Like many musicians and sound designers, I am always looking for new tools to help me realize my latest project. I decided to try the Zynaptiq Adaptiverb since it was advertised as a non-standard type of reverb. I have been using it now for about two weeks and my impression is that this processor isn't a reverb at all in the conventional sense. For example, if you process a piano line with adaptiverb, it behaves more like the aftertouch in a synth, that is, it adds a backing choir-like or string effect behind the original signal. There is a huge library of ready-to-use presets and the parameters of each can be adjusted with several controls. The richness and breathiness controls are particularly useful in this regard. Put simply, they are sort of like bass and treble controls but are more delicately defined. The dry/wet mix allows you to add just the right amount of effect to the original signal. Overall, the amount of control and the quality of the sounds is very good and I would certainly recommend this product, especially if you already have several reverb plug-ins and are looking for something unique.

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With Adaptiverb, Zynaptiq have crafted a reverb that sounds excellent and has a best-in-class, intuitive interface. That alone is worth the price of admission but they have taken it a step further with their adaptive technology which magically seats the reverberations perfectly in the mix. I'm thinking it's the first plugin I own that went straight away into my "Favorites" plugin folder after initial testing and it just might be my choice if I could only use one reverb plugin.

OK, fine...yes, you can use this as a reverb, for which it can serve very nicely, adding smooth tails albeit ones devoid of T60-type reflection behavior. But if you just used it for that, you'd be missing the point! It's far more interesting when you take it beyond that capability, where it becomes a multi-talented tool for...well, if you're familiar with using charcoals and/or pastels in visual art, you have something akin to various 'smudging' tools that take hard edges and blur them out, or which can be used to add gradiated shadings, or where colors can be blended in a single gesture. So with that, no, it's NOT a reverb plugin, but becomes a tool for altering/creating atmospherics, smearing sounds out across time, defocussing clearly heard elements into a blur, all the while retaining the overall spectra of the original input. And it's deep -- NOT simple, but a super-capable tool with loads of deep-dive control and trickery. Just don't take it as a one-trick plugin like a simple reverb, and you'll be well-rewarded!

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I've been blown away by the sound of this reverb for some time now, but it is extremely CPU intensive. I tried the demo when it first came out, but declined buying at the reduced intro price because it produced noticeable clicks and pops on my 2012 maxed out Mac Pro Tower. Then, a few months later Zynaptiq announced an update that went easier on your CPU and I immediately regretted my decision. So when they announced a Summer sale on Adaptiverb I jumped on it. This reverb is more like Sound Design than a reverb. It adds character to any sound you use it on and should be used accordingly as it becomes "part" of the sound itself. This would suggest using it as an insert effect instead of a send effect as you would normally do with a reverb. But alas! The Adaptiverb is STILL too CPU intensive for this kind of use. Any more than one instance of this plug will definitely cause major disruption of the audio signal on my (still fairly powerful) machine. Even just one instance of it requires using the highest buffer setting in Pro Tools 12.7! So using it while you record your sounds becomes almost impossible due to latency. This is unfortunate because this is really the way I would love to use it. So, I'm back to waiting for an even more efficient version or for Apple to come up with a better approach to a professional workstation than the "trashcan" Mac Pro. I hear they may announce a "modular computer" for the professional user this Autumn. I will wait and listen and hope for that, because this is one incredible reverb. The sound I've always heard "in my head" for years and years.

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Imagine disassembling your signal and using artificial intelligence-driven algorithms to control many, many oscillators to produce previously-impossible training effects. The folks at Zynaptiq have outdone themselves. This is much more than a reverb emulation. Although the first-time experimenter may get sidetracked exploring the rich possibilities of dynamically-evolving drones, this is a flexible must-have power tool for creative and imaginative sound designers.