Do you know all effects types in detail or do you outsource some?

[mystran]

Traditional algorithmic reverbs are not necessarily magic, but they are quite time-consuming because it's quite difficult to predict how any change to the algorithm will actually change the sound and simply finding a set of parameters that does not sound "obviously bad" can be quite difficult.

If you spend enough time with reverbs, over time you will develop some intuition as to what tends to work. With most other types of effects it's much easier to analyze where the problems might be, but with reverbs unfortunately you will be relying a lot on your ears to judge the sound.. and this means you will need to develop your ears to identify potential problems. This involves spending (lots of) time listening to different structures, because even though they might all be various types of delay networks, how you connect them together has a huge impact on the way the echo patterns form.. and if you want to actually get a certain type of sound out of an algorithmic reverb you need to develop some intuition as to what gives you results you are looking for.

As for Valhalla, I don't think what makes them special is any magical algorithm that nobody else has heard of (though that's a possibility; if anyone has secret tricks that's probably Sean), but rather just Sean's experience working with reverbs and building that intuition about what to try to remedy any given issue and how to get certain types of sound.

You'd think it's "just some delays" but that's really not the case. Even things like how you damp the frequency response, how you design those damping filters, where you place them can totally make or break a reverb, turning a boring sound prototype into anything from a beautiful reverb to a ringy mess.

[syntonica]

I know reverbs require some simple filters in addition to delay lines. My point was that sound effects have basic building blocks, that once learned, can lead to all the standard effects out there, once you understand what's really going on sound wise.

I bet Sean wakes up at 3am with wild delay networks setting his brain on fire and scribbles them furiously in his notebook he keeps by the bedside.

I'm not trying to minimize anything effects programmers do, merely point out that it's not the huge blackbox that many people, including programmers, think it is.

(I forgot to add comb filters to my list of effects that use delay lines. )

[S0lo]

There are a billion ways to build a reverb, and only a million of those billion sound humanly good. A develope's job is to choose one of those million. But he'll have to find them among the billion first. And you might think that the "finding" part is the most difficult. heh, wait till you come to the "choosing" part.

[syntonica]

Did someone say uhe's Protoverb? Why sit around and fiddle when you can outsource?

[S0lo]

Did someone say uhe's Protoverb? Why sit around and fiddle when you can outsource?

This completely went under my short sighted radar

[soundmodel]

Some are still slightly missing the point.

How reasonable is it that someone who focuses on, say, getting n different effects vs n iterations of the same effect may have a similar quality than the one who did n iterations on the same effect?

Some economist could maybe even argue that it's inefficient to try to do many things on your own, rather than doing one or few and then outsourcing the others.

[whyterabbyt]

Some are still slightly missing the point.

What, like you, missing the points that other people have made in favour of 'some random person or paper might have said some thing that maybe means some other thing?'

How reasonable is it that someone who focuses on, say, getting n different effects vs n iterations of the same effect may have a similar quality than the one who did n iterations on the same effect?

Reasonable enough that it actuaslly happens, no matter how much you handwave about it.

Some economist could maybe even argue that it's inefficient to try to do many things on your own, rather than doing one or few and then outsourcing the others.

'some people say blah blah blah' isnt an argument, its weaseling.

[soundmodel]

Some economist could maybe even argue that it's inefficient to try to do many things on your own, rather than doing one or few and then outsourcing the others.

'some people say blah blah blah' isnt an argument, its weaseling.

No but it's an economic theory:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_advantage

[hugoderwolf]

That's even more weaseling.

Pro Tip: never listen to economists anyway.

[syntonica]

Pro Tip: never listen to economists anyway.

What if they need a bathroom?

[whyterabbyt]

Some economist could maybe even argue that it's inefficient to try to do many things on your own, rather than doing one or few and then outsourcing the others.

'some people say blah blah blah' isnt an argument, its weaseling.

No but it's an economic theory:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_advantage

No, but there are lots of economic theories. Randomly dropping in 'oh but there's the Dahrendorf Hypothesis so maybe reverb blah blah' isnt an argument, its cosplay.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category: ... c_theories

[soundmodel]

So are you arguing that plenty of models seem to work. Not just specialization?

[whyterabbyt]

So are you arguing that plenty of models seem to work. Not just specialization?

Are you asserting that the only model that works is specialisation?

[BertKoor]

Fluky joined in 2010. Can we blame him for not knowing about eg Kjaerhus Audio?
https://web.archive.org/web/20091225214 ... audio.com/
(a one-man shop creating all kinds of vst effects, most for free)

So if there's more than one example, doesn't that prove something?
Or are you only interested in getting your own p.o.v. confirmed?

[soundmodel]

I know about Kjaerhus Audio, but it's certainly not as extensive as Melda.

Honestly, Melda seems like it's doing more work than even Native Instruments, which certainly has more personnel.