Industry legends SoundToys have a forthcoming new reverb plugin and we’re excited!
On the 14th of March SoundToys announced the latest addition to their stock pile. On this occasion the plugin is a plate reverb emulator that boasts to recreate five classic electromechanical plates. As a result we will look over the details we know so far.
What’s plate reverb?
Firstly plate reverb is an audio effect that gives the illusion the sound is in a large space. In this case the sounds achieved by wiring an input signal and several microphones to a sheet of metal suspended on wires. Additionally the metal plates are fixed with a magnet and coil which amplifies the incoming signal like a speaker cone. Finally after recording the vibrations from the sheet, the output signals merged with the original source giving a hall space effect.
We have included a demonstration which is available on Rob Scallion’s video. In brief he visits Electrical Audio’s Studio in Chicago to see one of the oldest plate reverbs in the US.
What reverbs does it emulate?
EMT 140
Released by EMT (Elektromesstechnik) in 1957. The 140 is an electro-mechanical reverberation steel plate that was very innovative for it’s time. Prior to this alternatives were limited to spring reverbs and echo chambers.
EMT 240
Following the success of the 140, EMT released their luxurious 24 carrot gold foil reverb plate in 1971. It produced sounds at 1/5th the volume of its predecessor and offered a cleaner more rich quality.
Audicon
All we know about the Audicon is it was released by Gene Lawson somewhere in the 1970s. Other details remain an internet mystery.
EcoPlate III
Programming Technologies released their series of EcoPlates in the 1980s (EcoPlate 1, 2 and 3). Designed by Jim Cunningham each unit produced unique characteristics from each other.
Stocktronics RX4000
Released in 1978 the RX4000 was designed by Lars “Stockis” Liljeryd. However there was only 250 units produced making this plate a very rare piece.
What other features does it include?
Analogue coloring
SoundToys announced there will be tube saturation and preamp options to color your sounds with. In this situation the saturator’s a recreation of EMT’s V54 whilst the Preamps modelled off of their 162 counterpart. Additionally the preamp has a built in compressor to keep resonant peaks tame and under control.
Digital features
As well as analogue features SuperPlates set to have digital ones too with infinite decay time, pre-delay, modulation controls and EQ! Finally SoundToys announced their brand new decay ducking technology that auto sets the decay time to avoid overlap and masking.
Undoubtedly these features and recreations of distortion and reverb history are going to be a lot of fun to play around with!
How much does it cost?
SuperPlates priced at $149 and will be inclued as part of the SoundToys 5.4 bundle for $499. LittlePlate owners have trade-up options allowing you to get SuperPlate for $59.
When’s the release date?
Some time next month.
Conclusion
With the history recreated in SoundToys new plugin its hard for any audio nerd to not want to hear it in action. Particularly we cant wait to explore the EMT V54 and 162 color modes. In addition to this the unique decay duck options seem interesting as we are eager to hear if it matches up to the claims.
To summarize SoundToys are a talented team putting out brilliant VSTs consistently, as a result we looking forward seeing what we can do with this new addition. If you enjoyed this article why not give it a like and a share? We hope to see you again soon!
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