RO-GOLD

Name: RO-GOLD
Author: Black Rooster Audio

by Black Rooster Audio · Reverb · Gold-plate reverb

Not rated yet

A free plate reverb inspired by the EMT 140 and reimagined as a single 24k gold plate for a warm, mellow tone.

It has a 10-position damper, split-range pre-delay and a bass cut, and costs nothing with a free account.

Best for: Vocals, Drums, Guitars, Keys & Synths. Genres: all genres.

Keywords: plate, free, warm, vocals, electric guitar, hardware emulation, keys, metering, physical modelling, simple, smooth, vintage, 50s, convolution, drums, impulse-response based, inspired by, mixing, resizable UI, room, snare.

What it does

RO-GOLD is a free "Vintage Gold-Plate Reverb" from Black Rooster Audio. It runs on the same physically modelled plate as the paid RO-140, but reimagined as a single 24k gold plate that the developer describes as warmer and mellower than the steel plate of an EMT 140.

Gold plate: one physically modelled plate, rendered in real time through convolution; there is no plate selector or size control.
Damper: ten discrete positions that set the decay time, like the mechanical damper on a real plate.
Pre-delay: a split-range knob: the first third covers 0 to 1 ms for fine offset, the rest runs from 1 to 500 ms.
Bass Cut: a high-pass filter from 10 Hz to 1 kHz to keep low end out of the reverb.
Dry/Wet: built-in blend, so it works as an insert as well as on a send.
Metering and display: a backlit VU meter in the centre, SSE2-optimised DSP and HighDPI/Retina support.

It is free with no time limit or watermark.

Source: Black Rooster Audio product page

When to use it

RO-GOLD is a one-sound plate: you get the gold plate, a damper and a few mix controls, and nothing else. It is far narrower than rated reverbs such as Valhalla VintageVerb or FabFilter Pro-R 2, which cover plates, halls, rooms and more, and it does not aim for the classic steel sound of Valhalla Plate or UAD's EMT 140. Black Rooster's own RO-140 adds six plate materials including gold, plus EQ and size controls, so RO-GOLD works as a free taste of it. Its tone is softer and less metallic than an EMT-style plate, which suits sources where a bright plate would stick out.

Best for: a warm, quick plate on vocals, snare, guitars and keys at no cost.
Genres: general purpose; especially vintage-leaning pop, rock and soul.
Look elsewhere if: you want the bright, metallic EMT 140 sound (Valhalla Plate), more shaping (RO-140), or rooms and halls (VintageVerb).
Tip: use Bass Cut generously and keep the mix modest; one reviewer found it got muddy at wetter settings.

What producers say

Reviewers like its simplicity and smooth tone for a free plugin, with doubts about depth and how it sits at high wet levels.

Audio Plugin Guy scored it 4.4 out of 5 and called it "one of the better-sounding free plate reverbs", with "one of the simplest UIs of any reverb plugin".
Criticisms (Audio Plugin Guy): it lacks the "mojo or 3D-ness" of top plate emulations and can sound cluttered or muddy at wetter settings.
KVR users rate it 5 out of 5 from 2 reviews; one called it smoother, rounder and more diffuse than typical plates, and another said "it just sounds so good".
Not a classic plate: a KVR reviewer noted it lacks the metallic EMT 140 character and sounds closer to a good spring plus a warm room.

Where to buy

Black Rooster Audio: Free

Tutorials and reviews

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