Echoes of the past, present and future

As reverb technology has grown, changed and developed, artificial reverb has helped to sculpt the sound of music and the character of film and TV soundtracks. In many cases this has given each era its own distinctive sound, especially in music production where reverb is often very much used as a special effect, and not just a method for adding realism.

From the invention of spring reverb by Laurens Hammond in 1939, through to the advent of the echo chamber — first used by recording engineer Bill Putnam in 1947, taking advantage of the natural characteristics of his studio bathroom — and even the introduction of digital reverb with the EMT 250 in 1976, each method has its own distinctive characteristics which lend themselves to particular applications. And of course this is not even an exhaustive list!

In 2020 we at NUGEN Audio entered the fray with Paragon and Paragon ST. The full version of Paragon is capable of generating reverb in immersive audio formats, and both versions use state of the art resynthesis to create convolution reverb with unprecedented levels of tweakability.

Over the next few weeks we intend to highlight some iconic uses of reverb techniques from the history of music, film and television. If you aren't subscribed, sign up for our newsletter to receive these insights, and be the first to know about new products and discounts.

These iconic uses of reverb have shaped the sound of our world in the past and present. How will you shape the sound of the future?