Rainger FX Reverb-X Mini

The Rainger FX Reverb-X Mini is a digital reverb built into Rainger FX's custom mini-pedal steel enclosure. The maker describes it as simple to use but giving "a whole selection of unique, and very useful, new sound", with up to 6 seconds of reverberation time¹. It is not just a reverb: the design places a blended overdrive after the reverb and adds a noise gate, an arrangement Rainger FX says is based on the excitement of plugging an overdrive pedal after a reverb pedal¹. That puts it among the less conventional entries in the wider field of reverb pedals.

What it does to a signal

The pedal's core is a digital reverb running on the FV-1 chip, the same basis Guitar World cited when the pedal was announced in January 2018⁴. On top of that sits an overdrive stage that blends in after the reverb, plus a noise gate to keep the long tails tidy¹. Guitar Pedal X's reviewer Stefan Karlsson, writing in June 2024, said the pedal covers a wide range of territory: "Clean Bright Reverb, Live 'Bootleg' Reverb, 80's Gated Reverb, and Spacerock Overload Reverb all in t..."⁶. The maker's own page adds an "AMAZING 'EDITED GUITAR SAMPLE' SIMULATION!" to the list¹.

Karlsson's verdict on the pedal as a whole:

Controls and the Igor Expression Pad

The pedal carries seven knobs plus the included Igor Expression Pad: Level, Size, Distortion, Input, Output, Gate and Dark⁶. The Level, Size and Distortion controls shape the reverb and the drive blend, while Input, Output and Gate cover levels and the noise gate.

The Igor pad is the pedal's most distinctive control. Karlsson described how it works: "Plug in the Igor expression pad and you get no reverb at all. However as you start to lean on it the signal gets diverte..."⁶. With no pressure there is no reverb; leaning on the pad diverts the signal to the reverb pathway and a bloom of reverberation grows, and lifting the foot returns the signal to fully dry while the reverb decays naturally on its own⁶. Players who want a hands-free way to swell reverb in and out mid-phrase will find related options among expression pedals, though the Igor pad is included with the Reverb-X rather than bought separately.

Before or after a gain pedal

Because the Reverb-X already contains an overdrive after its reverb, the question of where it sits in a chain matters. Karlsson notes that it works Pre- and Post-Gain, so it can be placed before a drive pedal or after one⁶. Players who like the sound of reverb pushed into distortion can run it into an overdrive pedal or a distortion pedal; the pedal's own post-reverb drive reproduces that idea internally¹. The noise gate also connects it to the concerns of dedicated noise gate pedals, keeping long reverb tails from feeding forward into high-gain settings.

History and reception

Rainger FX's Reverb-X Mini has picked up a cult following since Mk.Gee, the touring band guitarist with Dijon, revealed how he uses it⁶. The London maker sells it as a mini pedal covering Bright and Immediate Sparkle-Verb, Dark and Brooding Pre-Delayed Ambience, Clean Bright Reverb, Live 'Bootleg' Reverb, 80's Gated Reverb, and Spacerock Overload Reverb, retailing for £229 / $193 via the Rainger FX webstore⁶.

The pedal's profile changed sharply in 2024. Guitar Pedal X reports that the Reverb-X Mini picked up a cult following after Mk.Gee, Dijon's touring band guitarist, revealed how he uses it, and that since the release of the Dijon touring band rig rundown video the Reverb-X has become the brand's current bestseller, alongside the Minibar Liquid Analyser⁶. The same review notes: "You will find it frequently sold out - s it's in such high-demand"⁶.

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