yeah, i expanded it from the technique i mentioned above by adding another clouds module in time-stretcher mode. i’m really happy with the result.
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It definitely turned out really nice you guys, I need to play with this Pitch shifter time stretcher mode a bit more in Clouds
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Why is it that there is no dedicated shimmer module for VCV?
Texture Generator and the clone Supercell are the default “shimmer “ modules in VCV. They don’t act like guitar pedal shimmers, because they can do far more and really require the end user to get expressive with the module. If you need something more familiar, pay for Host and access any VST ( like Valhalla Shimmer) directly from your rack. Host opens many possibilities so it’s a no brainer for creative patching even if you do not use it for shimmer.
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@thisguy I’m not sure why nobody has coded a dedicated module, I’m guessing you need to create a decent reverb algorithm first which isn’t easy. Also, you can just stick Clouds in a feedback loop with Plateau and it sounds easily good enough to make coding your own a pointless exercise (unless you want the challenge of learning reverb DSP!). Here’s my take from a few years ago, just use this if you need a shimmer. I also have Host FX and the Valhalla one, I honestly think this compares quite well.
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Also I totally agree with @cubistguitar, get Host and you can try using Supermassive for reverb and a better pitch shifter, and also other effects in the feedback loop. I have various versions of shimmer in Standalone rack, Cardinal and Pro, and I think the best one was using both Supermassive and Plateau in series with a free Kilohearts pitch shift. It’s also a lot of fun to try other VST plugins with feedback, Digitalis is another favourite of mine for this.
I’m sure you are probably right, I haven’t tried the solution you suggest, but the original point is still valid. Supermassive is not available on all the platforms that Rack supports so this solution is not universal - sure, we can use wrappers to still use these VSTs in other platforms but it is jumping through hoops and doesn’t always work well.
Sure but Clouds makes a really good shimmer and is "universal " so there is that. The only “problem” is that you have to dial it in yourself, and it obviously can be more than a shimmer so you may wonder off… To respond to the original inquiry maybe nobody thought it was necessary because we have pitch shifters, we have reverbs, we have Clouds… And a lot of people like to patch their effects, at least a little bit. I don’t know, I don’t code, but if I did I would definitely focus on things we can’t already do easily and in various ways.
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Yep, Plateau + Clouds does the job so there isn’t a huge need for it. I used it on my last space ambient patch and thought it sounded just as good as dedicated plugins.
I think one of the things we’re missing (for me personally at least) would be a really good native pitch shifting module. The pitch shift in Clouds doesn’t sound great, particularly on acoustic instruments although it works absolutely fine in a shimmer.
If everyone relies on Host, then developers might stop making new dedicated modules for VCV. I can use the clouds plateau preset though for now. Thanks
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We have Pitch Shifters:
one by DocB,
one by Squinky Labs,
two by Bidoo,
and one by Surge XT.
None of those work for you?
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Two of those are frequency shifters, which are completely different to pitch shifters. The Bidoo and DocB options don’t sound very pleasing to my ears on guitar, although they’re probably fine for other applications. To be fair, I think it’s very difficult to create a natural sounding pitch shifting algorithm in software. Sometimes I use a hardware pedal for harmonising guitar (a TC Electronic Quintessence) which works quite well, it would just be useful to have something like that in a module. I understand that’s possibly not feasible though! 
“To be fair, I think it’s very difficult to create a natural sounding pitch shifting algorithm in software” - that’s what the TC Quintessence is, quintessentially, doing though 
Ah yeah, I meant software that runs on a multi-purpose OS. Pedals are dedicated hardware that run completely different processor architecture and low level code.
Yep, certainly. (It goes both ways, though, as the computers we run plugins/modules today are so exceptionally powerful, and in practice you can dedicate a relatively huge chunk of CPU power to some algo that needs to be a certain way, oversample like crazy if necessary, and so on.)
Anything you can do in a pedal you can do more easily in a VCV module. period.
The problem is more, why would you want to? Who is going to “pay” you for the hundreds/thousands of hours of development?
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Shimmer is indeed basically Reverb with a Pitch Shifter in the feedback loop.
Valhalla Shimmer offers multiple configurations.
Valhalla Shimmer: Pitchshifting Reverb Plugin | Shimmer Plugin | Valhalla (valhalladsp.com)
On the origins (and workings) of the Shimmer Reverb effect (Brian Eno/Daniel Lanois/U2).
Eno/Lanois Shimmer Sound: How it is made - Valhalla DSP
Exactly emulating Valhalla DSP Shimmer Reverb would be mostly limited by the characteristics of the Valhalla DSP proprietary Reverb algorithms.
But…in VCV we have several great Reverbs, some with many configuration and modulation options. In VCV we also have Pitch Shifters and the option for Feedback loops. And many other components/tools, if needed.
So, I guess all the (Valhalla) Shimmer Reverb configurations (signal and control paths) could be set up in VCV Rack.
Beside the obvious sampler options…
I am not aware of a VCV Rack module that implements Paul Nasca’s PaulStretch algorithm. It is open source in c++ though, so…if any dev feels challenged…
Paul’s Extreme Sound Stretch (sourceforge.net)
GitHub - paulnasca/paulstretch_cpp: PaulStretch
In VCV we do (of course) have ways to emulate Time stretch algorithms as a patch of seperate components.
But we also have modules that offer some form of (spectral) time stretching. E.g. Tonecarver Blur, which also offers Pitch Shifting (as part of a Shimmer reverb?) and more.
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PaulStretch: if I could have only 1 plugin that would be the ONE 
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I‘d love paulstretch in VCV. Hoping someone will create a module out of that lovely algorithm.