Valhalla DSP has released version 3.0.0 of the free, multi KVR Readers' Choice Awards winner, ValhallaSupermassive reverb plugin, featuring two new reverb/delay modes, Leo And Virgo. These modes share neighboring Zodiac symbols, but that's about all they have in common. Leo is the biggest, lushest, densest mode in Supermassive, while Virgo is the smallest, grainiest, most spare reverb mode in the plugin.
Leo: The Most Massive Reverb In Supermassive
The new Leo mode is the most super massive-est of all the Supermassive modes. It has a very slow attack, a long to very long decay that is controlled by both Density and Feedback, and a high echo density, with balanced modulation. Leo interleaves the high and low EQ filters throughout the reverb network, which means that the reverb decay can be dark, shrill, bass heavy, whisper light, or just perfectly balanced. Valhalla DSP says Leo is ideal for big synthesizer sounds, as well as realistic cathedral sounds and other long reverbs.
Virgo: Sparse Reverb, or Complex Delay?
Virgo is the smallest and sparsest mode in Supermassive. It has a fast attack, and basically sounds and behaves like a stereo delay until the Density control is turned up. With higher Density settings, it still sounds like a grainy delay, that kinda sorta turns into a reverb. Virgo is great for pointillistic echoes, spring-ish reverb sounds, and other sparse effects that create more space around your sounds. While Leo produces a lush wash of sound, Virgo allows you to hear the space between the echos.
Presets
The LATE 2023 preset folder is full of presets that show off the Leo and Virgo modes. Valhalla DSP recommend using these presets as the jumping point for your own explorations.
ValhallaSupermassive was launched in May 2020, and was originally intended as a home for reverb algorithms that didn't fit into the standard categories. Supermassive 1.0.0 had 8 reverb/delay modes, and every update has added a few more modes. Version 3.0.0 has twenty unique modes, covering a huge variety of reverbs, echoes, and just weird effects.
The last few updates of Supermassive have seen the introduction of increasingly musical algorithms. As I've spent more time with the "weirdo" algorithms of the first few Supermassive revisions, I've learned how to tame them: adding more filtering, increasing the baseline echo density, balancing the modulation, creating a more open sound. The last two revisions introduced my favorite Supermassive algorithms: Aquarius and Pisces for "echoverbs," and Scorpio and Libra for multipurpose "generalist" reverbs that sound good on everything. The new Leo and Virgo modes in Supermassive 3.0.0 carry on with the improvements of the last few revisions, and extend them to huge and tiny reverbs.
I've loved working on Supermassive over the past few years. Since Supermassive is a free plugin, I don't feel the pressure to make things perfect that I do with the paid plugins. With less pressure, I'm able to experiment with new things, and try out ideas that might be too weird otherwise. All that being said, the last few rounds of Supermassive research have resulted in algorithms that refine some of the original concepts, and just make them better.
Sean Costello, Valhalla DSP
As always, Valhalla Supermassive is a free plugin, available for both Windows and Intel/ARM Macs.
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