Recording - May 2020 - 72

Review by Paul Vnuk Jr.

Polyverse Comet
A bendy, stretchy, morphing,
deep space reverb plugin
With product names like Gatekeeper, I Wish, Wider,
Manipulator, and the Infected Mushroom Bundle, it's clear
that the effects plugins found at California's Polyverse
Music focus on the wild and creative. This is especially
true with its new Comet reverb plugin, which Polyverse
describes as lush, smooth, beautiful, and versatile. Comet
is an algorithmic reverb. It's not overly concerned with
emulating existing spaces, plates, or springs. Rather, its
algorithmic code can be pushed, pulled, and shaped to
offer visions of the above and beyond.

Set your controls for the heart of the sun

Comet launches in a sci-fi styled single-window GUI. Aside
from MIDI controller implementation and preset selection, there
are no hidden menus.
Flanking the far sides of the unit are the In and Out sliders
complete with level meters. Comet offers a high level of headroom when set conservatively, or it can be purposely pushed into
saturated coloration. The next three sliders are Pre Del, Diffuse,
and Detune. Pre Del is both a traditional reverb pre-delay and a
custom pre-delay that can be tempo-synced with the host DAW in
a variety of tempo divisions. Diffuse controls how sparse, bouncy, and ringy or how smooth, velvety, and creamy the reverb tail
is. Detune affects the sound of the reverb; the sound is cleaner
and more realistic at low levels. At mid settings, its modulated
and chorused pitches are reminiscent of lush, classic 80s/90s
hardware 'verbs. Beyond that, it gets weird.
A pair of Size and Decay dials offer settings of 0-100. Size ranges from 1 cubic centimeter to 1 cubic kilometer. Decay time is not
set in seconds or milliseconds; just go by what you hear. At 100, it
will self-oscillate like a tape delay, and for reference, at 95 you get
a nine-minute decay. There's also a kill switch/panic button.

Tone on tail

The last three sliders are dedicated to tone. HI Damp and LO
Damp are pass filters, and Color is a see-saw or tilt-style EQ,
which boosts high frequencies as it simultaneously cuts lows,
and vise-versa.

Morph and Glide

The final controls are what make Comet uniquely powerful
as an atmospheric sculpting tool. Along the bottom are five
slots that you can load with five of the 150+ Comet presets
72 RECORDING May 2020

and/or your own
variations. As you
move between each
slot in real time,
all ten parameters
morph to new positions, and you can lock out parameters that
you wish to remain static. The speed of how quickly the controls morph from one slot to the next is set by a Glide control,
variable from 150 milliseconds to 30 seconds. This morphing
process can also be tempo-synced from 1/16 notes all the way
up to a full sixteen measures. For more fun, there's a small button with a music note that when pressed accesses pre-assigned
MIDI notes for chosen parameters so you can play your morphs
and changes via keyboard or sequence.

In Use

To get your feet wet with Comet, Polyverse offers over 150
presets divided into the categories Small, Medium, Large, Eternal, and Artsy. The preset names are fun and nebulous: 'Crispy
Town', 'White Dwarf', 'Gloomy Gate', and 'Scrambled Tofu'
are but a few. Inside this creative terminology, you'll find small
rooms, tight ambiances, halls, and cathedral-type sounds that
work great in a traditional mix on vocals, acoustic guitars, snare,
drum kit, strings, and more. Where Comet shines though is with
its extended, surreal, ambient, deep space options containing
some of the smoothest, most enveloping and lush reverb tails that
I have come across in a plugin. If I had to liken Comet sonically
to any piece of classic hardware, I would consider it a cleaner,
noise-free Alesis Wedge (I own two and still love 'em). The
Wedge, historically (if not officially), was the Alesis take on the
Lexicon PCM70, so Comet is in great company in that regard.
Comet is a musical plugin, not in the overused gear term,
but because you can play and automate Comet like a pseudo
instrument in your mix, morphing its spatial qualities and
tonalities to pulse, breathe, expand and contract with your
tracks. Plus, as you morph between presets, the changes in
length and size create tone shifts, bends, and wobbles similar
to adjusting an analog tape delay on the fly. Depending on
the source, this can create new notes, overtones, and drone
notes to enhance your tracks.

Conclusion

As a sound designer of 20+ years and a reverb snob for even
longer, I've found a new favorite for sound design, one that delivers
lush, deep space reverb of the highest order, that can also double
as a traditional algorithmic style room, hall, and plate reverb.
Price: $150 More From: polyversemusic.com

http://www.polyversemusic.com

Recording - May 2020

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