KVR Audio

Suntower · Post by **Suntower** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 12:34 am

I've been demoing Valhalla Shimmer and I like it, but I keep getting the -nagging- feeling that I already have plug-ins that can do the same job (the signature +12 Eno/Lanois patch).

I have Cubase 9, all of Native Instruments and SoundToys and much of UAD and I keep thinking that it sounds a -lot- like SoundToys Crystallizer or perhaps one of the Granular Delays in Native Instruments Reaktor.

I'm not against buying Shimmer, I'm just trying to get the most out of what I've already got.

Suggestions?

TIA,

---JC

VariKusBrainZ · Post by **VariKusBrainZ** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 12:35 am

Toneboosters Reverb 4

bmrzycki · Post by **bmrzycki** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 12:46 am

I haven't found anything that can do huge drenching reverbs with long glassy tails in the same way ValhallaShimmer can. The real power of shimmer comes from automating the mix, shift, diffusion, and size knobs. Use small changes to make the verb even more alive or large changes to create that alien landscape when you need it.

Shimmer is the next 'verb I'm purchasing. It's been a demo plugin in my folder for far too long.

Fernando Carvalho · Post by **Fernando Carvalho** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 1:02 am

Toneboosters Reverb 4 + 1. Is not the same, buy actually I am liking it more these days. A plus is that you can use it as a very good "normal" reverb too.

Harry_HH · Post by **Harry_HH** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 1:05 am

Eventide Blackhole
UVI Sparkverb

ghettosynth · Post by **ghettosynth** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 1:13 am

Harry_HH wrote:Eventide Blackhole
UVI Sparkverb

So I can't speak to Sparkverb, but, Blackhole does not have the "shimmer" effect which is about pitch shifting in a feedback path.

https://valhalladsp.com/2010/05/11/enol ... t-is-made/

So, if that's what you want, and you don't want it to be painful, then either Toneboosters Reverb 4 or Valhalla Shimmer are the quick ways to get there. I have modified SpaceMaster in Reaktor to do this, it's not hard if you have some experience with Reaktor. You could also just setup routing in your DAW if it allows feedback.

I'm sure that there are other Reaktor patches in the library that do something similar. Whether or not it's worth your time to go find them, or, whether they will achieve identical results to what you can do with Shimmer is a different question.

Here's one of them that claims to be able to do that sound, I haven't tried it myself.

https://www.native-instruments.com/en/r ... show/7457/

So, if you just want huge spacey reverbs there are many choices. If you want the pitch shifting algorithm built into the reverb then there are fewer, Blackhole is the former, not the latter.

For a free spacey reverb check out Cloudseed.

MogwaiBoy · Post by **MogwaiBoy** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 1:22 am

Reverbical

ghettosynth · Post by **ghettosynth** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 1:35 am

I should have mentioned, and the Dark Star reverb reminded me of this, that Boscomac has some great spacey kinds of effects including one called Stelar, that isn't exactly the same as Valhalla Shimmer but yields similar effects.

http://boscomac.free.fr/?p=stellar

Also check out his aqueous reverb while you're there.

Fernando Carvalho · Post by **Fernando Carvalho** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 1:40 am

I was forgetting about Hofa System 1. You can create interesting shimmer verbs with it and many other things. Powerful concept, one of the big under the radar products.

Harry_HH · Post by **Harry_HH** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 1:43 am

If the reverb pitch shifting is the dealbreaker, why don't you put a pitch shifter behind the Blackhole.

Chandlerhimself · Post by **Chandlerhimself** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 1:46 am

Mturboreverb

VariKusBrainZ · Post by **VariKusBrainZ** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 1:49 am

Sparkverb cant do Shimmer despite having a folder of presets called Shimmer, its just a normal verb but a good one

Polaris does though

http://www.audiority.com/shop/polaris/

VariKusBrainZ · Post by **VariKusBrainZ** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 1:50 am

Harry_HH wrote:If the reverb pitch shifting is the dealbreaker, why don't you put a pitch shifter behind the Blackhole.

It needs to be in the feedback path

ghettosynth · Post by **ghettosynth** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 1:58 am

VariKusBrainZ wrote:
Harry_HH wrote:If the reverb pitch shifting is the dealbreaker, why don't you put a pitch shifter behind the Blackhole.
It needs to be in the feedback path

You can do this though if you have sufficiently complex routing abilities and you put the reverb on a bus, then send that to a pitch shifter on its own bus, which is not mixed into the output but instead sent back into the reverb. From reading the Valhalla page this was in essence how it was done back in the day with analog consoles.

OP is asking how to use what he has, and this is the basic technique. You put pitch shifting and delay into a feedback path. So, if you can construct that path with your DAW through the use of send levels then you can get the basic effect with whatever reverbs and pitch shifting tools that you already have.

If you can't then this is relatively easy to construct in Reaktor.

BTW: It does not seem that Dark Star ensemble has the pitch shifting in a feedback path.

Suntower · Post by **Suntower** » Sun Sep 24, 2017 2:24 am

Thanks for the replies thus far. I have used Reaktor's 'Grain States' (I may have the name wrong) to make the really long delays. I think I'll experiment a bit with SoundToys 'Crystallizer'.

I guess the thing about 'Shimmer' really is the convenience factor. The only thing I dislike about the pitch shift is that I wish there was a way to make the pitch shift decay separately from the rest of the reverb tail. I know that doesn't make sense but the chipmunk effect becomes noticeable as the reverb decays and I want to hide that... ie. somehow 'duck' the pitch shift a bit.

Probably impossible.

Alternatives To Valhalla Shimmer?