Exponential Audio Verbs: PhoenixVerb, Nimbus, R4. Your Thoughts?

[chk071]

I don't have R4, but do own R2 and PhoenixVerb. I bought PV on sale as an upgrade path to R2 and mistakenly thought it was merely a cut-down entry level reverb I'd never use. It's actually quite different and I end up using it far more than R2, especially on dry sounds. Its small/medium rooms and chambers are lovely for creating believable ambience. I'm not an expert at reverbs, but to my ears it sounds clean without any strange ringing or metallic artifacts. It doesn't have the lush, modulated swirly tails of R2, but for shorter more realistic reverb I don't need or want them.

You're absolutely right with your assessment.

[dickiefunk]

I find PhoenixVerb grainy, hard to dail in and not overly realistic. I know the crossgrade is a good price but, as I find myself trying to like PhoenixVerb and continually ending up replacing it with Voxengo CRTIV Reverb, Cinematic Rooms or Lustrous Plates, I dunno.. I think I just have to pass. Actually the Verbum Entropic Hall sale has me much more interested to demo and try. Is Nimbus just PhoenixVerb with extended control?

I do not know if there is a change in algorithm but I never liked Phoenixverb. It was fine but nothing special to use it frequently. With Nimbus it is totally different story. Love it from the day one. To me it sounds much better. It is smooth like butter and add tons of depth without being audible. I feel some kind of luxury in the sound that put it in the same ballpark like PCM Native

This is interesting to hear. I also feel the same about PhoenixVerb.

[poshook]

OK that's good to know I'm not the only one who wasn't blown away at all by PhoenixVerb. I will try to check Nimbus out before the end of the sale.

I think that PhoenixVerb is good reverb but everything depends of style of music you are mixing. For EDM it is not very exciting. A friend of mine is violin player. He has a chamber strings band with some percussion and vocals. He owns many reverb plugins but use Phoenix reverb almost exclusively.

[vitocorleone123]

Phoenix and Nimbus are really great for "air"... to fill the spaces between sounds without being a sound unto itself to the point it's an audible effect. I know, for a fact, that in some electronic styles, Nimbus is fantastic. I think it excels in sparse mixes (to fill space without calling attention) and dense mixes (to stay out of the way and not be another instrument to wrestle with). Also, of course, mixes aiming for more realistic spaces.

If you want/need to hear the reverb as an effect, it's not as good for that vs. others. R4 can step into that gap very easily.

Or, if you really want/need/love to change your fundamental sound by enveloping it in reverb to where it's a different sound, use a Liquidsonics reverb.

[Freaqpeak]

I only have R2 but its very annoying how it produces noise artifacts when moving the knobs! Ie, automation is out of the question.
Otherwise it sounds really nice and it is quite versatile.
Is it same with all in the series?

[poshook]

Phoenix and Nimbus are really great for "air"... to fill the spaces between sounds without being a sound unto itself to the point it's an audible effect. I know, for a fact, that in some electronic styles, Nimbus is fantastic. I think it excels in sparse mixes (to fill space without calling attention) and dense mixes (to stay out of the way and not be another instrument to wrestle with). Also, of course, mixes aiming for more realistic spaces.

If you want/need to hear the reverb as an effect, it's not as good for that vs. others. R4 can step into that gap very easily.

Or, if you really want/need/love to change your fundamental sound be enveloping it in reverb to where it's a different sound, use a Liquidsonics reverb.

Agree. I would say that Nimbus filtering capabilities and variable ER profiles makes it much more versatile and way more useful in EDM or electro pop styles, where you really need leave space for more creative style of "effect" reverbs and huge amount of compression. I do not find Phoenix very flexible here.

[Tronam]

Interesting to hear descriptions of PhoenixVerb as grainy. I’d never noticed anything like that, at least not how I’ve been using it for short and medium chambers on sampled acoustic instruments. I have no idea how it fares with purely electronic synths, so the context matters. I’d probably opt for a digital Lexicon style reverb for synths instead of one for realistic spaces.

[mholloway]

Nimbus and R4 are my favorite reverbs, and I am extremely picky. I tried absolutely everything (except UAD, as I have no desire to buy into their hardware).

The difference between the two has already been well covered in here, and accurately.

Phoenix and R2 are like the 'lite' versions of Nimbus / R4. Before he joined izotope, Michael had some absolutely bizarre tendency to insist otherwise, telling us they were 'different reverbs' yadda yadda, when it was plain as day that he'd simply releaesed, newer, bigger, versions of his existing verbs, with new functionality. Nimbus even contains all of Phoenix' presets, and same with R4 > R2. I mean just the names give it away. He also had terrible resale police (you simply couldn't, if you'd accepted the discount to 'not upgrade' from lite to full -- I say 'not' because he insisted, again, this wasn't an upgrade, but simply buying a new product, etc.....it was some weird, bend-over-backwards rationalizing, to say the least). Michael seems like a nice guy, and is obviously a brilliant reverb designer, but his abilities as a business manager were...questionable.

So, the verbs are brilliant, but I'm frankly glad Exponential is now just part of izotope, as I imagine they'll handle the marketing / sales in a more transparent and non-absurd manner. Or they'll just do nothing, but even that sounds a little better, and all four of these verbs are, as they stand today, totally fantastic.

Lastly:
This is self-promotion, but if anybody wants to hear an album made entirely with Nimbus as the reverb used, here's my IDM album from last year, 'Starship Interiors': https://tvhwy.bandcamp.com/releases

I chose Nimbus because of its clean, transparent quality. This sort of Autechre inspired IDM needs, imho, to be very open and clean sounding, while still having the depth and softness that reverb can provide. Nimbus excelled at this task, and it's absolutely everywhere throughout the songs on the album.

I'm currently working on a new album (different project) that uses R4 as the primary mixing and effect verb, as the sound is more 'digital 80s', so R4 is the appropriate choice-- and it's doing a kickass job so far.

cheers,
-M

[poshook]

Interesting to hear descriptions of PhoenixVerb as grainy. I’d never noticed anything like that, at least not how I’ve been using it for short and medium chambers on sampled acoustic instruments. I have no idea how it fares with purely electronic synths, so the context matters. I’d probably opt for a digital Lexicon style reverb for synths instead of one for realistic spaces.

The grainy surprised me as well. For some of those who strongly prefer a lot of modulation in tails it might be seen as less dense and boring. However I see Nimbus even without modulation smoother and creamier than Phoenix.

[poshook]

Nimbus and R4 are my favorite reverbs, and I am extremely picky. I tried absolutely everything (except UAD, as I have no desire to buy into their hardware).

The difference between the two has already been well covered in here, and accurately.

Phoenix and R2 are like the 'lite' versions of Nimbus / R4. Before he joined izotope, Michael had some absolutely bizarre tendency to insist otherwise, telling us they were 'different reverbs' yadda yadda, when it was plain as day that he'd simply releaesed, newer, bigger, versions of his existing verbs, with new functionality. Nimbus even contains all of Phoenix' presets, and same with R4 > R2. I mean just the names give it away. He also had terrible resale police (you simply couldn't, if you'd accepted the discount to 'not upgrade' from lite to full -- I say 'not' because he insisted, again, this wasn't an upgrade, but simply buying a new product, etc.....it was some weird, bend-over-backwards rationalizing, to say the least). Michael seems like a nice guy, and is obviously a brilliant reverb designer, but his abilities as a business manager were...questionable.

So, the verbs are brilliant, but I'm frankly glad Exponential is now just part of izotope, as I imagine they'll handle the marketing / sales in a more transparent and non-absurd manner. Or they'll just do nothing, but even that sounds a little better, and all four of these verbs are, as they stand today, totally fantastic.

Lastly:
This is self-promotion, but if anybody wants to hear an album made entirely with Nimbus as the reverb used, here's my IDM album from last year, 'Starship Interiors': https://tvhwy.bandcamp.com/releases

I chose Nimbus because of its clean, transparent quality. This sort of Autechre inspired IDM needs, imho, to be very open and clean sounding, while still having the depth and softness that reverb can provide. Nimbus excelled at this task, and it's absolutely everywhere throughout the songs on the album.

I'm currently working on a new album (different project) that uses R4 as the primary mixing and effect verb, as the sound is more 'digital 80s', so R4 is the appropriate choice-- and it's doing a kickass job so far.

cheers,
-M

Perfectly described. When I should pick the best quality reverb plugin ever heard Nimbus is strong candidate. I am visiting Pluginboutique every day for R4 upgrade sale as I have R2 and love what R4 brings on the table

[acousticglue]

I fixed my Nimbus issue by getting Ohmicide

[v1o]

Nimbus and R4 are my favorite reverbs, and I am extremely picky. I tried absolutely everything (except UAD, as I have no desire to buy into their hardware).

The difference between the two has already been well covered in here, and accurately.

Phoenix and R2 are like the 'lite' versions of Nimbus / R4. Before he joined izotope, Michael had some absolutely bizarre tendency to insist otherwise, telling us they were 'different reverbs' yadda yadda, when it was plain as day that he'd simply releaesed, newer, bigger, versions of his existing verbs, with new functionality. Nimbus even contains all of Phoenix' presets, and same with R4 > R2. I mean just the names give it away. He also had terrible resale police (you simply couldn't, if you'd accepted the discount to 'not upgrade' from lite to full -- I say 'not' because he insisted, again, this wasn't an upgrade, but simply buying a new product, etc.....it was some weird, bend-over-backwards rationalizing, to say the least). Michael seems like a nice guy, and is obviously a brilliant reverb designer, but his abilities as a business manager were...questionable.

So, the verbs are brilliant, but I'm frankly glad Exponential is now just part of izotope, as I imagine they'll handle the marketing / sales in a more transparent and non-absurd manner. Or they'll just do nothing, but even that sounds a little better, and all four of these verbs are, as they stand today, totally fantastic.

Lastly:
This is self-promotion, but if anybody wants to hear an album made entirely with Nimbus as the reverb used, here's my IDM album from last year, 'Starship Interiors': https://tvhwy.bandcamp.com/releases

I chose Nimbus because of its clean, transparent quality. This sort of Autechre inspired IDM needs, imho, to be very open and clean sounding, while still having the depth and softness that reverb can provide. Nimbus excelled at this task, and it's absolutely everywhere throughout the songs on the album.

I'm currently working on a new album (different project) that uses R4 as the primary mixing and effect verb, as the sound is more 'digital 80s', so R4 is the appropriate choice-- and it's doing a kickass job so far.

cheers,
-M

Nice, enjoyed listening to your album!

I for one am glad Izotope bought EA. It made it easier and more affordable for hobbyists to get these very high quality reverb tools. As far as I'm concerned EA is as good as it gets for Lexicon style, musical but not quite realistic reverb sounds.

[v1o]

Nimbus and R4 are my favorite reverbs, and I am extremely picky. I tried absolutely everything (except UAD, as I have no desire to buy into their hardware).

The difference between the two has already been well covered in here, and accurately.

Phoenix and R2 are like the 'lite' versions of Nimbus / R4. Before he joined izotope, Michael had some absolutely bizarre tendency to insist otherwise, telling us they were 'different reverbs' yadda yadda, when it was plain as day that he'd simply releaesed, newer, bigger, versions of his existing verbs, with new functionality. Nimbus even contains all of Phoenix' presets, and same with R4 > R2. I mean just the names give it away. He also had terrible resale police (you simply couldn't, if you'd accepted the discount to 'not upgrade' from lite to full -- I say 'not' because he insisted, again, this wasn't an upgrade, but simply buying a new product, etc.....it was some weird, bend-over-backwards rationalizing, to say the least). Michael seems like a nice guy, and is obviously a brilliant reverb designer, but his abilities as a business manager were...questionable.

So, the verbs are brilliant, but I'm frankly glad Exponential is now just part of izotope, as I imagine they'll handle the marketing / sales in a more transparent and non-absurd manner. Or they'll just do nothing, but even that sounds a little better, and all four of these verbs are, as they stand today, totally fantastic.

Lastly:
This is self-promotion, but if anybody wants to hear an album made entirely with Nimbus as the reverb used, here's my IDM album from last year, 'Starship Interiors': https://tvhwy.bandcamp.com/releases

I chose Nimbus because of its clean, transparent quality. This sort of Autechre inspired IDM needs, imho, to be very open and clean sounding, while still having the depth and softness that reverb can provide. Nimbus excelled at this task, and it's absolutely everywhere throughout the songs on the album.

I'm currently working on a new album (different project) that uses R4 as the primary mixing and effect verb, as the sound is more 'digital 80s', so R4 is the appropriate choice-- and it's doing a kickass job so far.

cheers,
-M

Perfectly described. When I should pick the best quality reverb plugin ever heard Nimbus is strong candidate. I am visiting Pluginboutique every day for R4 upgrade sale as I have R2 and love what R4 brings on the table

You should demo Tsar-1! It's an under rated classic in my opinion. I believe Softube were going for a 480L style of sound but ended up conjuring up something else quite special.

[dickiefunk]

I ended up buying Nimbus today because I had some virtual cash in my PluginBoutique account. I've been playing with it for a while and I have to say it's really good! It's also different to all my other reverbs (apart from Phoenix obviously) and I can definitely see myself using this one alongside my LiquidSonics Reverbs regularly

[Winstontaneous]

I only have R2 but its very annoying how it produces noise artifacts when moving the knobs! Ie, automation is out of the question.
Otherwise it sounds really nice and it is quite versatile.
Is it same with all in the series?

What OS/DAWs are you using? Does this happen with all parameters or specific ones?

I haven't used R2, but this is 100% not my experience running R4 and Nimbus on Mac in Ableton, Bitwig, Reason & Logic. Along with Goodhertz MegaVerb and Madrona Labs Aaltoverb the EA reverbs are the ones I can count on to be absolutely silent (no artifacts/zippering) when automated/modulated IME.