Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
My Hotone Verbera Hi-Fidelity Stereo Convolution Dual Reverb Workstation has finally landed - and I'm exceedingly impressed!
I’ve finally picked up a Hotone Verbera (normally $299 / £249), where I paid £229 at Andertons - super good value, and I’ve been incredibly impressed right from the start. The control interface is mostly pretty intuitive - and the value of this pedal is hard to beat. It could even be my favourite Reverb workstation to-date - but it’s a little early to call - I normally give it at least a few months!
It’s been a long time coming - and has been held off for quite a few months by a combination of just two factors - how much I’ve been loving my Cornerstone Nucleo Reverb - whose slot this would occupy. And the fact that it was specified for a 1000mA Current Draw which posed a slight challenge, and slight barrier to entry. However at the recent London Synth and Pedal Expo I was told by the UK Hotone Distributor - that the Verbera would work just fine off a single Cioks 9V 660mA outlet - which was exactly the kind of good news I was hoping to hear - and yes that entirely bears out!
Early days with such a pedal mostly involve trialling / sampling and tweaking the onboard presets - which I’m very much in the process of. I’ve swept through all of those twice now (100 Factory Presets) - and initially picked out my favourite day-to-day verbs - that don’t get in the way of your playing - but sit there somewhat subtly in the background - and make your pedal-chain sound infinitely better. I have a low tolerance for overly dry signals - I almost always have some degree of reverb, and some subtle multi-head tape-style delay underpinning most of my playing - it does so much for the texture and character of your output - I really could not live without a Delay and a Reverb on my board - and normally I have a couple of active options for each!
The daily staple Preset I’ve picked out is ’014 Cathedral Room : IR 085 Prayer Room’ - which I needed to lower the MIX on just a fraction - that works amazingly for me as a default. There’s plenty of character reverbs onboard also - including numerous smart delays. The Verbera really is an incredibly potent pedal. It’s kinda sorta a smaller / neater GFI Specular Tempus / Solis Ventus in some ways. I currently have the Strymon BigSky MX right next to it - which is 3 times the size! That’s eventually being relieved of duties for the Mentha Works Monk Echo [landing later this month supposedly!]. And I feel I will succumb to the Chase Bliss Big Time Hybrid Delay real soon - which will take up the Empress EchoSystem’s slot for at least a few rotations - if not the remainder of the year!
I'm not going to get involved in making grandiose statements about how 'pristine' or 'authentic' the Verbera sounds - it sound pretty perfect to me - but there will surely be cork-sniffers around trying to bring it down. For me this is the perfect packaging / format for a Reverb Workstation - and it has a tonne of spacey sci-fi reverbs onboard too - to make me really happy. The mix and depth of algorithms here is pretty much spot on for my tastes. I must say I've been really impressed with this device from first encounter!
I spent a long time trying to find an official list of the 100 onboard Factory Presets - but it doesn't seem to exist - so possibly it's here in its entirety for the first time - surely not! In any case I transcribed all those Preset labels from the actual device.
I'm not sure how long the Andertons £229 deal is going to last - but it could be the best £229 I've spent in a while. You're getting some serious bang for your buck here. And while I like the analog control nature of the Cornerstone Nucleo - the ease of flipping Presets and Modes on the Verbera - gives me an even faster paced equivalent environment - where you simply flip instantly to the preset / sound of your choice - for whichever voicing you prefer.
There is extensive Expression pedal integration - and you can set Heel and Toe positions across all the key Parameters - should you feel the need. This is truly a perfect execution for me - I really like the screen - and how all the knobs and switches light up appropriately - props to Hotone! The Neon Glow Series got off to a really great start with this one. And the recent FreqLux seems to have further carried that legacy - I will need to get that one too at some stage - it's on the list!
The Controls / Layers / Modes and Menus
Default / Orange / Convolution Controls - Convolution Decay, Attack, Tone / Brightness, Preset [hold for instant Save], Convolution Dry/Wet MIX, IR [hold to access by genre], ALT - flip between Convolution and Extra Layers, hold for MENU, Clone [clone incoming reverb signal], Footswitch Presets Mode [<Previous|Next>] - press both footswitches to flip mode to Bypass/Freeze.
ALT / Blue / Extra Controls - Extra Decay, Pre-Delay, Modulation Depth, Extra Dry/Wet MIX, ALT - flip between Convolution and Extra Layers, hold for MENU, Bypass / Freeze Footswitch Mode - press both footswitches to flip to Presets Mode.
PORTS : TS / TRS In, Left-Out TS, Right-Out TS, USB-C, 9V DC [-] 1000mA, MIDI In, MIDI Thru (on front leading edge).
PRESETS [Rotate Preset Knob and Cancel / OK via ALT and Clone buttons]
- Preset Name
- Preset Slot
- One IR Filt inc. Parameters
- Extra Reverb inc. Parameters
- All parameters within the current Preset's Settings
- EXP settings for the Preset
SMART IR SORTING [press IR knob]
- NAME : A-Z
- LENGTH : Longest > Shortest Reverb Decay
- SMOOTH : Smoothness of IR decay : High > Low
- DIFFUSION : IR Stereo Spread : High > Low
- BRIGHTNESS : Brightest : High > Low
- ATTACK : IR Attack Speed : Fast > Slow
MENU : Global Settings
- INPUT : Mono / Stereo / Auto
- CTRL : MIDI / EXP [front panel]
- TRAILS : Enable / Disable Trails
- KILL DRY : Enable / Disable Kill Dry
- MNT FREEZE : Enable / Disable - Momentary / Latching Freeze
- USB / TRS MIDI CHANNEL : Select USB MIDI and TRIS MIDI Channel - ref MIDI CC Table
ADVANCED PRESET PARAMETERS
- PRESET VOLUME : Default is 0
- OCTAVE VOLUME : Level of Octave Effect
- IR DRIVE : Overdrive amount applied to IR used
- XR DAMP : Adjust decay of XR / Extra Reverb
- MODULATION TYPE : Normal Classic Vibrato / DeepSea Slow Pitch-Shifting Swaying Modulation
- MODULATION MIX : Blance of Modulation Effect and Reverb
- TONE KNOB FILTER TYPE : Low/High Pass or Low Pass
The 100 Onboard Factory Presets
[my current every-day selections in [bold]
#xxx : Preset Name : IR Name
- 001 Verbera : IR100 Space VAB Sd
- 002 2600 Spring : IR 105 Spring 2600
- 003 Elysium Hall : IR 002 White Hole
- 004 Brit Plate : IR 022 Bri Plate
- 005 Tape Drifter : IR 104 Auditorium 400
- 006 Vault Room : IR 031 Control Room
- 007 Zen Dome : IR 038 Dome 50
- 008 Illusion Vision : IR 058 Illusion Echo
- 009 Xeno Phobia : IR 018 Blooming
- 010 Retro Wave : IR 082 Phantom Loop
- 011 Beach Bois : IR 104 Spring 100
- 012 Pulp Fiction : IR 106 Spring 636
- 013 Midnight Story : IR 107 Spring 844
- 014 Cathedral Room : IR 085 Prayer Room [CURRENT DEFAULT FOR ME]
- 015 Displaced Memories : IR 041 Echo Shift 1
- 016 Brit Spring : IR 023 Brit Spring
- 017 Cloud Whistler : IR 083 Ping Pong Fun
- 018 Concrete Room : IR 011 Art Exhibit
- 019 Night Rain : IR 033 Cryo Circuit
- 020 Cosmos Spring : IR 106 Spring 636
- 021 Dark Bowl : IR 006 Arena 10000
- 022 Wind Chime : IR 033 Cross Freq
- 023 Dark Dome : IR 038 Dome 50
- 024 Multi Universe : IR 113 Time Slip
- 025 Dark Light : IR 002 White Hole
- 026 Bright Spring : IR 104 Spring 100
- 027 Dark Room : IR 016 Bed Room
- 028 Disco Elysium : IR 083 Ping Pong Fun
- 029 Fat Plate : IR 048 Fat Plate
- 030 Hollow Tube : IR 025 Carpet Tube
- 031 Dream Spring : IR 108 Spring Box 10
- 032 Lost in Garage : IR 053 Garage1
- 033 Dream Core : IR 004 80 Foot Drain
- 034 Oil Can : IR 075 Oil Can
- 035 Neon Glow : IR 074 Neuro Link
- 036 Slap Back Amp : IR 062 Lake Slapback1
- 037 Tender Spring : IR 116 Warm Spring
- 038 Tennet : IR 088 Reverse Echo
- 039 To The Moon : IR 100 Space VAB Sd
- 040 Whispering Hill : IR 119 Whisper Room
- 041 Ghost Whispers : IR 080 Pan Gate
- 042 Whistler : IR 083 Ping Pong Fun
- 043 Dream Core 2 : IR 107 Spring 844
- 044 Cold Room : IR 031 Control Room
- 045 Roomate : IR 016 Bed Room
- 046 Astral Veil : IR 012 Astral Shimmy
- 047 Cloud Ambient : IR 029 Cloudy Tell
- 048 Bouncing Ball : IR 070 Multi Echo
- 049 Blade Runner : IR 034 Cyber Wave
- 050 Dark Hall : IR 040 Dream Hall
- 051 Clear Dream : IR 042 Echo Shift 2
- 052 Echo Space : IR 043 Echo Space
- 053 Echo Spring : IR 044 Echo Spring
- 054 Hi-Fi Hallway : IR 047 There Hallway
- 055 Synth Haze : IR 112 Synth Haze
- 056 Neural Drifter : IR 073 Net Drifter
- 057 Disco Reverie : IR 118 Whirring In Rags
- 058 Shiver Scape : IR 068 Metal Surface
- 059 Cocteau Vibe : IR 100 Space VAB Sd
- 060 Spectre Verb : IR 103 Spiral Descent
- 061 Warm Hall : IR 059 Ivy League Hall
- 062 Flap Wings : IR 087 Regen Field
- 063 Empty Church : IR 020 Brent Church
- 064 Sleight of Hand : IR 090 Shatter Pulse
- 065 Echo Hall : IR 045 Echoing Hall
- 066 New Heaven : IR 093 Smooth Cloud
- 067 Gentle Armor : IR 005 Abyss White
- 068 Dome Center : IR 038 Dome 50
- 069 Short and Long : IR 115 Underwater
- 070 Infinite White : IR 001 Flat Land
- 071 Old Church : IR 060 Joseph Church
- 072 Ethereal Flow : IR 036 David's Church
- 073 Amid Walls : IR 071 Nash Aud Side
- 074 Motion Picture : IR 051 Future Impact
- 075 Blossom : IR 018 Blooming
- 076 Slowly Dive : IR 018 Blooming
- 077 Delayed Hall : IR 003 1985 Hall
- 078 Warp Choral : IR 049 Fort Hallway
- 079 Sky Arena : IR oo6 Arena 10000 1
- 080 Flat Chorus : IR 007 Arena 10000 2
- 081 Reso Arena : IR 008 Arena 3800 1
- 082 Lone Wander : IR 010 Arena 5000
- 083 Void Gallery : IR 011 Art Exhibit
- 084 Offset Atrium : IR 013 Atrium 54 Ft
- 085 Luna Drifter : IR 015 Auditorium 500
- 086 Clear Sanctuary : IR 017 Belle Church
- 087 Break Beat 130 : IR 019 Break Bear 130
- 088 Divine Church : IR 020 Brent Church
- 089 Silk Nest : IR 021 Brent Heaven
- 090 Brick Plater : IR 022 Bri Plate
- 091 Pilgrim Verb : IR 024 CTKCC Side
- 092 Thump Tube : IR 025 Carpet Tube
- 093 Soft Cathedral : IR 026 Cathedral
- 094 Quest Cave : IR 028 Cave 2
- 095 Under the Dome : IR 039 Dome 50 Turf
- 096 Plate Harmo : IR 084 Plate Unite 140
- 097 Cosmic Choir : IR 101 Specter Echo
- 098 Narrow Chapel : IR 060 Church
- 099 Crystal Clear : IR 093 Smooth Cloud
- 100 Illusion Vision : IR 058 Illusion Echo
The 120 Included IR's
# | IR NAME | COLLECTION SOURCE
001 | 1985 Hall | Factory Original IR
002 | 80 Foot Drain | Captured from a drain
003 | Abyss Vibe | Factory Original IR
004 | Arena 10000 1 | Captured from a 1000-seat Arena
005 | Arena 10000 2 | Captured from a 1000-seat Arena
006 | Arena 3800 1 | Captured from a 3800-seat Arena
007 | Arena 3800 2 | Captured from a 3800-seat Arena
008 | Arena 5000 | Captured from a 5000-seat Arena
009 | Art Exhibit | Captured from a exhibit room
010 | Astral Shimmy | Factory Original IR
011 | Atrium 54 Ft | Captured from a Atrium
012 | Auditorium 400 | Captured from a 400-seat auditorium
013 | Auditorium 500 | Captured from a 500-seat auditorium
014 | Bed Room | Captured from a Nashville room
015 | Belle Church | Captured from the Belle Church
016 | Blooming Factory | Original IR
017 | Break Beat 130 | Factory Original IR
018 | Brent Church | Captured from the Brent Church
019 | Brent Heaven | Captured from the Brent Church
020 | Brick Plate | Captured from the Brick Plate Reverb
021 | Brit Spring | Captured from the Bandive Great British Spring
022 | Carpet Tube | Captured from a carpet tube
023 | Cathedral | Captured from a cathedral
024 | Cave 1 | Captured from a cave
025 | Cave 2 | Captured from a cave
026 | Cloudy Tail | Factory Original IR
027 | Concrete Room | Captured from a concrete cavern
028 | Control Room | Captured from a controling room
029 | Cross Freq | Factory Original IR
030 | Cryo Circuit | Factory Original IR
031 | CTKCC Side | Captured from a Catholic Church
032 | Cyber Wave | Factory Original IR
033 | Dance Studio | Captured from a studio room
034 | David‘s Church | Captured from the St David’s Church
035 | Destin Office | Captured from a office
036 | Dome 50 | Captured from a 50-feet Dome
037 | Dome 50 Turf | Captured from a 50-feet Dome
038 | Dream Hall | Factory Original IR
039 | Echo Shift 1 | Factory Original IR
040 | Echo Shift 2 | Factory Original IR
041 | Echo Space | Factory Original IR
042 | Echo String | Factory Original IR
043 | Echoing Hall | Factory Original IR
044 | Episco Church | Captured from a Episcopal Church
045 | Ether Hallway | Factory Original IR
046 | Fat Plate | Captured from the Lexicon 480L
047 | Flat Land | Factory Original IR
048 | Fort Hallway | Captured from the Fort Barr Hallway
049 | Fort Outside | Captured from the Fort Barr Hallway
050 | Future Impact | Factory Original IR
051 | Garage 1 | Captured from a parking garage
052 | Garage 2 | Captured from a parking garage
053 | GMC Truck | Captured from a GMC Truck
054 | Hallway Slap | Factory Original IR
055 | Heavenly Space | Factory Original IR
056 | Hudson Hall | Captured from the Hudson Hall
057 | Illusion Echo | Factory Original IR
058 | Ivy League Hall | Captured from the Ivy League Hall
059 | Joseph Church | Captured from the St Joseph Church
060 | Kaleidoscope | Factory Original IR
061 | Lake Slapback 1 | Captured from the State Park Tennessee
062 | Lake Slapback 2 | Captured from the State Park Tennessee
063 | Leaf Bedroom | Captured from a Nashville room
064 | Luth Church 1 | Captured from the Luth Church
065 | Luth Church 2 | Captured from the Luth Church
066 | Meeting Room | Captured from a conference room
067 | Metal Surface | Factory Original IR
068 | Metro Sync | Factory Original IR
069 | Multi Echo | Factory Original IR
070 | Nash Aud Side | Captured from a Nashville auditorium
071 | Neon Relic | Factory Original IR
072 | Net Drifter | Factory Original IR
073 | Neuro Link | Factory Original IR
074 | Oil Can | Captured from the Gibson A-4RE Oil Can (Tel Ray)
075 | Out Ambient 1 | Captured from a open architectural complex
076 | Out Ambient 2 | Captured from a open architectural complex
077 | Out Ambient 3 | Captured from a open architectural complex
078 | Out Ambient 4 | Captured from a open architectural complex
079 | Pan Gate | Factory Original IR
080 | Peach Church | Captured from the Peach Church
081 | Phantom Loop | Factory Original IR
082 | Ping Pong Fun | Captured from the Peavey Dual DeltaFex Multi Effects processor
083 | Plate Unit 140 | Captured from the EMT 140
084 | Prayer Room | Captured from a cathedral’s prayer room
085 | R-1 Spring | Captured from the Vesta-Fire RV-1
086 | Regen Field | Factory Original IR
087 | Reverse Echo | Factory Original IR
088 | Rotary Records | Captured from the Rotary Records Main Studio Room
089 | Shatter Pulse | Factory Original IR
090 | Small Barn | Captured from a small barn
091 | Small Orch Hall | Captured from a Orchestra Hall
093 | Space Facility 1 | Captured from the Space Station Processing Facility
095 | Space Facility 3 | Captured from the Space Station Processing Facility
096 | Space VAB Ctr | Captured from the Vehicle Assembly Building of a Space Center
097 | Space VAB Frt | Captured from the Vehicle Assembly Building of a Space Center
098 | Space VAB Rer | Captured from the Vehicle Assembly Building of a Space Center
099 | Space VAB Sd | Captured from the Vehicle Assembly Building of a Space Center
100 | Specter Echo | Factory Original IR
101 | Speed Up | Factory Original IR
102 | Spiral Descent | Factory Original IR
103 | Spring 100 | Captured from the Unicord Univerb
104 | Spring 2600 | Captured from the ARP 2600
105 | Spring 636 | Captured from the Soundgas Type 636 Grampian
106 | Spring 844 | Captured from the Olson RA-844
107 | Spring Box 10 | Captured from the Vintage Kay Model 710
108 | Spring Plus | Captured from the Alamo Fiesta 2573
109 | Spring Pro V | Captured from the Univox U3R Proverb
110 | St Hen Bapt | Captured from the St Hen Baptistry
111 | Synth Haze | Factory Original IR
112 | Time Slip | Factory Original IR
113 | Tunnel Flash | Factory Original IR
114 | Underwater | Captured from a underwater
115 | Warm Spring | Captured from the Orban 111-b
116 | West Cylinder | Captured from the Middle School Nashville
117 | Whiring In Rags | Factory Original IR
118 | Whisper Room | Captured from a Nashville room
119 | White Hole | Factory Original IR
120 | Wils Hall 66 Ft | Captured from the Wils Hall
Key Features & Specs
- Includes 120 built-in IRs with real-world spaces and original creations
- Stereo input and output with selectable input modes
- Dual Reverb : Flexible combination of IR Convolution Reverb and additional algorithmic Extra Reverb (XR)
- Supports Reverb Tails up to 20 seconds with low-latency performance
- Real-time IR envelope adjustment and Instant IR loading
- Full control over reverb tone with parameters like Attack, Tone, Pre-delay, and Mod (Depth)
- Trail function switch for tail preservation
- Supports external control via expression pedal (EXP) or MIDI for more parameters
- Reverb cloning function to capture and create custom IRs
- Built-in IR browsing and sorting for easy navigation through a vast library
- Stores a large number of IRs and up to 200 presets (120 Factory Presets onboard)
- 32-bit high-performance AD/DA conversion
- Pure analog dry-through circuit design
- Dual footswitch modes for Preset Switching, Bypass, and Freeze functionality
- High-resolution LCD screen for quick and intuitive operation
- USB-C connectivity for firmware updates, preset, and IR management via free PC/MAC software
- AD & DA : 32-bit High-performance
- DSP : 32-bit processing
- SNR : 115dB
- Frequency response : ±0.1dB, 20Hz~20kHz
- Max input level : +13dBu
- Bypass : Analog Dry Thru + Buffer
- Power supply : 9V DC, 1000mA / 1A （Center Negative）NOTE - works well with single Cioks 9V 660mA outlet!
- Dimensions : 125.5mm(W)×84mm(D)×62.5mm(H)
- Weight : 485g
- Street Price : $299 / €300 / £249
You can read up more on the Verbera Convolution Reverb - on the Hotone Website!
Demos
