ValhallaFutureVerb is a new, reverb echo plugin that has been in development for 8 years, created by the makers of the free Supermassive plugin.
You can never have too many delays, echoes, or reverbs, especially since each has its own unique sonic characteristics. Music producers often mention that many of them use ValhallaDSP plugins. Same for me. They’re among the best and most affordable at $50 per plugin.
Big news: ValhallaDSP is back with a new plugin. ValhallaFutureVerb is a new, flexible, and versatile reverb and echo plugin. And, spoiler alert: it’s the best $50 you can spend right now.
ValhallaFutureVerb
The new ValhallaDSP plugin is a completely new development. According to the developers, they worked eight years (research/development) on these new algorithm topologies that the new ValhallaFutureVerb offers.
FutureVerb is a combined plugin that offers both reverb and echo in a single, convenient package. We’re familiar with this concept from the free ValhallaSupermassive plugin, which also combines reverb and echo.
It is unknown whether Supermassive was used as a development environment to test the algorithms.
ValhallaFutureVerb is a true reverb/echo playground. It offers various routing options, giving you plenty of experimentation options. Use the echo modes as a predelay or as post-processing of the reverb (echo -> reverb), and more.
At the core of FutureVerb are eight original reverb modes and 12 flexible echo modes. The reverb includes: Room, Chamber, Plate, Hall, Cathedral, Space, Frozen, and Nonlin.
They have been designed for maximum transparency and realism, with none of the coloration traditionally associated with algorithmic reverbs, according to the developers.
The first five algorithms focus on real-world acoustic spaces, while the last three are for huge ambient spaces and tight nonlinear reverb. ValhallaDSP promises that the algorithms don’t need modulation to sound good.
Each mode is fully customizable with a handful of parameters: decay, size, early/late reflection, density, and level.
12 Echo Modes, Incl. Granular Delays!
On the echo menu are 12 modes, including: Modern, Tape, Digital, Analog, Detune, Reverse, ReverseOctUp, ReverseOctDown, ReverseOctUpDown, Sparkle, Swarm, and LoFi.
Sparkle and Swarm are particularly exciting, bringing granular delays to the ValhallaDSP world for the first time. Sparkle is a unique pitch-shifting granular echo that offers spread control, fading between two and eight detuned granular delays.
Swarm, on the other hand, offers eight detuned and pitch-shifted granular delays and is the dark side of Sparkle. You can use the echo modes in a transparent and realistic reverb mode, giving you different results.
Parameters such as delay, feedback, drive, and spread allow you to tweak each mode in detail. That’s not all.
You can also work with four distinct colorization modes (bright, neutral, dark, and studio) that are EQ and high-frequency decay profiles. It’s a powerful control option to change the overall tonality of the reverb and echo sounds.
Furthermore, you have built-in modulation with rate and depth control, as well as an EQ with high-cut and low-cut filters.
ValhallaFutureVerb ships with plenty of ready-to-use presets. But the real fun is diving into the plugin.
First Impression
Even though our computer systems are overflowing with reverb and echo plugins, GAS is extremely high here. In the sound demos available, the plugin sounds incredibly good and at a truly fantastic level.
I’m especially pleased that you can now explore granular delays at the VahallaDSP level. And $50 is a no-brainer for this reverb and echo playground.
ValhallaFutureVerb is available now for $50. It runs as a VST, VST3, AU, and AAX plugin on macOS (native Apple Silicon + Intel) and Windows.
More information here: ValhallaDSP
On it – their stuff is always great
Having Soundtoys-Bundle (with the new reverb), SuperMassive and the Logic only Quantec, I am really wondering if this is of great additional use? I am more into unrealistic stuff, I like the company, otherwise I would ignore this article. 😉
This does things they cannot and sounds superb – so yes, with mild apologies to your wallet.