ValhallaVintageVerb Updated to 3.0.0. New Reverb Mode: Palace!

December 2022 marked the 10th anniversary of the launch of our most popular plugin, ValhallaVintageVerb. To celebrate the occasion, we are happy to introduce the latest reverb mode in VintageVerb: Palace!

Palace: A Really Fancy Room

As the name suggests, the Palace reverb mode is essentially a big, fancy room algorithm. The Palace mode can sound more realistic than the other room and chamber algorithms in VintageVerb, while still retaining “vintage digital” characteristics. By adjusting the Size, Attack, Early and Late Diffusion, the Palace algorithm can simulate rooms ranging from small studios and chambers, to concert halls, all the way up to cathedrals and the grandest memorial architecture.

Palace Reverb Mode: Vintage Inspirations, Modern Expansions

The Palace reverb mode is loosely inspired by a digital “room simulator” hardware reverb from the 1980s. We’ve taken a lot of liberties with the algorithm, and added a bunch of things not possible in the original hardware, with higher echo density and lush modulation being some of the highlights. The goal was to retain the “open” realistic reverb decay, while allowing the user to dial in a more modern reverb sound if desired.

Palace Enhanced Parameter Set

VintageVerb has more parameters than your typical early 1980s hardware reverberator, so we have expanded the Palace algorithm to fit the VVV parameter set, while keeping room to dial in the sparser sounds heard in the original:

• The Early Diffusion parameter in Palace controls both the level and density of the early reflections in the reverb decay. An Early Diff value of 40% corresponds to the early 80s hardware, while higher values map to the higher echo density of the late 80s revisions.
• Late Diffusion allows the Palace algorithm to achieve both higher echo densities than the 80s hardware, as well as reducing the perceived pre-delay. Set Late Diffusion to 0% to obtain that authentic “reflection off the back of the concert hall” sound from the 1980s hardware. Higher Late Diffusion values will smooth things out. I like to keep this at 50% or lower for the smoothest sound with the least coloration.
• Attack allows for control over the volume of the early reflections (in combination with the Early Diffusion parameter). In general, keeping Attack at 0% is recommended for emulating the 1980s room simulator. Higher values of Attack will reduce the early reflections volume, which may be useful when Early Diffusion is set to higher values.
• The 1980s room simulator hardware didn’t have modulated delays. But Palace does! It turns out that modulating the delays in these types of algorithms results in a lush decay that is perfect for vocals, synths, and all sorts of beautiful ambient sounds! Turn up the Mod Depth to get a balanced chorused modulation. Or, leave Mod Depth at 0% for a realistic large hall / cathedral sound where the echoes tumble after each other and bounce all around the space.
• The Size control in Palace is critical for dialing in the ideal space. Smaller Size values can get VERY small, perfect for tight drum rooms. Larger sizes are better for more open vocal reverbs. The largest Size values are perfect for halls and cathedrals.
• The COLOR control is perfect for dialing in the era of the original hardware. Setting COLOR to 70s results in an 8 kHz bandwidth, 80s to 15 kHz, and NOW to full bandwidth. The overall tonality is much brighter than most of the other VintageVerb algorithms at the same color settings, in order to match the 80s hardware.

Suggested Uses for the Palace Mode: EVERYTHING

We have found the Palace mode to be useful on just about every sound we can throw at it! Clear sounding vocal reverbs, realistic drum rooms, lush synth verbs, huge realistic halls and cathedrals…Palace has it covered.

Palace Preset Folder: A Perfect Starting Point

We’ve provide a bunch of new presets in the Palace folder that showcase what the Palace reverb mode can do. Feel free to use these as is, or as a starting point for your own sonic explorations! Many of the presets have the date in their name of the hardware they are loosely based on (i.e. 1982, 1987), as well as our own 2022 expansions.

Valhalla VintageVerb: 10 Years Of Updates

When ValhallaVintageVerb was released on December 18th, 2012, it shipped with 8 reverb algorithms. Over the past 10 years, we have constantly updated VintageVerb. We’ve added new plugin formats (AAX, VST3), kept up to date with OS X and macOS changes, and ported the plugin to the new Apple Silicon format. We’ve also added 12 additional reverb algorithms to VintageVerb over the years, with the Cathedral algorithm being added in November 2021. The Palace algorithm continues a tradition of adding value to the Valhalla plugins over time.

Palace Mode is a FREE update for all Valhalla VintageVerb owners!

If you already own ValhallaVintageVerb the update is in your user account, so log in and grab the latest installer. If you don’t own Valhalla VintageVerb, feel free to grab the demo from the Demo and Downloads page, and check out Palace and the other 19 reverb algorithms that are unique to ValhallaVintageVerb. We hope you enjoy the ValhallaVintageVerb update!