Golden Reverberator
Customer Reviews
Golden Reverberator
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P. Graven
Absolutely Divine
I make a lot of ambient music on the guitar and like to create spacey sounds. After doing a lot of research on different reverb pedals, I decided to get this pedal. Although I only got this pedal recently, I don't know all of the sounds yet but from what I can hear, the quality of sound that it produces is simply amazing, some really incredible reverb types. I will be looking forward to using it more and taking the time to get to know it better. If there is such a thing as the perfect reverb pedal, this is it. Fantastic purchase.
Rise like the sun, come bathe in her endless reflections. For even the shadows know you remain forever, golden.
D. Barrington
Excellent Sound!!
SOUND: ***** Just like plugins but no latency.
HARDWARE INTERFACE: **** Pretty good. No LCD so you have to remember what preset is where. Can only save 1 favorite preset to recall w/o app when using hardware standalone.
APP: *** Which one? Some literature still says UA Connect which is wrong. It needs UAFX Connect. One on computer to upgrade software version. Doesn’t seem to do anything else. Ive not got it to work on either Mac or PC app with USB C connection beyond registration and update. The Bluetooth to iPhone is buggy but works after update (not out of box) and has a few presets to choose from. All of this buggy mismatched and hard-to-connect stuff I only got done bc I have multi-IT and lots of chords. UA gives you: ZERO cords to hook up.
PEDAL: *** One pedal is fine. They should combine them like Eventide Max H9. Each pedal is LARGE and requires 9v 500mA which you’re lucky if you have 1 much less 2 ports on your pedal power brick. UAudio do not supply power nor cords to USB or Power so… you need to buy those. Hence this pedal needs another $40+ expense for those items.
Summary: Essentially I would get a pedal or two but 3 or more take up too much space and require too much mA power. They need lots more chords for stereo effects. They can only be manipulated one at a time. And IF you like lots of settings you need to use the bluetooth app (pick the right one!!) and even then its another step in rhe way of making music. Essentially these are best as set-and-forget IF you can live with a certain signal path you love. If you need more than that, prepare for frustration. These seem more like a month grab. They should just create a Helix styles foot effect controller board that individual money-grabbing pedals that are like herding cats. But UA are the Apple of FX: great but overly expensive and not user-friendly interfaces. Since I do one delay and one reverb for most of my sound, it works for me. UA reverbs are the best in the industry. Better than Eventide, etc. So… for Golden pedal… worth the hassle.
L. Lambert
Good tones, limited features, awfull app, privacy violations and mute support
The three available reverbs sound real good, but a shimmer and a room are definitely missing; one or two fancy effects like a reverse or a swell would also have been much appreciated, as well as a freeze / hold.
Worst part is the awfully buggy app: took me dozen of attempts before successfully pairing the phone with the pedal. And pairing is mandatory to switch on the buffer as you can't do it from the pedal. Why?!
Cherry on the cake, support never replied to my email regarding the impossible pairing...
The app is also way too simplistic, do not hope tweaking your presets with it, you can load existing presets and toggle the buffer mode, period.
Finally I hated the intrusion in my private life: activating geo-location is mandatory to install the app, and it also attempts to get access to my contacts. Again, why?! What's the point of all that privacy violations for activating a buffer on a pedal and installing a firmware update?!
A. LaMere
Best so far..
I've had a bunch of verbs, from the literal tube Fender units, to the spring verbs that sit on your board, etc. etc. Also, have had a ton of verb pedals. This is the best I've used in regards to sound, but also, size. I love the actual spring verbs but let's be honest, hauling that around is like hauling another amplifier. My setup tends to need two different reverb settings, one long... and one short. This pedal offers exactly that, one "live" setting and a preset. I keep my long verb in preset and have a short verb queued up at all times in the live side. Perfect. Beyond that though, the actual sound of the thing is just fantastic. It might not be quite as warm as a tube unit, but to be perfectly honest, that warmth has sometimes given me some issues when playing live. This thing doesn't do that. It just sounds, fantastic. Regardless of spring vs plate vs hall.
I switched from the Strymon Flint (which has a decent verb) to this thing, and my sound went from sounding like an 'effect' to sounding more 'real'. The Flint sound 2d in comparison in my opinion. . I still think the Strymon sounds good! but.. this is the next level.
Also, to counter some of the other reviews.. it paired immediately to my phone via the app, I updated the software via my computer and it was flawless. Would've been hard to make it much easier.
I know it's an expensive stereo reverb pedal.. but.. It's amazing.
C. Rexenes
App does not pair with pedal
I am very disappointed so far with UA and the Golden Reverberator. Like anyone else when you receive a guitar pedal you're excited to plug in and play. I was disappointed when the on button would not work. I realized I have to download an app to pair with the pedal. I downloaded the app for Android and have tried numerous times to have it pair with the pedal and pressing the pair button on the back of the pedal; yet the app does not find the pedal. I called for support, which is not available on Friday, another disappointment. Nothing more disappointing than paying $400 for pedal and not being able to use it and not getting some support. I'll wait to see if this can be resolved easily. If not I'll be returning the UA Golden Reverberator and buy a reverb unit from one of their competitors.
F. Heinen
Sounds fantastic, but...
I bought this pedal because I consider UA's reverbs in particular to be ingenious. Unfortunately, my absolute favorite algorithm is not (yet) on board: the EMT-250, if UA could still implement it, it would be my absolute dream pedal. But instead of this, the Plate 140 actually does a really good job too (I like it even better than the plugin).
From the sound, you will not find anything that sounds more authentic than this pedal, as far as all the algorithms built in so far. It just sounds absolutely fantastic!
Unfortunately, the number of presets you can save is limited to 2, which makes the pedal less flexible than necessary. In addition, the Bluetooth connection to the mobile app is also anything but reliable, so this also does not remedy the situation here.
But the sound...yes, this sound it somehow makes up for everything, I haven't had so much fun listening to the reverb of my guitar decaying in a long time. And that's exactly why I still give 5 stars.
D. Thum
Can do modulated ambient tones as well
Echoing the other reviewers here, the algos are best in class. To get a classic Vangelis sound crank up the bass knob to taste on the 224 hall setting, as the bass and treble controls aren't eq's on the original 224. The eq knobs control the lengths of the high and low frequency decays, as well as the main decay knob. Play around with these, then turn up the mod knob and you too can replicant.
C. Jones
Gorgeous
Best at what it does. This pedal doesn't do extreme reverbs like some of the expensive Strymon pedals, but it smokes all other digital delays at emulating spring, plate, and hall verbs.
C. Bailey
A Fine Sounding Reverb Pedal
You can't go wrong with the Golden. Each reverb type in any setting sounds wonderful. It would be nice if UA released even more reverbs and also if the phone app/Bluetooth capabilities were further developed. Capabilities such as being able to save settings on your phone app and then load them to the pedal via Bluetooth would be great. Phase reversal options, for when hooking the pedal up to two amplifiers for stereo use, etc. All in all, it's one of the best sounding reverb pedals out there.
N. Bryce
Brilliant in every way
Lush on vocals and acoustic guitar! Routing thru the radial J 48 to your Apollo and it’s a whole other world of lush with this pedal
u. giegler
great pedal with huge sound but lack of decay
one of the best reverb pedals, detailed and great sounding reverbs. i miss longer decays of the plate types, an updated version would be amazing with up to 30s decay i often use. also looking ffw to the next algorithm (my wishes are quantec room simulator, lexicon 480L and AKG BX20)
B. Vavra
Best Sounding Reverb I've Ever Heard
I am not a MIDI user, so I did not include that functionality in my review. The sounds this pedal makes are impeccable. Seriously, it is unrivaled by some of the biggest names in the pedal market today. The versatility is there, you can shape the sound you want, but the controls are not overwhelming. They really hit it on the end with the sounds in this one.
n. kemp
Superb pedal
I've always been a fan of UAD plugins, so was interested to hear this new pedal and especially how it would stand up against other reverb pedals I have. I'm absolutely delighted to report that sonically it blows everything else away and is easy to use. Its also really well built and will remain part of my live rig.
S. Goffen
Great reverb, needs midi
Wonderful reverb. Amazing sounds for vintage and traditional verbs. But, needs midi. Having only one preset is just not good enough in this day and age with so many other amazing reverbs out there.
A. Crenshaw
Pretty close to perfect.
I'm very particular about reverb and have yet to find a reverb pedal that is on par with some of the plugins, Logic Pro X stock or 3rd party. UA Golden is easily the best reverb pedal I've ever used. I did however trade mine for a Strymon Flint simply because I missed having harmonic tremolo and don't have the pedal board space, power requirements and money to have a dedicated tremolo pedal at the moment. The Strymon reverb is fantastic but not quite as good as the UA Golden, if only by a hair.
Only cons I can think of is it uses an insane amount of power. If I didn't own the CIOKS/Eventide power supply made for high mA digital pedals I'm not sure what I'd do. I noticed when I using all the outputs on my power supply I'd get these strange metallic, floating tones every so often when using the preset. Honestly this is a fairly big issue in my opinion. I don't use MIDI so the lack of isn't a big deal but for $400 you'd think they'd include that. Always thought that was strange. Also not a fan of how close the jacks to each other. You're not gonna be able to use pancake patch cables with it. I had to buy new cables just for the Golden.
The profile of the pedal is nice and I like how it looks quite a bit. One of the most aesthetically pleasing pedals I've seen. Sound quality wise I think it's the best on the market but price wise you could probably get more value for the dollar elsewhere. All in all I would recommend this pedal to others but I'm not sure what good that would do because convincing someone to buy a pedal with only 3 reverb modes and no MIDI priced at $400 is a hard sell. If it was a matter of sound quality alone I'd give it a 6/5 stars. When I'm more financially stable I'll probably buy another but guitar comes second to producing for me so that'll be a while. Besides whenever I record guitar it's usually dry and I just add reverb in the DAW, usually Logic space designer or a UA reverb plugin ironically enough.
P. FOULK
Fantastic sounds but incomplete
The Golden is a hugely powerful pedal which sounds incredible. I'm not usually a reverb user as I often find that it can sound cheesy and gets in the way, but the Golden sounds so authentic and is so adjustable, it sits so well in the guitar tone. Even for chunky rhythm stuff, it adds body and fatness rather than mush!
The pedal form factor and architecture is great but I believe it is currently underutilised. Like a hot-rod stuck in 3rd gear.
MIDI is a must for this pedal. I cannot believe that UA will not introduce it in future firmware updates. It would be incredibly powerful with midi. I would also buy the Starlight if MIDI were introduced, as I'm sure many would. Without it though, nah, the Volante wins.
The other feature that's not being fully utilised is not being able to run the 2 engines together, ie running 2 different verbs in parallel.
I also hope in the future there are some more eccentric reverbs to download.
I have faith that UA are working on maximising the potential of this series and will implement the above If not, my review is only 3 stars (a great sounding pedal but a missed opportunity and limited for live use). If it had these features already it would be 6 stars and a total bargain at the price.
P. Chamberlain
Disappointed
Cannot register this product to my account, even contacted support no reply poor.
S. Alcorn Lobato
I so much want to like this, but . . .
This pedal has some really nice sounding reverbs, but I have two problems with it, one a possible deal breaker. The first thing I noticed was the controls. I have not yet downloaded the Lexicon plate, but I hear very little difference in decay. It would be nice if, like other plugins, the Lexicon 200, PCN and MPX series, we can control the decay independent of the one of the three chosen reverbs.
The second issue I'm having with it, and the probable deal breaker is that it changes the tone of my instrument (the pedal steel guitar). The sound loses much of its warmth when the pedal is in the signal chain (mine consisting of only the reverb and an analog delay). I give it two stars instead of one because the reverbs themselves are luscious .
D. Jackson
Top Reverb pedal
I have used many reverbs and owned some of the best..... This is the BEST!
B. Spinks
Brilliant!
Best reverb I’ve ever used. Sonically it’s perfect, really perfect. Lack of midi is a downside and I really don’t understand that omission, but regardless of that it’s a wonderful pedal.