RECORDING June 2022 - 12

-Review by Bill Stunt
BABY Audio
Crystalline
A sparkling reverb plugin built on the
shoulders of algorithmic reverbs past
When setting out to develop a new reverb plugin, BABY
Audio pondered what the digital reverb pioneers would have
done if they had access to our current-day processing power.
The answer is Crystalline, a modern algorithmic reverb
plugin with fidelity and features for which the designers and
users of the classic hardware units could have only dreamt.
Crystal Visions
The plugin starts with the now familiar minimalist BABY
Audio aesthetic that is easy on the eyes and the brain. The GUI
simplifies and demystifies classic reverb parameters by packing
all adjustable elements into a small set of macro-style controls
that descriptively indicate the function and settings. These
clever controls are arranged into a tidy sextet of groupings.
Crystal Reflections
The Reflections group includes Size, with various spaces
ranging from tiny to vast. Intriguingly, Size is entirely independent
from the decay time. Creative ambiances such as a tiny
room boasting a long decay are yours for the making. Sparkle
adds a combination of presence and cut by emphasizing the
high frequencies. Width allows one to set the side-to-side image
of the reverb from mono (thank you!) to ultra-wide.
Crystal Depths
In the Depth grouping, Resolution offers three modes of
algorithmic complexity: Pristine for extreme high fidelity, High for
classic high-end digital reverb sonics, and Basic. Basic generates
the artifact-laden characteristics found in the many ubiquitous,
affordable 90s-era reverb units-think vintage Alesis.
Modulation adds richness and enhancing pitch shifts, while
Shimmer extends the high-frequency content of the reverb tail.
Crystal Polish
The Clean-Up section contains a trio of tools to help the reverb
" fit " into the mix. Damping employs a pair of pass filters
to control high- and low-frequency reflections. Sides acts as a
mid/side pass filter to remove low-end stereo information from
the reverb. Gate lets you set the threshold and the release time
for classic non-linear Hugh Padgham effects.
12 RECORDING June 2022
Crystal Cuttings
The
Shape
cluster
offers Tone, a tilt-shift
EQ placed behind the
reverb algorithm. Turn it
up for a brighter, crisper
tone and down for a warmer, rounder sound. Smoothing applies a
customized EQ curve designed to attenuate resonances. Transient
shifts the emphasis between the attack and the sustained portions of
the dry signal, which is particularly useful for percussive material.
Crystal Clarity
Sliders for pre-delay (Start) and decay (End) time are found
below the mesmerizing wave display. These can be synced to
subdivisions of the tempo. Ducker attenuates the reverb whenever
a dry signal is present with a slider to set the degree.
Lastly, there are Freeze and Reverse toggles.
The Jewel in the Crown
BABY Audio should win a design award for the Crystalline
interface. It's a marvel how much easily accessed functionality
is packed into the smartly designed, self-explaining controls.
Form and function are so perfectly married. If you need more,
tooltips provide as much of a manual as you'll likely need.
Auditioning the 300-plus curated presets quickly reveals the vast
Crystalline range. Like the best early digital reverbs (the EMT 245
comes to mind), Crystalline does general rooms and ambiance quite
convincingly. It's equally adept at the warm, enveloping, modulated
reverbs for which classic high-end hardware units are known.
Tuning the resonances with Smoothing allows more reverb
without smothering and confusing the overall sound. The
pre-delay and decay tempo-sync options also enable you to
enhance the reverb while maintaining clarity and coherence.
The Sparkle, Shimmer and Tone tools let you put an astonishing
amount of shine on any sized space.
Crystalline is also great for the non-linear effects that classic
algorithmic reverbs are famous (maybe infamous?). I'm not
sure if I'm quite ready to embrace the full-on gated snare again
yet, but I find using the effect subtly, with creative size and decay
settings, very effective on electronic drum and percussion
tracks. Is old-school, budget Lo-fi verb, your vibe? That's covered
as well with the Basic algorithm. To my ear, in this mode
it can sound very much like my late, lamented Quadraverb.
BABY Audio promised a pristine, modern, feature-rich reverb.
It's crystal-clear to my ears that they've succeeded. BABY Audio
Crystalline is algorithmic reverb, polished to perfection.
Bill Stunt (stunt@recordingmag.com) is a recording engineer,
producer, and musician living in Ottawa.
Price: $99 More From: babyaud.io
http://www.babyaud.io
RECORDING June 2022

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