Looking for the best reverb plugins? This Icon Picks roundup features a selection of stellar-sounding reverb plugins that will add astonishing detail, dimension, and lush vibe to your mixes.
What is Reverb?
Reverb is an essential part of every mix, and one of the most widely used audio effects for good reasons. Creating space and depth is vital when you’re mixing music. Moreover, treating your music with reverb is necessary to create the impression of distance and separation between elements. Most importantly, reverb also provides that integral sense of natural space, silkiness, and intrigue that glues your mixes together and immerses listeners.
1. FabFilter | Pro-R
FabFilter Pro-R is an extremely versatile reverb that delivers beautifully designed room models of all shapes and sizes. Staying true to FabFilter’s signature style, Pro-R sports a gorgeous Retina interface with a large interactive display. Moreover, this flexible reverb offers modern functionary such as a Decay Rate EQ, Post EQ curves, and much more. Also, Pro-R takes a musical approach to reverb by providing user-friendly, non-technical controls like Brightness, Character, and Distance instead of traditional control labels.
2. Universal Audio | EMT Classic Reverb Bundle
No reverb collection is complete without plates. UA’s EMT Classic Reverb Bundle offers two iconic plate reverbs expertly modeled after their rare hardware counterparts. The EMT 250 is regarded as one of the best-sounding reverb units ever made. UA’s take faithfully emulates this first-ever digital reverb/modulation effects unit introduced in 1976. The EMT 140 models three uniquely different EMT 140s that will infuse your sounds with unmistakable lush plate textures. Moreover, UA goes far beyond both original hardware designs by adding modern, workflow enhancing features.
3. D16 Group | Toraverb 2
Toraverb 2 stands out from among the competition because it’s not your typical reverb plugin which only offers the basic spring, room, hall or plate sound types. Also, Toraverb 2 does not model any other reverb unit. Instead, Toraverb is its own unique breed that allows you to sculpt practically ANY type of reverb and beyond. Furthermore, D16’s goal was to create a flexible reverb device that not only sounds amazing but is also fully tweakable.
4. Valhalla DSP | Reverb Plugins
Valhalla DSP’s line of reverb plugins offers professional quality sound for a shockingly affordable price. Find every flavor of reverb imagable and sculpt the sound to taste with a set of friendly controls. Check out Valhalla VintageVerb, Valhalla Room, and Valhalla Plate. You can’t go wrong with this collection!
5. Audio Ease | Altiverb 7
Altiverb 7 is an excellent sounding convolution reverb plugin that has been the industry standard for a long time. It features high-quality samples of real spaces. Tap into ambiances ranging from the Sydney Opera House to the cockpit of a Jumbo Jet. Audio Ease has also been traveling the world to record the acoustics of the very best sounding spaces longer than anyone in the industry. Moreover, every month Altiverb 7 users receive new impulse responses for free.
6. Slate Digital | VerbSuite Classics
VerbSuite Classics is the result of a partnership between Slate Digital and LiquidSonics. This diverse reverb processor captures the evolving and modulating characteristics of ten iconic hardware units. You can’t go wrong with this plugin; it offers 40 years of the industry’s most-used digital reverb processors. Moreover, you get that legendary sound from classic reverbs in a user-friendly plugin build with modern features not found on their hardware counterparts.
7. Soundtoys | Little Plate
Little Plate captures the gorgeous sound and vibe of the classic EMT 140 plate reverb. Also, Soundtoys pushed the limits of this musical plugin by adding some modern features and technology not available on the original hardware. Moreover, Little plate packs the essence of vintage plate reverb into one little, extremely easy to use plugin. Try it out on keys, guitar, and vocals!
8. Liquid Sonic | Seventh Heaven Professional
Seventh Heaven is both visually and sonically pleasing. Packed under a beautiful display is a dedicated reproduction of one the most sought-after reverberation processors in the industry – the Bricasti M7. Seventh Heaven also combines the realism of a convolution reverb with extensive multi-sampling from the M7 to give you a modern, high-resolution sound. This means you get a high-fidelity reverb unit for a fraction of the cost of its hardware counterpart.
9. Brainworx | bx_rooMS
bx_rooMS is an impressive reverb developed by the masters of mid-side processing. It is defined as the next frontier in the simulation of acoustic spaces and mechanical plates. At its core, Brainworx’s new space-meister features exceptional realism, superb sound quality, and a huge collection of virtual rooms, halls, churches, plates, and ambiance. bx_rooMS also empowers you to shape your virtual spaces in unusual and extremely powerful ways by adding mid-side parametric filtering, center-image panning, and width control.
10. Lexicon | PCM Native Reverb Bundle
For over 40 years Lexicon has been recognized as the gold standard of digital reverbs. This powerhouse bundle delivers seven legendary Lexicon reverbs with hundreds of the most versatile and finely-crafted studio presets, including recognizable classics from Lexicon’s immense library of sounds. Moreover, this set of reverb processors are designed to bring the highest level of sonic quality and function to all your mixes.
11. Waves | H-Reverb
H-Reverb is another highly flexible reverb that sounds great on anything. Using new technology, H-Reverb fuses classic reverb concepts with forward-thinking features that let you shape and customize the reverb with precision. Moreover, H-Reverb includes an impressive library of artist presets from the industry’s leading mixing engineers, as well as presets inspired by vintage and modern classics.
12. Universal Audio | AMS RMX16
The legendary AMS RMX16 Digital Reverb was the world’s first microprocessor-controlled, full-bandwidth, digital reverberator. The renowned sounds of the RMX16 have been polishing tracks since the 1980s. In fact, it is still found in nearly every major recording studio around the world to this day. UA and AMS Neve expertly captured the unique and lush reverb programs of the original unit in the only authentic emulation of the AMS RMX16. UA also took the design further by adding a set of modern features and nine additional rare, custom programs. This remake is also significantly cheaper than the hardware unit.
Also fascinating, Mark Crabtree, the original hardware designer, tuned the RMX16 by ear instead of following any specs. He wanted to design an effect processor that is more musical than mathematic.
13. Softube | TSAR-1
https://youtu.be/o1lAnqUzU5c
The TSAR-1 Reverb is not an emulation. Instead, it’s more like a modern reverb algorithm inspired by various classic reverbs. Its sound ranges from alive and vibrant to gentle and dreamy. In addition, the TSAR-1’s limited control set makes it quick and easy to dial in excellent sounding results with little effort. Moreover, it works wonders on vocals, strings, brass, and drums. However, you can use it on anything whenever you need high-quality results, fast.
14. Reverb Foundry | HD Cart
HD Cart is a high-density reverb plugin modeled after a legendary expansion for the Lexicon 480L Digital Effects System. The HD and surround expansion cartridge for this unit contained the only algorithm to ever fully take advantage of the 480’s dual-board processing capabilities. Moreover, this program is also capable of being used in quadraphonic, 5.0 surround or high-density stereo reverb modes. For example, the surround mode takes a stereo input and produces a four-channel “quadraphonic” output. Whereas the HD mode mixes the quad outputs down to a two-channel stereo output to create a dense, rich sound.
15. IK Multimedia | Classik Studio Reverb
IK Multimedia’s Classik Studio Reverb is a suite of four high-end studio-quality reverbs modeled after famous outboard classics. All four models are designed to give you the same sound and character as their acclaimed hardware counterparts. The plugin models include Plate, Room, Hall, and Inverse. With a myriad of options and parameters to choose from, Classik Studio Reverb provides a complete, great-sounding package sure to enrich your mixes.