GVerbGVerb is a free GPL reverberation plug-in, originally written by Juhana Sadeharju then ported to LADSPA by Steve Harris Contents [hide] 1 Obtaining and installing 2 Usage: two approaches o o 2.1 Apply reverb directly to the original track 2.2 Duplicate and mix together 3 Instant reverb settings 4 Explaining the Parameters 5 Tips for playing around 6 Mono and Stereo reverbs 7 Criticisms 8 Alternative reverb plug-ins o o 8.1 Anwida Soft DX Reverb Light 8.2 Freeverb 8.2.1 Downloads o o 8.2.1.1 Original Freeverb 8.2.1.2 Freeverb2 8.2.1.3 Freeverb3 8.3 Installation (VST) 8.4 Installation (Mac OS X Audio Units) Feel free to improve the documentation on what all the effect parameters do, and to add alternative sets of parameters yo Additional comparisons to the alternative plug-ins listed woul Obtaining and installing GVerb was previously included in Audacity releases for both Windows and Mac. Current Audacity releases from 2.0.4 onwards now have a built-in Reverb effect which replaces GVerb. Then you control the amount of reverb by mixing in different volume levels of the dry and reverb-only tracks. Why? This is based on the assumption that you are going to duplicate your track and convert the duplicate to reverb-only by applying GVerb to it. the "dry" level (no effect applied) is set to zero. Mac and Linux. send it through a reverb unit and return it through a separate input channel of his mixing board. the plug-ins should be installed as follows: Windows .Run the . It means less disc space and CPU usage. if you know suitable instant reverb settings that you can apply.exe installer and set the installation path to the Plug-Ins folder inside your Audacity installation folder. Specifically. but there's an excellent reason for this. leaving the original track untouched. Linux . There are some advantages to applying reverb directly. Mac . How to install: After downloading from the appropriate link above.GVerb is still available as a separate download inside a suite of LADSPA effect plug-ins. A professional sound engineer would pick up the original signal from the board. This installation folder is normally in your Program Files folder. This is a professional yet conservative studio-like approach.The plug-ins should be installed to: /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/LADSPA/ or ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/LADSPA/.The plug-ins should be installed in: /usr/lib/ladspa/ or /usr/local/lib/ladspa. and lessens the possibility of playback problems on slower machines. Usage: two approaches Apply reverb directly to the original track The more obvious approach of applying reverb directly to a track works badly with GVerb's default settings. Duplicate and mix together The alternative "duplicate and mix" approach has two major advantages: . This suite is available for Windows. reasonably useful reverb. so in that case install the plug-ins to: C:\Program Files\Audacity\Plug-Ins. It can give you a quick. As a simple example. then use Audacity's envelope tool to gradually adjust the volume of each reverb track. you could mix both types of reverb with the dry original in real time and really fine-tune the exact sound you want with immediate feedback. you can mix in the amount of reverb "wet" signal in real time using just the -.2. here are some settings for immediate gratification that sound a lot better than the GVerb defaults: The Quick Fix . without affecting the "dry" track. This way. and it can be difficult and timeconsuming to determine the parameters required for a particular sound.Quicker to get exactly the effect required There are a very wide variety of sounds possible on a reverb. processing.Expander ). and expandable You always keep the base "dry" track as it was originally.. it is actually very useful to utilize the sound engineer's method of duplicate track reverb layering. Going even further with this approach. muting and unmuting them to compare one set with another in A/B fashion. perhaps undoing. the reverb parameters cannot be modified during preview. you can try different sets of parameters on different sets of tracks.x. You could make the reverb amount change over time by duplicating the reverb track. Or you could prepare two different reverb tracks. applying a more extreme reverb to one of them.3. Audacity does have a preview for effects (limited to 3 seconds in Audacity 1. As well as being important in its own right. you may spend a lot of time experimenting.. Working with more than one reverb track opens up several possibilities. Non-destructive. Even so. Reverb processing is not real-time: even on fast machine it may take 30 seconds or more to process a four-minute stereo track in 96000 Hz. and changing parameters. you can further manipulate the reverb track with compression. but with configurable length in 1. listening. 24 bit quality.x).+ gain control on the reverb track. equalization or noise gating (via a third party plug-in such as Dr. Instant reverb settings If you want to apply GVerb directly to your track.. so unless you already know exactly what you want from previous experience. this gives you the option of working with multiple reverb tracks. Once a chosen reverb has been processed into the duplicated track. (say one with the Early Reflection only and a second with the Tail only). To get the exact sound you want more quickly. instrument or project. again with immediate feedback in real time. without destroying either the dry track or the individual reverb tracks. 75 0 dB -22 dB -28 dB Bright.50 0.75 0 dB -10 dB -30 dB Singing in the Sewer Roomsize: Reverb time: Damping: Input bandwidth: Dry signal level: Early reflection level: Tail level: 6 m² 15 s 0.9 0.1 -10 dB -10 dB -10 dB Last row of the church Roomsize: 200 m² .5 dB -10 dB -20 dB Nice hall effect Roomsize: Reverb time: Damping: Input bandwidth: Dry signal level: Early reflection level: Tail level: 40 m² 20 s 0.75 -1.9 0.5 s 0. small hall Roomsize: Reverb time: Damping: Input bandwidth: Dry signal level: Early reflection level: Tail level: 50 m² 1.1 0.Roomsize: Reverb time: Damping: Input bandwidth: Dry signal level: Early reflection level: Tail level: 40 m² 4s 0. . For example. then include the inserted silence when applying GVerb. the parameters seem to be interdependent to some extent. Applying GVerb can clip your track. If the Amplification (db) is a negative value when the "Allow Clipping" box is not checked. Roomsize: Controls the overall characteristics of the reverb effect. In general. you may need to click at the end of the region you want to reverb. This needs to be considered.397351 seconds Hints: For a quick way to apply more or less reverb. this parameter influences both the simulation of early reflections and the sound of the tail.8 -20 dB -15 dB -8 dB Electric guitar and electric bass Roomsize: Reverb time: Damping: Input bandwidth: Dry signal level: Early reflection level: Tail level: ¶ 1 m² one beat ¶ 1 0.7 0. whichever approach you take to generating your reverb. Explaining the Parameters In GVerb. a beat in a 151 beatsper-minute song is 0. For settings that increase the reverberation.Reverb time: Damping: Input bandwidth: Dry signal level: Early reflection level: Tail level: 9s 0. so Effect > Amplify.7 0 dB -15 dB 0 dB the amount of time for one beat of the song. try changing the Early reflection level and Tail level values. Generate > Silence. press the OK button to decrease the amplification. Early reflections are similar to slapback echoes. use monitor speakers instead of headphones. the effect of this control can be heard in the treble band. The volume of the tail determines how intense the reverb appears to be. decrease the dry signal level by several dB. because the added reverb can exceed the dynamic range and cause clipping. . Tail level: A volume control that determines the amount of the hall effect of the reverb. In general. Reverb may sound much less intense through headphones. you can simulate a distance between the source and the listener. Tips for playing around Generally. Early reflection level: A volume control that determines the amount of early reflections. whereas the suggested instant reverb settings propose a very high value at or close to 0 dB. When you set the ER level considerably smaller than the tail level. Very small settings cause the tail to almost disappear. the less intense is the reverb. When mixing reverb and dry tracks together. You can vastly increase the stereo effect when you apply a reverb effect with slightly different settings for left and right channel separately. Smaller values cause a "muffled" and less bright reverb. The higher the value. Input Bandwidth: Provides some kind of "tone" control. Though they are not responsible for the typical hall effect generally linked with reverb. The last three parameters are volume controls. Small values cause a smaller frequency range to be processed. because (with good design). Dry signal level: A volume control that determines the amount of original sound in the reverb. Note that the standard presets place this setting to at its lowest value. They allow you to attenuate distinctive portions of the processed signal. To determine the final amount of reverb. Damping: This parameter controls the response of the early reflections and the decay of the reverb tail. this parameter affects the simulation of the reverb tail. an early reflection (ER) level about 10 to 20 dB higher than the tail level gives a typical reverb effect. In general.Reverb time: Controls the approximate duration of the reverb floor. they contain lots of acoustic information about the setup in which the sound occurs. the room size is really always the same size in gverb.. it does not affect the waveguide depth. As a result. Now use the Track DropDown to Split Stereo to Mono. meaning that it applies exactly the same effect to both channels. there are workarounds. GVerb can't be used for the common task of softening and pulling back vocals. only the damping. Mono and Stereo reverbs GVerb is a mono rather than "stereo" reverb. and phasing effects can occur. thenTracks > Mix and Render. "Make Stereo Track" in the Track Drop-Down Menu to produce a "dual mono" track with both channels identical. indicating both channels are still identical. wheels and gas tank on a frame.R Pan Slider to pan each track as required. If you apply a mono reverb to a stereo source. but it's a lot like a car that's nothing but an engine. Of course. You can use the Track Drop-Down Menu to "Split Stereo to Mono" then apply GVerb separately to each track. and Effect > Invert one of the channels. The typical problem with geeks writing free software: once they get something that proves they can solve an interesting puzzle. Edit > Duplicate it. with a rope for steering and a milk crate to sit on. . then apply GVerb to the tracks. There's nothing wrong with GVerb.little or none of the output of each channel should reach the opposite ear. So. they lose interest in making the software usable." Monty goes on to say that the GVerb's "room size" label is incorrect. Optionally you can use the L.. Playing will produce silence. For mono source material you could duplicate the mono track then apply subtly different GVerb settings to each of the two tracks to make a stereo effect. Criticisms Monty (one of the former Audacity developers) has this criticism of GVerb: "GVerb is more a building block that you could use to build a good reverb than it is actually a good reverb.. You can demonstrate that GVerb is a mono reverb by taking a mono track. As a result. the position of individual instruments in the stereo field tends to become more diffuse. too much reverb may be added for reproduction through speakers. which is primarily the long tail echo.350 0. Anwida sounds good at almost any setting. which sound pretty bad unless the settings are just so. in order to keep the reverb from getting too muddy. You need the VST version for Audacity .see below for how to install VST effects in Audacity." An increase in Mix can be accompanied by a decrease in Decay. Anwida also sells a full version with more reverb types and more parameters. Alternative reverb plug-ins Anwida and Freeverb mentioned below are stereo reverbs. Unlike other reverbs I have tried. The difference in Predelay can be subtle.you might get this to work on Intel Macs with slow performance under Rosetta. Anwida Soft DX Reverb Light User report: An alternative great sounding free reverb is Anwida Soft DX Reverb Light.400 0.which is more about "close" reflections than what most people think of as reverb.500 0.7 or later. Downloads: Windows Mac OS X (PowerPC only) . Note that Rosetta cannot be used on Mac OS X 10.000 The only drawback to Anwida is that the volume setting maximum of 1. chaotic and corny sounding.000 pretty much always . Really the two most important parameters are Mix (wet level) and Decay. fairly subtle natural sounding reverb (I use it on stereo miked classical guitar) try starting with the following settings: MIX PREDELAY DECAY LP CUT VOLUME 0. but the free version sounds excellent and its simplicity makes it hard to get a bad result while minimizing your fiddling-around time. you just have to decide how much is enough.100 1. but is the main determination of "room size. Settings: For a good acoustic. Freeverb2 Only a tabular interface is provided. VST effects in Audacity required the additional VST Enabler. You can obtain the latest Audacity version for your system here. See the Freeverb2 help from the 1. though the waveform graph will look a little smaller and have lower peaks. Some users find Freeverb easier than GVerb to get a decentsounding reverb with minimal time spent.dll file (or . On Mac OS X. but this is no longer required. Downloads Original Freeverb Clone of original Freeverb by Christian Budde for Windows (VST) Original Freeverb for Mac OS X (Audio Units) Original Freeverb for Linux (VST) . It now comprises a suite of different reverb effects including an impulse response (IR) convolution reverb plus a soft knee/hard knee compressor and soft knee/hard knee limiter.2 Audacity Manual.results in a slight loss of volume. On Windows computers. Then .See help for using VST plug-ins on Linux. Freeverb Freeverb was originally coded by Jezar at Dreampoint. the installation folder is usually under "Program Files".8.so file on Mac OS X) in the Audacity Plug-Ins folder inside the Audacity installation folder.3. Freeverb 2 was the reverb plug-in used in earlier versions of Audacity.alternative implementation of Freeverb 2 with graphical display and presets Freeverb3 Freeverb3 is the latest version of Freeverb. Freeverb2 for Windows (VST) Freeverb 2 for Mac OS X (VST) FreeverbToo for Windows (VST) . place the Freeverb . Using current Audacity. Freeverb 3 VST Binaries for Windows and Mac OS X Freeverb 3 Source Code (needs compiling) LADSPA Computer Music Toolkit includes a LADSPA version of Freeverb 3 for Linux Installation (VST) Until Audacity 1. it is usually under "Applications". Actually the perceived volume is about the same. and restart Audacity. then drag the vst-bridge.dll file (or .go to the Effects tab of Audacity Preferences. place the Freeverb . To extract Freeverb on OS X from the . Installation (Mac OS X Audio Units) Audio Units plug-ins require Mac OS X 10. then Freeverb will be visible underneath the divider in the Effect menu. Double-click the downloaded .3. check "Rescan VST effects next time Audacity is started".dmg containing Freeverb and drag the plug-in files into either: /Library/Audio/Plug-ins/LADSPA or ~/Library/Audio/Plug-ins/LADSPA.dmg file to mount it. Restart Audacity. Freeverb will be visible underneath the divider in the Effect menu. On Windows computers.1. You can obtain the latest Audacity version for your system here.so file inside the . Using legacy Audacity prior to 1.3 or later and any Audacity version after 1. On Mac OS X.sit folder. set the installation path for the Enabler to the Audacity Plug-Ins folder as above. the installation folder is usually under "Program Files". On Mac OS X. If you need a utility to extract Freeverb from the zip.8. Page Discussion View source History Search Go Search Log in Navigation Wiki Home Page Tutorials Tips Feature Requests Release Notes .dmg into the Audacity Plug-Ins folder as above. try 7-Zip. Download the Windows VST Enabler or OS X VST Enabler as appropriate. double-click the .so file on OS X) in the Audacity Plug-Ins folder inside the Audacity installation folder. tryStuffit.3. On Windows. it is usually under "Applications". Privacy policy About Audacity Wiki Disclaimers . 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