ValhallaFutureVerb: The Echo Modes
ValhallaFutureVerb™ was originally designed around very clean & transparent reverb algorithms. During the early testing of these modes, we found ourselves missing the dirt and character of the other Valhalla reverb plugins. So we turned the simple predelay control into a full fledged Echo section, that can add clean predelays, but also warm and warbling tape delays, lush detuned echoes, reversed and pitch shifted delays, and all sorts of colorful and complex echos to the input or output of the reverb.
The Echo modes are selected by the ECHO MODE button under the ECHO section:
Clicking on the name of the active echo mode (Tape in the above example) will open up the Echo Mode menu:
The < and > arrows to the right of the active echo mode name can be used to cycle through the echo modes without using the popup echo menu.
There are 12 unique echo modes available in ValhallaFutureVerb:
Modern: A clean echo mode, perfect for standard predelay duties. Smooth spatially balanced sinusoidal modulation, that can transform into four voices of 0/90/180/270 degree modulation as the Spread control is turned up. Drive is used to control a clean feedforward/feedback compressor, that can increase the volume without adding notable artifacts.
Tape: The opposite of Modern. Tape saturation (controlled by Drive) combined with chaotic wow & flutter modulation. Use this as a predelay into Chamber or Plate for epic 1960s reverbs, or turn up the delay/feedback/spread controls for my favorite synth effects.
Digital: A digital delay model, based around a companded 12-bit delay (8-bits in the Dark and Studio modes). A clean-ish delay, but with plenty of crunchy distortion and quantization noise on tap with the Drive control. 0/90/180/270 degree modulation for maximum spatial width and lush chorusing. Digital also incorporates steep high cut filtering, to simulate the lower sampling rate of early digital delays.
Analog: Darker than Digital, but brighter than real-world BBD pedals. It’s the analog delay for people that think they like analog delays, but don’t want things that dark. Companding results in a nice squishy sound, and the Drive allows things to get gritty. The modulation is very “off center record” – route the echo after the reverb for perfect lofi reverbs.
Detune: Two crystal clear detuned delays, with up/down detuning between the left and right channels. Turn up the Spread control to add two more detuned delays, for lush detuned echoes and richly textured reverbs. Perfect for that “expensive” late 80s sound.
Reverse: Detuned reversed granular delays. The longer the delay time, the bigger the reversed grains. Use the Spread control to crossfade between two and eight(!) delays in parallel. Turn up the feedback for truly mysterious delays and reverbs.
ReverseUp: Same as Reverse, but with 4 of the delays shifted up an octave (turn up Spread to control the pitch shifting intensity). With higher Spread and Feedback settings, you can create some amazing shimmer effects. Route the reverb into the echo and control the shimmer intensity with the Echo Level control.
ReverseDown: 4 reverse delays shifted down an octave, 4 detuned. Ideal for dark and descending shimmer verbs, or for adding mysterious overtones to any sound.
ReverseUpDown: 4 detuned reverse delays, 2 shifted up an octave, 2 shifted down an octave. Epic. Want a huge shimmer reverb? ReverseOctUpDown is perfect for this.
Sparkle: A new type of pitch shifting. Use the Spread control to fade between two and eight detuned granular delays, with VERY long grain durations, and four of the delays shifted up an octave. Ideal for stunningly clear and transparent shimmer reverbs, with none of the modulation noise of the Reverse modes.
Swarm: The dark side of the Sparkle algorithm. Eight detuned and pitch shifted granular delays, tuned for maximum dissonance. Turn up the Spread control, and slowly turn up the Detune knob to create tonal clusters that transform into rich octaves and fifths. Wanna make a horror soundtrack? Love late 20th century composition? The Swarm mode is here for you.
LoFi: A tape algorithm that has been used and abused without proper maintenance. We start with our Tape algorithm, and add more overdrive, low frequency drift, and chaotic high frequency flutter. The results are warm, noisy and mysterious. Perfect for adding a tape predelay to a reverb, for sparse chaotic reverbs (turn up the Spread control), or for truly vintage tape echoes.