Zak Sound released Atmospheres, a free reverb plugin for Windows and Mac.
Creating atmospheric effects is deceptively tricky. The usual suspects, like delay and reverb, can do quite a bit of the lifting. However, you might find yourself reaching for something a bit unusual.
On the surface, Atmospheres is a single-knob reverb, but don’t let that fool you into thinking that this is a lackluster plugin with no potential for sound design.
The interface has two main controls: a mix knob and a randomize button. The mix knob does what you would expect. The randomize knob is where things get interesting.
There are quite a few internal parameters and controls not seen on Atmospheres; hitting randomize gives you at least a modicum of control over them.
The Atmospheres plugin creates unusual reverbs. The reverb tails have plenty of motion, and you can use them to add texture to instruments and other recordings. That might be expected, given that Atmospheres is based on the equally unorthodox Deep Waters reverb from ZAK Sound.
A quick glance at the product page reveals the use of unusual IRs to create reverbs. As it is a single-knob plugin, there isn’t much to discuss regarding the actual control and dialling of the plugin.
In motion, it sounds lovely on quite a few sources. I love it on synthetic strings and arpeggios. This use really reminds me of the stellar Plateau for VCV Rack.
At that point, the reverb itself becomes an instrument of its own, carrying its own unique tonal characteristics.
However, I really wouldn’t use this on drums or basses. It worked quite well for ambient guitar work, cinematic piano playing, soundscapes, and the like.
As your typical workhorse reverb? I’d look elsewhere, like OrilRiver, for free.
And if you had a deja-vu feeling while reading this, chances are you’ve already tried the excellent (and somewhat similar) Magic Dice plugin by BABY Audio.
As an alternative to sound design, reverbs like Blackhole, Valhalla Shimmer, and Velvet Machine can help you beat it for the cost.
All of this makes me want to try the Deep Waters plugin from ZAK Sound. If we can get such unusual sounds out of its freeware reverb sibling, having more control could only be a good thing.
At any rate, Atmospheres runs on Windows and Mac computers. You’ll need a host with VST3 or AU support to run it.
Download: Atmospheres (FREE)
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14 Comments
Davey
onThey demand that you will register to their website but not only this! They demand a long password, I said “Ok I will put a long password” but it didn’t even accept it
I hate this kind of behaviour
This is one of the things that makes a developer small and unprofessional
GH
onThis page doesn’t seem to render correctly on M1 Mac, Brave browser.
alex
onWell, I actually like this little plug :)
Dar
onI cannot put a password on the password’s request
Cannot connect to the website at all
What a bummer
LB
onI went through the same situation at first.
Then I tried a different password.
The password must be very complex.
Nicola
onSo much faff just to download a free plugin :(
Phil Huston
onI didn’t have any of the listed problems. I was notified directly by the developer, my password is 8 characters, 1 cap and one symbol. Here’s the deal – Atmospheres does one thing. It does it well, but aside from depth it’s a one trick pony. However, it can turn a simple sound into an eternity. Low notes and it’s instant drone/shoegaze. I find using it after a delay on a return channel maintains the original transient and wraps it in “Atmosphere”. If all you want is a great, free shoegaze/shimmer reverb check out Starlight.
Peter Barns
onRegister website does not work, lost time.
MRugaW
onMaybe a specific browser is the issue? I used Brave and didn’t need to use an alphanumeric password, though the password was kinda long (17 letters long). Brave also suggests strong passwords made up of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and typical !#$%)*&( symbols.
Just saying.
Michael Jackson
onI tried everything for a password including very long complex ones. Pass on this one.
Michael Jackson
onI just discovered that I already had an account with them so that is probably why it didn’t work.
So I was able to get in.
Brenny C
onEveryone here complaining about having to come up with a password that has a capital letter and a symbol in it has me in stitches. 😂
This is a nice little free one-knob reverb. It’s well worth adding to my arsenal for when I want a quick, no fuss reverb that sounds huge. Plus that randomizer is really fun.
Thanks, ZAK and BPB!
Mr Snowman
onMaybe you were lucky ! Sadly, it seems that for a number of us, even more complex PWs don’t work … I’ve tried several that are 18 or more characters, with a mixture of capital & lower case, numbers & letters and special characters. All to no avail. Whilst it’s always appreciated when developers offer their plugins for free, it’s a shame when the associated process to register/download is seemingly made so complicated. Sadly, like many others I’ve spent too long trying to fathom this out so I’m off to make some music. Good luck to others … :-)
SynthieSara
onOh my goodness the bass with the reverb is what got me! (See 1 minute, 16 seconds into the demo video above.)
Personally, I think Atmospheres might work for *some* bass sounds if not all of them. Perhaps certain synth basses like the one in the demo video?
I do have OrilRiver, but when I just want to quickly compare what a sound will be like with and without reverb (or less or more), this could be one of the fastest ways after one has access to it.
The comments about the password issue worries me a bit. But I’ll just need to allow a good 30 minutes just for the task of signing up in case I have issues. I dislike coming up with passwords on the spot, so I’ll write down a few pw ideas ahead of time to try when I’m ready.
I definitely want to look at this plugin for myself. It may even be a time-saver in the long-run.