The Poly Effects Verbs is a stereo reverb pedal from Australian maker Poly Effects, announced in December 2023. Unlike most reverb pedals it has no knobs: the tone is adjusted with touch-sensitive sliders on the pedal's surface, each providing 4096 values of resolution12. Instead of algorithmic reverb, it is a convolution design, playing back impulse response (IR) captures of real spaces and vintage gear, and it lets you import spaces you capture yourself1.
Poly Effects positions Verbs as a streamlined unit with an elegant UI, a contrast with the company's deep and complex Beebo and Hector multi-effects units, with all of the pedal's power dedicated to reverb3. As of late October 2026 the maker's page lists it as not currently available, with an email sign-up for pre-order notification1.
What it is and how it works
Verbs is a convolution reverb: rather than modeling a hall or plate with an algorithm, it uses recordings of how real spaces and devices respond to sound. The pedal ships with 48 presets of captures, and 8 of those slots can be filled with imported spaces you capture yourself1. Poly Effects says the captures include "rigorously accurate" examples of vintage gear: EMT140 plates, springs, a 480L, and an oil can unit1.
The captures are grouped into collections3:
- Santa Lucia Basilica: religious buildings, including the almost 2000 year old pantheon of Rome.
- Capricornia Caves: caves and cavernous industrial structures, including a nuclear reactor hall, cooling tower and railway tunnels.
- Pool Of The Blackstar: spaces famous for their unique audio character, including the longest reverb in the world, a masonic acoustic lens and a sound sculpture.
- Irregular Verbs: bubbles, rain and unusual IRs that generate granular sounding textures.
- Adverbs: holds imported reverbs, and by default includes Maeshowe, a neolithic monument built around 2800 BC.
The dry signal stays analog. Sonic State says Verbs "has zero latency on your dry signal and uses analog dry through, so your dry sound is never converted"3, a point Sonic State's coverage repeated when the pedal was announced3.
The controls and footswitches
There are no knobs. Delicious Audio describes the pedal as having "touch-sensitive controls (no knobs!)"2, with four sliders for the main parameters5:
| Slider | What it does |
|---|---|
| Onset | Pre-delay5 |
| Mix | Wet/dry balance5 |
| Low Cut | Removes low frequencies from the reverb5 |
| Smoosh / Swoosh | The manual lists CC 17 as Smoosh6; Delicious Audio calls the slider Swoosh and describes it as reverb density5 |
Sonic State's announcement quotes Poly Effects describing Smoosh as something that "spreads and expands the sound particles to fill the void"3.
The two footswitches, as documented by Guitar Pedal X's review4:
- A footswitch: hold for a reverb crescendo.
- B footswitch: bypass, or hold to scroll through presets.
Each slider offers 4096 values, which Poly Effects says makes them accurate for fine tweaks to the tone1.
MIDI
Verbs has full MIDI compatibility2, and Poly Effects says presets and all values can be changed from MIDI1. The manual documents the control assignments6:
| CC | Control |
|---|---|
| 14 | Onset |
| 15 | Mix |
| 16 | Low Cut |
| 17 | Smoosh |
| 19 | Bypass (on above 64) |
To set the MIDI channel, you tap the Irregular Verbs icon four times quickly, then press one of the preset number buttons to choose a channel from 1 to 66.
Power and connections
Verbs requires 9V DC center negative power and consumes 500mA, and Poly Effects warns not to use more than 9V DC1. That 500mA draw rules out a battery and means it needs a proper isolated or high-current supply, not a shared daisy chain output.
Do not use more than 9V DC with the Verbs. At 500mA it needs a supply output rated for that current1.
Input and output are both mono or TRS stereo4, so a single TRS cable carries a stereo signal in each direction. Guitar Pedal X's review lists the pedal's connections as "It has stereo I/O, MIDI and 9VDC 500mA power"4.
One firmware note from the maker: units with serial numbers above 500 already have the latest firmware, and older firmware will not work on them, so those units should not be updated7.
Where it came from and what reviewers said
"It sounds organic and covers room, hall, cathedral, cavern, plate, spring, shimmer and unusual textures, but lacks gated, lo-fi, modulated and reverse reverbs."4
Guitar Pedal X, January 20244
Videos
Andertons Music Co
Poly Effects
Michael Nielsen - Big Hairy Guitars
Questions
Can you load your own impulse responses into the Poly Verbs?
Yes. The pedal ships with 48 presets of captured spaces, and 8 of those slots can be filled with imported spaces you capture yourself. The Adverbs collection is where imported reverbs are held, and by default it includes Maeshowe, a neolithic monument built around 2800 BC.
Is the Poly Verbs stereo?
Yes. Input and output are both mono or TRS stereo, so it runs a full stereo reverb chain with a single TRS cable in and out, or mono with a standard instrument cable.
Does the Poly Verbs have MIDI?
Yes. It has full MIDI compatibility, and presets and all values can be changed from MIDI. The MIDI channel is settable from 1 to 6 by tapping the Irregular Verbs icon four times quickly and then pressing one of the preset number buttons.
Does the Poly Verbs have analog dry through?
Yes. Poly Effects says the pedal has zero latency on the dry signal and uses analog dry through, so your dry sound is never converted to digital. Only the reverb path is digital.
Is the Poly Effects Verbs still available?
As of late October 2026 the maker's page lists it as not currently available, with an email sign-up to be notified when units are available for pre-order. It is made in and ships from Australia.
What does the Smoosh control do on the Poly Verbs?
Smoosh, listed as CC 17 in the manual, is described as spreading and expanding the sound particles to fill the void. Some coverage calls the same slider Swoosh and describes it as controlling reverb density.
Sources (7)
- Verbs - Poly Effects, Poly Effects
- Poly VERBS Reverb, Delicious Audio, 2023-12-14
- Poly Effects Verbs, Sonic State, 2023-12-14
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-01-12
- Best Stereo Reverb Pedals For Synths For Texture, Ambiance, And Automation, Delicious Audio, 2024-02-23
- Voes | MIDI-CC, Voes, 2024
- Firmware updates for Beebo / Hector, Poly Effects
