Valhalla SuperMassive

Valhalla SuperMassive is a free reverb and delay plugin from renowned developer Valhalla DSP. Released in May 2020, SuperMassive has been designed from the ground up to create massive, lush, and otherworldly reverb and delay effects. It features 20 unique reverb/delay modes, each with its own distinct character.

Some key things to know about Valhalla SuperMassive:

- It's completely free to download and use, with no strings attached. Just download it and start creating huge soundscapes.

- The plugin is available for Windows and Mac (Intel/ARM) in VST, AU and AAX formats. 

- SuperMassive has been continuously updated since its initial release, expanding from 8 original modes to the current 20. Recent updates have focused on adding more refined and musical algorithms.

- As an experimental plugin, SuperMassive allows Valhalla to try out creative ideas without the same pressure as their commercial plugins. But the latest updates have yielded excellent general-purpose algorithms.

## The Valhalla SuperMassive Interface

SuperMassive features an intuitive interface designed to provide a lot of sonic complexity with a relatively simple set of controls. Here's a quick overview:

- MODE: The most important control. It selects between the 20 available algorithms, each with distinct attack, sustain and decay characteristics. More on the modes later.

- MIX: Controls the wet/dry balance. 0% is fully dry, 100% is fully wet. There's also a MIX LOCK to keep the mix constant while browsing presets.

- WIDTH: Adjusts the stereo width of the wet signal. 100% is full stereo, 0% is mono, negative values flip the left and right channels.

- DELAY: Sets the length of the longest delay line, from 0 to 2000 ms. This can be synced to tempo.

- WARP: Affects the spacing of the delays relative to the DELAY time. Lower values give distinct echoes, higher values smear the delays into dense reverb.

- FEEDBACK: Controls the amount of signal fed from the output back into the input. Higher values lead to longer decay times.

- DENSITY: Adjusts the perceived number of echoes. 0% has the delays in parallel, 100% has them fully mixed for maximum density.

- MOD RATE & DEPTH: These control pitch modulation of the delays for chorusing and detuning effects.

- HIGH & LOW CUT: Simple EQ controls to shape the sound.

## The Modes of Valhalla SuperMassive

The heart of SuperMassive's flexibility is its 20 modes, each an algorithm with a unique structure of delay lines and feedback paths. Here's a quick overview of each mode and what it excels at:

- GEMINI: Fast attack, short decay, high density. A good general-purpose reverb.

- HYDRA: Fast attack, short decay, density varies from echoes to lush reverb. 

- CENTAURUS: Medium attack, long decay, medium to high density. Huge reverbs.

- SAGITTARIUS: Slow attack, long decay, high density. Massive reverbs that swell over time.

- GREAT ANNIHILATOR: Medium attack, very long decay, medium to high density. Enormous spaces.

- ANDROMEDA: Slowest attack, very long decay, highest density. Gigantic, slow-building washes.

- LYRA: Fast attack, short decay, low density. Sparse, clean echoes.

- CAPRICORN: Fast attack, short decay, medium density. Grainy echoes and small spaces.

- LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD: Long reverb with very long repeating echoes. Expansive soundscapes.

- TRIANGULUM: Similar to LMC but even longer and denser. Cavernous, evolving spaces.

- CIRRUS MAJOR & MINOR: Low to medium density, fast attack, strange repeating patterns. Unusual metallic and resonant effects.

- CASSIOPEIA & ORION: Low initial density building to huge reverbs, fast attack, resonant overtones. Lush pads and drones.

- AQUARIUS & PISCES: Dedicated "EchoVerb" algorithms that transition from distinct delays into dense reverb as the DENSITY is increased. PISCES is larger.

- SCORPIO & LIBRA: Fast attack, high density, cross-channel feedback and decay filtering. Balanced and versatile "workhorse" reverbs. LIBRA has a longer decay.

- LEO (new in 3.0): Slowest attack, longest decay, highest density, decay filtering. The biggest and lushest mode, great for synths and realistic spaces.

- VIRGO (new in 3.0): Fastest attack, shortest decay, lowest density, decay filtering. The smallest and sparsest mode, good for grainy delays and ambience.

## Using Valhalla SuperMassive

SuperMassive excels at everything from conventional halls, rooms and plates to esoteric sound design effects. Here are some tips to get the most out of it:

- Start with the GEMINI, SCORPIO or LIBRA modes for bread-and-butter reverb duties. Adjust the DELAY, WARP and DENSITY to dial in the right size and decay.

- For classic delays, use LYRA or CAPRICORN with the WARP low and FEEDBACK and DENSITY to taste. Sync the DELAY to tempo for rhythmic effects.

- The AQUARIUS and PISCES modes are great for delays that diffuse into reverb. Set the DELAY for quarter or half notes and turn up the DENSITY.

- For huge, slow-building atmospheric pads and soundscapes, try CENTAURUS, SAGITTARIUS, GREAT ANNIHILATOR or ANDROMEDA with long DELAY times and high FEEDBACK and DENSITY.

- The LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD and TRIANGULUM modes with high DELAY and FEEDBACK create expansive spaces with distinct echoes that trail off forever.

- CIRRUS MAJOR/MINOR, CASSIOPEIA and ORION yield metallic, resonant and abstract effects. Automate the WARP for evolving textures.

- The new LEO mode is perfect for huge synth patches and realistic large spaces. VIRGO works great for small ambiences and grainy delays.

- Don't sleep on the MOD RATE and DEPTH. Subtle modulation adds life to reverbs, while high RATE and DEPTH create detuned and chorused special effects.

- The HIGH and LOW CUT filter the decay only, so you can drastically change the frequency response over time. Cut lows for floating shimmers, cut highs for dark rumbles.

## Conclusion

Valhalla SuperMassive is an incredibly powerful and diverse free reverb plugin. Its 20 modes run the gamut from pristine halls and plates to esoteric delays, abstract spaces and sound design oddities. While it excels at huge, expansive and atmospheric effects, it's also perfectly capable of bread-and-butter reverb and delay duties.

Best of all, SuperMassive is completely free, with no catches or limitations. It's a remarkable gift to the music production community from a renowned developer. Whether you're a reverb connoisseur or completely new to effects processing, you should absolutely download SuperMassive and start exploring its endless possibilities. It just might become one of your desert island plugins.

Citations:

[1] https://www.studiobrootle.com/valhalla-supermassive-tutorial-with-presets/

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nGgMAIV_-k

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNvLofI_k4E

[4] https://valhalladsp.com/2020/05/07/valhallasupermassive-the-modes/

[5] https://valhalladsp.com/shop/reverb/valhalla-supermassive/

[6] https://valhalladsp.com/2020/05/06/valhallasupermassive-the-controls/

[7] https://valhalladsp.com/2020/05/06/the-philosophy-of-valhallasupermassive/

[8] https://www.audiopluginguy.com/review-valhalla-supermassive/

[9] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwsGbfC4PfE

[10] https://www.reddit.com/r/ableton/comments/kmelgh/valhalla_supermassive_vs_ableton_stock_plugins/

[11] https://www.beneaththebunk.com/valhalla-dsp-supermassive-walkthrough-demo-review/

[12] https://valhalladsp.com/2023/11/21/valhallasupermassive-updated-to-version-3-0-0-two-new-modes-leo-and-virgo/