Fender Dual Layer Marine Reverb review: A legendary sound reinvented
The legendary duo of Fender and Reverb has a mythos quite unlike any other in the history of music. From the Spring Reverb Unit that was the sound of Surf rock in the sixties, to iconic amps like the Deluxe and Twin Reverb, Fender and Reverb are two bedfellows that have had a truly astounding impact on the world of music.
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With the release of the Fender Dual Marine Layer, Fender is looking to take their history of producing exceptional reverbs firmly from the annals, forward to the stages of modern music. Offering a unique take on their classic reverb sounds, this green reverb machine is imbibed with the hallmark quality of a traditional Fender reverb, homogenised with the progressive functionality expected by the contemporary guitarist.
Housing three reverb sounds with two switchable channels, the Dual Marine Layer lets you quickly shift from subtle to spaced out. Separate controls for each channel give you plenty of scope to sculpt your specific sound, whilst an additional sustain switch gives you the option to accentuate notes and chords into swells that span infinitely. Aside from your typical Time and Level controls, there are the intriguing Damping and Mod options, which open up more creative avenues for sound shaping.
In use
With a Hall and Room setting, the first two reverb types are what you’d expect to find on any reverb pedal worth its salt. Whilst these examples have a particularly transparent clarity thanks to the unique Fender circuit, it’s the ability to tweak the Damping and Mod knobs where these two settings start to really gleam. Customising the reverb tails to fit the context of your music is simple, whether that be cranking the Damping knob for a dark, warm wash, or adding a dose of Mod to thicken your guitar sound.
These are great, usable sounds, but they aren’t liable to blow you out of the airlock if you’re scouring for something more esoteric. Switch to Type 3 however, and you quickly enter a wormhole to glorious, sweeping, soundscapes that will really drive your creativity to strange new worlds. If you’re into sparse and cinematic guitar sounds, then this setting delivers in spades. It’s a Shimmer-type reverb but lacks the high octave, synth-like twinkling of that on the Boss RV-6, lending a more natural, choral aura to your guitar playing.
Stepping on the momentary sustain switch at the end of a phrase and your chords and notes will ring out into a boundless expanse, great for set closers and noisy, atmospheric intros. This works particularly well when you pair it with a low Time setting, allowing you to really ramp up the resonance to great effect, essentially giving you a third setting to play with.
When designing this latest line of effects, it’s clear Fender has had the live player in mind from the start. The two switchable modes of the Fender Dual Marine Layer make it an incredibly useful bit of gear on stage, a characteristic present across all of the latest line of Fender effects pedals.
Key Features
PRICE £199.00
DESCRIPTION Reverb pedal with two channels, made in China
CONTROLS 2 x damping, 2 x time, 2 x mod, 2 x level, sustain, type switch, bypass footswitch, momentary sustain footswitch switch
FEATURES LED on/off switch, true bypass
DIMENSIONS 89mm x 123mm x 138mm
CONTACT fender.com
Like this? Try these
Electro-Harmonix Oceans 12 Dual Stereo Reverb £229
EarthQuaker Devices Astral Destiny £205
Boss RV-6 Reverb £149
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
