Best plugin for reverb

All about the tools and techniques involved in capturing sound, in the studio or on location.

Moderator: Moderators

Best plugin for reverb

Post by twotoedsloth »

Hello,

I'm wondering what reverb you folks are using nowadays. The best I've heard was the Wizoo W2, but it is long discontinued. I like the Harrison GVerb+ but it only works in Mixbus. I am using the Sonnox reverb, and I'm reasonably happy with it, but I'm still looking... I used to like the waves renaissance reverb, but lately I find it too "grainy" if you will. I'm willing to splash out for the right reverb. I thought that the Lexicon plugin would do it for me, but seems to rob the source of it's punchiness, so I let the demo expire. Do you think that Altiverb is the one to get? Or should I buy a Universal Audio processor to run their Lexicon emulations?

Many thanks for your thoughts,

Peter
twotoedsloth
Frequent Poster
Posts: 955 Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2008 12:00 am

Re: Best plugin for reverb

Post by Martin Walker »

Surely it depends on what sort of reverb you're after?

Comparing algorithmic reverbs such as the now aging Wave Renaissance with Altiverb is a bit of a non-starter (and I've liked and used both in my time).

Altiverb is perfect if you need the sound of very realistic acoustic spaces, especially those sampled from real world locations. These might be your first choice for classical or other acoustic-based music such as folk.

However, if you're into rock you'll probably also want to include the sound of plate reverbs (not so 'realistic', but often perfect for snare and vocal sounds for instance), while if your taste strays to electronic/synth music then the sky's the limit as far as reverb sounds go, and a more versatile algorithmic reverb will probably be more appropriate (part of the secret of Lexicon reverbs is their built-in chorus FX on the tail - not a real world parameter, but a great way to add richness and movement).

Personally I use 2C-Audio's versatile Aether for my algorithmic reverb needs, Altiverb if I'm after realistic acoustic spaces, and PSP's 2445 for plate reverb sounds.

It's very much a personal choice though.

Martin
User avatar
Martin Walker
Moderator
Posts: 20587 Joined: Wed Jan 13, 2010 8:44 am Location: Cornwall, UK

Re: Best plugin for reverb

Post by awjoe »

I can see why someone would have different reverbs in their toolkit, but for a while now I've used Fabfilter Pro-R exclusively. It sounds great, tweaks great, looks great. I'm pretty undemanding, though. My studio is to a pro studio as my kitchen is to Jaime Oliver's. Not as fancy, in other words, but good stuff comes out of it.
User avatar
awjoe
Jedi Poster
Posts: 4598 Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2011 12:00 am
Chronologically blessed.

Re: Best plugin for reverb

Post by DC-Choppah »

https://lexiconpro.com/en/products/pcm- ... -in-bundle

This sounds the best to me.

These reverbs are alive. They sound and do different things depending on the program material. Honestly, I don't know how to describe easily how they respond to the source material, but just like a real space, the space and the sound interact in a natural and attractive way.

These reverbs are also very musical. Even if you add too much, it still sounds pleasant and musical.

The controls are complex, but it has a very long list of presets to show you how to start in the right place.

Some of the controls are unique and only exist here.

I can't really go back from this.
User avatar
DC-Choppah
Frequent Poster (Level2)
Posts: 2010 Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2012 12:00 am Location: MD, USA

Re: Best plugin for reverb

Post by Bob Bickerton »

It very much depends on the application. For classical music, I use the Seventh Heaven (https://www.liquidsonics.com/software/s ... 3eb2c69a18) which emulates the Briscasti M7, the hardware version of which is commonly used for classical music applications.

My favourite all-rounder would be the UAD Lexicon 224 plug-in, which I think actually uses the original code and I mostly prefer it to the 480.

For weird and wonderful I may reach for the Eventide Blackhole!

Bob
User avatar
Bob Bickerton
Jedi Poster
Posts: 5076 Joined: Fri Dec 20, 2002 12:00 am Location: Nelson, New Zealand

Re: Best plugin for reverb

Post by resistorman »

You'll get as many recommendations as posters :D
I use Sound Toys Little Plate a lot, all the Valhalla offerings, Nimbus, Night Sky, built in efx...
User avatar
resistorman
Frequent Poster (Level2)
Posts: 2676 Joined: Sun Nov 22, 2015 12:00 am Location: Asheville NC
"The Best" piece of gear is subjective.

Re: Best plugin for reverb

Post by Arpangel »

EpicVerb, the best for me, in plug-in form.
I’ve also got VintageVerb, and Supermassive, also very good.
But ultimately, I wouldn’t use any of these, if I wanted to add a bit of hall or room to an acoustic session, the Lexicon LXP1 has one of the most realistic small rooms I’ve ever heard, regardless of price, it’s great for percussion, and my lowly Midiverb 2 is my first choice for a medium hall.
Depends what you’re recording, it’s purely down to that, and taste.
User avatar
Arpangel
Jedi Poster
Posts: 16236 Joined: Sat Jul 12, 2003 12:00 am

Re: Best plugin for reverb

Post by Music Wolf »

resistorman wrote: Tue May 17, 2022 6:08 am You'll get as many recommendations as posters :D

Very much this.
User avatar
Music Wolf
Frequent Poster (Level2)
Posts: 2753 Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2006 12:00 am Location: Exiled to St Helens

Re: Best plugin for reverb

Post by Drew Stephenson »

I currently tend to wander between Waves Trueverb, Inspired Acoustics Inspirata Lite and Clearmountain's Spaces for 'real spaces' reverbs and then SoundToys Little Plate and RX labs LX480 (free version) for spot effects.
Pick your course, choose your horse. ;)
User avatar
Drew Stephenson
Jedi Poster
Posts: 24376 Joined: Sun Jul 05, 2015 12:00 am Location: York
(The forumuser formerly known as Blinddrew)
Ignore the post count, I still have no idea what I'm doing...
https://drewstephenson.bandcamp.com/

Re: Best plugin for reverb

Post by James Perrett »

As I tend to transfer projects between computers and often revisit projects many years later I stick with the reverbs I've used for years. So that means Epicverb for algorithmic reverbs (and it is now available as a 64 bit plug-in) and Reaverb for convolution reverbs.

I've also found Reaverb's impulse generator to be very useful. Its default settings just happen to have a very similar sound to The Wedgwood Rooms in Southsea which was one of my regular live recording venues.
User avatar
James Perrett
Moderator
Posts: 14211 Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2001 12:00 am Location: The wilds of Hampshire
JRP Music - Audio Mastering and Restoration. JRP Music Facebook Page

Re: Best plugin for reverb

Post by cooneyblue »

I like the convolution revers in Ableton. There is a max for live one, and also the hybrid reverb (which is a nice combination of algorithmic and convolution reverb)
cooneyblue
New here
Posts: 9 Joined: Tue May 24, 2022 5:21 pm

Re: Best plugin for reverb

Post by ConcertinaChap »

My most used reverb is 2c Breeze. They have one preset in particular called "Give a little space" and that's just what it does. Much of my recording is of unaccompanied voices or acoustic instruments and a little space is all I want a lot of of the time. So I agree, there's no best reverb and I guess you'll get a different reply from just about everybody here. There's so many different rquirements and different tastes ...

CC
User avatar
ConcertinaChap
Jedi Poster
Posts: 12833 Joined: Wed Jul 20, 2005 12:00 am Location: Bradford on Avon
Mr Punch's Studio
Life's too short for all of us.
Post Reply