report
What makes this pedal truly stand out is its uniqueness – while other reverb pedals allow you to switch between predefined modes, this one uses very short delays one after the other to create a unique, distinct atmosphere. It is definitely not a mainstream ambient pedal.
Why it Stands Out to Us
The uniqueness of this pedal makes it a must on this list. You can use the six knob-interface to juxtaposition short delays in the sound to create completely unique effects. The sonic textures are not something you can achieve with traditional reverb pedals.
Who Will Use This Most
This pedal is not for everyone. Are you willing to experiment with new sonic textures? Do you have an open mind and are still looking for the missing detail in your tones? Then you might be just the right potential buyer. Make sure you commit to experimenting with this valuable piece of equipment.
Bottom Line
If you like music experimentation and you are highly creative, this is the perfect choice for you. Not your mainstream reverb pedal, the Afterneath will create an entirely different atmosphere by using short delays in the sound – the possibilities are literally endless.
5. Walrus Audio Slö Multi Texture Reverb Guitar Effects Pedal
No products found.
PROS
CONS
What Recent Buyers Report
This pedal has three reverb modes – they all have their main strong points and uses, depending on what you enjoy and what your play style is all about. You will find that the effects are deep, yet subtle, and the controls are quite sensitive. Beautiful reverb modes can offer endless depth to space.
Why it Stands Out to Us
This pedal stands out for us because of its three different reverb modes. Each of them can be used to create another type of atmosphere, add depth to space, and many more. This is truly remarkable, especially if you tap into the three mods for the reverb tail.
Who Will Use This Most
This pedal is a great device to experiment with. You can use it to create various atmospheres, and it is highly versatile and flexible. It is recommended for both amateurs and professionals – a great starting point in your career or you can use it to explore its unique features.
Bottom Line
Although this product might seem quite limited (only three reverb modes, huh?), in fact, you will soon discover you have plenty of options and alternatives. You can go for some normal, ‘plain’ reverbs or jump into altered ambiances – whatever suits your performance.
Pros and Cons of Ambient Guitar Pedals
If you are still unsure why there’s such a hype about ambient guitar pedals, here are some pros and cons to summarize the key considerations.
Pros
A reverb pedal is not only a reverb. It offers reverb modes as well, usually allowing you to choose from numerous options that will fit your performance.
Choosing an ambient pedal might mean you get a dual one – some of them include both delay and reverb. This not only saves space on your pedalboard but also saves you money since you do not have to purchase two different units.
Most ambient pedals offer access to pre-set ambiances. This is a great starting point for many beginners and definitely a huge help for experienced players as well.
Cons
Some pedals can be quite complicated and difficult to tweak as you should. Sometimes a simple reverb is much better than a complex ambient pedal with lots and lots of options available.
Conclusion
Overall, ambient pedals are a great way of replicating natural atmospheres. If you don’t mind the extra features and multiple combinations possible, an ambient pedal is a great choice to enrich your performance. All you need to do is pick the best one for you and give it a try!
