S1gns Of L1fe and Dawesome release SOL, a FREE  reverb plugin for macOS and Windows

Chris Bryant, or S1gns Of L1fe as he’s better known, is a musician who wears many hats. The California-based ambient music producer, sound designer, and record label founder can now add the title of plugin developer to his resumé, thanks to this collaboration with Dawesome and its newly released reverb plugin – SOL.

Dawesome is the developer behind plugins like the ZYKLØP machine-learning synth, which we covered last year.

If you’re an ambient music producer and you don’t subscribe to the S1gns Of L1fe YouTube channel yet, you should check it out; it’s full of great tutorials.

If you’re already familiar with S1gns Of L1fe, you’ll know that the chances of SOL being just another typical reverb were always slim.

SOL is an expansive reverb plugin, capable of anything from subtle reverb to the never-ending void of space, with the added magic of a granular delay engine.

The two main sections of the plugin are Clouds (reverb) and Glitter (granular delay).

In the reverb section, you have Clouds (amount), Space (size and decay), and Color (darkens or brightens the wet signal).

The thing I love about the reverb so far (without even introducing the granular delay yet) is its versatility.

It’s easy to assume it’s not ideal for smaller, intimate settings because it can create such a vast space, but with Clouds pushed beyond 50% and Space down low, it has a beautiful, angelic quality without the more grand, ethereal atmosphere.

There have been a few “oh, this is where it sounds best” moments.

The Clouds reverb alone is great, but introducing the granular delay is when the real magic happens.

In the granular section, we have Glitt (intensity), Calm (slows movement), and Shine (adds sparkle).

Like the reverb, you don’t need to go too far to create a lovely effect, pushing the intensity adds texture and movement that can be slight or completely transformative.

If you have a lot of movement with a larger reverb, the Calm control prevents everything from becoming too messy and smooths the texture a little.

The Shine control is probably my favorite feature of SOL; it needs everything else to have any impact, but it’s like a little secret-sauce button. Shine adds shimmering octave sparkles to the Glitter; push it so far, you’ll get one octave; push it all the way, and you get two octaves.

Adding those octave sparkles enhances the feeling that the sound is going into infinite space, even if the reverb isn’t huge; it’s gorgeous.

The large sun in the center of the GUI represents the dry/wet mix: full sun is completely wet, and a total eclipse is completely dry. Another interesting feature is the Explorer mode, which locks your dry/wet settings when you switch presets for speedier testing.

SOL is available in AU and VST3 formats for macOS and Windows. You can download the installer with a single click: no subscription or information is required.

SOL is one of those free plugins that makes you feel like you’re stealing.

If you’re struggling to get into the festive spirit so far, check out Christmas Percussion by Somerville Sounds.