Softube Wasted Space · Source: Softube
Softube Wasted Space is a new reverb plug-in designed to bring the beloved sound of the less-than-perfect digital reverbs of the 80s to your DAW. With features like intentionally exaggerated aliasing and a retro-futuristic interface for instant hands-on control, Wasted Space seeks to bring you the lo-fi digital sounds that everyone seems to be craving right now. For extended sound design sessions across platforms, it comes with versions for Softube Modular and Amp Room.
Undoubtedly, one look at the GUI tells you all you need to know. A handful of sliders sits below a pseudo calculator-style LCD display – welcome to the 80s! Obviously, this isn’t a reverb plug-in designed for high fidelity and authentic emulations of real rooms. Instead, Softube Wasted Space focuses on the things that weren’t all that great about early digital reverbs – which happen to be the reason people still swear by them in the age of low-budget audio interfaces with 192 kHz sampling rates.
You’ve probably already got a nice collection of plug-ins emulating analog spring and plate reverbs. Now it’s time for a healthy dose of aliasing, low sampling rates, and other shortcomings of the early days of digital – “perfectly imperfect”, as Softube calls it. The underlying algorithm emulates early digital imitations of an analog plate reverb, with intentionally exaggerated digital artifacts.
With only five sliders and one button, Softube has obviously designed Wasted Space for instant gratification. The actual reverb controls are one the left: pre-delay and time. The converter section in the middle lets you dial just the right amount of tasty lo-fi goodness by adjusting the sampling rate to as low as you like and choosing from three available aliasing filters. Finally, the output section on the right offers a high pass filter and a dry/wet mix slider.
Characterful reverbs like this one are great for creative sound design, maybe even more so than for mixing. That’s why Softube has gone the extra mile and included versions for Softube Modular and Amp Room in addition to the native plug-in. This means that you can also use it in your modular synth or guitar patches, which opens up many creative possibilities. The version for Softube Modular includes CV inputs for controlling the reverb time and sampling rate.
Wasted Space for Softube Modular
Softube Wasted Space is now available for an introductory price of USD 35, which sounds like a pretty good deal. This offer is good through July 31, 2022, after which the price will increase to USD 59.
The plug-in runs on macOS 10.13 or higher and Windows 10 or higher (64 bit). It’s available in VST, VST3, AU, and AAX formats. You’ll need an iLok account or dongle for authorization.
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