Reverb Foundry has released HD Cart, a high-density reverb effect plugin modeled after the Lexicon 480L reverb unit, outfitted with the HD/Surround Cart that allows all four processors to be used in a “quadraphonic” front/back configuration.
It was next to impossible to walk into almost any professional recording studio in the mid to late 1980s – and for many years after – and not have one be in the room somewhere. So many of the most cherished and well-known recordings of all time owe a large part of their ambience and overall sound to this iconic state of the art (at the time) processor.
One of the expansion cartridges for this unit contained the only algorithm to ever fully take advantage of its considerable dual-board processing capabilities. This amazing program was capable of being used in quadraphonic, 5.0 surround or high-density stereo reverb modes.
The surround mode takes a stereo input and produces four-channel quadraphonic output (5.0 is also supported in this plug-in via a recommended routing patch). The HD mode mixes the quad outputs down to a two-channel stereo reverb, resulting in denser, richer audio unlike any other reverb processor.
HD•Cart features
- Authentic Controls – The full compliment of controls available on the original unit have been recreated in HD Cart including:
- Spread: for powerful room re-dimensioning.
- Diffusion: control room reflectivity for convincing small rooms to lush cathedrals and chambers.
- Size and time: with pin-point accuracy model the size and character of a room.
- Modulation: control the classic spin and wander of this heritage algorithm.
- Frequency dependent decay: from sizzling highs to tight lows, the tone of the room can be controlled with ease.
- Early reflections: control the tone and timing of a series of modulated early reflections.
- Modern Enhancements – Not present in the original device, enhancements to the core algorithm have been included for a much wider, more spacious reverb than was ever possible with the original hardware. Additional filtering has been implemented in the early reflections module for much greater control over the spectral balance of this crucial reverb component within the mix.
- Advanced Stereo and Surround Modes – One of the first ever surround algorithms ever to consider the effect of early and late reflections in a quadraphonic field, this pushed the dual-board design of the original hardware to the limit. Included in this recreation is its high density stereo mode, quadraphonic and special 5.0 routing configurations. In stereo modes the reverb can be pushed towards the front, left in the centre for highest reflection density, or moved towards the rear of the simulated space.
HD Cart for Windows and macOS (VST/AU/AAX) is available for $199 USD. An iLok 2 or 3 hardware dongle, or iLok local activation is required to run HD Cart.
More information: Reverb Foundry / HD Cart
