Free Plate Reverb Vst
TAL-Reverb is a free open sourcestereo plate reverb. It’s very diffuse and has its own sound because of its special signal routing. Slight modulated delay times avoid artefacts in the reverb tail and give this reverb its smooth sound. This reverb is suitable if you need to put space around voices, drums, percussion, guitars and so on.
- TAL-Reverb-4 is a high-quality plate reverb by TAL Software with a vintage 80’s character, it features: Modulated vintage reverb sound. Very diffuse sound. Fast build-up time, also with long reverb sounds. Works on almost every audio material. Only stereo channels supported. Download TAL Reverb 4.
- Lisc-verb is a free reverb VST plugin with an absolutely insane amount of customization. The interface is packed with sliders, buttons and knobs for fine tuning your sounds to an unreal level of accuracy.
- Size 525 KB This Plate Reverb effect is directly based on the Plate Reverb described in Jon Datorro’s “Effect Design” paper (part 1). Again the GUI is based on a GUI mock-up by thcilnnahoj.
- TAL-Reverb 3 is designed to be used as a stereo plate plug-in, which is the replacement of its predecessor (TAL-Reverb-II). This new edition has several improvements such as an optimized GUI and some changes in the reverb algorithm. Additionally, TAL-Reverb 3 has a simple EQ section, a meter display and shows actual slider values.
- It might not look comprehensive, but OldSkoolVerb is a great free vst reverb for conjuring up classic reverb tones. It’s a 32-/64-bit plugin for PC and Mac. Denis Tihanov, OrilRiver. GET ORILRIVER HERE. Since version 2, this free reverb vst now covers Mac VST/VST3 support – and it looks pretty damn nice as well! OrilRiver is a well.
Reverb is one of the most important tools for audio engineers. It’s an audio effect used on every mix you’ll ever hear.
Free Plate Reverb Vst
There’s so many reverb plugins out there. Deciding which one to use is a big challenge. And sifting through hundreds of plugins can sap your creativity pretty quick.
But if you know your way around the different types of reverb plugins, you’ll have head start on choosing the right tools to create the perfect ambience to enhance your mix.
Here’s a primer on the different styles of reverb and the 15 best reverb plugins for each reverb type.
Electromechanical reverb
In the early days of audio, engineers discovered they could use transducers to create vibrations in a piece of metal.
These vibrations could be captured with an electromagnetic pickup like the kind used in electric guitars.
This led to the development of two main types of electromechanical reverb—spring reverb and plate reverb:
What is spring reverb?
Spring reverb takes advantage of the unique behaviour of a coiled spring. The transducer is fitted at one end of spring and the pickup is at the other.
Spring reverb has a darker, edgier character that can vary widely from spring to spring. It’s often found in classic guitar amplifiers.
Using spring reverbs will give you a sploshy, metallic reverb with lots of character.
Best spring reverb VST plugins
Free:Hotto Spring Reverb
Hotto Spring Reverb is a free, no-nonsense spring reverb that’s effective and easy to use.
Spring reverb has a darker, edgier character that can vary widely from spring to spring.
Cheap:Aegean Music Spirit Reverb
Aegean Music Spirit Reverb is an affordable and authentic way to get spring reverb onto your tracks. It also includes other tone shaping effects like delay and tube preamp emulation.
Pro:PSP Springbox
Using spring reverbs will give you a sploshy, metallic reverb with lots of character.
PSP Spring Box has a ton of control to dial in your perfect spring reverb sound. It can go from realistic vintage spring reverb to seriously weird textures.
Where to use it?
Spring reverb is at home on electric guitars, but you can use it anywhere where you need a grittier flavour of reverb.
What is plate reverb?
Plate reverb is the main style of reverb from the golden age of analog recording. It’s created by exciting metal with a transducer just like spring reverb.
However, giant metal plates are required to create high quality plate reverb, so today these devices are expensive and rare.
They’re well loved for a reason though. Plate reverbs create a very recognizable sound that blends well into a mix and doesn’t overpower the dry signal.
Best plate reverb VST plugins
Free:TAL Reverb 2
TAL Reverb 2 deserves to top the list of best free reverb plugins. It’s a fantastic sounding reverb that’s modelled on a plate but can go from natural and realistic to lush ambient textures.
Plate reverbs create a very recognizable sound that blends well into a mix and doesn’t overpower the dry signal.
Cheap:VallhallaDSP ValhallaPlate
ValhallaDSP makes some of the best value-for-money reverb plugins. Sean Costello’s plugins are widely respected in the pro audio community despite their low price tag.
ValhallaPlate is a fantastic, inexpensive way to get into plate reverb.
Pro:UAD EMT 140 Plate
Universal Audio is the top name in vintage emulation and their plugins run on a dedicated hardware platform.
Their loving reproduction of the classic EMT 140 tube plate reverb is a smash hit. It’s incredibly authentic and sounds eerily close to a real plate.
Plate reverb uses
Vocals, snares, or anywhere else you need an even sounding reverb with smooth early reflections and distinctive character.
Algorithmic reverb
Algorithmic reverb uses digital trickery to create reverb. It usually works by using many cascaded digital delay lines to create the illusion of acoustic reflections. The earliest electronic reverb devices were algorithmic, so many of the classic sounds we associate with studio reverb were created this way.
Algorithmic reverbs aren’t always realistic since processing power was so limited in the early days. But they can still create a desirable and characteristic reverb sound that works in tons of mixing situations.
Best algorithmic reverb VST plugins
Free:Smartelectronix Ambience
Smarteletronix Ambience was one of the first quality free reverb plugins on the scene. And it’s still a great option for dreamy, ambient, algorithmic reverb.
Cheap:VallhallaDSP VintageVerb
Valhalla VintageVerb is a versatile algorithmic reverb with vintage style modes to simulate the frequency and sample rate limitations of 70’s and 80’s hardware reverbs.
Algorithmic reverbs aren’t always realistic since processing power was so limited in the early days. But they can still create a desirable and characteristic reverb sound that works in tons of mixing situations.
Free Reverb Fx
Pro:UAD Lexicon 224
The UAD Lexicon 224 is a painstakingly accurate replication of the classic vintage hardware. The original Lexicon 224 was one of the first readily available digital reverb units introduced to studios in the late 1970’s. It’s responsible for so many classic reverb sounds from that era.
Algorithmic reverb uses
Algorithmic works best for Synth pads, effects, or anywhere else you need a stylish, enveloping reverb.
Convolution reverb
Convolution reverbs create ambience through a mathematical process called (wait for it) convolution.
These reverb plugins use Impulse Responses to create their effect. Impulse responses are made by measuring the reverberation of a real space with a microphone and a specialized tone called an impulse.
Algorithmic works best for Synth pads, effects, or anywhere else you need a stylish, enveloping reverb.
The impulse response is a sonic profile that the plugin uses to apply its specific reverberation characteristics to your sound.
To put it simply, convolution reverb lets you use the ambience of any real world space inside your DAW.
Hot tip: Convolution can also be used to model things like speaker cabinets for electric guitar.
If you have an all purpose convolution plugin, you can use IRs of speaker cabs to get a convincing sound when you record amps direct.
Best convolution reverb VST plugins
Free:SIR Audio Tools SIR1 (Windows) LAConvolver (Mac)
These free simple convolution tools are capable of loading great sounding impulse responses. That’s the beauty of convolution! They may not be the most full featured plugins out there, but they can totally get the job done.
Cheap:Liquid Sonics Reverberate Core
Liquid Sonics Reverberate Core is an effective, inexpensive convolution reverb solution. It has the ability to load and tweak parameters of any impulse response.
Pro:Audio Ease Altiverb
Audio Ease Altiverb is the gold standard for studio convolution reverb. Its powerful convolution engine and IR collection are capable of creating extremely realistic and compelling acoustic spaces.
Convolution reverb uses
Close mic’d instruments or wherever you need natural, realistic sounding spaces. Convolution reverb is a great choice for acoustic instruments like strings and piano.
Non-linear reverb
There’s a few classic reverb sounds you might know that I haven’t covered yet.
I’m talking about special effects like gated and reverse reverb. These sounds are all examples of “non-linear” reverb.
Electromechanical, algorithmic and convolution reverbs all attempt to model real spaces—with varying degrees of success. Even though some examples are quirky and not at all realistic, they still have a “linear” decay.
Convolution reverb is a great choice for acoustic instruments like strings and piano.
That means the reverb rings out with the normal, uniform decrease in energy that would happen a real acoustic space.
Non-Linear reverbs throw that idea out the window. They’re the classic reverb “effects” from the 80s like gated and reverse reverb.
Best Non-linear Reverb VST Plugins
Free:Longsound MicroVerb VST
Longsound MicroVerb VST is an emulation of the Alesis Microverb hardware unit. This entry-level hardware reverb is known for its three non-linear presets, which sound pretty weird in all the right ways.
Free Plate Reverb Vst
Cheap:ValhallaDSP VintageVerb
We’ll have to give this one to Valhalla VintageVerb again for its fantastic nonlinear algorithms.
Pro:UAD AMS RMX16
The hardware AMS RMX16 is another early digital reverb that has been painstakingly modelled by Universal Audio. It’s nonlinear presets are responsible for many of the gated reverb sounds on recordings from the 1980’s.
If other verbs are sounding just too…normal, try a non-linear style for a change of pace.
Non-linear reverb uses
Use non-linear reverb to create psychedelic special effects. If other verbs are sounding just too…normal, try a non-linear style for a change of pace.
Early reflections
You need a sense of space in your recordings for them to sound natural and inviting.
That’s why reverb is an essential element of every mix. And to use it properly, you have to know your tools.
So to recap:
The best reverb plugins are…
Whether you’re adding a realistic ambience to an acoustic guitar, creating a cavernous space for a synth pad or just trying to nail that classic 80’s gated snare, knowing which reverb to reach for is key.
Plate, spring, convolution, algorithmic and non-linear reverbs all have helpful applications in your music.
Try any of the plugins from this list see how the how the different types work for you.
It's that time of the year again (already, huh) when Soundtoys releases Little things that go a long way.
Available for free until November 22th is Little Plate, a plate reverb plugin based on the hefty EMT 140 plate reverb unit introduced in 1957 by Wilhelm Franz at Germany’s Elektro-Mess-Technik.
Best Plate Reverb ever Made
Even in 2017, the EMT 140 is still regarded as the best plate reverb ever made.
A few fun facts I came across today while digging for more information about this mythical verb machine:
The real thing still costs thousands (dollars, euros) today, if you manage to find one in reasonable condition.
There was an EMT 140 Plate Reverb for sale on reverb.com a few years ago for around 5000 Euros. I'm not sure whether it was actually sold or not.
The EMT 140 weighs hundreds of pounds, it's about the size of an upright piano without the keys.
It takes at least three people to carry and at least one chiropractor to realign their joints afterwards.
The EMT 140 was virtually the only reverb that was used on Pink Floyd’s 'Dark Side of the Moon.'
Speaking of vibrating plates… In 1957, the year the EMT 140 plate was introduced, San Francisco got all shook up by an earthquake also known as the Daly City earthquake, on March 22nd. That's the same day Elvis’ “All Shook Up” was released as a single. Coincidence? I think not! ;)
Tons of Plates
Double hat tip to Soundtoys for making such a tasteful 32-second teaser for a new product.
You'd almost think wish something bigger is coming up. 'Revenge of the Plate Verbs' on Netflix, anyone?
The sounds are headphone-worthy:
To develop this plugin, Soundtoys obsessively collected five real EMT 140 units from around the United States, put them in the labs in Burlington, a city in northwestern Vermont, USA (best known for ski resorts, IBM employees, maple syrup, and Ben & Jerry's ice cream.)
After potentially breaking the bank, dislocating a few vertebrae, cleaning, tuning, testing, and coding, they ultimately ported the classic EMT 140 sound over to the digital realm.
In other words: tons of plate reverb (a single EMT 140 weighs 600 pounds) are now available in a Soundtoys plugin that weighs and costs nothing.
Little Plate will set you back $99 after November 22nd though.
:)
Plugin Interface & Features
Meeting the needs of those of us tinkering daily with today's DAW's, Soundtoys too added a few useful features to the plugin that were not available on the original EMT 140 hardware unit:
Compared to the EMT 140's limited reverb decay time of around 6 seconds or so, Little Plate offers a broader range of reverb decay times, from half a second up to infinity - so that you can use it both for short ambience reverb effects and frozen reverbs. Check out the product page for audio examples.
Use the Modulation switch to subtly modulate the reverb's tail for a thicker sound on vocals, keys, guitars, and other instruments. Check out the product page for some examples.
Use the Low-Cut Filter to remove the build-up of low frequencies in the reverb to keep your mix clean and modern. The filter goes all the way to 20 kHz. That should be useful if you're into using plate verb on percussion. The best vst plugins free.
Plate Reverb Tips & Tricks
In all fairness, you can't say 'EMT 140 plugin' without mentioning other third-party plugin developers, two of them being Universal Audio and Waves.
UA published an excellent page covering how and when to use plate reverb back in the summer of 2011.
The tips are still valid today.
To get you going, this quote:
Another cool option would be to use DAW automation to gradually increase the reverb level on the strings — often called a “reverb build” — in order to create a heightened sense of drama as the piece develops. This would be impossible to do with the hardware because of the mechanical noise, but with the plug-in version, continuous automation of decay time works perfectly.
More tips to be found in the full article, here:
The Abbey Road Reverb Technique
You can't say 'EMT 140' without mentioning the Abbey Road Reverb Technique either.
As plate reverbs are still widely used today, mostly on vocals I presume, you may want to learn more about this mix engineering trick if you haven't already.
Put simply, the Abbey Road Reverb trick involves rolling off everything below 600Hz and above 10kHz by using high- and low-pass filters placed before the reverb.
As demonstrated by mix engineer Dave Pensado in this video (there's a big bonus tip about 9 minutes in: watch Dave use a little tube saturation for extra plate lushness, it's subtle but brilliant):
Download & Plugin Formats
Download Little Plate here.
Be patient, Soundtoys' servers have been awfully busy as of this morning.
To use Little Plate, you'll need a free iLok account, which you can get here.
If you're already an owner of the Soundtoys 5 bundle like me, note that a license for Little Plate has already been deposited in your iLok account.
If the new version 4 of the iLok License Manager software is giving you major BS, don't panic, take a few minutes to read this:
Little Plate comes in the AAX Native, AAX AudioSuite, VST, and Audio Units plugin formats, both 32 and 64-bit.
Have fun with your new soundtoy!