Eventide’s new ShimmerVerb plug-in combines a shiny and bright reverb with parallel pitch shifters. ShimmerVerb is based on the Shimmer algorithm originally from Eventide’s Space pedal and also in the Eventide H9000. ShimmerVerb produces a dreamy ambient space for guitars, keys, synths, samples and vocals. There is an additional feedback control that goes to 100 and can be “frozen” for producing cascading reverbs that will blur sound infinitively. Feedback can be further fine-tuned by specifying which frequencies are fed back through the low/mid/high crossover network.
My first test was to compare the ShimmerVerb plug-in with Shimmer in my H9000. After duplicating all the settings from the plug-in’s default “ShimmerVerb” preset to the Shimmer algorithm in the H9000, I found it hard to tell the difference! There are a couple of controls/parameters not shared between the two but the parameter names are the same and have the same range(s) of control.
Amazing as well, the ShimmerVerb plug-in has playable, performance-based parameters. The HotSwitch is for selecting an instant change in parameters by clicking on it (after programming it) or using your MIDI controller.
I plugged in a MIDI keyboard and controlled the Ribbon feature using my keyboard’s modulation wheel. There are Ribbon mappings for Feedback swells, changing the Pitch knobs and more. The Freeze button allows users to build textures from single voice inputs. Synth pads and percussive instruments will take on a metallic shimmering effect!
I thought the parallel pitch-shifters on the reverb tail that deliver perfect fourth, fifth and octave shifts sounded very glamorous—like “icing” on the effect cake! There is a range of four octaves of pitch shifting that further blurs the pitch center by using Micro-Pitch tuning. Like the H9000 algorithm, pitched audio can be delayed up to one second or synched to a DAW’s session tempo.
ShimmerVerb for Mac and PC runs VST, AAX, and AU plug-in formats and sells for $99.
