Silencer from Wide Blue Sound -- Why?

[bayswater]

I watched a video on this new effect, and at first thought it was a brilliant idea perfectly executed.

It's here. https://www.widebluesound.com/silencer/

But then started thinking that if you have the problem they are trying to solve, aren't you using the wrong sort of reverb and reverb settings? If a reverb is meant to emulate a listening space, presumably you'd emulate one that works with the sort of music you are producing? So if you play a banjo track with a reverb that emulates a large cavern, rather than worry about notes that sustain too long, wouldn't you just change the reverb to one that emulates a small room?

Maybe I'm missing the point.

[stubbsonic]

I think it is probably more useful to think of this as a special effect, rather than focusing on sounding natural, though I imagine that could be interesting and useful, too.

They describe it as an improvement over the traditional gated reverb. That makes sense. As they say, a gated reverb clears the reverb by chopping the reverb itself, and Silencer does it by manipulating the source- without affecting the dry thru.

I don't understand how it "resets the reverb".

[bayswater]

I don't understand how it "resets the reverb".

From the demo, it sounds like it is simply muting the reverb tails when a new transient appears in the source. In some cases it does sound better, but in those cases, just using a more appropriate reverb would do the same. In other cases it sounds very unnatural, so I suppose you’re right when you say it might be best thought of as an effect.

[stubbsonic]

I don't understand how it "resets the reverb".

From the demo, it sounds like it is simply muting the reverb tails when a new transient appears in the source.

I'm thinking most reverbs don't have a way to mute the reverb while still processing new signals. There may be some kind of round-robin thing going on, either ping-ponging between two instances? Or more than two? Or maybe it uses some kind of phase inversion trick.

[bayswater]

I don't understand how it "resets the reverb".

From the demo, it sounds like it is simply muting the reverb tails when a new transient appears in the source.

I'm thinking most reverbs don't have a way to mute the reverb while still processing new signals. There may be some kind of round-robin thing going on, either ping-ponging between two instances? Or more than two? Or maybe it uses some kind of phase inversion trick.

Note that Silencer is not a reverb plugin. It works with a reverb plugin, which has to be in VST3 format. Presumably those publish info that other plugins can use, and it uses that info.

[daniel.sneed]

Quite off-topic, but Soundtoys Superplate has an option: automatic reverb time changing according to input level (full length with low levels, short time for high levels).
IMOE, this has been a very interesting and easy to tweak feature.

[stubbsonic]

Quite off-topic, but Soundtoys Superplate has an option: automatic reverb time changing according to input level (full length with low levels, short time for high levels).
IMOE, this has been a very interesting and easy to tweak feature.

That IS clever, and seems incredibly useful. Does it let you adjust the "range"?

[daniel.sneed]

Quite off-topic, but Soundtoys Superplate has an option: automatic reverb time changing according to input level (full length with low levels, short time for high levels).
IMOE, this has been a very interesting and easy to tweak feature.

That IS clever, and seems incredibly useful. Does it let you adjust the "range"?

Of course, and release speed too.
You set the long time, the short time and the signal level threshold which switches between both.
Yes, this IS clever, but very fine sounding to my ears too!
Soundoys plates have been my go to for long now, but this last one has stumped me.

[stubbsonic]

Sending this topic off the rails for a moment. Zoom released a modestly priced bass fx unit that has "multi-layer IR" which somehow uses a different amp/cab IR based on the playing level. I was trying to wrap my head around how it would work. I was envisioning some kinds of snazzy dynamics processing to split the signal. The thing is, the latency on the rig is tiny (not noticeable), so it must be a clever little algorithm.