It’s hard to use words to describe how a reverb is going to sound. We use reverb on everything from guitars to clave to audiobook dialogue, so it’s difficult to recommend what’s going to sound good for you. I can, however, explain the extremely thought-out interface of Verberate and how you can make this plugin sound good for you. Acon Digital made it pretty easy with this one.
I don’t know about you, but I like to stand on the shoulders of a reverb. Meaning I go straight to the presets. I usually know what I’m going for depending on the source, so I start listening to the medium hall’s and small room’s to see if the plugin has what it takes. I do this with synths and compressors and EQ’s and honestly just about everything that comes with presets. First impression of Verberate? Authentic one-shot presets that beg for a chance with your track.
Although you might be happy right out of the gate with a preset, there are still available parameters to really sculpt what you want out of it. You got your dry, verb, and early reflection levels along with the parameters for the actual reverb itself including modulation rate and depth, pre-delay, the stereo spread and of course your reverb time. You don’t just have a high cut knob, either. There’s a graphical visual for EQ frequency response that you adjust within the verb itself. You can really fine tune your sounds within your mix.
The plugin is also really easy to navigate. It’s a fairly fast and smooth process to get what I want. This is something crucial for workflow, especially when dealing with reverbs. I really liked the preset bar with the arrows to quickly change between presets within the category. I can just sit there and demo each room with a click and even A/B each preset right next to each other. The plugin works fast and I didn’t notice any delay.
To wrap this up, I’m going to try and describe how this reverb sounds overall. I noticed that it’s very subtle. Especially the Plates. Even with the Chamber and Church presets. The reverb sits behind your source and does its job. It’s great for adding almost unnoticeable character to a source too. I know that sounds bad, but some people are into that. If you don’t think you want reverb on something, try the Crystalline plate just a bump and your mix will thank you. I think it would do great for acoustic songs or small sessions with only a few tracks. It could also be an awesome reverb for creative people just trying to hear some verb while they write and demo. For the price, you really can’t beat the professional sound that’s packed into this verb.
PJ Hatch – Mix Engineer and Music Producer
www.pjhatch.com
