KVR Audio

valhallasound · Post by **valhallasound** » Thu May 03, 2012 9:09 pm

Galbanum wrote:
Sequent wrote: But, back on topic...

Do you have any personal reverb experiences you would care to share?

Well my favorite is the one we have just completed... does that count?

valhallasound wrote: A few suggested ground rules for the discussion:

*snip*

I would like this to be a marketing/spin free zone, and am thus removing my plugins from this discussion. I want to keep the discussion about the WHY of reverbs, as opposed to discussions of one brand versus another.

*cough cough*

There is plenty of room on KVR for developers to talk about their own products, and I understand being excited about your new creations. I would simply ask that we leave our own products at the door (for this thread), and keep this discussion more about the personal, and less about marketing our own wares.

Sean Costello

Andrew Souter · Post by **Andrew Souter** » Thu May 03, 2012 9:15 pm

Well, it's not quite marketing speak is it? but ok, sorry... i did not realize that you had started the thread. Sure. No problem...

valhallasound · Post by **valhallasound** » Thu May 03, 2012 9:31 pm

Early 1980's. Rafting down the Sammamish Slough (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sammamish_River). Went under a new bridge that crossed into Redmond, and heard the most INSANE flutter echoes I had ever heard. Totally 3D experience.

A reverb that sounded like that would be a pretty crappy reverb, but experiencing the sound in the real world was amazing to my young mind.

Sean Costello

bduffy · Post by **bduffy** » Thu May 03, 2012 10:09 pm

Arts Acoustic Reverb.

Still the best, to me, for super-long, atmospheric, modulated reverbs (a la Lexicon).

And I find it just has a strong, sweet algorithmic character that cuts through mixes well. I find most VST reverbs tend to disappear quickly, and I had to fight less with AAR. I miss it every day.

@midnight · Post by **@midnight** » Thu May 03, 2012 11:09 pm

How are you guys embedding youtube videos? All it lets me do is post a link.

Sendy · Post by **Sendy** » Thu May 03, 2012 11:17 pm

One of my first experiences was walking across a (very ugly looking) metal and concrete footbridge, it was a kind of diffuse slapback echo and it really brought home the connection between space and sound to my young mind. It sounded like nothing I'd ever heard before, and I think I'm revisiting that moment somewhat when I use plate simulators for those "metallic" ambiences.

My favourite "band" when I was a kid was The Orb, they knew how to use reverb

bitman · Post by **bitman** » Fri May 04, 2012 12:49 am

Lexicon reflex

reverse on metal lead - just a touch
dark plate elsewhere.

valhallasound · Post by **valhallasound** » Fri May 04, 2012 1:29 am

JJBiener wrote:This is indeed an interesting thread. This is my most profound reverb moment.

I was in London is May of 1994. I was wandering around the streets when I found myself if front of Westminster Abbey. If you've ever been to Westminster, you know what an imposing edifice it is. The door was open so I walked inside. Looking around at the art and architecture, there is no question of care and reverence of the people who built it. Every detail no matter how small or large is there for glory of God, or at least God as they saw him.

I was fortunate that I arrived just as a service was starting. The choir began to sing and sound simply filled the place. Sitting there listening, the voices surrounded me and enfolded me to the point where they seemed to be a physical presence in the room. It was as if not just the choir was singing, but the stones of the Abbey itself were singing. My body resonated with music down to the very core. I have no doubt that to a believer, it would be a transformative if not divine experience. As a non-believer, I found the experience truly moving both physically and spiritually.

If you think about the technical challenges in creating such a structure, it would be a complicated undertaking even today with all of the design tools at our disposal. It is a massive stone and glass building. It has thousands of surfaces reflecting the sound in a variety of was from the stained glass windows to the huge stone columns. Under such conditions, it would be easy for all these reflecting surfaces to turn the sound to an incoherent mush. But they don't. As the choir sings, each note is distinct and clear. The words can be heard and understood throughout the room. It is an amazing engineering feat made even more so by the fact that it was done over 750 years ago.

I wish there was a place within 1000 miles of here where I could have a similar experience. There are a few cisterns, but these have a MUCH longer RT60, and tend not to have choirs performing in them on a regular basis. The older European cathedrals have amazingly long RT60s, but (from my research) it looks like the post-Luther cathedrals tend to have much shorter reverb times.

Sean Costello

ObsoleteAcc99 · Post by **ObsoleteAcc99** » Fri May 04, 2012 1:35 am

[DELETED]

Agemo · Post by **Agemo** » Fri May 04, 2012 2:05 am

Luther was dead against reverb. My favourite IR has to be this:

http://www.openairlib.net/auralizationd ... -mausoleum

It's the Hamilton Mausoleum (in Scotland) from the Open AIR Library, which is free to download. Have a look at the pictures.

I load the B-Format files into Reverberate (as normal true stereo), and hang out in the room with a sampled clarinet.

jonahs · Post by **jonahs** » Fri May 04, 2012 2:25 am

I can't really put into words why I find this so sonically appealing. I guess I feel like the degradation of the audio quality turns the sonic space into something that feeds my imagination. It sounds both unreal and real at the same time. And yeah, I suppose it's more ambience than reverb per se.

jonahs · Post by **jonahs** » Fri May 04, 2012 2:40 am

Most reverbs that try to sound epic, profound or spiritual end up sounding cornball to me, this one doesn't.

jensa · Post by **jensa** » Fri May 04, 2012 2:46 am

valhallasound wrote:I love the room sounds that Steve Albini got with Shellac:

Room-sound-wise this reminds me of another Steve Albini production, Pixies' album Surfer Rosa.

(I must add it's not an official video.)

jonahs · Post by **jonahs** » Fri May 04, 2012 2:53 am

You can never have too much reverb. The composition really utilizes the buzzy grain of the verb to create this enveloping sound sphere. I guess to me it shows that even a possibly not classically great reverb can be used to great musical effect.

Okay. Done now.

valhallasound · Post by **valhallasound** » Fri May 04, 2012 2:57 am

jonahs wrote: Okay. Done now.

You listed two of my favorite tracks of all time (Aphex and Popol Vuh), as well as two tracks I had never heard before, one of which I am totally obsessed with now (Nebraska).

So please. Feel free to list more.

Sean Costello

What are your favorite non-Valhalla reverbs, and why?