FENDER Reflecting Pool Delay/Reverb

102
GUITARIST JULY 2020
IMAGES TO BE SHOT
I
f you’re going to have delay and
reverb on your pedalboard, both
effects in the same pedal can be
a practical way to go about things by
saving on space, power outlets and audio
cabling, as well as likely looking neater.
Fender’s take on that particular genre
is the Reflecting Pool, with separately
footswitchable delay and reverb that
can be used independently or together
– the delay feeding the reverb. This good-
looking stereo and mono pedal appears
on the surface to be a combination of
the Mirror Image Delay and the Marine
Layer Reverb, but it’s much more than just
that. While those may have formed the
building blocks, the features of each have
been expanded for more versatility, and
both offer nine variations on their effect
instead of six for starters.
SOUND
The delay side of the pedal is equipped
with an easily operated tap tempo
footswitch allied to seven selectable
subdivisions. If you’re not using tap tempo,
the Time knob selects the delay time from
10ms, where you can dial in a neat dry
modulation through to a full one-second
delay. Standard Feedback and Level knobs
respectively adjust the number of repeats
and their volume against the dry sound
through to fully wet, while modulation
can be added via Rate and Depth knobs,
whether that be subtle chorusing or more
wayward pitch fluctuations.
The final knob in the delay section is
Mix, which controls the feature that sets
this particular delay apart from many
others on the market. As with the Mirror
Image’s fixed-volume extra dotted eighth
note, you can add in a secondary repeat
related to the main repeat. Here, however,
you get control over its volume, the
relative levels of this secondary tap and
the main repeat being set via this Mix
knob, which has a 50:50 mix at its central
position. There’s plenty here to sculpt
some tasty U2-style rhythmic echoes with
three choices of how the two relate in
timing to the quarter note: the second tap
can be 50 per cent (eighth note), 66 per
cent (quarter note triplet) or 75 per cent
(dotted eighth note).
As for the actual sound of the delay, you
have a choice of straight digital delay, a
BBD analogue delay emulation or a tape
echo emulation. Each has three variations
of repeat quality: one standard, the others
progressively degraded. The Analog and
Tape delays both reflect the tonal flavour
Dive in for a sonic soaking with this one-box ambient solution
Words Trevor Curwen Photography Olly Curtis
PEDALBOARD
FENDER
Reflecting Pool Delay/Reverb
CONTACT
01342 331700 / WW W.FENDER.COM
MODEL
REFLECTING POOL DELAY/REVERB
PRICE
£259
MANUFACTURER
FENDER
GIT460.peds_fender.indd 102 13/05/2020 10:05