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TAL-REVERB-4 Review


Togu Audio Line 

TAL have been a favourite plug-in producer of mine for a long while. They have a large variety of paid and free plug-ins available to download from their website -

https://tal-software.com

This is a review of a free plug-in of theirs, the TAL-REVERB-4, which is a modulated vintage sounding reverb. After contacting Patrick Kunz of TAL, he state that it is the delay time that gets modulated in order to get the diffused sound. There are no controls to edit the modulation on this plug-in but the amount of modulation isn't very strong until you decide to push the size parameter.




GUI

TAL-Reverb-4 GUI
The GUI on this plug-in features an on/off button, wet, dry, pre-delay, Size, low cut filter and high cut filter. It certainly isn't the flashiest looking plug-in in the world but its utilitarian looks make it easy to use and intuitive to navigate.

The wet/dry controls give this reverb the ability to be used both directly on a channel and on an AUX/FX send. However, please bear in mind that you will only be able to use it on stereo channels as mono is not supported.

Sound

 To demonstrate the sounds of this vintage reverb, I decided to apply it to an 80's drum machine sounding snare drum and a saw wave arpeggio programmed on ProTools' native Vacuum synthesizer.
Both signals were run into an auxiliary channel in Pro Tools and the controls were tweaked in accordance to the sound.

Arpeggio
(Settings used to effect the arpeggio)

Audio Examples -

Dry Arpeggio
Wet Arpeggio

Even though the Hi-Cut has been used slightly in this example, the reverb does a lot for the high end in this arpeggio and adds an airiness to the sound that can't be found in the dry signal.

The TAL-REVERB-4 also adds a smoothness to the mid-range whilst opening up the sound to the stereo field in what I found to be a very natural way for such a synthetic sounding reverb.



Snare
(Settings used to effect the snare)
Audio Examples -

Dry Snare
Wet Snare

To demonstrate the TAL-REVERB-4 on a percussive sound, I decided to stick with the retro theme and apply it to an 80's sounding snare drum. The snare drum used can be found in a sample pack taken from Computer Music issue 219 by Groove Criminals entitled 80's heat. (If you haven't subscribed to Computer Music i would strongly suggest you do so!)

I decided to use a longer tail with no delay on the signal. The lo-cut and hi-cut parameters were also brought up slightly to give a toppier sound to the snare as the dry signal is quite dull. In this example you can also hear the modulation in the reverb as it tails off which compliments the already retro vibe of this snare drum.

Summary

I adore this reverb and will always try it out on anything that i think would be complimented by a longer tail and airier sounding synthetic reverb sound such as synths, guitars and snares. TAL-REVERB-4 should definitely not be considered an all-rounder but does do it's niche job to an excellent standard.

This plug-in is also FREE! I would highly recommend grabbing your download as soon as possible as you never know when you might need to add such a well replicated retro touch to your mix.

System requirements

Available on MAC as VST/AU & AAX
Available on PC as VST & AAX

Windows XP onwards (32/64 bit)
OSX 10.7 onwards (32/64 bit) (AAX Pro Tools 10.3.6 onwards)








- This is not an endorsed post and all opinions are that of the author

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