U-he - Protoverb

Protoverb is an experimental room simulator reverb. Most algorithmic reverbs try to avoid resonances or model the reflections of sound from a room’s walls. Protoverb does the opposite. It builds up as many room resonances as possible, modelling the body of air in the room. No need to modulate or colour the signal. The result is a very natural sounding reverberation with interesting characteristics:

• Notes held for a longer time tend to build up resonance, as if the air takes a while to get excited
• Multiple instruments remain distinct, without disappearing in a wash
• When you play a short melody, the room seems to repeat a ghost echo of that melody

These properties are found in churches and large halls, but are rarely in conventional algorithmic reverbs.

To achieve this, Protoverb works with many parallel, serial and networked delays. With such a structure, no mathematical formula can make it sound right, it is down to trial and error (and luck) using random values. Protoverb generates random delay line lengths, networks and feedback strategies. If you are lucky you will find a great setting, which you can send to us.