DigiTech Supernatural Ambient Stereo Verb

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Picture showing the DigiTech Supernatural Ambient Stereo Verb pedal in a wash of wild colors

Released in July of 2012, the DigiTech Supernatural Ambient Stereo Verb came along near the end of the HardWire era and really does feel like DigiTech letting the reverb side of the line off the leash a little. Earlier HardWire pedals such as the RV-7 were already respected for bringing Lexicon-quality ambience into a stompbox, but the Supernatural took that platform in a more cinematic direction. Instead of trying to be a general-purpose "covers everything" reverb, this one leaned into bigger textures, lush modulation, shimmer, and the sort of expansive stereo wash that makes a simple chord sound like it suddenly grew a soundtrack around it. What makes the Supernatural fun is that it can still behave like a practical pedal when you want it to. Plate and Spring are absolutely usable in normal guitar-player life, but the pedal's real personality shows up when you start exploring the deeper ambient modes. Shimmer, Shine, Supernova, and Pherb are the sort of names that would have sounded like marketing fluff if the sounds did not back them up. On this pedal, they actually do. It is one of those HardWire boxes that can sit quietly on a board for years, then the minute somebody kicks it on in stereo the whole room notices.

As we always do, let's cover the tech section and then we'll get into what I really love about the "Super Verb" =)


  • Performance & Controls
    • Modes: 7 stereo reverb types:

      • Plate: A studio-standard plate reverb simulation.

      • Plate Mod: A plate reverb with added modulation for a chorused effect.

      • Shimmer: An ambient effect featuring an upward cascading pitch shifter that adds an ethereal, octave-up layer to the reverb.

      • Supernova: An expansive, dreamy reverb that incorporates spacey flanging and pitch shifting.

      • Shine: A thick, lush reverb combined with a strong chorus effect.

      • Pherb: A combination of a classic Lexicon Hall reverb combined with a phaser.

      • Spring: A classic, warm, and sparkly spring tank emulation.

      The pedal also features Mix, Liveliness (high-frequency damping), and Decay controls, along with a "Tails" switch to allow the reverb to fade naturally.

    • Hardware Interface: Level, Liveliness, Decay, and Type controls; on/off footswitch; hidden Tails switch under the footswitch; dual 1/4" inputs and dual 1/4" outputs for mono or stereo operation.


  • Technical Specifications
    • Audio Processing: Digital stereo reverb platform using Lexicon-derived ambient algorithms with analog dry-through signal path.

    • Delay Time / Effect Range: Reverb decay and ambience range vary by mode and are controlled with the Decay and Liveliness knobs rather than a fixed delay-time scale.

    • Special Functions: Stereo/mono I/O, Tails On/Off switch, StompLock compatibility, and ambient reverb voices that combine reverb with chorus, octave-up shimmer, flange, or phase-style movement depending on mode.

    • Input Impedance: >1 MOhms (stereo), >500 kOhms (mono), effect on.

    • Output Impedance: 1 kOhm, effect on.

    • Bypass: True hardwire bypass when Tails is OFF. When Tails is ON, the reverb trails continue after bypass and the pedal does not operate in strict true hardwire bypass.

    • Headroom note: HardWire marketing emphasized constant high-voltage operation and increased internal headroom, one reason these pedals were pitched as more pedalboard-and loop-friendly than an ordinary compact 9V stompbox.

  • Physical
    • Dimensions: 5.25" (L) x 3.5" (W) x 2.15" (H)

    • Weight: 1.3 lbs.

    • Chassis: Rugged metal HardWire enclosure with removable footswitch assembly for access to the battery compartment and Tails switch.

    • Color: Black enclosure with silver and blue-gray HardWire/Supernatural graphics.


  • Power Requirements
    • Voltage: 9V DC

    • Power Source: 9V alkaline battery or Harman 9V DC power supply

    • Current Draw: 75 mA typical at 9V DC

    • Power Consumption: 675 mW typical with optional power supply

    • Battery behavior: When the battery gets low, the LED begins to dim roughly 15 minutes before shutdown. If the battery dies completely, the signal path defaults to bypass so you are not dead in the water.


  • List price: $249.95 (typically retailed for approximately $179 to $199 USD)

  • Notable IC chip: Spin Semiconductor FV-1 DSP chip

  • Component-side circuitboard image: (Coming soon)

  • Component variations: No internal variations, only cosmetic. DigiTech removed the "HardWire" name from the Supernatural (and the rest of the HardWire line) around 2015-2016 as part of a broader corporate rebranding strategy to simplify their offerings. They moved all digital, higher-end pedals directly under the DigiTech brand and, for a time, used the DOD brand for analog pedals.

  • Heritage: DigiTech Supernatural Ambient Stereo Reverb Divider icon DigiTech Polara


  • How players actually use it:
    • Big ambient pads without dragging out a huge rig: This is the obvious one, but it is obvious for a reason. The Supernatural can take a very plain clean guitar part and make it feel wider, taller, and more emotional almost immediately. In stereo it gets even better. A lot of players buy it for shimmer, then discover the whole pedal is basically a secret weapon for turning simple parts into something cinematic.

    • Plate and Spring for the "normal" jobs: One of the nice surprises here is that the pedal is not only for space-music theatrics. Plate is rich and polished, and Spring is far more convincing than a lot of digital spring attempts from that era. So even though the graphics and mode names scream atmosphere, you can still use it as a daily reverb pedal and not feel silly.

    • Shoegaze, post-rock, worship, soundtrack textures, and late-night headphone wandering: Shimmer, Shine, Pherb, and Supernova are where the pedal earns its cult reputation. They are not subtle if you crank everything, but they do not have to be. With a little restraint on Mix and Decay, those same modes can sit behind the guitar in a very musical way instead of taking over the whole zip code.

    • Mono in, stereo out magic: Even players who do not run dual amps all the time often end up keeping the Supernatural around for recording because mono-in/stereo-out sounds huge. That is one of the places where the pedal really reminds you it came from a period when DigiTech was trying to punch above the usual mass-market expectations.

  • Suggested starting settings:
    • Big, lush plate: Start on Plate with Mix around 10 to 11 o'clock, Liveliness at noon, and Decay around 1 o'clock. That gets you into the "wow, that sounds expensive" zone without washing away the dry guitar.

    • Ambient shimmer without going full spaceship: Set the Type to Shimmer, keep Mix lower than you think you need, bring Liveliness up just a little past noon, and raise Decay until the trail hangs behind the notes. The trick is not to drown the front of the note. Let the effect bloom behind you.

    • Chewy modulated atmosphere: Plate Mod or Shine both reward a little patience. Try Mix at about 10 o'clock, Liveliness around 1 o'clock, and Decay near noon. You get movement and width without the pedal grabbing the steering wheel.

    • Deep-space soundtrack mode: Supernova with the Decay pushed up and the Mix set to taste is where the pedal starts smiling at weird ideas. Slow chords, volume swells, ebow lines, and sparse melodic phrases all sound larger than life here.

  • Collector notes:
    • The Supernatural has become one of those HardWire pedals people circle back to after the fact. When it was new, some players probably saw it as the strange ambient cousin in the family. Years later, that is exactly why people hunt for it.

    • A complete box is a bigger deal than some sellers realize. Original examples shipped with the StompLock knob guard, glow-in-the-dark footswitch sticker, hook-and-loop pedalboard pad, and paperwork. Most of those little extras vanished almost immediately after the pedal hit real pedalboards.

    • This is one of the HardWire models that gets talked about with a little more affection than the usual used-pedal chatter. Some of that is the Lexicon name, some of it is the stereo ambience, and some of it is simply that DigiTech made a pedal here that really had its own character.

    • There is also a practical collector angle: prices climbed because the pedal was discontinued, the feature set stayed desirable, and players figured out it could cover a lot of ground that usually required something larger or pricier.

  • Known quirks and tips:
    • The Tails switch matters more than some people realize. If you want the reverb to fall away naturally after bypass, leave it ON. If you want hardwire bypass behavior and instant cutoff, switch it OFF. A lot of used-pedal owners never even check that little switch and then wonder why the pedal behaves differently from what they expected.

    • Liveliness is one of those controls that rewards small moves. On the ambient modes especially, a little turn can make the difference between "beautiful and airy" and "that thing just took over the whole song."

    • This pedal draws enough current that a healthy power setup is worth caring about. Yes, it can run on a battery, but most people who use one seriously end up preferring a reliable supply.


    Hear the DigiTech Supernatural Ambient Stereo Reverb in action:
    External Links:


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