Boss RV-6 vs Digitech Polara

Two of the most recent and notable reverb units to hit the shelves of your favorite music store are: the Boss RV-6 Digital Reverb and Digitech's Polara. If this was a beauty contest, then it would be over before it starts. The Polara is a stunning pedal. Boss pedals have done little to improve there cases. But this isn't Miss America, this is a pedal shootout. 

The Digitech Polara

I like this pedal. It has got some huge sounds in the pretty little box. The controls are super easy to manipulate. Dark and moody is a great way to describe this pedal. Seven modes that let you choose from standard favorites and some new settings. Reverse, Halo, and Mod settings are a great addition the the typical palette of reverb colors. The Halo setting is fantastic. The Spring, Room, and Plate are spot-on. Everything sounds clear and the guitar signal is transparent. The toggle to turn trails on and off is a welcome feature. Switching is silent and soft. Signal remains uncolored when pedal is bypassed. This is a solid pedal with a lot of great features. Did I mention that it was pretty? It's, like, really pretty.

The Boss RV-6

Fresh off the presses from Boss is the RV-6 Reveb. No less than 8 mode of fantastic reverb. The Shimmer and Dynamic modes are awesome and work great. Plus this pedal can even add a little bit of Delay if need (adding back a much loved feature from previous models that was removed in the RV-5). This pedal sounds great. Every setting produces solid effects. The Tone knob helps to put the effect exactly where you want it. Dark to bright and everywhere in-between. You can even add an expression pedal to control the effects. This is a super sounding reverb in the familiar Boss brick shape. 

The Conclusion

Both of these pedal do great things. There is a lot of overlap. The Polara is a stand out pedal. People will notice the sounds and the looks of it. The Boss is a pedal jam-packed with great sounding effects and with expression capabilities. It's hard to choose between these two pedals because they both do a great job at producing reverb. But choose is exactly what we have to do. When the rubber meets the road, you have to go with unit that will be most useful in your playing situation. For me, It's the RV-6. The Reverse setting on the Polara is fun, but not very useful for me. The Dynamic mode of the RV-6 can come in handy when switching off the effect is not possible, or when I want to change setting in the middle of the song. Both pedals punch above their price tags, sounding just as good as pedals twice the price. If I had to choose, it the Boss RV-6.

Ugly Truth Review: Boss RV-6 Reverb

I was able to sit down recently with the new reverb pedal from Boss. I was quite excited because the demo the made this pedal look like a pedal with more than just a subtle effect. Reverb is something that not all player enjoy. I never used reverb much for a long time, because I saw it as something that made everything sound mushy. I played a lot of punk/rock/metal tunes that didn't quite jive with jangly reverb, but now my style of playing has changed (or at least I play more types of music). So I've found my self using the reverb on my amp, and then I used the reverb on my Line6 M5. So My attention was peaked when I saw all the features of the RV-6.

It's A Reverb Pedal

Yes, it's true, this pedal is exactly what it says it is. The Shimmer and Dynamic settings are new and very enjoyable. I found myself spending the most time with these two new settings. This is probably due to the fact that I, and most other people, are familiar with the other types of reverb. But with is neat is that these effects are more of a "special" effect than an emulation of what amps already do. This pedal does reverb just as well as its older sibling, the RV-5, but has more to offer. The stereo operation is still intact, and the sound quality is just as good or better than before. There really is no setting that is "to far" that you can't make some musical noise out of it, unlike the EHX Holy Grail (not saying that 'to far' is always 'to far'). If you like a good reverb, this pedal is probably the best and most flexible I've played in a long time.

It's More Than A Reverb

I've talked about the new feature of this pedal, and there are several, but the most exciting to me was the fact that you can set the pedal for 100% wet signal. I've become a little more versed in the world of ambient noise and like the idea of a pedal that makes just that. These features, as well as the expression pedal input, suggest that this pedal can do more than just make reverb. In fact, much of my time with the pedal was making strange noises with it. I've mentioned the Holy Grail reverb earlier. That pedal is great when set at reasonable levels. Once you start to crank it, however, thing take a turn for the unmusical. This is not true for the RV-6. Run this pedal full bore and you still get usable, if not a bit "over the top" reverberations. The Expression capabilities are a fun thought. Being able to swell reverb is something that seems applicable in certain situations. No longer is a reverb relegated to subtle "after-note" effects, but can actually made a big difference in the tone and vibe of your playing.

Conclusion

I like this pedal. It may be the most excited I've ever been about reverb. Everything sound great and the controls are dead simple. It's really easy to dial in a tone you're looking for. If you are in the market for a reverb, then you should check this one out. If you like to make weird noises and you want a pedal to help with that, then you should check this pedal out. Other pedal that create just a fraction of this pedals range sell for what you'd pay for this unit or more. Do your self a favor and take a good look at the RV-6 from Boss. It's a reverb that gives you a lot more than "reverb".