Rare Signals’ Transatlantic Plate Reverb plugin uses impulse responses from two different reverb plates to emulate the bright, present sound of a traditional plate reverb unit. There is a switch on the GUI to select either “US,” an American-made “The Plate” or switch to “EU” and get a vintage EMT 140ST plate formerly located at Bearsville Studio in Woodstock, NY. Both these plates were serviced and optimized and exceed the original units’ specifications.
I like both of these plates for all the same reasons that I would reserve certain “magical” EMT plates when working at studios in Hollywood and elsewhere. There are two magical plate reverbs sampled in Rare Signals’ Transatlantic Plate Reverb!
In the center of the GUI is a memorizing, artistic display that shows wavy, fluid shapes depending on the source you’re sending to it. For a calypso piano part in a TV music mix, I went with the US plate, the brighter of the two set short around the 1.5-second on the Decay control. This worked well to add a treble splash to the piano’s sound not possible with just EQ.
The brightness of either plate can be adjusted using the onboard Low Cut and High Cut controls to carve and contour the reverb anyway you like to fit your use. The Link button inversely links the low and high cut filters and controls—awesome feature.
Of the two, the EU plate is my favorite; its reverb seems to “melt” into and fill in the background with a smooth transparent lushness! It is not subtle but it also doesn’t scream REVERB either! I liked it for vocals over the US plate for that reason. I asked a couple of producer/engineers to try out Transatlantic Plate Reverb using their more modern and powerful Mac computers. The crew of testers was unanimous loving the warmth, lushness and depth of the EU plate. We have all agreed that we will definitely be using both plates in the Transatlantic Reverb in every mix from now on.
Rare Signals’ Transatlantic Plate Reverb sells for $149 MSRP download. There is a free 7-day trial version at the web site.
