When my band recorded our first album (Vomit Launch’s Not Even Pretty) in 1986, our producer, Greg Freeman [Tape Op #1], had a Yamaha SPX90 reverb unit. There were no other reverb processors in his studio at the time, and we loved reverb. If you listen, especially to the original vinyl release, vocals and drums are drenched at times with that device's grainy, sharp-sounding spatial effects. We loved it then, but maybe it hasn't aged that well. Digital reverbs in the '80s seemed all about creating expansive, impressive spaces. Sometimes, they'd even be gated to get that crazy drum sound of the era. But as I moved into record production, I began to realize that one doesn't always want giant, unearthly reverb effects and that, many times, subtle spatial enhancements can add far more to a mix. No longer did I want huge, cascading canyons of reverb in my mixes. I wanted something that gave a sense of “place” or added what I’d call a “halo” around a vocal or such. Sometimes, I’m just looking for a not-quite-dry sound with only a tinge of ambience.
The convolution-based plug-in, iamReverb, is modeled on the acoustics of real spaces. Knobs for levels of Close, Mid, and Far reverb sit in the GUI's center, allowing for blending of the varying distances of the created space. More knobs below add control of In, Out, Dry/Wet, Pre-Delay, Decay, and Size. A Main/EQ toggle near the top flips over to a 4-band EQ that can be used to change the frequency response of the returning reverb – something I never felt I needed to do, unlike my experiences with many other convolution reverbs.