BOSS RV-200 REVERB

It’s one of Boss’s most eagerly anticipated pedals ever – but is this featured-packed reverb worth the wait?

The RV-200 has been a long time coming. When Boss’s pedalboard-friendly twin-footswitch designs made their debut in summer 2019, the 200 Series featured four pedals. Two of them – the DD-200 Delay and MD-200 Modulation – were downsized from Boss’s flagship 500 Series units. But one escaped Boss’s shrink ray: the RV-500 Reverb. It would have been the no-brainer of all no-brainers – the ideal counter to the Strymon Bluesky or Source Audio Ventris. Yet as the 200 Series expanded with Synthesizer and Impulse Response offerings, an RV-200 never emerged. Mock-ups were made by Boss fans, but we had all but given up hope… until now.

Thankfully, the RV-200 is spec’d pretty much as we’d expected it. It features 12 reverb types, 10 of which are lifted from the RV-500. You’ve got your standard Room, Hall, Plate et al, Shimmer and Modulate for the post-rockers, Reverse for the shoegazers, and a combined reverb and delay based on the cult classic RV-3. Boss has also compensated fans for the wait with a new algorithm exclusive to the RV-200: the arpeggiated ‘Arpverb’.

These are controlled with your usual ’verb controls – Type, Time, Pre-delay, Effect Level – as well as separate Low and High EQ controls, a Parameter control to adjust type-specific settings, plus a Density button that tweaks the ‘thickness’ of the reverb trails. Your sounds can be saved into one of four onboard presets, while the Manual setting calls up whatever you’ve got the controls set to. You also get a dizzying level of connectivity via MIDI, stereo inputs and outputs, plus an expression/external footswitch jack. Then there’s the Memory/ Hold footswitch – that’s your gateway to the RV-200’S infinite sustain features and preset switching: short press to change sounds, long press for Hold.

Boss reverbs have a distinct tonality, and given the RV-200 is mostly composed of the same 2017 algorithms that featured in the RV-500, the story is the same here. The effects are pristine and unblemished – this pedal is more of a do-all workhorse than many of today’s singular boutique offerings. It also means the same strengths and weaknesses rear their heads. Spring modes have never been Boss’s strength, yet its modulated reverbs are among the best in the business. Room, Hall and Plate are all excellent with a little taming of the high frequencies, and the octave-up

3 2 2 MEMORY/HOLD This footswitch cycles through your four onboard patches or activates a variety of hold features, from infinite sustain to more esoteric options. 3 LOCK Hold the Density button and you activate the RV-200’S Lock function, which prevents you from accidentally knocking your controls mid-gig. We wish more pedals had this!

1 1 CONNECTIVITY One of the 200 Series’ greatest strengths is its wealth of jacks: you’ve got full MIDI control, stereo operation and expression pedal/ external footswitch capabilities.