ValhallaVintageVerb. Available now for OSX/Windows. $50.
by seancostello   18th December 2012

Originally Posted by Progger ➡️

Dear Mr. Costello:

Just bumping this thread to say that "Hall1984" is currently my favorite reverb algorithm that I've ever heard. Thanks again. Eternal respect!

Originally Posted by Funkybot ➡️

For folks like me who wanted to say thanks for all the incredible free updates, with no more Valhalla plugins to buy, there is now Valhalla merch. I just ordered 2 t-shirts just for that reason.

Originally Posted by FoxMulderFBI ➡️

Completely agree on this one. The reason why I sold VVV several years ago - few parameters to shape the algo, but loads of algos that from the name I could barely understand what it does and reading website/manual and finding info takes away the creative part. And then when I read the description of the all modes, whenever I mix, I am not sure if I am going to like next algo more then the previous one and I loose 2h judging which one sounds best to the material. Sometimes, less is better. I would appreciate 5 more knobs (control over algo) then adding 5 more algos. None the less, this is ultra high quality reverb and definitely deserves the praise it gets.

Originally Posted by seancostello ➡️

Thank you! And this is true - we really do obsess over the default settings nowadays. I gotta admit, the next reverb plugin I come out with is gonna have a 2.25 or 2 second decay time, to be a more "physically correct" hall. But VintageVerb sounded really good with that 4 second Concert Hall.

Having said that: Try the default setting in VintageVerb, and then switch the mode to the new Hall1984 reverb mode. I feel that Hall1984 is my perfect hall reverb nowadays. Better frequency balance, great modulation, better control over reverb decay time, and just a hint of noise in the 70s and 80s mode (and truly just a hint - I quantize the fractional delay to 70s/80s levels, but no other noise or nonlinearities). I will keep the default as is for backward compatibility, but the default settings, with the Hall1984 reverb mode selected, are just better sounding in my opinion.

Not all of my plugin updates are "teleological." The more recent ValhallaRoom modes weren't necessarily "better" than the original four modes it shipped with. LV-426 is fun, but I find myself turning to the default LargeRoom mode when I make reverbs nowadays. Most of the ValhallaRoom additional modes were experiments, taking the plugin in different directions than it was first released.

VintageVerb is different. In general, the later modes were a result of me learning things I didn't know when I first released VintageVerb in December 2012. Dirty Hall sounds much closer to a 224XL than the original Concert Hall (which was modeled on a PCM70). The Smooth algorithms are improved versions of the original Plate/Room/Random Space algorithms. And the new Hall1984 mode is my favorite concert hall algorithm. I love the dirt of Dirty Hall, but Hall1984 just sits in the mix better to my ears, has a more transparent sound, matches the original 224 hardware better, and has far more control over the decay time. I'd say that the further down you go in the list of algorithms in VintageVerb, the better things sound.

Chamber1979 might be an exception to this "later algorithms sound better" rule. Honestly, I kinda hated the original 224/200/224XL Chamber algorithm. It sounded metallic and weird, and it had seasick modulation. The changes I added to Chamber1979 dealt with these issues, but it is still a weird algorithm. The VintageVerb Chamber algorithm is loosely based on the 224XL Rich Chamber algorithm, and sounds much smoother to my ears than Chamber1979.

And yet: Chamber1979 has a TON of "presence." The artifacts that stick out to my ears when reverb testing end up creating a ton of character in the mix. And the modifications I made to the Chamber1979 modulation help eliminate the metallic coloration, and also make Chamber1979 a FANTASTIC reverb mode for long synth reverbs. It turns out that the strange 224/200/224XL Chamber structure had the potential of being a modulated reverb monster, if the modulation points were put into different locations and more evenly distributed. So, Chamber1979 might not sound "better" than some of the other VintageVerb modes, but it is still pretty awesome.

Originally Posted by Progger ➡️

Dear Mr. Costello:

Just bumping this thread to say that "Hall1984" is currently my favorite reverb algorithm that I've ever heard. Thanks again. Eternal respect!