Module similar to Valhalla Shimmer?

Plugins & Modules
1

Hello,

I’ve been watch videos on ambient music and a few of them use the Valhalla Shimmer for effects and use Paul’s extreme sound stretch for drones.

I only use VCV rack and wondered is there the equivalent to the Shimmer in VCV and is there a way to import create drones that are created in Paul’s Sound stretch?

Thanks

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2

if the drones are WAV files or AIFF files you can use any of nysthi::simpler/playersampler for added stretchin processes too…

3

Thanks, I will take a look.

What module do you use for delay, reverb?

4

I really like the Blamsoft reverb, but don’t know how it compares to the Shimmer. If you own the Valhalla one, you could always use it with VCV Host.

5

there are many choices, I’m more monobrand because I like just to create new modules
I have 10 different delays and 7 reverbs between my modules (nysthi)
but there are so many others creators and modules , you have to explore by yourself

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6

I’m sure there is a way to recreate a shimmer in Vcv, a shimmer reverb is a signal delayed a bit and pitch shifted up or down, then reverberated, you could always try to build one using different modules :slightly_smiling_face:

4 Likes
7

with VCV host you can try the Paulstretch vsti and a mixture of plateau, AS delay, Nysthi delays and reverbs and chronoblob and some filters and other reverb-modules will get you some nice shimmerish sounds, or you use the Valhalla shimmer in host.
You can also use some sounds wav file and stretch them in Paul Xtreme and import them in Nysthi simpler etc.

2 Likes
8

my dissonant reverb contains 2 pitch shifter in the feedback loop
but the idea was the dissonance
maybe I’m going to create one that controls the 2 PS in semitones

5 Likes
9

don’t wait to do that :wink:

10

pity that both PlateVerb and DissonantVerb are affected by a bug I never found (a sound burst coming out in some unexpected conditions and with a unexpected timing)
someone was able to record it…

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11

lol … it was in one of my early patch contest videos:

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12

Yes, I like a lot both of them (especially DissonantVerb) but those terrible bursts often spoil my pleasure, alas… Really no way to exterminate it, Antonio?

13

I’ve lost a couple of days, and I’m pretty good at finding bugs (it’s my real life job) but this is very elusive: never find a configuration to reproduce it

14

I see, it’s really very disappointing to not be able to find such bugs. Anyway, most of the time I don’t hear those bursts and in many of my patches they (verbs) work OK, but sometimes they (bursts :)) cause so much nervous irritation that I immediately change them for ehmm… Plateau usually :wink:

15

Building a shimmer yourself would be more interesting, but if you’re in love with specifically Valhalla Shimmer, just buy the host module and Shimmer itself.

16

you can get pretty close with clouds (audible instruments texture synthesizer): pitch all the way up, small size, large density and texture, large spread, lots of reverb, feedback at about 0.4, and wet/dry to taste.

example patch: 28 shimmer.vcv (8.9 KB)

6 Likes
17

Just whipped this up on my laptop and thought it sounded pretty darn good. Here’s a link to a “Strip” patch that is my take on a ShimmerVerb.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4leoyk54otvwfq8/Verb%20-%20ShimmerVerb.vcvss?dl=0

What you’ll need:

  1. MSC Hack Mixers
  2. Valley Plateau
  3. NYSTHI STKPitchshifter
  4. Stoermelder’s Strip (optional - in case you just want to use the above preset versus setting this up manually)

How to set it up:

  1. Load those three plugins, route the Mixer main outputs to your interface
  2. Set the volume of channel 1 to 0.5, the volume of Aux Channel 1 to 0.5, and the send level for Aux Channel 1 to 0.5
  3. Setup Plateau as a send/return on Aux1 (100% wet)
  4. Send ANOTHER set of outputs from Plateau into the Input of STKPitchshifter - Set the Pitchshifting to 4% (100% wet)
  5. Send the stereo output of STKPitchshifter to Input Channel 2 on the Mixer - volume at 0
  6. Set Channel 2 to “Pre-Fader”
  7. Begin increasing the Aux 1 send level on Input Channel 1 to add reverb - you will not hear pitch shifted Shimmer yet
  8. Use the Aux 1 send on Input Channel 2 to add the amount of Pitchshifted Shimmer effect you want

This setup allows you to create a feedback loop within Plateau where the output is going into a pitchshifter, and that output is being returned and sent back into Plateau again via the pre-fader send on Channel 2, creating the Shimmer effect.

VCV%20Shimmer%20Verb
VCV%20Shimmer%20Verb1237×831 348 KB

6 Likes
18

Just adding to the above: 2% sounds good in STK Pitchshifter, and adding a filter after the filter (but before returning to the mixer) also sounds good for taming some of the artificial high frequencies. Fun to experiment with this!

1 Like
19

I so wish this thing would just do an octave or semitones. Is doing a round percentage number accomplishing this you think? I’ve tried this module for a shimmer before and never sounded quite right to me. I’ll have to try the settings you mentioned above. The best I’ve heard so far in Rack is Clouds set to one octave higher with feedback & reverb turned up.

20

I agree, the best i’ve seen is using clouds, i don’t know if you have checked the musical pals project we did with Ablaut and Rsmus7, Ablaut used this technique on our pad, and it really gives a nice Shimmer effect

1 Like