The 8 Best Reverb VST Plugins on the Market (2022)
“What are the best reverb VST plugins out there in 2022?”
Reverb is easily one of the most important sound effects in modern music, across all genres. From large, spacious fade-outs to short, tubular reverberations, it is an incredibly powerful tool for transforming a sound.
When searching for a new reverb VST plugin, producers usually ask themselves the same question: “are there any free alternatives?”
The answer is: yes and no.
There are many free reverb plugins out there, a few of which have a decent selection of additional features and are, for the most part, enough to get the job done.
However, there comes a point where you have to step up your game and invest in a high quality, professional reverb plugin. It’s the only way you’ll truly ever compete in the shark tank that is the music industry.
Luckily for us, reverb VST plugins can be relatively cheap nowadays, so in this list I’ve included plugins for a range of budgets.
So without further ado, here is my rundown of the very best reverb VST plugins on the market in 2022.
The 8 Best Reverb VST Plugins on the Market in 2022
1. iZotope – PhoenixVerb Stereo
Sound Quality
Features
Value for Money
Who this plugin is for: Producers looking for a powerful, lush sounding plugin at an affordable price.
Even if you’re a complete beginner to music production plugins, you may have heard of iZotope. iZotope is an audio software development company responsible for some of most eclectic, versatile VST plugins on the market.
Their PhoenixVerb Stereo plugin is part of the Exponential Audio reverb bundle, and definitely stands out as the best sounding plugin in the bundle. Sonically, this plugin focuses on creating smooth, spacious, authentic reverb effects with a beautiful level of depth and clarity. So if you’re looking to create more vintage, grainy reverbs, there are definitely better suited options out there.
PhoenixVerb Stereo has a whopping 900 presets, so it’s a fantastic plugin for rapid inspiration for both beginner and advanced producers.
Like most of the leading audio plugin companies, iZotope’s plugins can get pretty expensive. However, despite it’s powerful and insane sound quality, PhoenixVerb Stereo has a mid-low price tag. In all honesty, I’d say this is easily the best reverb plugin in this price range.
PhoenixVerb Stereo Features
• Dimension and frequency shaping controls for each stage of the reverb signal
• Global high-pass and low-pass filters
• Independent output controls for attack, early reflections, and tail
• Clear, informative frequency display and responsive UI
• Over 900 presets (rooms, plates, halls, chambers etc)
+ much more.
This product is available for both Windows / Mac and 64-bit only.
Click here to check best price + more info / reviews.
2. Audiority – Polaris
Sound Quality
Features
Value for Money
Who this plugin is for: Producers looking for a creative, feature-packed reverb plugin inspired by early digital hardware reverbs at a very affordable price.
Polaris is a very unique delay VST plugin with some absolutely wild reflection and echo capabilities.
The engine is absolutely packed with features, with early reflections, diffusion and echo modules hidden within the interface (the 3 magnifying glasses: see above). Polaris is also able to provide echo, ambience and reverb out of a single multitap delay line.
This delay plugin is inspired by early hardware digital reverbs of the late 1970s, and this often results in an artificial, somewhat grainy reverb output. Whether this is a good or bad thing entirely depends on the reverb effects you want to create. If you’re looking to create a weird, spatial reverb tail or booming, old-school effects, this plugin will effortlessly take care of that. If you’re looking to create smooth, subtle, classy vocal reverb, I wouldn’t waste my time.
Polaris is also extremely affordable, which is kind of baffling given the versatility and unique quality of the plugin.
Audiority – Polaris Features
• Single Multitap Delay Line
• Early Reflections (8 Programmable Taps)
• Diffusion (16 Programmable Modulated Taps)
•Echo (Ms, Sync, Tuned, Long) + echo Modulation
• NEW – Modulation Boost, 3 Band Feedback Equalizer + Pre-Delay
• LFO (Sin/Tri/Rnd – Hz, Sync)
+ much more.
This product is available for both Windows / Mac and 64-bit only.
Click here to check best price + more info / reviews.
3. Eventide – Blackhole Reverb
Sound Quality
Features
Value for Money
Who this plugin is for: Producers looking for an ethereal, weird and wonderful reverb plugin capable of creating truly unique sounds.
The majority of reverb plugins are designed to create clear, authentic plate or room reverbs, steering towards transparency and authenticity over anything else. Blackhole Reverb seems to want the exact opposite. This wacky reverb plugin is designed to create abstract, spatial reverb effects that would be near-impossible to create using a standard reverb plugin.
Blackhole Reverb has a dedicated Gravity knob, which seems to be the equivalent of decay time, while also switching the reverb algorithm from a standard reverb in one half of its travel to a reverse-envelope type in the other.
The plugin engine is extremely intuitive and easy to understand, allowing you to transform any sound into a huge, celestial, evolving landscape in minutes. I’ve had the most success using this plugin to create FX from basic sounds such as guitar and piano, and the sonic possibilities here seem almost infinite.
This plugin is far from the cheapest plugin on this list, but if it’s atmospheric reverb tails you’re after, this plugin should definitely be on your radar.
Eventide – Blackhole Reverb Features
• Unique “Gravity” control reverses the arrow of time by inverting the reverb’s decay
• Kill Switch mutes the input so you only hear the reverb
• Ribbon and Hot Switch allow for changing any combination of parameters simultaneously
• Over 50 presets
+ much more…
This product is available for both Windows / Mac and 32-bit / 64-bit.
Click here to check best price + more info / reviews.
4. FabFilter – Pro-R
Sound Quality
Features
Value for Money
Who this plugin is for: Producers looking for incredibly intuitive, easy to use plugin with a beautiful, natural sound.
FabFilter is without a shadow of a doubt the best-looking reverb plugin on this list, and holds true to the beautiful design of all FabFilter plugins.
But looks aren’t everything, right? Luckily, Pro-R’s workflow and usability are just as impressive. The wide, visually-based engine allows you to finetune the Decay Rate and 6-band parametric EQ within the frequency spectrum, a concept I personally haven’t seen in any other reverb plugin.
It’s fair to say this plugin is aimed primarily at beginners, with brightness, character and distance controls along the top left of the engine, and it’s reliance on spectrum visualisation. It does lack the extensive level of control in the parameter that some of the other plugins on this list have. However, the reverb effects it creates are spacious, warm and incredibly natural sounding, so they may not need too much tweaking.
FabFilter Features
• Decay Rate EQ and Post EQ (6 band) audio spectrum curves
• Intelligent Stereo Width control
• Brightness, Character and Distance control
• Mix knob with a Lock Mix option
• Predelay control via the bottom bar
+ much more.
This product is available for both Windows / Mac and 32-bit / 64-bit.
Click here to check best price + more info / reviews.
5. Eventide – TVerb
Sound Quality
Features
Value for Money
Who this plugin is for: Producers looking for one of the most beautiful, rich sounding reverb plugins ever created, developed by a legendary producer, engineer and musician.
Tony Visconti is primarily known for his extensive work with David Bowie, T-Rex, and countless other world-renowned pop and rock acts. Working closely with Eventide Plugins, Visconti has created one of the most sonically stunning reverb plugins I’ve ever come across: Tverb.
In the 70’s, Visconti created a truly unique method of creating reverb, using 3 seperate mics in a large hall in Berlin’s Hansa Studios, and then adjusting the distance and gate to create a lush, spacious reverberating effect.
Tverb’s reverb engine is based on this concept, allowing you to actually move the mics within a visualized hall. This results in the integration of three completely independent reverbs with compression and selectable polar patterns on microphone 1 and adjustable gates on microphones 2 and 3.
But this level of sound quality and vintage authenticity comes at a price, literally. Tverb is one of the most expensive plugins on this list, so for beginner producers looking to dip their toes in the world of reverb plugins, this may be well above your price range. But if you’ve got the budget, and you favour sound quality over anything else, this plugin is definitely worth checking out.
Eventide – TVerb Features
• Adjustable polar patterns for microphone 1 to adjust the amount of ambient room tone
• Custom Eventide reverb algorithm with EQ, diffusion, and decay control
• Compressor module on microphone 1, just as Visconti had in the original session
• 2 Linkable post-reverb gate modules with control of when the gates close
+ much more…
This product is available for both Windows / Mac and 32-bit / 64-bit.
Click here to check best price + more info / reviews.
6. Black Rooster Audio – RO-140
Sound Quality
Features
Value for Money
Who this plugin is for: Producers looking for a vintage, physically modelled reverb with a simple,yet incredibly powerful interface.
RO-140 is a gorgeous, physically modelled plate reverb emulation plugin with 6 material options to choose from; gold, silver, steel, aluminum, bronze and titanium. These material options give you a stunning range of reverb tones, each with it’s own character and distinct tonal nuances.
It has a sleek, retro GUI with a clear, responsive design. Along the bottom centre of the interface there are 3-band EQ controls for sculpting and finetuning your sound. Despite it’s relatively simple design, RO-140 is capable of a huge amount of creative possibilities.
Brimming with vintage character and charm, this plugin is an absolute no-brainer.
Black Rooster Audio – RO-140 Features
• 6 physically modelled plate reverbs
• Classic dampening and pre-delay controls
• 3-band EQ
This product is available for both Windows / Mac.
7. Nomad Factory 80’s Spaces
Sound Quality
Features
Value for Money
Who this plugin is for: Producers looking for a very powerful convolution reverb plugin with a fat, 80’s tone.
Nomad Factory are yet another audio development company with an incredible range of VST effects and plugins. Their reverb “80’s Spaces” brings the warm, hypnotising reverb sounds of the 80s into the modern plugin era.
One of best things about this plugin is the small visualizer on the left hand side of the interface. By default, this module is used to select presets, but when you start tweaking various parameters such as attack or gate, this section shows a waveform image of how you’re transforming the end result. Another highlight of this plugin is the large selection of reverb presets, including emulations of iconic, vintage reverb gear.
Overall, 80’s Spaces is simple, easy to operate and extremely fast (which is surprising given the low latency of the reverbs). Highly Recommend.
Nomad Factory 80’s Spaces Features
• Pre Delay, Chorus, Width, Hi/Low Pass Filters, Dry/Wet Control, Gate, Decay controls
• Parameter Display with intelligent Waveform Overview
• 380 Presets
This product is available for both Windows / Mac and 32-bit / 64-bit.
Click here to check best price + more info / reviews.
8. Altiverb
Sound Quality
Features
Value for Money
Who this plugin is for: Producers looking for an industry-leading reverb plugin with an almost baffling level of detail and versatility.
Every now and again, one of those plugins comes around that makes me think: how is this amount of detail even possible? Altiverb 7 is a convolution reverb plugin that meticulously samples a vast range of real-life spaces, from iconic Belgian concert halls to the cockpit of a Jumbo Jet. Altiverb then allows you to accurately place and correct your sampling position anywhere within the selected place. These reverbs can then be tweaked and modified using an almost endless list of extra features and parameters.
This level of detail is unprecedented when it comes to reverb plugins. The only reason this plugin isn’t at the top of this list is one thing: the price. This plugin is unbelievably expensive for a reverb plugin, and I’ve yet to see any major sales or discounts. Overall, despite the breathtaking level of functionality and customization options, this plugin is definitely overpriced.
Altiverb Features
• Library of Acoustics containing 100’s of real-life, sampled spaces
• Total recall automation within the plugin
• ‘Similar’ button – lists a number of similar sounding alternatives to the currently chosen impulse response
• Stage Positioning option
• Musical gates and delays
• Brightness and Chaos options
This product is available for both Windows / Mac and 32-bit / 64-bit.
Click here to check best price + more info / reviews.
Honourable Mention: EAReverb 2
Sound Quality
Features
Value for Money
Who this plugin is for: Producers looking for a fantastic all-round reverb with a ton of versatility.
EAReverb 2 is a great mid-range reverb plugin that encompasses a range of reverb styles. From long, evolving, spacey effects to clean, silky vocal reverbs, this plugin covers all bases.
A highlight of this plugin for me is the POS Mode. This feature allows you to dynamically set the location of your sounds in a variety of spaces. It also has a “reverse” effect to create upsweeps or similar effects.
It has to be said, the sound quality isn’t quite on the same level as some of the other reverbs on this list, but in terms of the sonic possibilities the plugin is capable of creating, EAReverb is an absolute VST workhorse.
eaReckon – EAReverb 2 Features
• 6 different algorithms – natural, bright, alu box, auditorium, plate and reverse.
• Three operational modes – including SE Mode, a light-on-CPU, stripped back version
• Early reflections editor
• Multi-mode module
This product is available for both Windows / Mac and 32-bit / 64-bit.
Click here to best current price + more info / reviews.
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