The Mr. Black Heaven's Gate is a gated reverb pedal: a reverb that listens to your playing and gets out of the way when you stop. Keep playing and the reverb sits behind your notes; mute or stop and it "will quickly and smoothly depart, returning you to the cr[ying]..." dry signal, as Mr. Black puts it on the product page1. MusicRadar's Jonathan Horsley described it as "a reverb that'll respond to your playing and can be set to disappear as soon as you mute a note," useful for cleaning up reverb tails on staccato passages2.
What it does
The Heaven's Gate is built around one idea: reverb with instant control of decay when playing stops. Mr. Black describes it as "a beautiful and unique reverberator," and the company frames it as a specialist tool rather than an all-rounder: "While the Heaven's Gate is certainly not a jack-of-all-trades, it is an absolute master of its domain"3. Horsley, writing at launch, said it "lets your tone effortlessly soar through the cosmos, but return home on demand," and added that "the alien graphics on the enclosure are pretty cool too"2.
Controls
The pedal keeps things simple with three controls, which Mr. Black says "deliver a quick and simple setup, and you can dial the Heaven's Gate in to match your tempos, riffs and styles"3.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Threshold | Controls the sensitivity of the gate; the more you turn it clockwise, the more extreme the cutoff2 |
MusicRadar's review is the source for the Threshold control's behavior; the maker's page confirms the three-control layout without detailing each knob32.
Where it goes in a signal chain
Mr. Black recommends placing the Heaven's Gate after all dynamically controlled effects, such as overdrive, distortion, fuzz, envelope filters and compressors, and potentially before delay and echo devices1. That ordering matters because the gate reacts to your playing dynamics: anything that changes the signal's level ahead of it changes how the gate behaves.
Price and B-stock units
The Heaven's Gate lists at $199.95 USD as of 26 October 20263; MusicRadar reported a $199 price when the pedal launched in January 20232. Mr. Black also sells B-stock units at $149.95 USD3.
B-stock units have minor cosmetic defects, but Mr. Black states the internal components are the same as a standard pedal. They carry the standard 1-year Mr. Black Warranty, and all B-stock sales are final: no returns, exchanges or refunds3.
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Questions
How many controls does the Mr. Black Heaven's Gate have?
The Heaven's Gate has three controls, which Mr. Black describes as intuitive and quick to set up, so the pedal can be dialed in to match your tempos, riffs and styles. One of them, Threshold, controls the sensitivity of the gate: MusicRadar's Jonathan Horsley noted that the further you turn it clockwise, the more extreme the cutoff becomes.
What is a B-stock Heaven's Gate?
A B-stock Heaven's Gate is a unit with minor cosmetic defects sold by Mr. Black at a lower price. The maker states that the internal components are the same as a standard pedal, and B-stock units carry the standard 1-year Mr. Black Warranty. All B-stock sales are final, with no returns, exchanges or refunds.
Does the Heaven's Gate come with a warranty?
B-stock units carry the standard 1-year Mr. Black Warranty, according to the maker's product page. The catch is on returns: B-stock sales are final, with no returns, exchanges or refunds.
Where can I find the Heaven's Gate manual?
Mr. Black hosts the Heaven's Gate manual as a PDF on its site, linked from the pedal's product page.
Sources (3)
- Heaven's Gate, Mr. Black
- Mr Black launches the Heaven's Gate reverb pedal, MusicRadar, 2023-01-10
- Heaven's Gate B-stock, Mr. Black
