Eventide Audio has released the ShimmerVerb plug-in, combining lustrous reverb with parallel pitch shifters to make a signal ‘shimmer.’
Previously, this effect has been achieved by using Eventide pitch-shifting hardware such as the H910, H949 or H3000 or other rackmount units in combination with a reverb, as popularised by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno on U2’s The Unforgettable Fire. In ShimmerVerb, this has been refined and extended under a unified interface for adding ambiance to guitars, keys, synths, samples and vocals.
Features have also been added, such as the ability to infinitely feedback the signal, resulting in cascading reverbs. Feedback can be further fine-tuned by specifying which frequencies are fed back through the low/mid/high crossover network.
ShimmerVerb’s ‘ribbon’ is an easy-to-program performance macro allowing users to morph between two completely different settings of any combination of controls. Desktop users can plug in a Midi keyboard and gain tactile command over this function via a modulation wheel. Ribbon mappings can be used for feedback swells, moving the Pitch knobs, or changing the room Size parameter for a massive detuning result. ShimmerVerb also boasts a HotSwitch for calling up another state of parameters inside the same preset, useful for changing octaves, turning off/on the pitch shifters, or turning the mix up or down during a performance. Finally, the Freeze button allows users to make smeared textures out of single voices, full pads, or percussive elements resulting in metallic ‘shimmers’.
ShimmerVerb features parallel pitch-shifters on the reverb tail that deliver perfect fourth, fifth and octave shifts within a full range of four octaves of pitch shifting (from two octaves down to two up), and MicroPitch tuning is available around perfect intervals. Pitched signals can be delayed up to one second or synched to a DAW’s tempo. The Feedback parameter determines how much delayed signal is fed back into the input of the reverb.
ShimmerVerb for Mac and PC supports VST, AAX and AU plug-in protocols. The iOS version of ShimmerVerb works as a standalone app, AudioUnit v3 plug-in, or Inter-App Audio effect.
