Laptop Studio — Music software reviews, news and info for computer music

25 July 2005

GigaPulse VST — convolving reverb plugin

Filed under: Music software at 12:24 pm (2 comments)
gigapulse

Tascam are about to release GigaPulse VST, their convolving reverb VST plugin. As expected, this allows you to model the reverb from real-life rooms of various sizes and types. It also allows you to model the effects of different microphones, either standalone or combined with room modelling.

On this topic, here’s a quick plug(in) for the SIR Impulse Response Processor, a free convolving reverb plugin. Definitely worth trying to get a feel for how convolving reverb works and sounds. And did I mention it’s free?

As for Tascam’s offering, here’s their press release blurb: Taking advantage of TASCAM’s latest DSP technology, GigaPulse is the first VST plug-in for Windows from TASCAM. Using convolving technology, which essentially “samples” a room or acoustic body, GigaPulse can emulate any room, vintage EQ or microphone. With features like mic modeling, selectable room position and tail extension, GigaPulse sets new standards for reverb plug-ins.

“GigaPulse adds new life to sampled sounds by placing them in a real acoustic environment,” says Pete Snell, GigaStudio Sales and Marketing Manager. “The convolving technology found in GigaPulse blows away traditional reverb plug-ins, and the ability to place a sound in any location of a room gives the mixer an unmatched amount of creative possibilities.”

GigaPulse goes beyond most convolving reverb plug-ins with its built-in mic modeling, which can change the quality of the reverb recording or can be used on its own to add vintage microphone warmth to your recordings. The user can select the position of the sound source in the room with a 2-dimensional grid, the perfect effect for orchestral arrangements and other spacious mixes. And Tail Control technology reduces the processing load on the computer, allowing more instances of the plug-in to be used.

  • Acoustic space modeling via exclusive convolving algorithms
  • Create new impulses from your own recordings
  • 2D mic/source placement – move your source to up to 18 locations in a room
  • Microphone modeling can be applied to the environment or used alone
  • Tail Control reduces computer processing load to free up your CPU for more instances
  • “Move” the mic using the Perspective slider, controlling the reverb amount while maintaining phase and stereo imaging
  • Impulse libraries will be available from TASCAM, or download numerous freeware impulses from the Internet.
2 Comments
  1. […] Mix magazine reviews the Tascam GigaStudio 3 software sampler. “GigaStudio 3 addresses previous versions’ shortcomings while adding some great new features” such as the GigaPulse convolution reverb. This feature adds a lot of processor overhead, but “even with Giga 2, you could get a lot of mileage out of a single computer loaded with 1.5 to 2 GB of RAM. … Giga 3’s memory access has improved considerably.” A good thing too, because the convolution impulse processor is used extensively: “for example, the new GigaPiano 2 uses impulses instead of piano samples to create the pedal-down and release/staccato resonance effects.” […]

    Tascam GigaStudio 3 — Mix review on 29 August 2005 at 4:12 pm

  2. […] Of course, they also talk at length about GigaPulse, Tascam’s convolution-based reverb, which is included in the top-of-the-line GigaStudio Orchestra under review. The full reverb plug-in is not included in GigaStudio Ensemble or GigaStudio Solo, but these programs include the GigaPulse playback engine, so you do get fancy reverb when playing instruments that have been encoded with GigaPulse. As for the reverb quality, they are emphatic: “In the final analysis, how does GigaPulse sound? In a word: fantastic. … In short, this is a great reverb for all seasons, and it should serve nicely as the primary processor for most projects.” […]

    Tascam GigaStudio 3 — Electronic Musician review on 29 August 2005 at 4:46 pm

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