Reverb & Delay
Arturia Rev Plate‑140
Reverbs are everywhere, so I wasn’t too excited when yet another appeared. But I tried it, and suddenly it was top of my list! Only a few controls, great sound and kind on the CPU, Rev Plate-140 sounds beautiful and does one job that needs doing on nearly every mix. I’ve since found Arturia plug‑ins are excellent in general, so get some demos and give them a try. JG Harding
€99 including VAT.$99. Also included in FX Collection $399.
Arturia Rev Spring‑636
I love a bit of spring reverb and this is hands‑down the best plug‑in version I’ve tried. Based on the Grampian 636, it distorts and ‘breaks up’ so beautifully. I love that you can dial in just the right length tail and shape the sound with on‑board EQ. If you have a mix project with some brass parts, give this a go and thank me later! Neil Rogers
€99 including VAT.$99. Also included in FX Collection $399.
EastWest QL Spaces 2
Since convolution reverb stopped being a novelty, we’ve started to demand more flexibility than basic IR players provide. EastWest’s QL Spaces is thus a bit of an outlier, offering as it does no real ability to modify or augment the supplied IR library. But what an IR library! If you can’t find the reverb you want in QL Spaces 2’s stunning collection of studios, halls and other spaces, maybe your source is better off dry… Sam Inglis
£262.99 (currently on sale at £175.46) including VAT. Also included in Composer Cloud X subscription.$399 (currently half price). Also included in Composer Cloud X subscription.
www.timespace.com www.soundsonline.com
Eventide Blackhole Reverb
Blackhole is invariably the first reverb plug‑in I load into a project. Its sonic character, ease of operation, forward and reverse decay times and spatial volume range, together with the variations inherent in its EQ, modulation, feedback and resonant filter controls, combine to make Blackhole both a wonderful workhorse reverb and an inspiring creator of alluring ambience. The ability to automate, using MIDI CC, a switch and a fade between preset reverbs just adds to the appeal. Bob Thomas
$199.
HOFA IQ‑Reverb
When HOFA’s reverb plug‑in first appeared, it was refreshing to encounter a convolution reverb designed by people who actually seemed to use reverb! IQ‑Reverb has an excellent library of impulse responses and, more importantly, intuitive tools to shape the way they sound. A new version 2 is imminent as I write and I, for one, can’t wait. Sam Inglis
From €249. Additional libraries €49.90 each. Prices include VAT.From €249 (about $299). Additional libraries €49.90 (about $60) each.
Inspired Acoustics Inspirata
Most convolution plug‑ins ‘sample’ spaces from a single point. Inspirata, by contrast, allows the user to move the virtual mics and listener around freely within its halls, opening up new dimensions in realism. Sam Inglis
Prices range from $99 to $599.
Liquidsonics Cinematic Rooms
I’m sure we all have our own personal tests for a reverb. Can it create convincing small rooms? Does it blend seamlessly with recorded ambience on a source? Whatever the test, Cinematic Rooms passes with flying colours. It’s an effortlessly classy algorithmic reverb which is gorgeous in stereo and possessed of many unique surround capabilities. Sam Inglis
$199.
NUGEN Audio Paragon
I’ve always tended to be fairly ‘traditional’ in my reverb tastes, but after reviewing the remarkable NUGEN Audio Paragon reverb I’ve become a convert to its stunning realism and exceptional versatility. It has all the acoustic accuracy and realism of convolution reverbs, but with the precise controllability of algorithmic reverbs, and it comes with a stunning set of core IRs which work wonderfully, both in stereo and pretty much any surround format. Hugh Robjohns
£419 including VAT.$599.
Overloud REmatrix
Overloud are well known for their expertise in amp simulation, and their REmatrix is one of the few reverbs I know of that includes an overdrive control. It also comes with an excellent library of phase‑coherent impulse responses, up to five of which can be loaded in parallel for uniquely thick, mix‑ready reverb effects. Sam Inglis
€299. Discounted to €249 when going to press. Prices include VAT.$339. Discounted to $269 when going to press.
PSP Audioware PSP85
Somewhere around the dawn of time, I bought PSP’s PSP84 delay plug‑in and fell in love: more than a mere delay, it was a means of creating complex, modulated rhythmic effects. PSP85 improves on the original but is, to all intents and purposes, the same plug‑in. Despite the legions of delays and reverbs now available, I still keep coming back to it. Matt Houghton
$149.
Relab LX480
A recreation of the legendary Lexicon 480L, LX480 is my go‑to for excessive ’80s reverb. I’ve never used the original, but to my ears the Relab nails that unmistakably artificial, metallic sound of the era, and it is often just what’s needed on snare drums, acoustic guitars and (on the right track) vocals. The Infinite setting is great fun too! Chris Korff
LX480 Complete $349, LX480 RHall (Random Hall algorithm only) $149.
SoundToys Primal Tap
Some plug‑ins are boring and utilitarian, and some are endless fun. Most of SoundToys’ excellent range falls into the latter category, and none more so than Primal Tap. Loosely based on the Lexicon Prime Time delay, it’s grungy, gritty, gurgly and lots of other adjectives beginning with G, including ‘great’. Its effects are more interesting and varied than you can get from a tape‑style delay, but have the same quality of feeling like they belong instantly in your mix. Sam Inglis
$149.
Universal Audio AMS RMX16
Although undoubtedly on the more expensive side of things, I’ve never been disappointed with any of UA’s UAD ‘powered plug‑ins’. I could list a dozen that make regular appearances in my mixes but I’ll single out as my pick the superb recreation of the AMS RMX16. The original hardware changed the music industry forever and it’s remarkable that it still does a fabulous job today, as UAD’s recreation ably demonstrates. Hugh Robjohns
£130 when going to press (full price £260). Prices include VAT.$174.
Universal Audio Lexicon 224
The ‘early’ and, to some, still the ‘classic’ Lexicon sound. It’s not convincing as a real space, compared to any convolution ‘verb, but when you want to make a feature of reverb as an integral part of a sound, there’s nothing better. Still love it to bits after all these years. Dave Lockwood
Full price £260. Discounted to £130 when going to press.$174.
Universal Audio Ocean Way Studios
On paper, it sounds impossibly ambitious: a plug‑in that recreates one of the world’s great recording studios. In practice, it works remarkably well, turning a dry, close‑miked or DI’d signal into something that sounds plausibly like it was tracked during a Frank Sinatra session. Sam Inglis
£260. Discounted to £130 when going to press. Prices include VAT.$349. Discounted to $174 when going to press.
Valhalla Room
Many of us have to work with recordings made in small dry‑sounding rooms, and simple‑yet‑effective tools like this can help add that depth to a mix or help create the illusion that a group of musicians are performing in the same room. I often use it to add small amounts of room sound to close‑miked drums, guitars and… pretty much anything. Neil Rogers
$50.
Valhalla Super Massive
Super Massive is a ridiculous freeware reverb and cosmological delay — the sort of thing you’d expect to pay Eventide or Strymon good money for. It generates a sense of space that can be infinite and unhinging. It swells, ebbs, flows and repeats into ever‑deepening levels of feedback. It can pull ambient weirdness into any situation. It can transform a blast on a monosynth into hours of cosmic exploration. The eight modes perform magic behind the scenes, so all you have to worry about is the delay time and how messed up you want it to be. Robin Vincent
Free
Zynaptiq Adaptiverb
One of my favourite processors, Adaptiverb can do ‘normal’ reverb extremely well, but I often use its more creative features such as pitch‑quantised reverb or ‘frozen reverb fingerprints’, which can impose a different character on an instrument or vocal. Its engine tends to play down unpitched sounds, so the end result can sound very smooth and dense, regardless of the source. A powerful tool with lots of applications. Paul White
£216.11 including VAT. Also included in the ZAP II and DESIGN bundles. Prices include VAT.$249. Also included in the ZAP II and DESIGN bundles.