Understanding Early Reflections in the Ventris Dual Reverb's Neuro 3 Editor

​While exploring the Neuro 3 editor for the Ventris Dual Reverb, you may find yourself asking a very common question: “What are Early Reflections?” Don’t worry—this parameter often puzzles people who are new to Ventris and its Neuro Editor. Let us shed some light on the subject.

​The best way to explain the Early Reflections parameter is through the Ventris’ Room Reverb effect. The Room Reverb simulates the sound of playing your guitar in various physical spaces—ranging from a small Club, a large Stage, an even larger Arena, to the massive Enormo Dome (a.k.a. “E-Dome”).
In real-world acoustics, early reflections are the first sounds that bounce back to your ears after a note is played and hits nearby surfaces like walls, ceilings, or floors. The sound can be similar to vintage tape slap-back effects, though early reflections are typically more diffuse. In small rooms, these reflections return very quickly, while in larger rooms, it takes a little longer for these echoes to reach your ear. When early reflections are combined with late reflections, the resulting sound creates a vivid sense of space that is the essence of room reverb.

One of the standout features of the Ventris Dual Reverb’s Neuro Editor is its ability to manipulate both early and late reflections, as well as the size and reflective properties of the virtual room. It offers a level of control rarely found in reverb pedals. Check out our demonstration on dialing in the perfect Room Reverb sound in the Neuro 3 editor (our free editing software).

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Exploring Key Parameters in Neuro 

Let’s walk through the key parameters available in Neuro 3 that will help you dial in the perfect Room sound for your guitar, bass, or keyboard.
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We highly encourage you to download Neuro 3, our free software for mobile (iOS or Android) and desktop (Mac or Windows). You can use Neuro 3’s latest feature, SoundCheck™ to follow along with each parameter description. We recommend opening the editor for a preset called “Room Studio” (created by @scott862) and playing either the “Funky Melodic” or “Staccato” guitar clips. You don’t need to own the Ventris Dual Reverb or even plug in a guitar to hear the preset in its full glory. You will also be able to move parameters in the editor and hear exactly what each one does in real-time.

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• Early Reflections: Controls the level of the reverb’s early reflections. Early reflections sound similar to vintage slapback effects, but they are slightly more diffuse.  They are the audio reflections produced when the sound of your guitar bounces off the walls of a room and immediately hit your eardrum. 

• Reverb Level: Adjusts the level of the late reflections. These are the more diffuse reflections that occur after the sound of your guitar has bounced around the room several times. Simply put, this ambient wash is the core of what we perceive as “reverb.”

• Early/Reverb Crossfade: This blends the Early Reflections with the Reverb Level (late reflections). Turn the knob left for more early reflections, or right for more late reflections. The real magic lies in the balance between the two—this mix is what brings a virtual room to life and gives your guitar a natural, three-dimensional feel.

• Size: A dropdown menu within the Room Reverb’s control panel lets you choose between five room sizes: Room, Club, Stage, Arena, and E-Dome. Choosing a larger size pushes the early reflections further back and lengthens the duration of the late reflections.

• Time: This affects how long the late reflections continue to reverberate. Think of it as adjusting the reflective qualities of the room itself. Turning the Time knob below 12 o’clock simulates rooms with “dead” surfaces (like aged wood or carpet), while turning it above 12 o’clock mimics brighter, more reflective materials like concrete, glass, or metal.

• Mix: Available both in Neuro and on the face of the Ventris, the Mix knob adjusts the balance between your dry signal and the reverb (wet signal).
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• Pre-Delay: Pre-Delay controls the time between your dry signal and the onset of early and late reflections. Increasing Pre-Delay moves the reverb further behind the dry tone, creating a dramatic echo effect similar to delay. A more moderate setting can beautifully expand your virtual room’s size while maintaining clarity in your dry tone.

We hope the Ventris' advanced reverb controls help you dial in a tone that’s perfect for your style and sound. If you find a preset you love, hit the Publish button and share it with the rest of the Neuro Community. Together, we’re building the largest sound library in the history of guitar effects pedals.