The Wampler Faux Spring Reverb is a digital reverb pedal built to imitate the sound of a spring reverb tank. It gives a player three controls, volume, depth and tone, over a drippy, surfy spring character, and it was reviewed by Guitarist via MusicRadar as delivering "Great spring-like tones in a practical format."1 The pedal has been discontinued, and Wampler later brought the concept back in a smaller form as the Mini Faux Spring Reverb.2
What it does
The Faux Spring Reverb is a digital stompbox designed to produce spring reverb tones without a physical spring tank. In a Sweetwater demo video at Winter NAMM 2018, Brian Wampler described the character as "it's way more drippy I would call it what and surfy type of type of reverb," making the point that it is not a real spring.3
The pedal's circuit splits the signal, so the core tone passes through the pedal unchanged and the reverb effect is laid on top of your tone. Wampler describes this arrangement on the Mini's product page, which carries over the design of the original.2
Controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Volume | Sets the level of the reverb |
| Depth | Sets the intensity of the spring effect |
| Tone | Shapes the character of the reverb trail |
Wampler says the Volume, Depth and Tone controls give "full control of your reverb trail."2 The same three controls appear on the original pedal in the Sweetwater demo.3
Versions and history
The original Faux Spring Reverb went through a version two. In the Sweetwater demo from January 2018, Brian Wampler explained the change to the decay: "it used to go to like about three seconds now goes up to about ten seconds."3
Wampler discontinued the original a few years before making the Mini. According to the company's product page, "when it was discontinued a few years ago Brian received numerous requests to bring it back since then," and he responded by taking the feedback from players and giving the design an upgrade.2
The result was the Mini Faux Spring Reverb, which Brian Wampler presented at Sweetwater's GearFest on 22 June 2018, saying it had "just released today."4 Wampler calls it "Wampler's legendary Faux Spring Reverb: same great tone, small footprint, high-quality tone!" and says it has an extended decay time compared to the original, with "More decay, more drippiness and more of that bouncy spring tone players love in the bigger Reverb tanks."2 In the GearFest demo, Wampler showed a reverb tail "all the way to about four seconds of of a reverb tail."4
| Faux Spring Reverb (V2) | Mini Faux Spring Reverb | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Full-size pedal | Mini enclosure2 |
| Decay | Up to about ten seconds3 | About four seconds of reverb tail, per Brian Wampler's demo4 |
| Status | Discontinued2 | Released 22 June 20184 |
Both versions of the pedal are no longer current products. Wampler's page for the Mini listed it as "Out of stock" as of 6 October 2026, and the Mini carries Wampler's limited 5-year warranty.2
What reviewers said
Guitarist's review for MusicRadar gave the Faux Spring Reverb the verdict "Great spring-like tones in a practical format."1 Of the Mini, Paolo De Gregorio of Delicious Audio wrote: "From its convenient size to its top-tier components, the Mini Faux Spring Reverb pedal is every bit a Wampler."5
Guitar.com's interview with Brian Wampler counts the Faux Spring Reverb among Wampler's earlier digital designs, alongside the Faux Tape Echo V2 and the Ethereal Reverb and Delay.6
For more on this family of effects, see the site's guide to Reverb Pedals.
Videos
ProGuitarShopDemos
Sweetwater
JetCityMusic
Questions
Is the Wampler Faux Spring Reverb discontinued?
Yes. Wampler says the original Faux Spring Reverb was discontinued a few years before the Mini Faux Spring Reverb was made. The company notes that after the discontinuation, Brian Wampler received numerous requests from players to bring it back, which led to the Mini version with an extended decay time and a smaller footprint.
What is the difference between the Faux Spring Reverb and the Mini Faux Spring Reverb?
The Mini Faux Spring Reverb is a reduced version of the original, in a smaller enclosure. Wampler says it has more decay, more drippiness and more of the bouncy spring tone of bigger reverb tanks, and Brian Wampler demonstrated a reverb tail of up to about four seconds on the Mini. The original's version two had a decay of up to about ten seconds.
Does the Wampler Faux Spring Reverb use a real spring tank?
No. MusicRadar describes the Faux Spring as a digital stompbox, and in a Sweetwater demo Brian Wampler described its character as a drippy, surfy type of reverb rather than a real spring. The signal is split so the core tone passes through the pedal unchanged while the reverb effect is laid on top.
How long is the decay on version two of the Faux Spring Reverb?
In a Sweetwater demo video from January 2018, Brian Wampler said the decay on version two was lengthened from about three seconds on the earlier version to up to about ten seconds on version two.
Sources (6)
- Wampler Faux Spring Reverb review, MusicRadar, 2015-06-02
- Mini Faux Spring Reverb, Wampler Pedals, 2026-10-06
- New Wampler Pedals at Winter NAMM 2018, Sweetwater, 2018-01-27
- Wampler Mini Faux Spring Reverb Pedal Overview with Brian Wampler, Sweetwater, 2018-06-22
- Wampler Mini Faux Spring Reverb, Delicious Audio, 2018-07-10
- “Back in 2000 to 2005, what we would call a boutique pedal was different”: Pedal maker Brian Wampler on the ‘B-word’, Guitar.com, 2020-09-28
