ETHER

Name: ETHER
Price: 99 USD
Author: AIR Music Technology

by AIR Music Technology · Reverb · Multi-effect reverb

Not rated yet

ETHER is a creative reverb with eight spaces, pitch shifting, modulation, delay and an animation section.

A compressor and LFO/envelope modulation round it out; it costs $99.

Best for: Vocals, Keys & Synths, Guitars, Sound Design. Genres: Ambient & Cinematic, Electronic & EDM, Pop.

Keywords: creative, pitch-shifting, spacious, vocals, ambience, electric guitar, sound design, synths, tempo-synced, airy, cinematic, CPU-light, drums, evolving, metering, mixing, samples & loops, shimmer, simple, pads, steep learning curve, stutter.

What it does

ETHER is AIR's creative reverb: a reverb engine followed by five bypassable modules for pitch, modulation, delay, animation and compression. AIR pitches it at adding "depth, richness, and texture" to vocals, guitars, synths and drums.

Reverb: eight space settings with pre-delay, time and damping, followed by a post-reverb EQ and filter.
Pitch: a pitch shifter with several intervals and an algorithm selector for different source material.
Pitch modulation: shape, depth and rate controls for movement in the tail.
Delay: BPM-syncable, with cross-feed for bouncing repeats and several input routing options.
Animation: a BPM-syncable module with many shapes and rate, tonal balance, colour and smoothing controls.
Compressor: three input routing options with attack and release.
LFO/Envelope: four modulation modes, BPM sync, a retrigger threshold with metering, and two assignable destinations with depth and invert.

The current version is 1.0.0.0, and a 10-day demo is available.

Source: AIR Music Technology product page

When to use it

ETHER is the better pick when you want reverb as a sound-design tool rather than a space. Compared with Supermassive, it adds a pitch shifter, a compressor and an animation module in the same plugin, though Supermassive is free. Compared with Blackhole, it builds its character from modules after the reverb (pitch, delay, animation and compression) rather than from one huge space. Unlike VintageVerb or Pro-R 2, it is not aimed at realistic rooms and halls, and one reviewer found its controls can change the sound drastically with small moves.

Best for: shimmer, animated ambience, textured pads and turning simple samples into evolving soundscapes.
Genres: ambient, cinematic, electronic and pop.
Look elsewhere if: you need natural rooms and halls (VintageVerb or Pro-R 2) or precise, predictable control.
Tip: the small Tiny and Nano spaces suit experimental textures, while Roomy gives a more conventional hall.

What producers say

Reviewers see it as a strong creative reverb and delay, less suited to real-space emulation.

Gearspace user review rated it 4.75 out of 5 (5 for sound, ease of use and value, 4 for features), praising the presets and low CPU use, but missed a dark theme, LFO control of delay time and reverb time shown in seconds.
Magnetic Magazine called it "one of those rare plugins" that can change a sound's nature and liked it as a delay too, but warned of a steep learning curve and unpredictable parameters.
Usage tip (Magnetic): automate the dry/wet control across song sections for transitions.

Where to buy

Best Service: $99
AIR Music Technology: $99 (list price from KVR Audio; airmusictech.com shows prices only in its shop)
PluginFox: $99
AudioDeluxe: $99
Plugin Boutique: $99

Tutorials and reviews

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