Convolution reverb is one of the more powerful tools in the sounds designer's arsenal, but one which many desktop musicians find mysterious and confusing, or are simply unaware of. Let's take a look at how convolution reverb works and offer some suggestions for using convolution as a creative sound design tool. A Brief History of Digital Reverbs. Convolution reverbs are reverb effects which use impulse responses (IRs) to simulate an acoustic space. These are the best freeware convolution reverb effects in VST plugin format for digital audio workstations on PC and Mac. “ IR-1 Convolution Reverb is one of my all-time favorite plugins. I use it on almost every type of sound (kick drums, piano stabs, guitar plucks) to give a nice flow-y, vibey feel in my tracks. I use it on almost every type of sound (kick drums, piano stabs, guitar plucks) to give a nice flow-y, vibey feel in my tracks. Convolution Reverb Basics The general concept behind convolution reverb is to capture the impulse response of an acoustic space. The impulse response is the signal you get if you feed any linear and time-invariant (“LTI”) system with a perfect impulse. IR Convolution Reverb Sweep File IR Convolution Reverb Library (4.8 GB) Download for free this massive library of high-definition impulse responses for the Waves IR-series reverb plugins, for optimal sonic depth and dimension. After you download, follow these steps to install the library.
Convolution reverb is an exciting technology that sound designers can use to capture the impulse responses (IRs) of any physical location (such as caves, churches, offices, or hallways) and process audio in real time as though it were being played at that location. In effect, the IRs are capturing the reverberations of real locations, thereby allowing a new level of realism and immersion in environmental audio processing.
In addition to capturing real-life reverberations, IRs can be derived from any other sound source: algorithmic reverb output, foley, VO (such as huffs or breaths), contact mics, and so on. IRs can be edited and processed like any other sound—they can be filtered, attenuated, reversed, chopped-up, edited, and more. In this way, the Convolution Reverb feature introduces a whole new dimension of experimentation.
Convolution reverb provides a>
With the plugin enabled, right-click any imported sound wave in the Content Browser and select Create Impulse Response.
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This creates an impulse response from the selected sound wave. In this way, any sound wave could become the IR for the convolution reverb algorithm (you can convolve with any sound). This will create a new asset with a name appended by _IR.
Import an IR with the same process you would use to import any sound wave.
This asset contains some data that will be used by the convolution reverb effect, as well as a normalization value that can be set for each impulse response. To set the volume normalization value for an individual Audio Impulse Response asset, open the Details panel of the Audio Impulse Response.
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The Normalization Volume Db is a decibel attenuation that is applied to any convolution effect that is actively using this impulse response. This provides an easy way to achieve equal loudness between various impulse responses.
To use the convolution reverb effect, create an instance in the Content Browser.
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Open the Details panel for the convolution reverb effect and set up the impulse response asset as the one to use.
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Convolution Reverb Pro
Other parameters include:
Surround Rear Channel Bleed Db: How many decibels of the output of the convolution effect to send to rear channels in a surround sound environment. Values of -60.0 or less will be considered silent.
Invert Rear Channel Bleed Phase: Whether or not to invert the phase of the audio sent to the rear channels in surround sound environments.
Surround Rear Channel Flip: Whether or not to flip the left and right channels of the effect before sending to the rear channels.
The advanced parameters include:
Block Size: Sets the internal processing block size, which may have an effect on runtime performance.
Enable Hardware Acceleration: Enables hardware acceleration if it exists on the target platform.
To use this on a submix effect, add it to any submix as a submix effect in a submix effect chain.
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You can automatically send reverb audio to the submix if you set this submix as the master reverb submix to be used. Alternatively, you can manually send audio to this submix as a submix-send effect.
A convolution reverb takes a sample from a real-world space (called an impulse response or IR) and uses this to digitally simulate the reverberation of that space. 'Only a convolution reverb can capture the ambience of a real space, or real hardware, and recreate it on a computer,' explains Ableton sound designer Christian Kleine. 'With a convolution reverb, you can easily access the reverb of many spaces, and still tweak them.'
Convolution Reverb Free
Convolution Reverb Pro allows for extended tweaking options such as EQ, damping, modulation, and more. 'The reverse function in Convolution Reverb Pro is especially nice,' says Christian. 'You can modify an original IR to something completely new, and then resave the design as a new preset.' Convolution Reverb Pro also allows for combining two IRs—one for early reflections, and one for late—for a hybrid sound that combines elements of multiple spaces.
Convolution Reverb also includes a utility for creating your own reverb spaces. The IR Measurement Tool device facilitates the creation of personal IRs. Use it to get a perfect sample from your own hardware or just drag and drop an audio file into the Convolution Reverb device. You don't even need to stick to reverberant spaces. Experiment with a variety of sounds and explore new spaces.
Made in collaboration with Alex Harker at Huddersfield University, Convolution Reverb offers zero latency for a lush, natural sound. It also includes over 200 IRs from professional acousticians, featuring spaces from around the world, vintage hardware, experimental sounds, and more. Christian Kleine also contributed IRs from his personal collection of rare instruments and effects, including the Stocktronics RX-4000, Uniton Swissecho 2000, Farfisa Spring Reverb, BOSS RX-100 and more.
Convolution Reverb Free
Along with the Convolution Reverb device, this product also includes Convolution Reverb Pro and the IR Measurement Tool.