Recording - September 2017 - 49

If none of that sounds much like a reverb you're used to,
don't worry about it. Even if you don't understand the math
(and who does?), the effect on audio is pretty easy to hear,
and ADAPTIVERB is tons of fun to experiment with!

The plug-in

ADAPTIVERB's user interface is broken up into sections: input,
output, and program/bank settings up top, main parameters of
the BSR and HCF surrounding a large XY pad in the middle, and
reverb parameters at the bottom. The center section can display
in two views. The Main view has two of Zynaptiq's signature
"trackball" controls for Richness and Harmonic Filtering. The rest
of the parameters are in Fine-Tune view, as described below.
The Input section offers controls for Pre-Delay, Low-Cut, and
Input Air. Since the BSR wants a nice balance of frequencies to
work with, but low frequencies tend to build up while higher ones
dissipate quickly, you can reduce lows and boost highs here.
The BSR section has controls for Simplify, Richness, Interval,
Pitch Randomization, and Diffusion. Contrary to what you might
think, Simplify isn't a way to reduce CPU load; it lowers the number of available oscillators in the BSR to produce radical tonal
effects. Richness and Interval work together to create an effect
analogous to pitch-shifted reverb tails, but it's not pitch shifting:
it's enhancement of existing harmonics, which sounds much
clearer and sweeter. Richness controls the amount, and Interval
lets you select from a suboctave, a fourth down, a fifth up, or
a high-octave shimmer. Pitch Randomization and Diffusion add
thickness to the signal. Sustain controls the length and persistence
of the reverb tail, and is controlled from the XY pad.
The Reverb section lets you choose Reverb Model (Allpass,
Ray-Tracing, or Ray-Tracing HD), Reverb Source, and Reverb
Size and Damping. Reverb Source works in congress with the
XY pad's Reverb Mix to control the blend of the Input/Freeze
signal, the pre-reverb output of the BSR, and/or the reverb
itself, going into the HCF.
The HCF section controls Breathiness, Harmonic Filtering, Harmonic Filter Mode (Off/Track/Keyboard), and Keyboard Algorithm. The critical control here is Harmonic Filtering: positive values create reverbs that can sense and react to key changes, and
negative values produce reverbs that sense and "fill in gaps." If
set to Track, the HCF can Follow the current signal, Hold it (saving the filter state in a buffer), or be Linked to the Freeze button.
Since the buffer data is actually stored with a preset, that lets you
save filter states and audio for later recall, so you can create
sound effects and drones with ADAPTIVERB even if there's no input! In Keyboard mode, you can select notes in the 12-tone scale
to be emphasized or ignored (with or without pitch quantizing),
and save sets of notes in five Snapshots.
The Output section has controls for Wet Gain (to even out
levels after all is said and done) and Dry/Wet Mix (for the
entire plug-in; Reverb Mix only affects the Reverb stage itself),
plus a Bypass button.

In use

This is the fun part! When you're just getting started, go into
the huge list of presets, find one that sounds good with what
you're processing, and then play with the controls. The Main

view's XY pad and knobs for Richness and Harmonic Filtering
will get you a long way. When you're ready to go into FineTune view, Interval and Reverb Source are your next parameters
to focus on, as they will give you the most obvious results. The
first time you hear reverb that follows a chord progression on
a guitar without getting muddled, you'll be sold.
ADAPTIVERB doesn't work like other reverbs, and here are
a few notes to keep in mind when using it. First of all, this is
not a reverb for tracking! It requires a small but measurable
amount of time difference to create its effect, so don't even
try to run it below 1024 samples of buffer (25 milliseconds at
44.1 kHz); not only will it slam your CPU and chatter a lot,
but you'll be denying it the time it needs to produce the best
sound. It's really meant for postprocessing and mixdown.
Second, ADAPTIVERB's BSR likes melodic and pitched material. You can use the plug-in on spoken word (there are some
speech programs included) and percussive sounds, but you'll
need to bypass the BSR if you do; otherwise, it will remove pretty
much all of your audio!
Third, a lot of the programs have tiny snippets of Frozen/
Held audio already stored in them, and are giving you results based on that audio. You can learn a lot by turning off
Freeze or Hold, playing new material into the plug-in, and
then Freezing it again. As long as you don't save over the
existing program, when you reload the original program its
old audio will still be there.
Fourth, be patient. You might have to do some digging to
find a good starting program and then tweak it to taste, and
there are practically no controls that match those on a standard
reverb. The heat of a session with a client present is not the
time to learn ADAPTIVERB, unless your client's paying you to
make cool noises on his dime!

Final thoughts

ADAPTIVERB is not a Swiss Army plug-in. There are lots of other
reverbs out there that eat less CPU, cost less, and work better for
traditional applications like gated reverbs or room sounds. That
said, there isn't one single reverb out there that can do what ADAPTIVERB does. If you want to add space without clutter to a mix,
work up sounds that nobody else has, or create otherworldly atmospheres for sound design or soundtrack material, ADAPTIVERB
isn't just a new tool in the box... it's a whole new box.
I won't end by saying, "I wonder what Zynaptiq will
come up with next?", because WORMHOLE has just been
released. But that's another review, and in the meantime, a
whole new universe of amazing ambiences is waiting for you
in ADAPTIVERB. Check it out.
Delivery: web download only
Formats: 32- or 64-bit Mac OS X 10.8+ or Windows 7+;

AU (Mac only), RTAS, AAX, VST 2.4, and VST 3

Copy Protection: PACE iLok 2
License: multiple installs, one usable at a time via iLok 2 key,

or single disk installation without iLok 2 key

Documentation: PDF manual included with download or on website
Price: $249
More from: Zynaptiq, http://www.zynaptiq.com/adaptiverb/

RECORDING September 2017

http://www.zynaptiq.com/adaptiverb/

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - September 2017