OPEN / plugin 06
algorithmic reverb for electronic music.
designed for synthesis and drum machines. not another plate emulation.
a reverb that hears the mix. 5 knobs. now in limited beta.
the idea
one knob, two opposite reverbs.
OPEN analyses your dry signal across 40 ERB bands and shapes the reverb tail band by band. what it does with that analysis is a single continuous control: BLOOM.
invisible
at low BLOOM the loud bands get shorter reverb. the tail carves itself out of the way of the source, so the reverb adds depth without masking the mix. no decay-EQ, no ducker to set up.
exposed
at high BLOOM the same analysis runs in reverse. loud bands get long reverb, sustaining the source’s spectral signature as a dark wash. at the top the tail is effectively infinite: the source becomes the ambience.
at the centre of the range OPEN is a flat, classical reverb with no spectral awareness. a reference point, not the default.
the characters
three spaces to reach for.
each character re-voices the whole engine: diffusion, damping, modulation, and tone, not just the decay time. switch with one click.
ROOM
a bright, short space. tight diffusion, quick decay, a lifted top end. air around a sound without washing it out.
the shortest of the three. a slight low-frequency roll and an open top, for width and depth on drums, keys, and plucks.
HALL
natural-hall absorption. a longer tail with the high end rolling off the way a real room eats it. the classical reverb of the three.
warm low band, gentle high-frequency damping, a decay that keeps its shape. the one for pads, vocals, and sustained material.
CLOUD
a dark, drifting drone. heavy diffusion, low-frequency weight, slow modulation. the tail that becomes an instrument.
push BLOOM up and CLOUD turns into an effectively infinite pad built from whatever you feed it. the source becomes the ambience.
the controls
five knobs. no menus.
the whole reverb on the surface, the KERN way. no pages, no hidden racks.
DEPTH
how much reverb. the wet balance against your dry signal.
LENGTH
decay time. from a short slap to an effectively infinite tail as you reach the top of the range.
FOCUS
how hard OPEN reacts to the mix. up follows the source more aggressively; down for a static, classical response.
BLOOM
the character axis. from invisible (the reverb carves itself out of the way of the source) through flat, out to exposed (the source’s own spectrum sustained as a drone).
TONE
a tilt across the whole tail. darker to the left, brighter to the right. gentle, for sitting the reverb in the track.
features
what makes OPEN different.
01 / it listens to the dry signal
OPEN analyses your source across 40 ERB bands and shapes the tail per band. loud bands get shorter reverb, so the reverb ducks out of the way of the source instead of masking it. no manual decay-EQ, no ducker to dial in.
02 / invisible to exposed on one knob
BLOOM morphs continuously from a mix-aware reverb that sits under the source, through a flat classical reverb at the centre, out to an infinite drone built from the source's own spectrum. one control, two opposite reverbs.
03 / three characters
ROOM for a bright, short space. HALL for natural-hall absorption. CLOUD for a dark, drifting drone. each one re-voices the whole engine, not just the decay time.
04 / built for electronic sources
tuned on synths and drum machines, not sampled concert halls. the diffusion and modulation are set so pads bloom and drums keep their transients where plate emulations smear.
05 / no iLok. lifetime license.
offline forever, no account, no subscription. mac and windows together. the same terms as every KERN plugin.
specifications
the numbers.
limited beta / free while in beta / no iLok
apply for the OPEN beta.
OPEN is in limited beta, and i let people in a few at a time. put your name down below (tick "i want to beta test future plugins") and tell me what you make. if it's the kind of material OPEN is built for, i'll send you the mac + windows build. it's a real beta, so expect rough edges.
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