Free OrilRiver Reverb VST Plugin Released By Denis Tihanov

Denis Tihanov has announced the release of OrilRiver, a freeware algorithmic reverb plugin in VST2 format for Windows, even though plans are in the works for Mac support. The provided ZIP file contains both 32-bit and 64-bit versions, which is a plus for 64-bit snobs like myself.

OrilRiver might not be much to look at, but it’s actually one of the best free reverbs I’ve used in some time. It’s stable, easy to use, and to be honest, I’m really impressed by its overall sound. I’ve used more reverb plugins in the last decade than I care to mention, so trust me when I say that this might be the most useful, natural sounding reverb on the freeware market, especially considering how light the CPU hit is, staying just under 5% on my old outdated PC.

There are twelve early reflection variations and three reverb variations, which are basically just a series of delay networks that result in slightly different echo density. You can even turn down the late reflections in order to fine-tune the early reflections, which is a nice touch.

Also, there are up to twenty seconds of decay on tap, a nice stereo width parameter, room size and diffusion knobs and a small handful of EQ and damping controls that allow you to color the reverb tail however you like. I’m also very happy with the text fields in the value meters allowing you to manually type in specific values for a desired result.

Of course, OrilRiver could benefit from a slightly more attractive GUI, but that doesn’t detract from its superior sound quality. You can dial in very natural and surprisingly realistic ambiance for traditional instrument tracks, or really crank the decay and diffusion settings for otherworldly atmospheres and ambient soundscapes; it really is that flexible.

OrilRiver is available for free download via KVR Audio (4.97 MB download size, ZIP archive, 32 & 64-bit VST plugin format for Windows).