D16 Toraverb
Although clarity and realism are often considered the most important characteristics of a good digital reverb, it’s worth bearing in mind that there are other reasons to use reverb as a creative tool. This is electronic music, not a direct-to-disc audiophile recording of a classical concert; most of us are less concerned with whether our music sounds ‘real’ than with whether it sounds good. As such, there’s room in every producer’s arsenal for a digital reverb with enough character to match a plate or a spring. Something distinctive and coloured which can be used to create unique soundscapes, twist synths and drums into new sonic territory or just experiment with unashamedly unrealistic sounds.
We were half tempted to include something suitably 90s like an Alesis Quadraverb or Midiverb on our list for that unmistakeable Aphex/Squarepusher sound, but ultimately convenience has to win out over nostalgia. There are plenty of excellent plugin options to choose from which will add heaps of character to your tracks while retaining all the ease-of-use of the software approach.
most of us are less concerned with whether our music sounds 'real' than with whether it sounds good
Rob Papen’s RP-Verb is an incredibly powerful option with some excellent built-in modulation effects (the envelope follower options are particularly useful). Audio Damage’s Eos is a very versatile and incredibly well priced option. But our pick of the new-school reverb plugins is D16’s Toraverb. It’s stunningly flexible, intuitive to program, it works on pretty much any sound you can imagine and it sounds incredible. But perhaps the best part is that at just 39 Euros it’s one of the biggest bargains around. You owe it to yourself to check it out.
03.00 PM
Excuse me but where is the Midiverb II at? What kind of dance music producer has a room for a plate reverb.
08.34 PM
Lumping the Space Echo in with reverbs seems to be pushing it a bit. It’s a great unit, but…
Also worth mentioning are the dirt-cheap plugins from ValhallaDSP (which borrow a lot of techniques from both Lexicon and Eventide), and the more expensive ones from 2CAudio.
02.34 PM
makes me laugh how people always get so mad at these features. guys, they’re just attack’s choices. if you don’t agree, write down your own list on a piece of paper and look at that instead. it’s hardly as if it’s some kind of official ranking, plus there’s a lot more to read here than just the names of 10 reverbs. maybe if you read it you’d realise they actually mentioned the midiverb AND the fact that most people don’t have room for a plate so should buy the plugin instead.
eric, i kind of agree with your point on the space echo but they are absolutely awesome for reverb as well as delay effects. even the delays are so messy and organic that it isn’t really delay as most people think of it these days. i got to borrow one off a friend for a while and what i actually liked it most for was a short reverb-style effect on vocal samples.
i also agree that the valhalla reverbs are excellent
10.16 PM
This is an unusually random feature from Attack…so few of these devices are really relevant to dance music eg the Lexicon 224…or EMT 140 (a vintage plate!)…’Acoustic space’ followed by a Bricasti! Its just all over the place…and honestly is that really relevant for dance music producers?
Here is my list:
2cAudio Aether
Valhalla Vintage Verb
Valhalla Shimmer
Relab 480
Eventide Black Hole pedal
Strymon Big Sky pedal
Eventide H3000 Rack unit
Roland Space Echo vintage delay
11.44 PM
Strymon Bluesky should’ve been in there