With two decades of software releases behind it, UVI is a name familiar to many in the music production world. Though they're probably best known for the do-it-all, uber-soft-synth Falcon, the company also makes some stellar audio effects, like Tape Suite and Shade.
UVI's debut effects plugin was Sparkverb, an algorithmic reverb released in 2014 that the company recently gave a significant update in the form of Sparkverb 1.5. And though it's typically priced at $79, you can grab Sparkverb for nothing over at KVR Audio right now by signing up for a free membership.
Capable of delivering everything from "natural-sounding spaces to infinite shimmering ambiences", Sparkverb is a versatile and CPU-friendly reverb that will come in useful across a variety of contexts, and it's got a few tricks up its sleeve too.
Article continues belowAt the centre of Sparkverb's interface is a handy spectral editor that can be used to sculpt the reverb's frequency content, but if you hit the Preset Voyager button up in the top-right corner, this will be replaced by a constellation of coloured icons that represents all of the plugin's factory and user presets, arranged according to similarity.
This exploratory approach to preset browsing allows you to morph between multiple presets by voyaging through the cloud with your cursor
This exploratory approach to preset browsing allows you to morph between multiple presets by voyaging through the cloud with your cursor – it's a nice way to land on unexpected combinations that you may never have stumbled on otherwise. There are also Randomize and Mutate functions that are useful for the same thing, and you're able to lock any of Sparkverb's parameters in place while experimenting to control the chaos.
Along with standard controls for Size, Shape, Modulation, Width and Diffusion, Sparkverb offers frequency-dependent decay shaping via high- and low-frequency multipliers, with adjustable crossover points and switchable filtering modes for those bands.
Sparkverb also offers a choice of three distinct reverb algorithms: Bright is an airy and precise tone with more presence in the top-end, Dark has a more natural and tonally subdued sound, and Lo-fi introduces characterful artifacts that resemble vintage hardware.
In our review of Sparkverb, we described the plugin as a "serious all-rounder, capable of invoking all manner of virtual spaces, from tight ambiences to concert halls and vast 'deep space'-style effects. As well as sounding fantastic, it's one of the most immediately creative reverb plugins we've come across to date."
If you're on the hunt for a flexible workhorse reverb to augment your DAW's stock tools or even add to an existing collection, then you could do much worse than Sparkverb – I have it loaded up on a reverb bus in my default Ableton Live template, and it's never let me down.
If you already have an account with KVR, this is a no-brainer of a download, and even if you don't, it's still worth getting involved, as long as you're happy to provide an email address. Don't hang about though: the giveaway ends on April 12th.
Head over to KVR Audio's website to download UVI SparkVerb 1.5
Check out a demo video below with Venus Theory.
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