We are happy to announce the release of the ValhallaDelay 2.5.0 update. The big news: the introduction of the RichPitch mode!
ValhallaDelay: RichPitch Mode
The RichPitch mode combines a pitch-shifted delay signal with a lush, detuned delay signal. The pitch-shifted and detuned signals share the same overall delay time. The PITCH Shift knob controls the pitch shift in semitones, while the PITCH Detune affects both the pitch-shifted and detuned signals.
The Age control in most other ValhallaDelay modes has been replaced in RichPitch by the PitchMix control. PitchMix, as its name suggests, controls the mix of pitch-shifted and detuned signals. With PitchMix at 0%, only the detuned signal comes through. A PitchMix value of 100% results in only pitch-shifted signals in the output. PitchMix at 50% creates an equal mix of detuned and pitch-shifted signals. You get the idea.
PitchMix: Simple Yet Powerful
It turns out that having a mix between detuned and pitch-shifted signals makes RichPitch a MUCH more powerful mode than the previous pitch-shifting modes in ValhallaDelay. The Pitch, RevPitch and PitchDuck modes always have only the pitch-shifted signal in the output and feedback loop. This can be an awesome sound, but not exactly a subtle sound.
The PitchMix control in RichPitch allows you to dial in delays with subtle harmonic overtones, reverbs with equal amounts of the original signal and pitch-shifted signals, full on crazy pitch-shifting, and everything in between. The PitchMix control is also interactive with the Feedback control. By turning up Feedback and turning down PitchMix, you can create an echo that slowly builds in pitch-shifting intensity over time, while still retaining the original pitch of your input signal.
PitchMix + Diffusion = New Shimmer Reverbs
By turning up the DIFF Amount control in RichPitch, and adjusting the PitchMix control to taste, you can create shimmer reverbs in the RichPitch mode that are different from the other ValhallaDelay modes. These new shimmer reverbs are also very different in nature than ValhallaShimmer, which tends to lean towards “huge and epic” at all times. The RichPitch shimmers can be epic, but can also be subtle or more strident, depending on the PitchMix setting.
High diffusion amounts, plus longer delays, no feedback, and PitchMix set to taste, can be used for purely “feedforward” shimmer sounds. These reverbs have a fixed amount of pitch-shifting compared to the input signal, and the amount of pitch-shifting doesn’t change over the decay time.
Diffusion, shorter delays, higher feedback values, and PitchMix set to taste, can be used for more “classic” shimmer sounds, where you can have as little or as much pitch-shifting as desired. The pitch-shifted signal will continue to build and shift upward as feedback is increased, so a small value of PitchMix can go a long way.
New SHIMMER Presets folder
The ValhallaDelay 2.5.0 installer ships with a folder full of SHIMMER presets, which can serve as a basis for your explorations of RichPitch, or can be used as is. Most of the presets showcase the more subtle side of the RichPitch shimmer reverbs, although “subtle” is probably an inaccurate term for any shimmer reverb!
Hear RichPitch in action
We’ve cooked up a few quick examples, so you can hear what RichPitch is all about.
The first example is a simple repeating sequence from the Moog Grandmother, run through RichPitch set up as a dotted eighth note echo:
At the beginning, PitchMix is set to 0%. As the track progresses, PitchMix is turned up, bringing an octave up signal into the mix. PitchMix is gradually turned up to 100%, and then back down for a more subtle octave overtone. The feedback is turned up near the end of the track, which shows how a subtle amount of PitchMix can be made stronger with feedback.
The second example is based around a Korg MS-20, doing its best imitation of a didgeridoo. First, let’s hear the didgeridoo sound with a convention reverb, using the new Libra mode in ValhallaSupermassive:
Now let’s hear the same track, but with RichPitch being used for a shimmer reverb. Diff Amount is set to a high level, with a fair amount of feedback, and PitchMix at 0%, for a reverb with no pitch-shifting. As the track progresses, I’m turning up PitchMix, to bring an octave up overtone into the sound.
Wanna here more? Download the demo and check it out for yourself!
Updates for Ventura, OS X 10.11 / 10.12, M1 & M2 Macs
We’ve also added some generic “make things better” updates for ValhallaDelay, to enhance compatibility with Ventura as well as a few older macOS versions (more details can be found in this blog post). The ValhallaDelay 2.5.0 installer has now been built for both Intel and Apple Silicon machines (M1 & M2), so no need to install Rosetta 2 to run the installer!
RichPitch Mode is a FREE update for ValhallaDelay Owners!
If you already own ValhallaDelay, the update is in your user account, so log in and grab the latest installer. If you don’t own Valhalla, feel free to grab the demo from the Demo and Downloads page, and check out RichPitch and the other 14 delay algorithms that are unique to ValhallaDelay. We hope you enjoy the ValhallaDelay update, and thanks for your support!
Valhalla Delay sounds is really good. I’m never disappointed, I’m a fan of the whole collection. And every update is a gift.