Hey peeps, was looking to see what people think are the best convolution reverb plugins currently available and out there. My considerations are pretty standard as to what to expect:

-Lots of IR libraries built in.
-Customizable to a decent degree.
-the UI is meaningful, doesnt have to be colourful or filled with crap.
-Load your own IR's in.
-Not super heavy on the PC load (i expect it will anyway but if people have tried and tested some then that would be awesome).
-Good in a variety of situations, but my initial use will be for really small tail drum reverb.
-Extra perks like mono cutoff, stereo mix in etc.
-Bug free (or as much as possible).

Cheers in advance!

 

Well the best convolution reverb out there is probably Altiverb from Audio Ease but that might be a bit over the top (especially the price).

My personal favourtie at the moment is Aether from 2CAudio but you really need to get the expansion packs as you can't import your own IR files (which really really sucks). shame over me for confusing this one with a convolution reverb.

I also tried the IQ Reverb from Hofa and while it has neat features, it didn't really feel stable for me and the workflow just didn't feel right. But would really give it a try.

And as already mentioned by ArticStorm the new version 2.0 of LiquidSonics' Reverberate looks promising and I really want to try it in the near future. (and the price seems fair)

 

Last edited: Nov 5, 2015

I remember actually trying to use the Hofa plugin when it came out, and i have to agree with both of you on its functionality, it was so buggy when attempting to use it! Keep em coming people, really appreciate the responses peeps! It looks like reverberate is the way to go at the minute

 

Not really a dick move in this case. As Aether is algorithmic and not a convolution reverb. A damn fine one at that as well.

 

I'd agree if it in fact offered IR... But it doesn't. As i wrote it's algorithmic not a convolution reverb ;)

From the Aether manual :
"One of the most important advantages of algorithmic reverb over convolution is the ability to quickly customize the reverb behavior to the needs of the source material. Sometimes this process includes a large amount of experimentation and trial-and-error-searching to find what works. The speed at which this is achievable by using the ER Space Type and Frequency Profile macros is simply phenomenal. It is easily possible to audition 10 different settings in the same amount of time required to load a single Impulse Response from a hard-drive." I don't see how this would harm your creativity, good sir.

 

Last edited: Nov 5, 2015

Algorithimic reverb sounds interesting too, what are your thoughts on CPU loads with Aether in terms of how realistic it is? Im assuming to some degree is the "75 parameters" (from their website) would allow for greater control, but i feel as if it must come at some cost. What are the sizes of their libraries/ cost of expansions. Do you feel as if the libraries allow you to sufficiently make a reverb pallete without barriers to creativity? Im assuming they must model the physics of impulse reverb, similiarly to piano emulations (like pianoteq), so the maths can be more manipulatable, but itd not as accurate? I guess it comes down to customization(AR) vs a much closer snapshot of an environment with much less parameters (IR) except reverberate seems to have slightly more modelling capacity that other IRs.

 

Sure, and the flexibility of algorithmic reverbs allow us to do things we can't do with convolution reverb. Thus they supplement each other nicely. But criticizing an algorithmic reverb for not being able to load IRs makes as much sense as criticizing a petrol car for not running on diesel. ValhallaRoom is an algorithmic reverb too, it surprisingly doesn't load IRs either, because it wasn't intended to do so. Do you consider that a dick move as well?

 

It does come at a cost, the CPU-load is HEAVY. 2C offers a lighter version called Breeze though with less flexibility. I use Aether mostly for sound design not necessarily aiming for realism. If after a specific realistic location/room/space convolution is probably the way to go. The included spaces in Aether do sound fantastic though. A "trial" version should be available on the sister site me thinks.

 

Besides the aforementioned Reverbs which are all great, I like Overloud RE Matrix a lot because you can mix 5 layers of different types of Reverbs together pretty easily which makes it pretty outstanding in regards to other Reverbs. And it is fairly simple to operate. You can also import your own IRs, too. So you can get very creative with this too to shape the reverb you need.

I've been making Beats for 20 years now and I still struggle with reverb a lot, which is kind of embarassing, tbh. ;)

 

Last edited: Nov 5, 2015

This one looks awesome too, im really liking the uniqueness of it! Wonder how phase cancellation is handled with 5 different layers to mix in. Seems to have an intuitive UI, im at work atm so cant listen to demos but im defo gonna look into this one more too. Wonder what CPU usage is like. I had a quick peak at the video, what do lines repesent that have seconds below them? Is this the delay before the reverb is triggered? That looks so flipping unique!

 

"The best" is subjective BS. But the best one for me is SIR2 (along with my huge IR library that I've collected and created over the years).

 

Yeah, and my point was that Aether doesn't provide a way to load IRs, own or otherwise, as it doesn't use IRs at all. The expansion packs aren't IRs but different presets/settings of the 75 various parameters that make up that amazingly flexible algorithmic beast. Like preset packs for a softsynth. Anyways a hybrid would be cool. Reverberate aims for some middle ground with some options for modulating the otherwise inherently static nature of IRs. As they are a space captured at a single moment in time.

 

Last edited: Nov 5, 2015

Let's blame Index for including Aether in this thread on convolution reverbs Can't really blame him though as some of the presets sound as good as real captured spaces. Back on topic, Reverberate is the best I've stumbled on with regards to making IRs more lively.

 

I kind of like ableton's M4L Convolution for it's simplicity & seems a heck of a lot less CPU intensive then a lot of other reverbs but I don't know, can't really say I've A/Bed a lot of Reverbs. I wasn't really too fond of Arts Acoustic reverb because I didn't like the interface but people seemed to go crazy over it.