Description
STRATOSPHERE CLOUD REVERB is an audio unit plugin effect inspired by the Cloud Reverb patch in a very well-loved modern classic reverb pedal. It has the following unique features:
ONSET TIME
Most reverbs have a pre-delay setting that delays the onset of early reverb a little bit so that the beginning of each note in the dry signal can be heard clearly before the reverb starts. Stratosphere Cloud Reverb does it differently: the reverb starts immediately with a low volume and fades in after the note attack with adjustable fade length called onset time, which replaces the pre-delay setting found on other reverbs. This is nice because it doesn't leave an unnatural empty space between the note attack and the onset of reverb but it still keeps the early reverb volume low so that the note attacks can be heard clearly.
HIGH ECHO DENSITY
Reverb effects typically take some time to build up echo density, meaning that the first few milliseconds of echoes sound a bit grainy. This reverb is designed with exceptionally high echo density right from the onset of the earliest reflections.
STEREO MODULATION
Once you get beyond the early echoes, many reverb effects are simply a wash of evenly distributed, smooth sound. That isn't necessarily bad, but when working with long decay times it's much more interesting if there is movement in the late echoes. Stratosphere Cloud Reverb has two stages of LFO modulated pan effects and two stages of chorus modulation applied to the late reverb signal, giving it a big, wide stereo sound with gentle and complex side-to-side motion. The depth of these effects is adjustable using the mod control.
LONG DECAY TIME
The longest echoes found in natural spaces last about 10 seconds. Long reverb like that can be observed in stone cathedrals. Similarly, reverb effects that are going for a natural type of sound often limit their decay time to a maximum of 10 seconds because artificial reverb can build up unpleasant resonances if allowed to ring too long. This plugin has a max decay time of 50 seconds, long enough for the most wet ambient music, and it maintains a beautiful, smooth sound throughout that entire time.