Written for Baby Audio by James Kelly, Member of the Recording Academy, GRAMMY® Voter.
I have to admit: reverb plugins often elude me. Despite a Latin Grammy nomination as an engineer, I'd be lying if I said every time I load up a reverb emulation I immediately feel at home. What's this parameter mean? How do I make my reflections brighter? What's a bass multiplier? And on and on.
But, I'm pleased to report, Baby Audio's Crystalline is the rare exception. Here you'll find an incredibly user-friendly reverb plugin that combines all the production-and-mix-ready features that it often takes several other plugins to handle. And, most importantly, it sounds great.
Before I dive into its applications, let's just talk about the features. Yes, you'll find all the parameters one typically associates with a reverb plugin: the size of the reverberant space, the stereo width of the reflections, the trusty dry/wet slider. But there's so much more: an extremely useful built-in ducker, an exceedingly fun Freeze button (which holds the reverb till what seems like infinity), and—wait for it—an entire Clean Up section that actually makes crafting the sonic makeup of your reverb intuitive. Hell, you can even augment the fidelity of your reflections—from something approaching 16-bit glory on up to pristine modeling of each lush bounce.
Now let's talk use cases. I started by loading up an edgy synth bass line in need of some character. Before touching a preset, I set out on my own to find a sound. After dialing in a short, wide verb, I ventured into Crystalline's more exotic parameters. First, I cranked the Modulation all the way up: what was once a relatively subdued reverb became a swirling, snarling beast. Next, I turned to the Smoothing parameter in the Shape section. The on-screen helper text (which is very helpful) informed me that this parameter attenuates "sharp" frequencies in the reverb. Looking for even more aggression, I pulled that parameter all the way down, letting the bite of the reflections punch through. Presto: my boring synth bass had been given a brooding, breathing, foreboding vibe.
Crystalline by Baby Audio, a modern algorithmic reverb.
Turning my attention to drums, I loaded an instantiation of Crystalline onto a track containing a hip 80s drum machine loop. At this point, the plugin's wide array of presets were calling to me. Scrolling through the Drums list (the presets are broken down by instrument and by sound designer), I immediately spotted one to which I could not say no: "DO YOU LIKE PHIL COLLINS." Hell yes I do! The result? Instant gated verb heaven. The reflections were tight and crisp with a warmth and character often lacking from 80s-inspired verb engines. By engaging the plugin's Reverse button (which many verb plugins sadly lack), a relatively tame beat became a shimmying, polyrhythmic banger.
Lastly, I had to try this awesome thing on humans. I loaded up a dry sample of a lilting soprano vocal and let Crystalline do its thing. Again, I turned to a preset to start. This time it was Dean Reid's "WEIRD VOCAL DELAY." Off the bat, this preset delivered an enchanting personality to the vocal. I can only describe it as a delicate, bright verb that ends in a hint of pitch-decay delay. Really intriguing. By increasing the width of the verb, the vocalist began to swirl around my head. Reducing the size of the reverberant space and pulling out some high end made the vocal incredibly intimate while still providing the space needed to make it sound like a polished performance.
What a rush. Crystalline is easily the most flexible, intuitive, and fun reverb plugin I can ever remember using. It looks and sounds great and has immense promise as both a production and sound-design tool. It has instantly found its way into my sonic arsenal. Try it for yourself and see: what's now boring can be exciting; what's now static can be given life.
Get your free trial of Crystalline by clicking the link below.