Meet Crystalline The Next-Generation Algorithmic Reverb
Regular Price: $99 / Special Introductory offer: $49 | GET IT HERE
Plugin formats: VST, VST3, AU, AAX. Full Mac M1 compatibility.
MAKE SPACE FOR LUSHNESS
- Crystalline is a state-of-the-art reverb plugin with a pristine and modern sound
- Gives you unprecedented creative control to shape your reflections
- Lets you sync reverb start and decay times to your song’s tempo
- An evolution of legendary 20th-century studio reverbs – fully upgraded for today
- A STUDIO REVERB FOR THE CURRENT ERA
- A ‘perfect algorithmic reverb’ is often considered the holy grail of audio effects. In fact, the concept can be traced all the way back to research papers from the 1960s.
- Throughout the 20th century, algorithmic reverbs evolved thanks to companies like EMT and Lexicon. But scarce computing power generally forced manufacturers to work within limited constraints.
- Fast forward, and we now have the resources to do things that couldn’t be done during the golden age of studio reverbs. Both in terms of sheer sound quality. But also in terms of adding creative features that weren’t possible in the hardware days.
- Crystalline stands on the shoulders of 60 years of chasing ‘the holy grail of DSP’. We’ve asked ourselves what the pioneers of classic reverbs would have done if they had the resources we have today. And then we’ve made exactly that plugin. With all the bells and whistles a modern engineer would need.
FEATURES
BPM-synced start and end times:
Crystalline lets you hard-sync the reverb attack and decay time to your DAW’s tempo. This will generally result in cleaner mixes where the reflections are naturally in sync with the music.
Prefer the classic way? Just hit the “Sync/MS” switch and Crystalline lets you set pre-delay and decay times in milliseconds for a traditional workflow.
Reflections Section:
“Size” lets you set the room size from tiny to very large. The control is detached from the “Length” control, meaning you can get any size/length combination you want, including esoteric settings like huge spaces with short tails, or tiny spaces with long tails. “Sparkle” emphasizes high frequency content inside the reverb algorithm. This generates reflections that are naturally bright, which can help achieve that extra shine on vocals or snares. “Width” lets you set the stereo image of the reverb from mono to wide – and then even further to extra wide.
Depth Section:
“Resolution” sets the complexity of the algorithm from ‘basic’ to ‘pristine’. Higher settings will give you an ultra-clean reverb response, free of metallic artifacts – but comes at a higher CPU load. ‘Basic’ will give you an efficient CPU performance, without compromising the sound noticeably.
Set the resolution to taste for either a more vintage or futuristic reverb sound. “Modulation” creates pitch variations inside the reverb algorithm. This results in a richer sound that works especially well to fatten up synths, guitars and vocals. “Shimmer” makes the high frequencies of the reverb tail decay slower than the rest of the spectrum, giving the reflections an ‘angelic halo’ effect.
You set the frequency cutoff point as well as the multiplier effect, which controls how much longer it takes for the higher frequencies to decay. Please note that if Shimmer is active, the high frequencies will decay later than your specified reverb “End Time” (either at 2x, 4x or 6x the length).
Clean-Up Section:
“Damping” is a dual control that lets you remove high and low frequency content from the reverb reflections.
This control offers a fast and efficient way to avoid cluttered mixes and muddiness. “Sides” is a high-pass filter that removes stereo information from the low end of the reverb, while keeping the mono-information intact. This is especially helpful for creating wide vocal or lead instrument reflections that don’t muddy-up your low end.
“Gate” lets you instantly recreate the classic 1980s gated reverb sound. The gate offers ‘threshold’ and ‘release’ controls and makes it fast and intuitive to make your snares go ‘Phil Collins’.
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Shape Section:
“Tone” is a tilt EQ that lets you quickly shift the frequency balance of the reverb to be brighter or darker.
“Smoothing” gradually applies an EQ-curve custom-designed to address the frequency areas that tend to get cluttered in a reverb-heavy mix. It mellows out the reverb and gives it a more lightweight feel.
This allows you to add a little more reverb without drenching your mix. “Transients” lets you shift the reverb algorithm’s emphasis to either the attack or sustain part of the incoming signal. Emphasizing the sustain more than the transients will make the reverb feel more airy and light, while emphasizing the attack stage is a great way to get a splashy and dense sound. The Transients feature works especially well for controlling reverbs on percussive material.
Output Section:
“Ducker” lowers the reverb signal when the dry/incoming signal is playing. This gives you a cleaner mix, where you can turn up the reverb without compromising the dry track. “Ducker Gentle” mode offers a slow and natural ducker setting, while the standard ducker mode has a more pumpy feel.
“Reverse” reverses the reverb playback, giving you some radical sound design possibilities. “Freeze” is another creative effect that takes a snapshot of the reverb when clicked and holds this snapshot continuously until the button is unclicked again. It’s helpful for creating interesting transitions in a mix.
“Dry/Wet” sets the mix balance between the dry/incoming signal and the reverb. Clicking the “Wet Lock” button will let you browse presets without changing the wet/dry balance of the plugin.
Top Panel:
“Color” lets you change between light and dark background colors.
“Eco Mode” lets you run Crystalline in a low-CPU mode by setting the resolution to ‘basic’ and disabling the shimmer effect.
“Save As Default” lets you save your own default preset that will appear every time the plugin initializes or you hit the reset button.
“Reset” resets the plugin’s state to the default preset.
“Tool Tips” icon – when engaged, this gives you tool tips explaining each plugin parameter.
Crystalline comes loaded with a wide selection of presets to get you started.
CHASING ‘THE PERFECT ARTIFICIAL SPACE’
When we’re talking reverbs, there are two fundamental philosophies: One tries to mimic the sound of an actual physical space – while the other seeks to create an artificial space from an algorithm, free from the constraints of the natural world. The idea of an algorithmic reverb was
first conceived in the 1960s – and evolved over the following decades, redefining the sound of modern music with every new technology leap (and improved memory chip).
Crystalline follows in the tradition of legendary algorithmic reverbs but adds new features and higher fidelity thanks to modern computer power. It is meant to sound unreal – in the most positive sense of the word. Its rooms and halls won’t sound like those in your house – but closer to those of your dreams!
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