# Should I get R4?



## musicalweather (Aug 4, 2020)

Sorry - another one of those "if I have X do I need Y" questions. In the last couple of months I got Phoenix, loved it, then upgraded to Nimbus (very good also -- just haven't had time to explore it.). Now I see that I can upgrade from Phoenix to R4 for 29 bucks. Seems like such a bargain. Am I correct in thinking that Nimbus is the transparent reverb and R4 the character reverb? I use reverb mostly with respect to sampled orchestral instruments. I generally lean toward transparent reverbs. But R4 has gotten pretty high praise that I'm tempted to get it. FWIW, I also have three other verbs which I use regularly -- Verberate, SIR2 and Fabfilter's Pro-R.

Thoughts?


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## easyrider (Aug 4, 2020)

Exponential Audio R4


Exponential Audio have hot-rodded their ‘character’ reverb, and the results are even more characterful!




www.soundonsound.com


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## musicalweather (Aug 4, 2020)

easyrider said:


> Exponential Audio R4
> 
> 
> Exponential Audio have hot-rodded their ‘character’ reverb, and the results are even more characterful!
> ...


Thanks. I read the SOS review before posting. I guess my question is, what does R4's vintage nature really mean in terms of _sound_, and is that something I might be interested as someone who writes mostly for orchestral or acoustic instruments and usually goes after a transparent reverb sound? Are there VI-Cers out there who use vintage verbs on their orchestral sounds? If so, why do you do that? The SOS review doesn't make much reference to the "character" nature of this reverb except to say that "the focus is on creating artificial reverberation that just works in a mix."


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## Locks (Aug 4, 2020)

musicalweather said:


> Thanks. I read the SOS review before posting. I guess my question is, what does R4's vintage nature really mean in terms of _sound_, and is that something I might be interested as someone who writes mostly for orchestral or acoustic instruments and usually goes after a transparent reverb sound? Are there VI-Cers out there who use vintage verbs on their orchestral sounds? If so, why do you do that? The SOS review doesn't make much reference to the "character" nature of this reverb except to say that "the focus is on creating artificial reverberation that just works in a mix."



I also have Pheonix and Nimbus and think they're great. I don't have R4 but maybe it might be worth going with another company other than Exponential Audio so you have more variety in your reverb options? Vintage Verb by Valhalla is really beautiful.


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## musicalweather (Aug 4, 2020)

Locks said:


> I also have Pheonix and Nimbus and think they're great. I don't have R4 but maybe it might be worth going with another company other than Exponential Audio so you have more variety in your reverb options? Vintage Verb by Valhalla is really beautiful.


Good point. I do have Pro-R, SIR2, and Verberate, as well as verbs from NI Komplete, Arturia, Softube, and the stock ones in DP. I don't know if any of those are considered vintage or character reverbs. And I don't know if I really need another reverb; it's just fun to buy them. But I would be interested in hearing from anyone who uses R4 on acoustic instruments.


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## vitocorleone123 (Aug 6, 2020)

Do you like the Lexicon vibe but don't "require" a Lexicon?
Already have a more transparent reverb and something with a lot of color (VVV, Liquidsonics, etc.)?
Then you have a hole in your reverbs that R4 can fill.

It's in the middle, to me, in terms of transparency and vibe. A sweet spot of sorts.

Do you also like Relab plugins?

Those are more akin to the EA reverbs, only with even more to them - a bit more on the character side, but still in the sweet spot middle ground. I don't use VVV anymore since I personally don't think it sounds as good as R4 and/or Sonsig-A.

If you use acoustic, Nimbus is probably more for you, if you want something more transparent and realistic, without going IR.


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## Wes Antczak (Aug 7, 2020)

Why not just download the demo and try it for yourself?


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## dadadave (Aug 11, 2020)

been wondering about that myself...on one hand it's only 29$ right now, on the other hand, I'm interested in getting Seventh Heaven at some point and also have an eye on Eareverb 2, and I already have Spaces II, so do I really need yet another reverb? Am I going to want to spend time comparing yet more reverb options? (lol, this might not be helpful, just thinking aloud)


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## doctoremmet (Aug 11, 2020)

dadadave said:


> been wondering about that myself...on one hand it's only 29$ right now, on the other hand, I'm interested in getting Seventh Heaven at some point and also have an eye on Eareverb 2, and I already have Spaces II, so do I really need yet another reverb? Am I going to want to spend time comparing yet more reverb options? (lol, this might not be helpful, just thinking aloud)


7th Heaven is great, and I “merely” have the $69 core version.

I recently got EAReverb2, for spatialization / ER / Haas purposes. Should have done that earlier. Excellent plugin.

Still, I did get R4, also owning Nimbus. It is an upgrade over R2 feature-wise and it does get you that more modulated Lexicon vibe. 7th Heaven and R4 are both very good and have complimentary qualities.


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## dadadave (Aug 11, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> 7th Heaven is great, and I “merely” have the $69 core version.
> 
> I recently got EAReverb2, for spatialization / ER / Haas purposes. Should have done that earlier. Excellent plugin.
> 
> Still, I did get R4, also owning Nimbus. It is an upgrade over R2 feature-wise and it does get you that more modulated Lexicon vibe. 7th Heaven and R4 are both very good and have complimentary qualities.



Would you by chance happen to have an example in mind where you thought: "7th Heaven and Nimbus won't cut it here, this needs R4"? Since it's supposed to have more "character", do you use it for exposed instruments? As someone who doesn't know that much about production, I'm trying to imagine use cases.


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## doctoremmet (Aug 11, 2020)

dadadave said:


> Would you by chance happen to have an example in mind where you thought: "7th Heaven and Nimbus won't cut it here, this needs R4"? Since it's supposed to have more "character", do you use it for exposed instruments? As someone who doesn't know that much about production, I'm trying to imagine use cases.


First of all, I typically use the EAReverb2 on inserts/group buss and 7th Heaven for tails on the 2 bus. They are my go to reverbs. Sometimes I swap out 7H for Relab VSR24 (the TC electronics 6000 emulation). And for strings samples I also particularly like some Nimbus programs I’ve tweaked.

R2 (and lately R4, I also got this very upgrade) sound good on vocals, where I am going for a more artificially sounding reverb - as a sound or effect in and of itself so to speak. Sometimes I want to achieve that glossy slightly modulated algorithmic verb sound, with some chorusing or flanging in the tails. R4 excels in that type of thing. Other times I put it on a piano insert. It seems to gel nice with my Fender Rhodes as well. So basically use cases where reverb is “an effect” and not so much a spatial tool. For orchestral arrangements I almost always pull out 7H these days. I must admit owning a ridiculous amount of rv plugins . Other convolution reverbs could also be used, and sometimes I still get out Waves IR1.


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## vitocorleone123 (Aug 11, 2020)

In terms of transparency -> lots of character enveloping your sound, my take is: Nimbus -> R4 -> Seventh Heaven.


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## dadadave (Aug 11, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> First of all, I typically use the EAReverb2 on inserts/group buss and 7th Heaven for tails on the 2 bus. They are my go to reverbs. Sometimes I swap out 7H for Relab VSR24 (the TC electronics 6000 emulation). And for strings samples I also particularly like some Nimbus programs I’ve tweaked.
> 
> R2 (and lately R4, I also got this very upgrade) sound good on vocals, where I am going for a more artificially sounding reverb - as a sound or effect in and of itself so to speak. Sometimes I want to achieve that glossy slightly modulated algorithmic verb sound, with some chorusing or flanging in the tails. R4 excels in that type of thing. Other times I put it on a piano insert. It seems to gel nice with my Fender Rhodes as well. So basically use cases where reverb is “an effect” and not so much a spatial tool. For orchestral arrangements I almost always pull out 7H these days. I must admit owning a ridiculous amount of rv plugins . Other convolution reverbs could also be used, and sometimes I still get out Waves IR1.



Nice, thanks for the examples! I think I'll try to keep my GAS in check for this one, tempting as it is


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## doctoremmet (Aug 11, 2020)

dadadave said:


> I'm trying to imagine use cases.


Keep in mind: I am a hobbyist, not a pro. And a lot of reverb talk may be utter b**sh*t. I feel that a lot of my own use cases may just be informed by some “romantic notion” that I am using the same Lexicon stuff that was used on favorite album X, or I can put my cello band in the same room as Radiohead recorded album Y in, or whatever.

I THINK I can hear very distinct differences. But I would likely utterly fail the first blind test. Did you watch the hilarious but informative Jake Jackson and Christian Henson reverb blind tests? They both preferred Lexicon and $50 Valhalla stuff over their beloved Altiverb and hardware Bricasti 

Bottomline: if you already own a decent algo reverb, you don’t NEED R4. Noone does I guess.


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## vitocorleone123 (Aug 11, 2020)

It's not just the algo, but the features, as well.

R4 is a top-shelf reverb. Several others out there. In addition to the sound of the R4 reverb itself, one of the key features is modulating the early reflects and the tail. Don't need or want that feature? Maybe your existing reverbs are better for you than buying something new. Etc.

R4 is a sibling of the Lexicon PCM reverbs. Maybe that algo isn't suited for your music, though.


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## dadadave (Aug 11, 2020)

vitocorleone123 said:


> It's not just the algo, but the features, as well.
> 
> R4 is a top-shelf reverb. Several others out there. In addition to the sound of the R4 reverb itself, one of the key features is modulating the early reflects and the tail. Don't need or want that feature? Maybe your existing reverbs are better for you than buying something new. Etc.
> 
> R4 is a sibling of the Lexicon PCM reverbs. Maybe that algo isn't suited for your music, though.



(I feel like I've kind of highjacked this thread, even though staying on topic, sorry if anyone feels the same)

Yes, everyone's workflow, musical style and requirements are different of course: In my case, as a non-professional with only limited time available to make music and at the same time an easy prey to GAS up til now, lately I'm trying to consciously move away from buying new plugins for areas where I feel decently covered and rather invest in learning resources (I went ahead and bought a cubase project on synthestration.com after deciding against R4) than in more plugins that each come with their learning curve and add yet more potentially paralyzing options to my workflow. Mind you, that is basically more a new guiding principle than anything I am already practicing with any significant degree of discipline (else I would just make do with Nimbus and Spaces 2 instead of chasing after 7th Heaven)  (also I am already at a place where I have tons of tools of all sorts, if I don't make more/better music, it's not for a lack of tools at this point...)


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## muziksculp (Aug 12, 2020)

I upgraded from R2 to R4, since I have PheonixVerb. for $29. via Plugin Boutique.

R4 is a wonderful sounding Reverb, I highly recommend it. R2 was my go to Reverb, R4 is even better, and offers more control. Go for it, $29. will be very well spent.


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## awaey (Nov 30, 2020)

I bought today R4 reverb from Plugin Boutiques (( Grate Reverb )) ,,,


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## AudioLoco (Nov 30, 2020)

Yes. It is much superior to the ones you have IMHO.


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## darcvision (Nov 30, 2020)

dadadave said:


> been wondering about that myself...on one hand it's only 29$ right now, on the other hand, I'm interested in getting Seventh Heaven at some point and also have an eye on Eareverb 2, and I already have Spaces II, so do I really need yet another reverb? Am I going to want to spend time comparing yet more reverb options? (lol, this might not be helpful, just thinking aloud)


me too, except i am interested with Acon verberate 2, relab lx480, seventh heaven and nimbus. actually i'm not sure if i need another reverb, because the difference is not much. if i need transparent reverb, i just put phoenixverb, and if i need lexicon sounds, i have free IR lexicon and i'm more presets guy rather than tweaking manual.


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## ReleaseCandidate (Nov 30, 2020)

stefandy31 said:


> me too, except i am interested with Acon verberate 2, relab lx480, seventh heaven and nimbus. actually i'm not sure if i need another reverb, because the difference is not much. if i need transparent reverb, i just put phoenixverb, and if i need lexicon sounds, i have free IR lexicon and i'm more presets guy rather than tweaking manual.


Nimbus is 'just' the bigger version of Phoenix. If you haven't I'd get Excalibur as a really versatile FX reverb.
And EA _is_ Lexicon nowadays.


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