Demos and Reviews

Demo: Fender Reflecting Pool Delay & Reverb

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The Reflecting Pool by Fender is a dual delay/reverb pedal that packs a surprising amount of sonic possibilities — in stereo!

If you’re familiar with Fender’s recent pedal line, the Reflecting Pool is essentially an updated Mirror Image Delay and the Marine Layer Reverb, combined into one (extremely handsome) box.

First things first, song is “Hold On, Hold On” by Neko Case!

Delay

On the right you have your delay pedal and its settings. The most intuitive knobs are Time, Feedback, and Level, which is actually your overall delay/dry mix. There are also knobs for Mix, Rate, and Depth for modulated subdivision delay aspects of the Reflecting Pool.

That’s right — this isn’t your standard delay pedal. If you want, you can add subdivided modulated delay on top of your standard delay. The mix knob controls how much (if any) of the modulated delay you want. The subdivisions are based on your overall time, and can be set to 50% (8th note relative to quarter note), 66% (quarter note triplet relative to quarter note), or 75% (dotted 8th relative to quarter note). 

There are also a total of nine standard delay sounds, achievable via the Type and Quality toggles. Here’s what those look like according to the manual: 

  1. Digital
    1. Crystal-clean delay
    2. Some audible signal degradation
    3. “Grunge” with less high end
  2. Analog
    1. Softer repeats and less highs
    2. Less fidelity and slightly more distortion
    3. More bass, more treble cut, most distortion, and you’re going to get into self-oscillation a lot faster
  3. Tape Echo
    1. Sound of 15 ips studio audio tape unit
    2. Lower fidelity, more tape saturation sound
    3. Even less fidelity and more tape saturation — turn rate full clockwise and add depth for that flutter and wow sound

Of course, there’s also a tap switch if you don’t want to rely n the time knob. You can also use the time knob with the tap switch to select rhythmic subdivisions. 

Reverb

Now let’s look at the reverb side. Decay controls the length of the reverb signal, Damp darkens the reverb tail, and Level is your mix. 

The effect of Extra depends on the reverb setting. Just like on the delay side, you have nine options: 

  1. Hall
    1. Small hall
    2. Medium hall
    3. Large hall
  2. Room
    1. Small room
    2. Medium room
    3. Large room
  3. Special
    1. Shimmer
    2. Gated / Reverse
    3. Modulated

For both Hall and Room, the Extra knob controls the amount of low-frequency reverb decay — in other words, it’s a bass cut when turned clockwise. 

For the Special settings, the Extra knob does something different for each one.

  1. Shimmer: Controls the amount of regen into octave-up.
  2. Gated / Reverse: Controls the tail shape. At counterclockwise, you have a decaying taper. At noon you have a gated shape, and at clockwise you have reverse reverb. Set Extra and Level at full clockwise for a “full-wet” reverse effect.
  3. Modulated: Controls modulation depth (rate is fixed)

Review

I’m in absolute awe of the sonic possibilities of this pedal. I think it sounds fantastic and I’m absolutely going to add it to my board if for nothing else than for the ability to add modulation to the delay and for that reverse reverb setting. 

Also, I can’t state enough how much I LOVE that the knobs have LED lights. It’s something I didn’t realize I needed, and it reminds me of the first time I got a laptop with a backlit keyboard. Absolute game changer for me. Oh, and if you hate those, you can turn them off with the flick of a switch. 

I do feel like there are a few opportunities for the pedal. Namely, you have an external tap, but the ability to control a parameter via and expression pedal would be lovely, as would an infinite hold switch (which is something I use a lot on my Delayvid Foster Wallace, Atmosphere, and Avalanche Run). 

I’m sure some folks will be bummed that there aren’t pre-sets, but I don’t think you have to worry about knobs accidentally getting bumped — those pots feel super secure and I can’t imagine bumping them with my feet. 

Finally, to my ears, I think that the stereo effect could be stronger, but that’s very minor to me. 

The verdict: this is a great pedal. I really love it and plan on adding it to my live board for shows on the road. 

Guitar: Fender Coronado ii

Amp: Strymon Iridium, Round, B

Get the Reflecting Pool