I am recording mostly gypsy jazz and bluegrass music (guitars and double bass), and I am looking for a good reverb plugin for this styles of music. It would be nice if the reverb included some “wooden room” presets, or smaller spaces in general. It also would be good if there is a possibility to switch off early reflections or the reverb tail. Maybe also a knob for dialing in the “depth” would be good, I mean moving sounds further away or closer in the mix. Although that can be done by tweaking the other knobs self, so its maybe not absolutely necessary.
I think Reverence still works well for it’s feature set, separate control over early reflections and tail.
To me, some of the included presets sould great, natural, and not too in your face.
It’s a plus that you can load your own IRs such as Eventide’s.
Vahalla is always a great choice and value.
For more control over depth and distance, I hear good things about Hornet’s new Spaces reverb.
For literal control over each instrument in a room, including air absorption, depth, height, even microphone setup choices, I cannot recommend VSS enough. But it will take a lot of time, trial and error to get accustomed to it.
Absolutely we can - there are so many options it can seem quite overwhelming at first & finding a really good reverb in any mix can be tricky at the best of times. I will certainly try, but with the caveat that this is all just my opinion and there will be plenty who will have different favorites to the ones I own as well as plenty of others I have either not tried, don’t own or have never even heard of so with that in mind here we go. I am assuming you are familiar with the stock reverbs in your DAW so will not mention those.
The first thing to think about is what sort of reverb we are looking at - there are 2 basic types, convolution or algorithmic, and variations on those themes almost beyond counting so in no particular order of preference… UAD EMT 140.
The only drawback to this is that you need a UAD2 card. If this is okay then it is one of the most versatile reverbs there is, giving you 3 totally different sounding plates that are suitable for just about all occasions - and it also has a very handy modulation option as well as the invaluable HPF.
Native equivalent is the Waves Abbey Road Plates but that is a CPU monster. UAD Lexicon 224XL
This absolutely nails the gorgeously lush sounding 224 - awesome UAD Ocean Way Rooms The last of the UAD I will mention for now, this is perhaps the future of Convolution.
You get 2 modes - reverb mode & remic mode. Reverb mode is for use as a send effect in the traditional manner, but this really scores in REMIC mode and then it allows you to specifically emulate either one of 2 rooms at the sadly defunct Ocean Way studios along with a wide selection of microphone options & positions. It is hard to explain in words just how good this thing is, and you also get master EQ adjustment as well as level control over up to 3 different mic placements. Seriously cool.
Native time now, and there are a fair few of these in addition to the one already mentioned in passing - the Waves Abbey Road Plates. Waves H-Reverb
This one is a really useful tool and is very, very flexible indeed. Lots of options as well - almost too many to mention but well worth a good look. ReLab LX480 Complete
If vintage Lexicon is what you are after, then this is the way to go. 'nuff said. Lexicon Native Reverb
7 reverbs in one bundle, and it is effectively a plugin version of the 96L rack unit. Very versatile with the main drawback being the need to swap over the plugin to change the reverb type (Hall, Plate, Room etc) but apart from that an excellent reverb indeed. Eventide Ultra Reverb
Another massively capable reverb. Features a 5-band parametric EQ, a pitch shifter, delays & a compressor as well as all the reverb functionality you could shake a stick at. Eventide Tverb
If you have not already bought this just go & do it immediately. Seriously - just go for it. This is awesome - designed in collaboration with Tony Visconti and built around the Hansa studios where Bowie’s legendary “Heroes” album was recorded (and the exact setting TV used for the vocal on that track is also included) this features an amazingly flexible sounding channel routing system of gates & compressors as well as movable mic sources that you can automate in real time with no zipper noise to emulate any possible position in the room.
I do not know how they did it, but it seems to just make things fit in the mix and can even be used in conjunction with other reverbs without cluttering up the sound. Anything I could possibly say will not come close to describing how great this beast is so please, at the very least, go & try the demo. You owe it to yourself.
And finally Softube Spring Reverb
This is great on guitars - accept no substitute
I really love the sound of Abbey Roads Plates, but yes it is one of the most CPU demanding plugins I have ever used, and I am struggling to get this into my mixes without it becomming a workflow disruption. For soloes or very small ensembles, it can work, and for me that is a decent change of pace, but still…
Virsyn Reflect is an older reverb plugin that I really have always enjoyed using. It reminds me of a sort of 90s hip hop/r&B sound.