Valhalla Shimmer

Best for Ethereal decay and pitch shifting soundscapes
$50 USD
Try the Demo

Come with uncle and hear all proper!   Hear angel trumpets and devil trombones.   You are invited!

ValhallaShimmer is an algorithmic reverb designed for BIG sounds, from concert halls to the Taj Mahal to the Halls of Valhalla.  At its core, ValhallaShimmer is a high-quality reverberator, designed to produce a smooth decay, that is both dense and colorless.  All of the sliders have been designed to be tweaked in real time and have a smoothed response to avoid clicks when changing settings or automating the controls. At the same time, the algorithm has been highly optimized, so you get a huge reverb sound without straining your CPU.

4 Reverb Modes:  Mono / Small Stereo / Medium Stereo / Big Stereo

Modes allow you to dial in reverb decays of different sizes, ranging from smaller rooms to vast ambiances:

  • By adjusting the Feedback, Diffusion, and Size controls, the attack, sustain and decay of the reverb signal can be fine-tuned.
  • The modulation controls can be set to produce subtle mode thickening, glistening string ensemble-like decays, and the distinctive random modulation of the older Lexicon hall algorithms.
  • Two tone controls and the Color Mode selector allow the timbre to be adjusted from bright and glistening to a more natural dark decay, similar to that produced by air absorption in large spaces.

5 Pitch Shift Modes: 

  • Single, where the feedback is shifted up or down by the Shift value.
  • Dual, where the feedback is shifted both up and down (in parallel) by the Shift value.
  • SingleReverse, where each grain is reversed before it is pitch-shifted. This results in a smoother pitch shifting sound than the Single mode.
  • DualReverse. Similar to the Dual mode, but with reversed grains, for a smoother pitch shifting sound.
  • Bypass, which turns off the pitch shifting (useful for “standard” reverb sounds).

By setting the Shift amount to +12 semitones, and the Feedback to 0.5 or greater, the classic Eno/Lanois “shimmer” sound is produced (learn more about that here, here, and here).  A wide variety of other sounds can be created by the algorithm, ranging from spring-like reverbs to “reverse” reverbs, to glistening pitch-shifted pads that are usually associated with high-end hardware processors.

Most Recent Updates:

    • Version 1.2.2 (Windows)
    • Version 1.3.0 (Mac)
    • VST3
    • macOS Big Sur/Monterey/Ventura compatibility
    • Signed & notarized Mac & Windows installers
    • Intel/M1 native Mac builds
    • M1/M2 Native AAX

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$50
Try the Demo

Plugin UI

 UI

Reverb Mode

Overview

Mono

Big Stereo

Medium Stereo

Small Stereo

The Reverb Mode has a large impact on the perceived size of the reverb and also impacts the reverb density, modulation depth, and the rate at which the pitch shifted feedback builds.

The mono control selects a mono-in, stereo-out reverberation algorithm. The Mono algorithm has a very large base size and can take a long period of time to fade in. This algorithm has a very high echo density with most settings of the Diffusion parameter.

This algorithm is the best for very large acoustic spaces, such as cathedrals and monumental spaces, as well as reverbs that slowly fade in and out. The Big Stereo algorithm has a very high echo density with most settings of the Diffusion parameter and selects a stereo-in, stereo-out reverberation algorithm with a very large base size.

This algorithm, in conjunction with a reasonable amount of feedback, is the best choice for traditional “hall” reverbs. It is also a good choice for pitch shifted feedback with a fairly fast build of harmonics. The echo density is lower than the Mono and Big Stereo algorithms but is still fairly high. This mode selects a stereo-in, stereo-out reverberation algorithm with a smaller base size than the Big Stereo mode.

This is a stereo-out reverb algorithm with a small base size. It can be useful in achieving small room sizes, chorused short ambiences, and other smaller reverb sounds. It can be more strongly colored than the other reverb modes and has a noticeably lower echo density than the other modes.

Pitch Mode

Overview

Single

Dual

SingleReverse

DualReverse

Bypass

The Pitch Mode selects the type of pitch shifting used in the feedback loop of the reverberator.

This is the “classic” mode used for recreating the Shimmer sound found in many of the Eno/Lanois productions. The randomization used in the pitch shifting will create noisy sidebands in the feedback loop, which results in a sound that is reminiscent of a large orchestra. In this mode, the signal within the feedback loop is shifted upwards or downwards, with the pitch ratio determined by the Shift control.

This is a good setting for getting a rich, symphonic harmonic texture. Here, the signal within the feedback loop is shifted both upwards and downwards simultaneously, with up/down pitch ratios determined by the Shift control.

In SingleReverse mode, the signal within the feedback loop is shifted upwards or downwards, where the signal within each pitch shifted “grain” is reversed in time. This results in a smoother pitch shifting sound than the Single or Dual modes – less orchestral, more organ-like.

In DualReverse, the signal within the feedback loop is shifted both upwards and downwards simultaneously, where each pitch shifted “grain” is reversed in time. This mode is well suited for producing a pipe organ sound.

In Bypass, the signal within the feedback loop is not pitch shifted and is passed straight through without alteration. This is useful in creating more conventional reverb sounds, where turning up the Feedback parameter increases the decay time.

Color Mode

Overview

Bright

Dark

This controls the overall “tone” of the algorithm.

In the Bright Color mode, the reverberated signal can be “full-bandwidth,” depending on the setting of the High Cut control. There is no inherent high frequency lost in this algorithm. The resulting sound is more “hi-fi” or modern than the Dark color mode.

In Dark Mode, the reverberated signal has a large amount of high frequency loss, with the exact amount of high frequency loss varying depending on the Reverb Mode selected. The resulting sound is reminiscent of the classic digital reverbs of the 1970s and early 1980s, with steep cutoffs above 10 kHz.

Overview

Sean Costello and Don Gunn walk through the modes and functions of Valhalla Shimmer.

Hear it in action

See what people are saying

“Any fan of big cathedrals, halls or arenas will love the detail and breadth of this reverb tool.”

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Audio News Room

“If you’re into ambient music, I would head towards saying this is an essential addition to your plugin bank”

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Gearslutz

“Dreamy and ethereal reverb from the halls of Valhalla.”

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Black Ghost Audio

“It really shines . . . creating unique atmospheres and textures.”

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Specifications

Current Version 1.3.0 (Mac) / 1.2.2 (Windows)

Changes since 1.2.8 (Mac only):

  • M1/M2 Native AAX

Changes since 1.2.2:

  • Fixed authorization issue in macOS Ventura and Apple DAWs (Logic, GarageBand, Final Cut Pro)
  • Updated installer to remove dependency on Rosetta
  • Rebuilt plugins to work in OS X 10.11/10.12 (there was a weird bug that happened when people on those machines updated their iPhones)

Changes since 1.0.4:

  • VST3
  • Ready for Big Sur
  • Signed & notarized installers for Mac
  • Signed installers for Windows
  • 64-bit only (32/64-bit legacy builds available in user accounts)

ValhallaDSP plugins are self documenting. Just roll over the controls to read the tool tip on the bottom left of the plugin.

For each plugin, I also write blog posts (see below) with product overviews, tips and tricks. Here are the blog posts for ValhallaShimmer:

History

The Manual

Controls

Shimmering

Bloom

Chorus

Diffusion

Diffusion vs. PreDelay

Reverb Envelope

Modulation, Auto-correlation and Decorrelation

If you have questions, please head to Support.

Compatibility:

  • Windows: Windows 7/8/10
  • Plugin formats: 64-bit VST2.4/VST3/AAX

 

  • Mac: OSX 10.8/10.9/10.10/10.11, macOS 10.12/10.13/10.14/10.15, macOS 11 Big Sur
  • Plugin Formats: 64-bit VST2.4/VST3/AAX/AU