# Altiverb or Reverberate?



## Cory Pelizzari (Apr 8, 2020)

I've been looking at both Altiverb 7 and Reverberate 2 (with the Hollywood Sound IR pack) for a new sound for my next album. Altiverb seems to be a high quality, high functioning tool with a great collection of IRs but is around $1000 AUD. Reverberate is about $250 AUD and claims to have an advanced reverb modulation ability that other plugins don't - with the Hollywood IR pack that would come to about $500 AUD.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of these products for any of you that have used both? I'm not one to go for the cheaper option just to save money, however if both of these options are just as good as one another, then I have no reason to purchase the more expensive option.

Keep in mind that Altiverb's stage positioning tool is what I'd consider an advantage, however I've been using QL Spaces for years and haven't really needed to use a positioning tool, so it's not that big a deal to me ultimately. What I'm after most of all is quality and a genuine sound.


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## Cory Pelizzari (Apr 9, 2020)

It seems no one knows. I think I'll just go with Altiverb then.


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## cqd (Apr 9, 2020)

Reverberate is one of the best reverbs out there too...there's something special about those fusion IRs..


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## Jeast (Apr 9, 2020)

Another fan of Reverberate. I think the main reason people still go for Altiverb is the TodAO IR. I can't see any other reason.


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## ricoderks (Apr 9, 2020)

Jeast said:


> Another fan of Reverberate. I think the main reason people still go for Altiverb is the TodAO IR. I can't see any other reason.


Teldex IR


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## gamma-ut (Apr 9, 2020)

Reverberate has more controls over the sound (though Altiverb is more flexible than you'd expect from a convo reverb). However, the Fusion IRs demand specialised samples that you can only get from the vendor, so it's not like the tool lets you rework arbitrary IRs to the same degree. The thing with Reverberate is those controls are the kinds of things you'd probably use an algo reverb for.

You also have the situation with LiquidSonics where there are multiple reverbs hanging off the same technology sold as different products where it might have made more sense (for the user at least) to have them all incorporated in Reverberate. For me, it felt a bit too much nickel-and-diming was going on when the plate one turned up. 

Altiverb has a broad selection of IRs of real spaces and hardware, and decent controls over the convolution samples though not to the extent of Reverberate.


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## kgdrum (Apr 9, 2020)

I don’t have Altiverb but I have most of the Liquidsonc line,which I love.
Have you checked out 7th Heaven? It’s one of my favorite reverbs and I have way too many! lol


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## re-peat (Apr 9, 2020)

Jeast said:


> I think the main reason people still go for Altiverb is the TodAO IR. I can't see any other reason.



I hope Altiverb users are smarter than that. ToddAO belongs to an older generation of Altiverb IR’s that was very uneven in quality. The name of the IR may have fooled the unattentive user for perhaps a session or two (and the idiotic user for a while longer), but anyone with decent ears should have found out pretty quickly that ToddAO is a very mediocre and unappealing impulse response.

In my list of favourite Altiverb IR’s, it doesn’t even feature in the top 100. Tried it once, never again.

Altiverb with a good IR however — and there are many — is as good as anything, and better than most. In other words: plenty of very good reasons to consider it.

_


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## sathyva (Apr 9, 2020)

I use Altiverb just for ER ( The Teldex set sounds really great ) and LiquidSonics 7th Heaven for the tail.
Both companies have great IR. 
I just find that Altiverb is really pricey compared to the others...


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## averystemmler (Apr 9, 2020)

If you contact the Altiverb folks, they'll provide a demo. I'm not sure why they make you jump through the hoops, but the option is there.

Reverberate is the more flexible engine, and it sounds as good as any. If the purpose of this is to use 3rd party IRs, that might be all that really matters. Also worth mentioning: Altiverb requires an iLok, Reverberate uses a license file.

The appeal of Altiverb, in my opinion, is its massive library of iconic IRs, sampled at a variety of distances per location. Spaces might handle that well enough for you already. The modeled positioning in Altiverb sounds a little hamfisted to me, but others might disagree.

Reverberate has an incredible array of controls compared to most convolution reverbs, but the built-in impulses are things like "Bright Hall," "Large Smooth Chamber," etc. The whole point of convolution, to me, is being able to put my stupid honky synth patch in Notre Dame.

Just some disjointed things to consider.



gamma-ut said:


> You also have the situation with LiquidSonics where there are multiple reverbs hanging off the same technology sold as different products where it might have made more sense (for the user at least) to have them all incorporated in Reverberate. For me, it felt a bit too much nickel-and-diming was going on when the plate one turned up.



The other plugins handle things pretty differently, well beyond the scope of Reverbate. The reverb time in Seventh Heaven, for instance, accesses numerous different IRs recorded at different decay settings, and interpolates between them, giving you something closer to the real device as you turn the knob. There are a ton of samples that the plug-in is manipulating in ways Reverberate can't (and the IR folder takes up as much disk space as a mid-sized sample library because of it). You can load up the Bricasti FIRs in Reverberate to compare - the results are quite different.

Illusion is a different technique entirely, which generates a new IR every time you tweak a setting. The Luscious Plates plugin does something in the frequency domain, but I haven't looked as deeply into it.

Liquid Sonics' other plugins are based on the techniques in Reverbate, but are different implimentions of it. They aren't just IR packs in a plugin wrapper.


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## davidson (Apr 9, 2020)

averystemmler said:


> Reverberate has an incredible array of controls compared to most convolution reverbs, but the built-in impulses are things like "Bright Hall," "Large Smooth Chamber," etc. The whole point of convolution, to me, is being able to put my stupid honky synth patch in Notre Dame.



Just duplicate 'Large Smooth Chamber' and name it 'Notre Dame'. Bosh, job done.


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## averystemmler (Apr 9, 2020)

davidson said:


> Just duplicate 'Large Smooth Chamber' and name it 'Notre Dame'. Bosh, job done.



I think the "Large Burnt Chamber" preset would be a better starting point.

(Too soon?)


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## Cory Pelizzari (Apr 9, 2020)

kgdrum said:


> I don’t have Altiverb but I have most of the Liquidsonc line,which I love.
> Have you checked out 7th Heaven? It’s one of my favorite reverbs and I have way too many! lol


Seventh Heaven is on my to buy list alongside Pro R from Fabfilter. I've currently got QL Spaces, Valhalla Room and TSAR-1 but I've used them to death.

What appeals to me from Altiverb and Reverberate are the deeply sampled IRs - in Reverberate's case I was looking at the Hollywood Sounds IR collection from another provider. What I have trouble with most is getting the percussion to sit right and not sound slappy or bloated. I use a combination of small and large reverb settings with a fast delay to get the sound I want but I'm kind of sick of having to do that for every instrument I load up from a different library. Thus the interest in a reverb tool and IRs that can handle the early and late reflections better.


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## ThomasL (Apr 9, 2020)

I can only vouch for Altiverb, like it a lot. The IR recorded inside the Cheops pyramid is just one of those IRs no one else has. All the "scoring" IRs are really great as well and if you put anything closely miked inside any of those places it just sounds as if it is "there".

Let AudioEase know you want a trial.

However, if you want something "else" take a look at Eventides SP2016. It's amazing on small/short ambiences/rooms/verbs.


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## Cory Pelizzari (Apr 9, 2020)

Well, I just downloaded the demo version of Reverberate 2 and did a side by side comparison with QL Spaces using very similar IRs. Reverberate moves the sound subtly around the space as opposed to sounding static - but the big difference I experienced was that orchestral toms sounded slappy in Spaces, however in Reverberate... They sounded smooth and clear.

I think I've already found a winner here. That post EQ modulation is powerful stuff.


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## Bear Market (Apr 9, 2020)

Cory Pelizzari said:


> I think I've already found a winner here.



Is it too much to hope for a review on your Youtube channel? I think your walk-throughs/reviews are excellent!


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## Cory Pelizzari (Apr 9, 2020)

Bear Market said:


> Is it too much to hope for a review on your Youtube channel? I think your walk-throughs/reviews are excellent!


Well I just bought the standard version of Seventh Heaven so I'll probably end up doing a video on that, considering how good it is and how almost anyone can afford it.


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## Bear Market (Apr 9, 2020)

Cory Pelizzari said:


> Well I just bought the standard version of Seventh Heaven so I'll probably end up doing a video on that, considering how good it is and how almost anyone can afford it.



I look forward to it!


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## kgdrum (Apr 9, 2020)

Cory Pelizzari said:


> Well I just bought the standard version of Seventh Heaven so I'll probably end up doing a video on that, considering how good it is and how almost anyone can afford it.


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## kgdrum (Apr 9, 2020)

@Cory Pelizzari 
I’m curious how you think Reverberate and 7th Heaven compare to each other.
I haven't really used Reverberate since I got 7th Heaven.
Thanks


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## Michael Antrum (Apr 9, 2020)

I didn't reply earlier as I have no experience with either AltiVerb or Reverberate whatsoever.

However, I was in the same boat and had Spaces II. I added Seventh Heaven Pro (during a sale) and Fabfilter Pro R.

Put it this way - I cannot see myself ever needing to buy another reverb in the future.


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## fortunoquack (Apr 10, 2020)

if you Need reverb check out a plugin for this specific (and only specified) task,,,, there is a lot to choose from at the store with wallet and ideas. i am new to scoring and i use the builtin Reverb but lookout for the new stores which sell many plugins, including but not limiting to "reverb".... which one you choose solely depends on 

1. your wallet
2. sound your after all

let's say you have $99 to spend on a plugin this time around. Number "1" is now 1-$99 and you have that In mind greatly. Now the sound can be long or short reverb and plate and hall. I prefer hall reverbs for epic Ensemble because it makes it sound "larger than real life" which is good for example on fantasy scoring. A plate will sound cold but will for example be $50 cheaper. You have to keep "1" and "2" in mind and you will find experience youre after all.

hope this Helps.


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## Bear Market (Apr 10, 2020)

fortunoquack said:


> hope this Helps.



Yes, greatly indeed.


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## babylonwaves (Apr 11, 2020)

i have all of those and my favourites right now are 7th heaven pro and (still) altiverb. i wouldn't like to part with any of those, but for different reasons. altiverb gives me the opportunity to make something work in an already fantastic space, 7HP offers to sculpt a space rather freely with maybe a little bit less personality but in many cases (especially short revs) that doesn't matter so much.


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## shomynik (Apr 11, 2020)

Altiverb has some amazing control over ERs. So simple yet effective. Reverberate can edit ERs separately also, right?


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