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What's the best reverb plugin, and do I own one that's any good?

G

General_Disarray

Active Member
[sarcasm]
I'm sure nobody has asked this question before in the history of modern music...:cautious:
[/sarcasm]

...but I would like to ask it anyway. So for film scoring, what's the current consensus on the best reverb plugin, and since I'm sure that one is about ten mortgage payments for me, what's the best reverb plugin that is $300 or less?

These are the ones I own:

The ones that come with Native Instruments Komplete 14 CE:

iZotope:

Neoverb
Stratus3D
Symphony3D

Native Instruments
Raum
RC 24
RC 48

And of course there's a bunch of reverbs inside Guitar Rig 6 Pro, which can always be used for any instrument, not just guitar, although are probably more engineered for electric guitar more than anything.

The ones that come with Cubase Pro 12:

REVelation
REVerence
RoomWorks
RoomWorks SE

And I just bought Sixth Sample's Further reverb plugin, as well as Deelay PE, which may be a delay plugin primarily, but has reverb modes, and it's an enhanced version of their free Deelay plugin, which is excellent and hard to believe it's free.

I recently started downloading and playing with some of Ashton Gleckman's Hans Zimmer projects, and I see that he uses some reverbs that when I checked them out, they were like $600, and others a bit cheaper like Blackhole at $200, but I don't know if it's going to make any difference paying $200 for it as opposed to what I have.

So if you are familiar with the ones on my list, do I own anything that is worth a damn? It seems to me that Neoverb is pretty decent. I was using Chromaverb in Logic Pro X, and I really liked that one, but ever since I got Cubase Pro 12 I've been using it most of the time, and I like it much more. It seems more stable, and less prone to weird surprises. Logic got on my nerves several times, and still has a bug with keyboard focus on plugins that make it a pain to work with. I think it's a Mac M1 bug apparently.

Stratus 3D and Symphony 3D seem OK, but the interface is kind of a mess. The presets show in a way that is really confusing to work with, although they do have a lot of presets. I'm not totally sure what the difference is between them, because they look about the same.

That's all I have.
Click to read more...
 
Maybe not for realism, but RAUM is really sweet
Haven't tried out others on your list too much
I just use RAUM so far
But I also like it to sound a bit ethereal :emoji_blush:
Not aiming for realism here, at least not yet
 
I have quite a few of the one's listed in the original post. Arguably nothing else needed to get great sounding spaces.

But I wouldn't be a good hoarder of Reverbs, if didn't also have some others. One thing I'm fascinated by is what one might call a more "generative" side of reverbs, which is arguably crossing over to granular synthesis in addition to creating and manipulating reflections.

Some of my current favourite other reverbs are:
  • Eventide's Black Hole, ShimmerVerb and MangledVerb - they are very close to the hardware Eventide reverbs on my guitar pedal board, so I can do some knowledge transfer between hardware and software
  • Melda's MTurboReverb - other than being insanely flexible, it also allows you to program your own Reverb algorithms (albeit I haven't done that yet).
  • Valhalla's SuperMassive - crazy and crazy good -- free!
  • Zynaptiq Adaptiverb - a rather different approach to reverbs
 
I don’t have any of the reverbs you have.
But get Valhalla Room for $50 and you’re set.

valhalladsp.com

Valhalla Room: Room Reverb Plugin | Valhalla DSP Plugins

It’s grade A class - number one in its division. ValhallaRoom is a versatile, true stereo algorithmic reverb. It features twelve original reverberation algorithms (including the latest Dark reverb modes, Nostromo, Narcissus, Sulaco and LV-426), and produces a wide range of natural...
valhalladsp.com valhalladsp.com
 
The reverbs you have are really good.

You’ll find that there isn’t really one “best” reverb.

These are some of the ones that are revered by many:

1) like Henrik says: the Valhalla reverbs are excellent. I concur Room is likely the most useful for orchestral mixing. Vintage Verb is another great one. And they’re all $50!

2) the LiquidSonics ones, Cinematic Rooms and Seventh Heaven. People swear by them. Hans Zimmer uses CR.

3) Fabfilter Pro R. Many people just use this one and need nothing else.

4) Meldaproduction MTurboReverb. The one I use a lot. It is ridiculously deep, and sounds great and comes with TONS of different reverb types.

5) The Eventide ones are also rather legendary. Blackhole in particular. Watch a Daniel James video and chances are he puts it on a solo flute track or something. Edit / added comment: you mention the MSRP of $200 but PluginBoutique and other shops frequently run $29 sales. For that price I think it is a worthy addition to your toolkit.

6) The convolution reverbs: VSL MIR 3D, Altiverb, Eastwest Spaces II, Waves IR1, Convology, MConvolutionMB. When you either want an impulse response of an actual room OR some weird or unique reverb that an algorithmic reverb could never attain.

7) The Sonsig reverbs

8) The Lexicon reverbs

9) The UAD reverbs

10) The reverbs you have by Izotope are actually really good. They contain algorithms that were developed by a genius in the field who did the same thing for Lexicon back in the day. So the Exponential Audio reverbs are absolutely among the best.

Addendum ad 6) do also check out Samplicity’s latest offering Berlin Studio which takes the convolution approach to a great new level.

 
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A video that has been posted many times. And that is fun and revealing to watch. The Exponential Audio R2 they use here is comparable to the ones you have by them. The hardware Bricasti reverb they’re using here is actually emulated by the Liquidsonics Seventh Heaven reverb I mentioned earlier.

Having read your other post, I’d focus on learning about how to use reverb when mixing orchestral stuff first before buying a new plugin.
 
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I'd say you're more or less golden with your selection, and time would be a better investment than further money.
My 2 most used reverbs are Exponential R4 and Nimbus, which Stratus and Symphony are expanded versions of. I'll agree that the UI's can seem a little arcane, but once you've spent a little time with them, then they become far more intuitive and they offer up their power and flexibility far more easily. They also include excellent Plate algorithms.
I'm assuming that the options in Cubase include a good convolution verb, so all you might want to add are a couple of verbs at the more creative/sound design end of the spectrum.
Spaceduck is superb, and nicely fills the space between Exponentials warp section and UVI Relayer's more washed out capabilities. Blackhole is pretty much always $29, and whilst it has been aped many times, nothing else quite does what it does, so I'd still consider it an essential.
The final reverb that I turn to regularly is Baby Audio Crystalline, which sits nicely between the entirely ethereal Blackhole and verbs more grounded in reality.
As for springs, the new Boz Recoil is a solid choice, though I think you've just missed the intro sale.
 
General_Disarray said:
[sarcasm]
I'm sure nobody has asked this question before in the history of modern music...:cautious:
[/sarcasm]

...but I would like to ask it anyway.
Click to expand...
Without any sarcasm:
What I wouldn't recommend to anybody is to ask about reverbs in a forum.
Reverb is one of the most difficult areas and while it's not particularly difficult to get a decent sound out of any reverb, there are constellations where things get really difficult and those require expertise which most people simply don't have.

First of all:
The mentioned Stratus 3D and Symphony 3D are 3-4 leagues above most of the recommended reverbs in this thread.
The fact that they are now given away for next to nothing doesn't change that.

So, probably you should spend some quality time with them.

Second:
With a high quality reverb lots of things are about getting the parameters right.
This needs most of all time, since each day, your ears has just a little frame in which is it able to really listen carefully to reverb nuances.

Third:
Instead of asking for tips maybe you could post a snippet of your music. Which would make it easier to really give detailed and substantial answers.
So as it is, chances are high that you end up with a much worse reverberation on your tracks (since in group situations one values the group's consensus higher than his own ears...)
 
Do you like the sound of one or more of your reverbs, at least when a “pro” uses it? If so, don’t buy more and just learn what you have.

Otherwise, the question is: do you want realistic reverb or not? Both have pros and cons.

My favorite reverb of all time so far is Cinematic Rooms Pro. I don’t do orchestral, though. It’s my go to reverb for everything. I also supplement it with Lustrous Plates and TaiChi, plus a select group of specific emulations (eg just bought the Arturia emulation of the Lexicon 224).

I had to keep buying more because I didn’t love any I had (eg Valhalla ones, though I love their Delay). But then I just kept buying some because I could, after getting CRP.
 
All your iZotope reverbs are pretty well-liked and I personally use the RC 48 a lot so yeah. You're good.

You might want to try the free Convology XT as a convolution reverb and source yourself some IR's (you can search the forum for the 'Zlin IR', I think it's hosted by Sonokinetic). It won't necessarily be better, but it'll be interesting and you'll learn stuff ;).
 
The problem with questions like this is that they always result in endless listicles of products. There is no consensus on "the best reverb you should use" and there never will be.

You have to trust your own ears, basically. Everybody will name stuff that works for their ears in their workflows, in their templates, to their tastes. All of which might be totally, utterly different than yours.

There's no right answer, and recommendations for specific products among the hundreds out there are essentially meaningless. You have a lot of reverbs: pick a few, learn them, play with them, USE them. When one really starts working for you, you will absolutely know it. Nobody else can tell you when that is happening / going to happen.

In general I think any post that contains the words "what is the best X ?" are dubious inquiries and should be avoided, but that's just me, and I probably shouldn't play forum police :)
 
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doctoremmet said:
The reverbs you have are really good.

You’ll find that there isn’t really one “best” reverb.

1) like Henrik says: the Valhalla reverbs are excellent. I concur Room is likely the most useful for orchestral mixing. Vintage Verb is another great one. And they’re all $50!

2) the LiquidSonics ones, Cinematic Rooms and Seventh Heaven. People swear by them. Hans Zimmer uses CR.

3) Fabfilter Pro R. Many people just use this one and need nothing else.


6) The convolution reverbs: VSL MIR 3D, Altiverb, Eastwest Spaces II, Waves IR1, Convology, MConvolutionMB. When you either want an impulse response of an actual room OR some weird or unique reverb that an algorithmic reverb could never attain.
Click to expand...
THIS (in Bold text.) ^ (note: i've filtered out my personal favs)
Besides well known and admired/applauded players in the field, the ones that come with the DAW are also very capable and high quality. But above all, there indeed is no "best"
 
You're done with what you have, but for the sake of getting to know and try without buying several plugins is getting a Convolution Loader. A free one is Convology XT, a paid one (wait for sales by the end of the year) is Reverberate 3. First is ugly af, second one I really like it over all loaders I had, but they all do the same, sort of.

With free Convology XT, which comes with a few already, you'll be able to hunt down some Bricasti M7 Impulse Responses, and all that is around compatible, and then, at least you can learn and have fun and spend nothing. Use this same forum to search for IR's, like the Zlin studio (Sonokinetic / 8dio) is around here.

When you take the next step, go Reverberate that goes down to $50 on sales
https://www.liquidsonics.com/software/reverberate-3/ , which will bring you their own set of Bricasti M7, plus a bunch or regular IR's and their own "fusion" ones (stereo ones), plus all you can load on Convology XT, and even download the whole Waves IRL Impulse Response catalog (it's free) and Reverberate will load. I mean, for US$50. (during sales)

And then, only then, escalate to Cinematic Rooms (same company as Reverberate) using a loyalty coupon from the purchase of Reverberate. And then Pro.

Why? Cost mostly, (I'm not claiming that Cinematic Rooms is better than the mentioned above, it just does work for many because it's claimed to be more "transparent" or natural).
 
Considering you have a bunch of solid reverbs but you're asking about buying more, this is an indication that your time would be better spent learning how to set your reverbs. When to use ERs vs when not to, how to move things forward and backward, & how to create 'invisible' reverbs that add depth but don't scream as if something has been soaked in reverb....

Learn the tools you have instead of buying new ones, all that winds up accomplishing is a longer list of tools you have that you don't actually know how to use, other than loading a preset and adjusting one or two parameters.
 
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