ValhallaDSP VintageVerb by Dowsed
Product: Vintage Verb
Developer: Valhalla DSP
Formats: VST, AU, AAX, AudioSuite, RTAS - Win/Mac (64/32-bit where applicable)
DRM: License Key
Price: $50
Demo: Not time limited. However, the audio fades out and back in every 45 seconds and it can’t save presets
Website: Valhalla DSP
Valhalla describe vintage verb as a postmodern reverb plugin, inspired by the classic hardware digital reverbs of the 1970s and 1980s, which I think you will agree is a hefty premise for a reverb costing $50. After trying out Vintage Verb for a few minutes it became clear that this is a serious slice of DSP. It stands up to any reverb, hardware or software, at any price point. In fact, vintage verb sounds so good that it started a personal love affair with the entire Valhalla product range, so much so, that I want to spend a brief section of this review speaking about the ethos and quality of Valhalla DSPs product range.
Firstly, just like their vintage verb, each one of Valhalla DSPs plug-ins transcends its price point (by a considerable margin might I add), but their price point is just the first indication of Valhalla’s ethos. Valhalla shows their compassion as well as a deep understanding to the plight of the modern music creator, in almost equal measure. This is shown by their lack of update plans and their licensing methods, it all goes to show a level of trust in their customers seldom seen, not just in the Pro-Audio industry but in business generally.
Beyond this each of Valhalla’s plug-ins shares much more in common than just ideology, each has a simple to use GUI, they are packed with helpful tool tips meaning no manual is necessary. These tool tips are neatly located; they are noticeable but not clutter the interface. Across the range there is no “fancy” or “overbearing” graphics on display. In fact, they are somehow retro and modern looking at the same time. These fancy graphics and display curves might seem advantageous but using the Valhalla line makes you quickly realise that you should be using your ears more than your eyes (which is something that I have been guilty of).
If you like value for money, quality algorithms and intuitive design then you can’t go wrong with Valhalla DSP. Basically, Valhalla’s products are as useful in Abbey Road as they would be in the smallest home studio. Such a lofty statement is one that I would seldom make, but developers as talented and competitive need to be shouted about. Perhaps my only criticism of the Valhalla line is that there seems to be no way to quickly A/B between two different settings.
So enough waxing lyrical, let’s discuss Vintage Verb specifically. At the heart of vintage verb are 15 reverb algorithms, ranging from halls, plates and ambiences, as well as more specialist algorithms like non-linear, chorused and “dirty” spaces. All of these do exactly what they say on the tin. Vintage Verb includes plenty of presets, which can get you in the ballpark very quickly but results are best when you spend time time-tuning these with your track. In my opinion, what really sets vintage apart though is its colour control, which you can choose between 1970s, 1980s and now, it’s like having three reverbs in one. This switchable colour transforms the sound dramatically but without losing the general character you created tweaking the rest of the parameters. I would try and describe the differences between these three colours but Valhalla describe them in such a beautiful and succinct way that I will leave it to them to describe:
- 1970s. Replicates the reduced bandwidth of the earliest digital reverberators (10 kHz maximum output frequency). Downsampled internally, to reproduce the artifacts of running at a lower sampling rate. The modulation is dark and noisy, and can produce strange and random sidebands with sustained notes. This is intentional.
- 1980s. Full bandwidth / sampling rate, for a brighter sound than the 1970s. The modulation is still dark and noisy, but will produce different artifacts than the 1970s mode as it is running at the full sampling rate.
- NOW. Full bandwidth / sampling rate. The modulation is clean and colorless, versus the funky artifacts of the 1970s/1980s modes.
In summary, vintage verb has everything you need in a multi-purpose reverb and at a price point, which makes it a no-brainer. It’s sound quality and ease of use means that it gets a clean sweep of 5 star ratings, which is a first for me on Gearslutz. Due to sheer variety of different algorithms inside vintage verb it is the perfect introduction into the Valhalla range. Just be warned they are extremely addictive and you may find your credit card filled with the entire range before too long (but it won’t max it out at least). Whilst I still use some other reverbs made by other developers, a Valhalla reverb seem to make it onto every mix somewhere, of these Vintage Verb and Valhalla Room are perhaps the most frequently used.