In the primordial ooze of studio tricks, many recording engineers had to invent their own effects. Double tracking and flanging started as manual manipulations of magnetic tape and the machinery used to process it. One such effect is gated reverb, the combination of digital reverb and noise gate, “invented” in the ‘70s but popularized in the ‘80s by one Phil Collins. Like many now-legendary effects, gated reverb was invented by accident using the Solid State Logic SL4000 Talkback Mic channel and AMS RMX16 digital reverb units. The premise is simple enough: the gate is a function of the signal strength; once the signal level drops below an adjustable threshold, the reverb tail snaps shut. Our CBX recreates this magical symbiosis with an overdrivable preamp, adjustable reverb lag time and a full wet-dry blend. The result is a lovely and expressive “always-on” reverb that stays in its lane and won’t interfere with the all-important mix.