Utopia is a spectral reverb developed by ADPTR Audio that offers incredibly lush and smooth reverb or glitchy special FX suitable for a variety of applications. Before we have a look at this device, let’s clarify how this sort of processing differs from other techniques.
WHAT IS SPECTRAL PROCESSING?
Typical approaches to creating reverb involve using multiple delays and all-pass filters or, in the case of convolution reverbs, impulse response files to create the illusion of space. Spectral processing offers a different approach. The technique involves conversion processing, such as FFT (Fast Fourier Transform), to convert a time-domain signal into a frequency domain representation. (source)
The technique has been around for years and has only gotten better and faster with increases in CPU speed. Once the signal is converted, the data can be manipulated in various ways for such effects as pitch-shifting, time-stretching and expansion, resonance control, spectral blurring, etc. After analysis and manipulation, the result is converted back to an audio signal. What used to be limited to non-real-time processing now takes place in a fraction of a second with little latency, thanks to modern computing speeds. Utopia uses this approach to create lush and unique reverb effects.
ADPTR acknowledges the collaboration with Geraint Luff of Signalsmith Audio in developing the DSP for Utopia.
THE UTOPIA GUI OVERVIEW
The graphic design of Utopia has an elegant and clean look that invites users to tweak and adjust the reverb to taste. Along the top of the GUI are the primary reverb settings that include:
- Pre-Delay
- Stereo (width)
- Shape – a very cool parameter for adjusting decay and swell shapes. Each preset has a unique combination of decay, hold, and swell shapes programmed and described in the preset matrix.
- Decay Time
- Send (wet-dry mix)
- ER (early reflections level)
- Tail (reverb tail level)
Additional controls for syncing time settings to tempo, as well as a Freeze button (snowflake icon) can be found here. The ability to freeze the reverb effect is an awesome feature of spectral processing that can result in lush drones and sustained textures derived from the spectral content of the input signal. With some editing and a sampler instrument, you can use this feature to create samples that can be layered for harmonic and chordal content or used as the basis for a lead line.
Additional controls below that include:
- Motion
- Detune
- Shimmer
- Color
- Decay EQ
- Spectral
- Post EQ
- Mix Tools
- Auto Clear (a very cool parameter – read more below)
- Volume (Pump, Gate, or Duck)
Clicking on some of the settings will expose associated parameters for further tweaking.
VOLUME SETTINGS
The early reflections and reverb tail volume can be adjusted independently, linked, or inverted, which means as one level increases, the other decreases, allowing the user to move the effect forward or backward in the perceived space.
There are three types of post reverb volume shaping:
- Pump – side-chain pumping effect typical in EDM
- Gate – can be used as a chopping effect or basic noise gate
- Duck – to reduce reverb level while live input is present or triggered by a side-chain input
Triggering can be set to a side-chain input, audio or MIDI input, or be tempo-based.
Auto Clear – is a unique feature intended to eliminate frequency clashes between the reverb tail and new signal input. Turn the parameter up to increase its effect and reduce clutter. According to the developer:
…Utopia can identify which harmonics are common to new and old signals and which are different.
MOTION AND COLOR SETTINGS
The Color and Motion controls are what set spectral processing apart from other approaches to reverb. Clicking on these basic parameters exposes a host of tweakable settings that can help you dial in a very specific sound. I also like the fact that you can quickly audition up to three variations (A, B, C) for many of these settings as you experiment.
The Decay and Post EQ controls are helpful for sculpting the spectrum of the sound without the need for external EQs. They include up to 5 nodes and a welcome feature that displays MIDI note settings as well as frequency in hertz.
The Color and Spectral controls can create focused or more atmospheric textures based on your needs. The specific effects of the Spectral control knob are unique to each preset and the knob initiates interactions between several parameters under the hood such as Detune, Shimmer, Stereo width, Diffusion, Filters, and Spectral Block. The latter influences the number of harmonics used by the algorithm. As per the developer:
…longer blocks can produce more harmonically dense sounds, with slower blooms, while shorter blocks are snappier, and the harmonic density is less complex.
SEARCHABLE PRESET MATRIX
The robust preset matrix is searchable and intuitive, allowing for quick access to the sound you’re after. It is organized by Decay time and Groups such as the nature of the FX (ambience, chamber, etc.), instrument (guitar, bass, vocal, etc.), and special FX (LoFi, Glitch, etc.)
In addition, there are presets for other parameters, such as the Volume settings and Trigger controls mentioned above.
TWEAKABILITY
Utopia is highly tweakable for those who like to get their hands dirty. Aside from the parameters already mentioned, there is a Buffer Reset control that will instantly stop a reverb tail. This section also has a scope to visualize the sonic results as you manipulate the parameters of Utopia.
EXAMPLES
Some excellent examples can be found on the product page. Have a look at this product walk-through video from the developer:
CONCLUSIONS
You might be thinking, “I have several reverb plugins already—why do I need another one?” What Utopia offers is the tweakability of spectral processing with a GUI that keeps you focused on the music. It provides access to an enormous palette of sonic possibilities that will push you to abandon a set-and-forget mindset. This device can be viewed as an instrument as well as a spatial effects processor—capable of unique time-based textures that will inspire and breathe new life into your work. A beautiful device that sounds as good as it looks!
