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One Best Reverb Plugin to Rule Them All? Well, Not Exactly... But These 3 Reverb Plugins Are a Great Place to Start Your Quest!

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The best reverb plugin for music producers?  No such thing!

That said,  if you're looking for a good place to start your reverb plugin collection as a new producer then the 3 plugins you discover below will serve as a good shortlist to start with.

A quick note about this series:

The purpose of this series of posts is to provide you with only 3 good DAW audio plugin choices for the different types of available professional music production plugins.

This, as you can imagine, is no easy task given the sheer amount of plugins available in most of the various audio plugin categories.  Some really excellent contenders had to be left on the virtual cutting-room floor.

Why not just list more?

That would've been the easier option for me, but there are countless blog posts listing the 20 or 10 "best [.....] plugins".  While these types of posts have their place and purpose they can still leave you with a bit of overwhelm when it comes to making a choice. Even more so when you start comparing plugin features.

So, the general idea of these posts is...

... to narrow-down to just  3 top contenders in each of the popular DAW plugin categories.  This means you can start with a solid shortlist and demo the plugins which appeal to you most, knowing that these have been selected for good reasons.

So, how are the included plugins selected?

Nothing too scientific.  It's a mix of my what I've picked up in my experience in audio and music for the past 20-ish years, coupled with some light research on sites with ratings and reviews and various lengthy "what's the best plugin for... ?" music production and audio forum posts.  You know the ones. ;-)

So, you can think of it as my opinion plus a bit.  Take it with a grain of salt as you would with any opinion about music production software and gear in general. My hope is you'll find the 3 recommended plugins in each category a good starting point and find the plugin that suits you best,  faster.

Can One Ever Have Enough Reverb Plugins?

OK,  you know and I know, reverb is an essential part of what makes a track and mix work.

From creating a sense of overall space to pushing back a certain sound or instrument to making your vocals sit well in your mix, one cannot underestimate the importance of a good-sounding reverb.

This post won't focus on specialized reverb plugins that do one job well.  Instead you'll uncover 3 great reverbs that can serve more as all-rounder, go-to, workhorse plugins.

This post also focuses on electronic or dance music production styles.  So, that's another thing to keep in mind.

1. VintageVerb by Valhalla DSP

VintageVerb Screenshot

It's little wonder that many producers think VintageVerb is the best reverb plugin for electronic music production.

Yes, it sounds great and "expensive". Yes, it also gives you access to classic digital reverb sounds of yesteryear while at the same time being able to give you a more modern aesthetic.  Add to that the very decent price point and you've got yourself a pretty clear winner for your go-to reverb plugin.

The current version at the time of writing gives you access to 18 different reverb algorithms:

  • Concert Hall
  • Bright Hall
  • Plate
  • Room
  • Chamber
  • Random Space
  • Chorus Space
  • Ambience
  • Sanctuary
  • Dirty Hall
  • Dirty Plate
  • Smooth Plate
  • Smooth Room
  • Smooth Random
  • Nonlin
  • Chaotic Hall
  • Chaotic Chamber
  • Chaotic Neutral

So,  you can go from more colored reverbs with tons of character to more transparent throughput in one plugin.

Will it be the only reverb you need?  Of course not,  but it comes pretty darn close to being just that!

VintageVerb is available on Windows and Mac OS and has a demo version available so you can try it before you buy it.

Check out VintageVerb here right now.

2. Pro-R by FabFilter

Pro-R Screenshot

You may know FabFilter for their popular Pro-Q EQ plugin that has fast become one of the firm favorites among producers.  Well, Pro-R may not have had the same popularity but it shouldn't be overlooked...

If you want a versatile and very tweak-able all-rounder then Pro-R fits the bill.

The thing that really stands out to me, apart from the fact that it sounds real good,  is that it's so easy to dial in the reverb you want and get it to work well in your mix, fast.  The GUI has been designed so that even complete beginners will understand what does what with parameters like Brightness, Character and Distance.

The Space control knob allows you to move smoothly between different room models so you can create the space you that fits into your mix fast and easy.

Now, sure if you want character or specialized reverb sounds like plate or spring verbs then you may want to look elsewhere.  For everything else, Pro-R can easily become your go-to best reverb plugin of choice.

Pro-R is available in Mac OS and Windows and a trial version is available.

Check out Pro-R here right now. (affiliate link)

3. MTurboReverb by MeldaProduction

MTurboVerb Screenshot

This choice may surprise some veterans but there's a good reason for the inclusion.  It's the best reverb plugin if you want to actually get your hands dirty with designing your own reverbs.

Sure, MTurboReverb comes with 100 reverbs out the box and if that's enough for you then you may want to have a look at the LE version which costs a bit less. If you however like the idea of designing your own reverbs then the full version gives you exactly what you need.

Now admittedly, this plugin may be overkill for beginners.  That said,  there's no reason why even newer producers cannot dig in and program unique reverbs,  if that's what's called for. 

The fun doesn't stop there however.  The creative possibilities of this reverb plugin are mind-blastingly delicious!

Yes, you get access to the standard room, halls, plates and even ethereal verbs you know and love.  You also however get to seriously mangle things up with feedback structures that allow you to pass your sounds through modulators, saturators and pitch shifters among other things.

This isn't the best reverb plugin for the faint-hearted producer.  The learning curve, while manageble, isn't in the same ballpark as other, simpler plugins on the market.

If you however want to get stuck in and like the idea of coming up with unique and interesting reverb, and more,  then make sure to try out this beast of a reverb plugin today.

MTurboReverb is available on MacOS and Windows and a free trial is available too.

Check out MTurboReverb here right now. (affiliate link)

The Best Reverb Plugin - Conclusion:

The 3 reverb plugins you've discovered in this post are an excellent starting point.

That said, I know that sometimes you want to explore your options before you decide to splash some cash on plugins.

So, if you want to uncover more possibilities then...

... check out Plugin Boutique's selection of reverb plugins, sorted by highest rating for your convenience here.

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