Arturia Rev Ocean

If you like reverb tails that build and bloom, it’s well worth diving into this Ocean...

Supporting all the usual Mac/Windows plug‑in formats, Arturia Rev Ocean is an algorithmic reverb. We might have seen plenty of those, but this one offers us something different, and should be appreciated particularly by those creating downtempo music, with plenty of space between notes in which the reverb tail can evolve and blossom. Certainly, it’s a perfect fit for the ‘ambient hippy music’ I like to make on occasion!

Key Controls

The GUI is clean, with surprisingly few but pleasingly interactive controls. An ever‑changing cloud visualiser display front and centre adds some visual interest. There are some truly lovely reverb effects to be had, and some are very different from what you might expect a typical algorithmic reverb to serve up.

Three reverb modes, Abyss, Foam and Tide, determine how the reverb tail evolves, and whichever you select, a fader above the mode name ranges from ‘straight reverb’ to ‘full‑on character’. Size, Decay and Brightness knobs control the key reverb parameters, and are joined by settings for Pre Delay (which can sync to the project tempo), Ducking and stereo Width. A further parameter, Transient, affects the wet sound only, and smooths the transients before they hit the reverb engine — this gives the reverb a smoother feel, which can help the dry sound to remain more present. Input Filter sets upper and lower frequency limits (again only for the signal feeding the reverb engine), and separate controls set the Wet signal volume and the wet/dry Mix.

If there’s reverb‑tail modulation in the patch, this will continue when Freeze mode is engaged.

Fluidity

When the mode fader is turned up, the fluid nature of the reverb tails adds subtle movement that’s most obvious when using longer decay times and larger size settings. Conventional decay times can be anything up to a minute, but set Decay to maximum and you can also ‘freeze’ the reverb tail. Intriguingly, if there’s reverb‑tail modulation in the patch (the key to which lies in those three modes), this will continue when Freeze mode is engaged, so it’s super easy to create continuously shifting ambient beds.

Abyss is the more dramatic of the three modes. This brings in layered reverse textures combined with pitch‑shifting, to create a harmonically rich, evolving tail that seems to incorporate elements of both shimmer‑style reverb and reverse delay. But it has an ever‑changing character too, and can turn a simple piano line into an ambient epic, with hints of ghostly strings and disembodied voices appearing in the tail. The effect is reminiscent of some granular effects, but it’s rather more subtle than those.

Tide gives the reverb a fairly fast attack (which the Transient control can smooth) and uses modulated filtering for smooth spectral changes, somewhat reminiscent of slightly filtered synth strings. Less dramatic than Abyss, it still adds far more interest than a straightforward reverb. Foam, another useful alternative, creates a softer swelling reverb texture that builds and blooms after the original note. As the Size control approaches maximum, picked sounds or those with sharp transients hint at subtle echo‑like repeats in the reverb tail. This can sound very appealing, but if it’s not what you want (eg. if treating drums or percussion) you can use Transient to soften the attack of the reverb’s input signal.

Interestingly, the Size and Decay controls interact: if you set up a long decay time then reduce the size, the decay will be shortened. The way the reverb tails evolve varies enormously depending on the size setting, so it brings more variety than you might expect, whichever mode you’ve chosen. Using the slider above the mode selector to control the strength of the tail processing offers further scope for fine‑tuning the effect, and when pulled right down the quality of the unmodulated reverb remains impressively smooth and musical.

Rev Ocean Devotion?

No matter where I put the controls, I was hard pushed to get an unusable sound out of Rev Ocean and I found that it combined with Arturia’s EFX Ambient plug‑in to create a hugely impressive range of textural effects. If you simply need to add a touch of plate reverb to a vocal or snare, Arturia offer other suitable reverb plug‑ins. But for ambient, cinematic or shoegaze genres, Rev Ocean is a perfect fit that combines wonderfully fluid, musically supportive reverb effects with ease of use.