Few plug-ins at any price can compare with the free Valhalla DSP Supermassive echo/reverb – and version 4 brings what might be its best mode yet. It’s smoother, more natural, more organic, more versatile than anything Valhalla has added before. Plus, let’s go visit that object cluster in space.
Before we get into that, maybe it’s best to just listen – and keep listening, because that long, long tail at the end is something:
Part of what makes Supermassive special is that it’s really a collection of different delay/reverb models, each with different characteristics. Some of them are intentionally weird, which allows for creative sound design. Some are smoother and better for delays or better for long reverbs.
What makes Pleiades is that it’s exquisitely versatile at just about everything. The trick, according to developer Sean Costello, is a very fast attack and filtered exponential delay, which allows transparent-but-dense extreme settings. I don’t turn density to 100% in the demo video, but you can; normally, that would create some extreme metallic sounds or resonance, but not here.
In fact it’s rare to hear a reverb model that so fluidly transitions from delay to reverb, just with feedback, warp, and density settings. You can dial in a chorus, flanger, small ambience, big hall, kind of anything. It’s fitting that this arrives the same week as the Quantec stuff from Apple, as there are some parallels in approach and range.
Sean claims this is the “best” Supermassive mode, and I agree. Much as I’ve always loved Supermassive, this puts it on another level. It completes the evolution from misfit algorithms (which I do love) to everyday delay/chorus/flanger/reverb.
And do read through the full notes. It explains what’s happening under the hood, how to use it, and even why this is free and how it impacts some of Valhalla’s wonderful (and very affordable) paid plug-ins:
ValhallaSupermassive 4.0.0 Update. New Pleiades mode! FREE!
Downloads [Mac and Windows – anyone tried this yet on Linux? Should work via a VST wrapper…]
Sequoia seems a fairly uneventful upgrade, though I’m currently still on Sonoma so I can’t speak to it. But Valhalla’s stuff runs on the latest macOS release. (And hey, if you break everything else, just run Supermassive all day.)
Here’s some beautiful demo work by Sean:
We’re having just a fantastic month for reverbs. Now we get this new Supermassive on top of the Quantec QRS and YardStick in Logic Pro. I’ve been playing with the Quantec stuff, and even though QRS was the headline the YardStick algorithms are just extraordinary. It’s a bumper crop for anyone who loves diving deep into reverbs, their history, and their programming.
So speaking of that, if you haven’t been reading through developer Sean Costello’s blog, it’s a treasure trove of ideas and research about DSP. That’s a must if you’re a developer or hacker, but just as enlightening for end users, too; it gives you a sense of the craft and evolution of the tools you use.
Check the Learn section:
There’s a four-part series on reverb design, but everyone should at least read this:
And let’s go check the namesake of the plug-in:
Messier 45, commonly known as the Pleiades or Seven Sisters, is an open object cluster 445 light years away, in the constellation Taurus. It’s home to Merope, and because it’s so bright, you can see it easily in the night sky. Apps make it easy for us to do that now, but for added perspective, here’s an awesome zoom animation from NASA:
And while it is visible to the naked eye, the Hubble telescope gave us a better look – and more information.
That’s the real deal in the feature image. Source: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / Judy Schmidt. The Planetary Society even has some wallpaper you can use.
So we can fully immerse ourselves in the Pleiades lifestyle. I’m there.
Let’s support real space science and not billionaire tourists. And reverb. More reverb.
Previously: