If we really want real 'realism' we wouldn't bother with that pesky recording thing. Live music is better. Distribution and mass playback is a bitch tho. But, euphonic memory is perfect and we'll always have that.toothnclaw wrote:Well, anyway, no matter which algo reverb is -subjectively- better or worse, none of them can hold a candle to a real space. Or a bunch of real spaces. So that's it for all your algos' "realism".
However, since this is a suddenly escalated thread in the effects forum, let's assume we've foolishly crossed the mic/convertor boundary or worse, recorded virtual synth instruments that don't exist. We now find ourselves sitting in our remote studio location - hopefully not in our parent's basement - and we want to add the most realistic reverb possible to our formerly real or currently unreal instruments.
I'll try to keep this short, but it won't happen - real stuff takes longer and has a bunch of annoying details that can't just be scrolled over. Sorry. Anyway, where was I? Is this reality on?
Obviously a real space has the best realism, but most real spaces have more annoying resonances and unpleasant flutter echoes than most algo 'fake' verbs. Especially in our remote studio. I'm not saying it's located in our parent's basement, but let's be honest, it sounds boxy and has some weird flutter echoes, which we're going to treat with the appropriate acoustical treatments when the non-VST budget permits. And it smells funny. Nothing to do with reverberation characteristics, but it just doesn't reek of sonic purity. So, without even leaving our remote studio location we have arrived at a big, very real logistical issue: real presets.
Presets in DSP algo verbs offer huge variety and are easy to access. Our real room presets don't. First we need to find a number of sweet, real rooms. This can be time-consuming to scout. Not as time-consuming as scouting KVR forums, but still some serious effort. Let's assume we're near a major metropolitan center which has a number of decent concert halls, clubs and churches. Let's start with Hall A. It's big. With an all-encompassing, exquisitely natural rt60 of about 1.8 seconds.
We take all our gear from our remote studio, which as I've said before isn't necessarily located in our parent's basement, but we might need to borrow their van. Arrive at Hall A and walk in and start setting up our gear. Suddenly there's this scary looking guy claiming he's security and threatening to really hurt us. It seems our noble quest for the purest rt60 in town costs in the thousands and requires a reservation months ahead. On-demand reverb purity NOT available here. WTF? After all the shouting, arguing and financial outrage, the real stuff, not the internet kind, we're a little frazzled and it's getting late - we have to get the van back before dinner. So, there's that.
Next, we decide that Hall A is off the preset list. We soon discover that Hall B, while cheaper is still more money 'per preset' than a Bricasti. Never mind ITB plugins. And we dented the van on the way back from Hall A and can't borrow it again. So that sucks. And, we're stuck with some cheaper, but really stinky beer-stained rooms that might have suited our previous death-metal-polka project, but just doesn't have the vibe we want now.
What to do? Our real preset list is getting smaller and we're into this project for some serious gas money and nothing to listen to. Can technology help? Yes. If we don't mind wrapping our sounds in dead fish impulse recordings of real spaces, we have some options. IR verbs can capture a 'snapshot' of a real space and through some convoluted trickery place our beloved sounds in the picture. It's like photoshop for sound, almost too good to be true. And it is. It's a still picture of a movie. We're not making posters, dammit, we're making music! Even still, it's allows us to remain in the relative comfort of our remote studio location. Look, why keep asking if it's located in our parent's basement? How is that even relevant?
Sure, now we're getting a little frustrated. It's the real world. It really is like that sometimes. So, we fantasize a little about a better reverberated world.
A world where density, initial reflection energy, tails, dispersion, modulations, stereo field positioning, the rise and fall of decay, the place where early meets late, the very tao of rt60 is tweakable. A better world where previously unimagined reverb possibilities wait beneath our fingertips like sonic playdo created by DSP geniuses, who explored this world and created new, more aurally complete worlds with ears wide open. They have given us the maps, the compasses and the entire geo-soundscape-ography in a plugin and available now for download. It's still early in the 21st century, but we've already won the reverb lottery dream.
F*** that! Me and my ukulele are buying a one way ticket to the Taj Mahal and we're going record the deepest, purest and definitely the most real surrealist dubstep uke that candle holders and their owners have ever heard!
