Fishman AFX Reverb

The Fishman AFX Reverb is a reverb pedal made by Fishman, the acoustic pickup specialist, and aimed at players of amplified acoustic guitars. Rather than a single generic reverb, it offers a set of presets representing the sound of various real spaces of differing sizes, and Fishman voices those effects to sit well with an acoustic instrument: as MusicRadar's Trevor Curwen put it in his review, "the effects are EQ'd in sympathy with the resonances of an amplified acoustic guitar"¹.

What it does

The pedal's presets cover a wide span of spaces. MusicRadar lists them as¹:

Studio¹
Room¹
Stage¹
Concert hall¹
Cathedral¹
Canyon¹
Chamber (studio-style)¹
Plate¹

In the reviewer's hearing, "each preset gives a different but realistic sense of space from the controlled sound of the studio preset to the echoey" extremes of the larger spaces¹. That range is the pedal's main selling point for an acoustic player: one box that goes from a small, controlled room to a cathedral or canyon without the reverb fighting the natural tone of a piezo or soundhole pickup.

Controls

The control layout is simple. There are knobs for reverb decay, time, and for tonal changes ranging from "warm" to "bright"¹. MusicRadar's summary of the pedal's strengths was: "Simple operation; excellent build quality; a sound that works for electro-acoustics; comprehensive range of reverb sounds"¹.

The AFX range and the AcoustiVerb Mini

The AFX Reverb sits in a family of acoustic-oriented effects. Fishman describes the range's reverb offering as "a reverb pedal optimized for acoustic guitar," letting players "explore the sounds of three distinctive reverb types, with a premium audio path designed to maintain the extended" response acoustic players need².

The reverb idea was later carried into the Fishman AFX AcoustiVerb Mini, a compact pedal with the model number PRO-AFX-RV2³. Instead of presets, the Mini uses a selection switch offering "quick and easy access to 3 popular reverb effects: Spring, Hall and Place"³. Fishman describes the three modes as follows³:

Mode	What Fishman says it does
Spring	"Recreates the classic sound of a spring type reverb found in many electric guitar amplifiers"
Hall	"An all-around reverb with natural, resonate spaces capable of replicating rooms both small and large, with long reverb decay times"
Plate	"Recreates the dense reflections and metallic characteristics of mechanical plate reverbs used throughout the 50's, 60's, and 70's"

The AFX Reverb and the AFX AcoustiVerb Mini are different pedals: the Reverb works from a set of space presets¹, while the Mini uses a three-way spring, hall and plate switch³. Make sure which one you are reading about before comparing specifications.

GuitarPlayer's Jimmy Leslie, reviewing the Mini series, listed the AcoustiVerb's controls as "Level, tone, decay time. Reverb select: spring/hall/plate. Switches: buffered or true bypass; audio path: tip (mono) or ring"⁴. The buffered or true bypass option and the tip-or-ring audio path routing are aimed at the particular needs of acoustic rigs, where players may want to send the signal to different destinations.

What reviewers said

MusicRadar's verdict on the AFX Reverb was positive across the board, naming simple operation, excellent build quality, a sound that works for electro-acoustics, and a comprehensive range of reverb sounds as its conclusions¹. The review framed the pedal as Fishman's answer to a gap in the market: "Fishman, the acoustic pickup specialist, is aiming to remedy that with the new AFX range of pedals"¹.

For a player with an amplified acoustic guitar who wants realistic spaces rather than an effect voiced for electric rigs, the AFX Reverb and its Mini sibling, the AcoustiVerb, are the two Fishman options in the reverb lane¹.

Videos

**AFX Mini Pedal Demo | Acoustiverb**
Fishman Music

**Greg Koch | AFX AcoustiVerb Reverb Pedal Playthrough**
Fishman Music

**Fishman AFX AcoustiVerb - Reverb That's MADE For Your Acoustic!!**
Fabian Holland

Sources (4)