My Decibelics Reverend V2 just landed, and it elevates an already magnificent pedal to even higher ground

So I’m a little later than most in getting my Reverend 2 - but that is because in the same shipment it included Decibelics’ next wonder pedal - which is due for release at the end of October. The Reverend V1 Mini Expandora was already a fantastic pedal - squeezing the complex Bixonic Expandora into a mini enclosure - and delivering more even and consistent output across all 4 modes - Crunch, Overdrive, Distortion, and Forbidden Fuzz!

I know of few pedals more potent across the gain range than the original Expandora format - which I previously enjoyed best in its 2000R reissue format - which externalised the mode selection switches. Bringing this pedal to market was a 4 year project - for which I was very fortunate to collaborate on with Decibelics’ Guillem Vilademunt.

We tried numerous different OpAmps - including of course the LM308 - with its odd slew rate - but which works really well on the lower gain modes - while it has a tendency to choke out on the Forbidden Fuzz Mode.

So in the end the pick of the OpAmps we tested was the OP07 - which just sounded by far and away the best, and most consistent across all 4 modes. So complex is the circuit - that it’s a double-decker / dual layer design.

Next came the Dual Channel Reverend XX - which added external Bass Boost, and 3-way clipping - Stock Si / LED / NOS Ge. By far my favourite choice for those was the LED Clipping Mode - where I also tended to have the Bass Boost engaged - for a somewhat beefier output!

And then in August of this year we got the new Reverend 2 Mini - which has the favourite LED Clipping Mode, and External Bass Boost from the Reverend XX. In addition it came with a remote socket and optional micro switch - which allows you to kick in the Forbidden Fuzz Mode on-the-fly - in essence delivering a Dual Channel pedal in mini format.

Controls - Gain, Level, Tone, Mode : I Crunch / II Overdrive / III Distortion / F Forbidden Fuzz, Dip 1 : Stock Si / LED Clipping, Dip 2 : Bass Boost On/Off, Remote switch and cable to separately activate F Forbidden Fuzz Mode.

I can’t adequately describe how much I love this pedal - I thought the previous edition could have done with a little more output, while on the LED setting on the new one I can get away with the volume at 3 o’c and still have some gears to go.

I’ve settled on the default pedal Mode being the type II Overdrive, where I can kick in the F Forbidden Fuzz whenever I want to jump up some gears.

My current favourite settings are Gain @ 2 o’c, Level @ 3 o’c, Tone @ 2 o’c, type II Overdrive by default, and LED Clipping On (Dip 1 Down), and Bass Boost On (Dip 2 Up).

This pedal is just utterly perfect for me now in this format - and it sounds fantastic!

Props to Guillem for managing to further elevate the Reverend - surely everyone will want one now! Oh - and note that it has that super dynamic auto Momentary / Latching footswitch - depending on whether you do a quick press or press-hold!

I chose the Silver Edition as I already have 2 Silver V1’s - I might acquire all 3 variants eventually - as this is now one of my very favourite pedals of all time - and I’d quite like to own  it in the Red and Black editions too! 

The Silver Sparkle Reverend like mine - goes for €175, and the Fire Red and Stealth Black are €182, and the Remote switch is an additional €45. Equivalent to $190, $199 and $49 in the USA, and £149, £155 and £38 in UK. All available for pre-order on the Decibelics Webstore. Nota that shipping and taxes are extra! Of course you should get the Remote switch too. Very Highly Recommended!

Note that there are no demos out yet of this new edition - I will need to refer to the V1 demos. Just imagine the V2 sounding around 10-20% better! The Reverend XX is cool - while this is even more magical really with such great sounds coming out of such a little box!