Valhalla: Supermassive

Valhalla is no secret in the audio plugin community. Their fan favourites VintageVerb and Shimmer are widely used by mix engineers and producers all over the world. However, what might be less know is how well one of their freebie plugins stands up to its paid counterparts. For me, Supermassive is not only one of the best sounding reverbs and delays, but also an incredible sound design tool and modulation effects plugin all wrapped up into one. Its features include your usual wet/dry mix, delay time, feedback and EQ, to give you a flexible delay plugin with a simple, accessible layout. Once you dig deeper, you find the WARP knob, which affects the ratio between multiple delays, relative to the initial delay time. With this, you can simulate the reflections of a space, and create luscious reverbs. A simple modulation module featuring rate and depth allows you to give your reverb/delay some extra thickness with some chorus and flanger effects.

If I could give this plugin a 6/5 rating for value for money, I would, because for me it can do so many jobs simultaneously, whilst sounding much more musical than other similar plugins. My favourite trick with Supermassive is to take any sound or texture I like, regardless of its note duration or length, and apply the Planetarium preset to it. You'll be astounded at what this plugin does to your simple sound source as it creates an atmosphere that seamlessly pours into the gaps of your mix. An example of this will be a track (Harari) on my upcoming release (Journeyman) where I compose an entire piece using just my Arturia MicroBrute analog synth and Supermassive, resulting in a gorgeous ambient soundscape. Overall, there isn't really any reason you shouldn't pick up this gem, as it is free, and is incredible versatile in its uses.

Final Review:

Value for money: 4/5

Sound Quality: 5/5

Ease of use: 3/5

Overall: 4/5