Best reverse + shimmer reverb pedal on a tight budget?

I'm looking to get a reverb pedal that has reverse reverb and shimmer reverb effects. I'm on a tight budget (maximum I can spend is around 100 USD/EUR). So far I have found three that fit the criteria: the Zoom MS-50G, Zoom MS-70CDR, and Joyo Atmosphere. Which one would you suggest?

Advantages of either Zoom pedal: I also get much more effects, as well as the two I need

Advantages of the Joyo pedal: Slightly cheaper and looks much easier to use

Please let me know your opinions on this, especially if you have either (or both) pedals, or any other suggestions!

Edit: There is also the option of getting the Marshall Reflector (cheapest option I've seen so far, it only has reverse reverb, but because it's significantly cheaper then the other two, I can get it immediately, and save up to a shimmer pedal later if needed).

There isn't. If you want a quality reverb pedal that'll be worthwhile, expect to pay at least 500-600 USD for something like a Strymon BigSky. Good, cheap time-based FX pedals simply do not exist. And I'm not saying this because I'm a gear snob - it's just a fact. You get what you pay for.

So far, in terms of shimmer reverb, as far as what I've tried, NOTHING in the budget range comes close to what the Strymon's can do. There's a good reason why I seriously regretted downsizing to a Craptal Axe-FX III and brought back the TimeLine and BigSky into my guitar rig - it's because there just simply isn't any other unit out that can do shimmer reverb the way Strymon does it.

I mean, if you are good at working with digital modellers, you might get away with something like a Line 6 HX Stomp. Strymon's reverbs still have superior definition, but if you have no other options, then the HX Stomp just might work in a pinch for an all-in-one solution.

While I'm at it, it's also worth mentioning that you should plan to route your guitar rig in stereo. Mono time-based effects just sound narrow and weak. Chorus, delay and reverb were all intended to be routed in parallel, hence why Wet/Dry/Wet rigs are still a thing to this day.

Thanks! For now, I will certainly need a budget pedal (in fact I might even need to sell off one or two of my cheaper pedals to buy it), I might save up to a Strymon Bigsky in the distant future though, when I have more cash for it. Also, reverse reverb is just as important as shimmer reverb (if not more so), I'm looking for a pedal with both. As most of my other gear is budget too (guitars, pedals, and amp), it probably won't make a huge difference for now whether I use a budget or a top quality reverb. I've heard great things about the Bigsky though, some great reviews!

That said, you mentioned that I should route my guitar rig in stereo, which the Zoom MS-70CDR is capable of, so from the three budget pedals I mentioned that one seems the best option.

I don't know much about reverse reverbs, but 2 great shimmers are the TC Electronic Hall of Fame 2 and the Fender Marine Layer Reverb, both come in around the £120 mark (I'm not sure on the $$ amount). The HoF also comes in a mini format if your worried about pedalboard real estate!

Thanks, just checked them out! The TC Electronic HoF looks pretty good, apparetly as well as the reverbs it already has, it has 3 empty slots that you can use to add reverbs of your choice to the pedal, from the TC Electronic website (not sure though if this is true for the mini as well though, or just the full size, the mini is roughly the same price as the Zoom pedal I was looking at). I'll definitely consider this one!

I believe the mini has all the same functionality, just with out the ability to toggle between, you'd need their app to transfer the "tone prints" to it. I've also just been made aware of the tc electronic Fluorescence which is a dedicated shimmer reverb.

Was just checking out more reviews, apparently there's no reverse reverb, but a "Dark Swell" tone print which is pretty close! I'll definitely consider this one, I saw a used mini one going for cheap (roughly 50 pounds), though according to reviews the mini doesn't have access to as many effects as the full size one. As long as it does have the particular reverbs I need though, I might go for this one instead!

Honestly, if you're on a budget, please save up for the Strymon BigSky. You'll be doing yourself a favor because this way you won't get financially screwed when the time comes to try and sell your used pedals.

I'll provide some sound samples of the BigSky here, just so you know the big difference between the BigSky and other competitor pedals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvH8Or_rkFY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrxfNVYirCo&ab_channel=strymon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KclJxqde8NQ&ab_channel=strymon

Oh wow that's really nice! Seems a very versatile pedal, and the sound quality is excellent, I'll definitely consider getting one for the future then!

For now though I think I'll stick with one of the cheaper ones (most likely the Zoom), I've managed to save up $100 but it'll take me a long time to save an extra $400 on top of that (living in Hungary, salaries are relatively low here so even a $100 pedal will put a huge hole in my pocket). Plus there are several other things I'm saving up to (for example the Digitech Whammy which is also on my wishlist, also considering upgrading my 12 string guitar someday)... I'm thinking once I'm able to buy more pricey but better quality gear I will though!

I don't think anyone can go wrong with a Zoom Multistomp as a first pedal. There is so much versatility for their size and price and even though some effect emulations might miss the mark there are plenty more that are perfectly presentable and a good few that are worth the price of the pedal on its own. One or two effects are arguably better even than the pedal they are copied from!.

Although I do have stand alone pedals, for convenience I tend just to use my MS-50g as it has all my favourite settings saved. It's the perfect portable pedal board in a box for travelling with my pignose amp;

There's also a thriving community of patch builders on Reddit creating patches of various musicians rigs, and other hard to achieve effects.

I've assembled a spreadsheet listing most of the built in effects next to some real world alternatives, with a column of individual ratings for each effect based on reports from forums as well as my own impressions.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lRoIwHeoNjIUWMY7Tuwto8gQDuwIqi_4OJiL7cuoydo

Yeah I've heard great things about those pedals! Well I already have a good drive, distortion, and fuzz, as well as a few others, but it's mostly the reverb and delay I'm interested in (I just have a simple analog delay pedal for now, and just use reverb from the amp, or DAW if I'm recording). I'm likely to keep most of my standalone pedals (especially ones like wah, volume, or sitar pedals that aren't included in the Zoom), but otherwise the Zoom will be a great way to get pretty much any reverb or delay I want!

Oh thanks, I'll also check out the links you sent! My musical style is shifting more towards shoegaze, and so having different types of reverb (especially reverse and shimmer, but also stuff like swells and hall reverb) are becoming more important... the Zoom looks by far the cheapest option, also I'll likely sell a couple of my standalone pedals that are already included on it so it works out even cheaper (and with Black Friday coming up, hopefully I'll barely need to pay anything for it!)

Sounds like the CDR would be up your street; out the box it focuses on Chorus, Delay & Reverb (CDR) but keep in mind that software is available that lets you pick and mix the effects between the CDR and MS-50g. The MS-50g is marginally cheaper if you don't need stereo inputs and you can swap out any amps and distortions you don't need for modulation effects from the CDR.

Thanks :D yeah the CDR is the one I've finally decided on. Locally it's going for the same price as the MS-50G, and the stereo is quite a big advantage for recording reverb/delay effects! Some of the amp/drive effects seem interesting too so I may put those in with the software too. Can't wait!

Cool! I'll be interested to know how you get along.

What will you be outputting through? My MS-50g usually goes straight into the front of a Vox Pathfinder or Pignose; I see little point creating some mongrel tone through an additional amp sim so I just use an overdrive effect to modify my amps natural sound. Usually it's the Dynamic Drive or Sweet Drive I use (BD-2 or SweetHoneyOD emulations). I usually dwell around edge of breakup tones and the distortion I get seems nice and dynamic. I've seen the amp sims and distortions occasionally getting a bit of bad press. I have the impression that it's high gain fans who find the Zoom distortions wanting and I wonder if there might be an element of user error there too; leaving amp and cab sims in the chain where they're just not needed - less is more!

I have an unusual HiFi speaker with an instrument jack at the back. It doesn't distort at all so I'll typically add one of the Multistomp amp sims to the chain when I plug into that. For this speaker I find better results come from ensuring the amp sim's built in cabinet simulation is switched off (it's on by default) since we have a physical speaker and cab present already. There's little point in adding cab sim chicanery unless plugging into a PA mixer or DI to DAW.

Here's a shimmer patch from the Reddit Multistomp community - There's a ton more where that came from. I've particularly enjoyed some of the LoFi and glitchy tape delay patches I found there. - Have fun!

https://www.reddit.com/r/zoommultistomp/comments/9oeeb4/shimmer_patch/

Thanks :D I'll let you know, am excited about getting this pedal!

Incidentally, I'm also thinking of upgrading my amp! At the moment I have a 20 watt Harley Benton bass amp (I use bass amp for both bass and guitar, I find guitars also sound better on bass amps, at least to me). I'm torn between a Marshall MB15 or a Vox Pathfinder (both for bass), both of which are going for cheap second hand at the moment! Can't decide haha

Also checking out the link you sent, awesome! Some of the amp sims themselves look pretty interesting (and could be useful if I'm plugging directly into the interface to record). Certainly agree that less is more! With regard to drive, I only have two drive/distortion pedals (only one of which I really use more, and may give or sell the other), and one fuzz, and don't need any more as far as drive etc. goes. The HiFi speaker sounds pretty cool! I'd imagine it sounds great clean too

Still deciding on which amp, the Marshall or the Vox, both are such great deals! I'll wait till Black Friday for the pedal (as I'll most likely order it online, and the online stores I buy from usually offer discounts at that time).

Which end of gain street do you live? I love my Pathfinder 15r for its clean to edge of breakup sounds. If I were more into distortion I suspect I'd probably Rrrrrock! with the Marshall.

Here's the CDR up against the Line 6 particle reverb it seeks to emulate. it gets serious kudos in the comments, supposedly from the original line 6 designer who created the effect. There's also a Strymon Blue Sky emulation and reverse delay and reverb effects too. so I reckon a Multistomp will have you covered!

https://youtu.be/6UFXiXJJCzk?t=24

Oh wow, now I do need to get one, the Zoom sounds perfect, this is what I need!

I went for the Marshall in the end... I've played a Vox Pathfinder before (my brother has one but for guitar rather than bass), but just went for the Marshall as I loved it as soon as I heard it, and all the settings it has :D my style really varies between completely clean or complete distortion and fuzz, but lately more distortion as I'm shifting into a sort of shoegaze style (which is also why I need to upgrade my reverb and delay, not just the amp, even needed to sell some of my less used guitars for new pedals to accomodate my new sound)

SHOEGAZER has used the CDR and MS-50g extensively - a good YT channel to watch

https://youtu.be/wzISDrPVs_M

Thanks :D I've seen this video before, also subscribed to this guy's channel, he has some great tips on recording shoegaze in general (I also found his one about recording and mixing vocals quite useful)

Also am following you now here!