Top 10 Free Reverb VST Plug-Ins
Make no mistake.
Convology XT is a free convolution reverb VST plugin developed by Impulse Record. It includes a collection of 70 reverb impulse responses captured from a variety of vintage hardware reverb units. Additional impulse responses are available for purchase on the developer’s website.
There are plenty of options available to you when searching for free reverb VST plug-ins.
But which of the free reverb plug-ins are comparable in quality to the more expensive software?
And which ones will give you the professional sound you’re looking for?
Well, you are in luck.
We have already searched and tested all of the free reverb plug-ins online right now and have found the ones that rival the top commercial reverb plug-ins.
After each review, we will give our suggestions about which particular reverb sounds great using each of the plug-ins.
Once again, this is just our interpretation and opinion, so the suggestions should be taken with a grain of salt.
You will want to do your own experimenting to find out what reverbs sound best to your ears on the different elements in your track.
Now it is time!
Get ready to add professional reverberation to your sound with the top 10 free reverb plug-ins available today!
1. Tal- Reverb-4
Tal-Reverb-4 is the latest of TAL’s free reverb plug-ins which is the reverb that is present in the TAL- Sampler.
You can both reproduce very diffused sounds (meaning the reflections of the reverb are pushed together more and you will have a thicker reverberated sound) and a modulated vintage reverb sound which will give your reverb a more realistic element to it.
Tal-Reverb-4’s lush and large reverb sound has proven itself to be a worthy addition to your plug-in arsenal and can definitely compete with commercial plug-ins.
What to Use This Reverb On:
We would recommend using this reverb on sounds that you want to take up a lot of space in your mix, have a large three-dimensional image, and give that large hall type feel. So, background synths, fx, or leads would sound great with this reverb.
Download2. Voxengo OldSkoolVerb
Voxengo’s OldSkoolVerb is one of the best free reverb plug-ins for all around use in your music productions.
This freeware reverberation implements a type of “classic” stereo reverb algorithm to produce crystal clear spatial images that unify with your sound.
With this reverb plug-in, you can create convincing reverberated sounds for many different spaces, such as rooms, halls, small spaces.
The OldSkool Reverb controls are easy to use and can be mastered in no time to get the best reverb sound possible!
What to Use This Reverb On:
The OldSkoolVerb is best suited for non-percussive and soft-attack sounds like vocals, pianos, and pad sounds.
Download3. Smarteletronicx Ambience Reverb
Ambience reverb has a bunch of great features and a few rather unconventional controls that could make for some interesting effects.
For example, the “gate” button will gate or chop up your reverb and add a unique spatial effect. Also, the “hold” button lets you hold the reverb in an infinite loop.
This is great if you want to carry on over your reverb throughout your track or create some sort of pad.
In addition to these unique parameters, Ambience has a great collection of 78 presets which showcase the reverb’s potential.
Another great feature of this plug-in is its ability to shape the reverb with its Shape, EQ, & Damping sections.
This makes the process of blending your reverb into your specific track quick and easy.
What to Use This Reverb On:
This reverb works great on drum loops, real instruments, pads, and any sound you are looking to add a gated spatial effect on.
Download4. Dasample GlaceVerb
GlaceVerb is freeware that uses the Residual Vector Modulation proprietary algorithm made to measure the vibrations deformations and the acoustic reactions of material and surfaces.
With this reverb, you can set the density (from flat to high reverberation), surface parameters (such as the absorption, texture, and reflections), and also adjust the bass, dry, wet, and size to give your reverb unique but realistic sound.
If you are a type that loves to experiment with reverbs, GlaceVerb will not only surprise you but also give a unique touch to your sound. Its 64 presets make it the ideal reverb plug-in for producers and creative minds alike.
What to Use This Reverb On:
Because of its realistic sound, this reverb will go great on drums, real instruments, and vocals.
Download5. Saltlinr Lisc-Verb
At a first glance you might be put off by this plug-in because of its complicated looking interface, but let me tell you, it is worth diving into.
Its layout and structure can bring texture and space to any sound source, from creating strange ambience for pads to interesting musical textures for beats.
Not only that, it is also has a delay section where you can create even more complex spatial effects.
This plug-in features multiple filter sections and customizable routings to decide how the reverb is processed which makes this VST ideal for crafty and creative sound design.
What to Use This Reverb On:
The Lisc-verb sounds exceptional on most synthetic sounds due to the unconventional sounds that you can achieve from the plug-ins complex routing, fx, and filter options.
Download6. Leslie’s Sanford Reverb
If you love to get a dense, clean, and clearly defined sound from your reverb, then the Sanford reverb is a must download. The true strength of this reverb comes from the early reflections section.
The early reflections of a reverb give your brain the information about the size of the room and the sense of distance of sounds in a room.
Since the Sanford Reverb gives you complete control over the early reflections, you can easily simulate a large number of spaces.
The plug-in also features a modulation section, a filter, a freeze button, and control over the reverbs late reflections.
What to Use This Reverb On:
While this reverb can be placed on almost any sound, we find that it sounds best on sounds that require short or medium reverb tails.
Download7. MuTools’s MuVerb
MuVerb is a multipurpose plug-in with fantastic sound. This reverb plug-in is quite easy to use and comes with ten factory presets.
This reverb comes with a Turbulence section (which is similarly to a gater), an EQ section, a damping control, predelay for both the left and right channels, and a decay control.
What to Use This Reverb On:
While this reverb can be placed on almost any sound, we find that it sounds best on sounds that require short or medium reverb tails.
Download8. Variety of Sound’s epicVerb
The epicVerb aims to recreate small rooms and halls, as well as ambient effects. This reverb comes equipped with 1st and 2nd early reflection controls, an EQ, a stereo spreader, 6 reverb types, and a predelay.
One unusual control on this reverb is the ambience control. You can switch the reverb to ambience, which will play the impulse response of the reverb without the tail or late reflections making this ideal for effects and sounds that require a short decay.
What to Use This Reverb On:
The epicVerb really shines through on drums and vocals.
Download9. Semantic Audio’s Safe Reverb
The Safe Reverb from Semantic Audio is quite the reverb. Semantic Audio felt that the producer shouldn’t have to dial in specific parameters to get a certain sound.
That is why they have included a text box where you can type in a semantic term such as warm, bright, or dull into the text box in the lower right-hand corner and the parameters will be moved around to represent this.
You have to try out this one of a kind plug-in!
What to Use This Reverb On:
We found the Semantic Audio reverb to be suited for overall use in your tracks–all the way from your Drums to FX.
Download10. Synthescience’s Freeze Chamber
Freeze-chamber is a straightforward reverb processor which gives your audio tracks that desirable spacious touch with a minimum amount tweaks.
With the Freeze-chamber’s freeze switch, you can hold the process at any time, in a suspended state (while the reverb processing is ongoing) to produce a sound that may be similar to that of a synth tone.
Free Guitar Reverb Vst
This plug-in comes with presets that show off its range of sound and it has the ability to store 64 presets.
What to Use This Reverb On:
This reverb features a very spacious and lush sound which sounds great on elements that require a hall-type reverb, such as strings, pianos, or synth leads and chords.
DownloadI’m Alex and I have been working in the sound technology industry for 10 years now. Currently I am an affiliate blogger who likes to educate my audience about sound technology. Visit headphonesunder100center and musicinstrumentscenter to follow me.
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.
An impulse response captures the sound of an acoustic space or an artificially simulated space (when recorded from a hardware reverb unit, for example). Loading an impulse response in a convolution reverb effect will apply the reverb properties of the sampled acoustic space to the processed audio signal. This way, we can simulate recording an audio track in a natural environment (by using impulse responses of outdoor spaces) or mimic the sound of expensive hardware reverb effects.
1. Convology XT by Impulse Record
Convology XT is a free convolution reverb VST plugin developed by Impulse Record. It includes a collection of 70 reverb impulse responses captured from a variety of vintage hardware reverb units. Additional impulse responses are available for purchase on the developer’s website. More importantly, the plugin is capable of loading external impulse responses in WAV format.
In terms of its ability to modify the loaded impulse response file, Convology XT is the most advanced freeware convolution reverb VST plugin on this list. The user can adjust the attack and decay time, pre-delay, and the frequency response. It is also possible to time-stretch the IR file and to apply modulation in order to achieve a stereo widening effect. The plugin doesn’t introduce any latency, which is somewhat of a rarity among freeware convolution reverbs.
Convology XT can be downloaded completely free of charge from Impulse Record’s website. After installing and loading the plugin for the first time, enter the serial number provided at checkout to activate your license. The developers have also provided several tutorial videos to help new users get started with the plugin.
More info:Convology XT(32-bit & 64-bit VST/AU/AAX plugin format for Windows & MacOS)
+ Plenty of control over the active impulse response
+ Can load external IR files
2. MConvolutionEZ Convolution by MeldaProduction
MConvolutionEZ comes with a wider range of impulse responses than Convology XT, but its feature set is less advanced. The user can adjust the stereo width of the active impulse response and shape its tone using a pair of filters. Unfortunately, the timing properties like attack and decay time can’t be customized. This is a serious drawback which makes MConvolutionEZ less of a professional mixing tool and more of a beginner option for users who are just getting started with using convolution reverb plugins. Still, its ease of use and intuitive user interface are part of the reason why we recommend giving it a try.
Much like Convology XT, MeldaProduction’s convolution reverb plugin can load external impulses responses in WAV and FLAC format. Due to the convenient file browser which is located at the very center of the user interface, MConvolutionEZ is a great tool for testing newly downloaded impulse response libraries. The included reverb impulses sound pretty good, too.
One thing we didn’t like, though, is the fact that MeldaProduction bundles all of their plugins into a single installer. This makes for longer download times and a somewhat annoying installation procedure. Also, the plugin will show a nag screen asking the user to upgrade to the paid version of the plugin which is called MConvolutionMB. The plugin’s functionality isn’t affected by the nag screen, though.
More info:MConvolutionEZ(32-bit & 64-bit VST/VST3/AU/AAX plugin format for Windows & MacOS)
+ Fast workflow
+ Loads external IR files in WAV and Flac format
– Lacks envelope controls
– Displays a nag screen
3. SIR1 by SIR Audio Tools
SIR1 is an old product (released in 2004.), but some users still swear by it. Its simple user interface and a rather capable feature set make it a useful tool even in this modern age of VST plugins. However, SIR1’s biggest drawback is the fact that it is only compatible with 32-bit VST plugin hosts on Windows. Mac owners and Windows users running 64-bit digital audio workstations are out of luck.
The user interface is well designed, with the file browser on the right, waveform display on the top, the control parameters on the left, and the spectrum display on the bottom. The user can adjust the pre-delay time and the envelope of the loaded impulse response. The IR can also be time-stretched, which is a great feature to have in a convolution plugin. SIR1 has a fixed latency of 8960 samples and is optimized for low CPU consumption.
More info:SIR1(32-bit VST plugin format for Windows)
+ Time-stretching of the loaded IR file
+ Loads external IR files in WAV format
– Only supports 32-bit VST plugin hosts on Windows
– No longer updated
4. Reverberate LE by LiquidSonics
Reverberate LE is another older plugin on this list (released in 2006.) and it shares the same compatibility issues with SIR1. In other words, it will only work in 32-bit digital audio workstations on Windows-based machines. If you happen to fall into that particular category of users, Reverberate LE is well worth a shot.
The plugin includes only a small collection of impulse responses, so it’s mostly up to the user to provide their own IR samples (WAV, AIFF, and FLAC files are supported). Once loaded, the impulse responses can be customized using the Reverberate LE’s envelope shaping and time-stretching controls. The plugin also features a parametric equalizer which can completely alter the tone of the IR sample.
Reverberate LE can operate in zero latency mode, or in low latency mode when the graphics card is used for processing (an Nvidia chip is required for this). Stereo impulse responses are supported.
More info:Reverberate LE(32-bit VST plugin format for Windows)
+ Advanced envelope and time-stretching controls
+ Features a parametric EQ for shaping the tone
Free Vocal Reverb Vst Plugins
– Only supports 32-bit VST plugin hosts on Windows
– No longer updated
5. Halls Of Fame 3 Free by Best Service
Halls Of Fame 3 Free is a stripped-down version of the Halls of Fame 3 – Complete Edition (€169) convolution reverb effect by Best Service which comes with over 1,500 reverb presets. The free version only includes 27 reverb presets and doesn’t load external impulse responses. The reason why we’re including it on the list, though, is that the included reverb impulse responses sound exceptionally good.
The plugin features a selection of impulse responses captured from legendary hardware reverb units such as the EMT 240, AKG BX 20, Lexicon PCM96, and the Bricasti M7. The presets can be customized using detailed envelope and tone control parameters. The user can adjust the pre-delay time, attack/release times, and trim the loaded impulse response. The plugin also features a 3-band tone control and a damping control for shaping the tone of the reverb tails.
Unfortunately, the download and activation procedures are a bit more cumbersome than we’d like to see. First, you will need to complete the checkout process, then download two individual installers for the plugin and the sound content, and finally authorize your Halls Of Fame 3 Free installation.
More info:Halls Of Fame 3 Free(32-bit & 64-bit VST/AU/AAX plugin format for Windows & MacOS)
+ Great-sounding presets
+ Allows the user to customize the envelope and tone
– Doesn’t load external impulse responses
– Somewhat annoying plugin activation procedure
Once you’re happy with your convolution reverb plugin of choice, it’s time to obtain some high-quality reverb impulse responses. Here are some of our favorite places to download convolution reverb IR files for free:
Free Vst Reverb Plugins Download
Finally, here are a few recommended options for those looking for a paid convolution reverb VST plugin instead of a freeware one:
- Fog Convolver by AudioThing($65)
- Verberate 2 by Acon Digital($99)
Due to its relatively affordable price and well-designed user interface, Fog Convolver is our recommended commercial convolution reverb VST plugin. It comes with a huge library of impulse responses and features a slick user interface with plenty of customization options.
Reverb Vst Free Download
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