The friendly people at Baby Audio sent me their new creative reverb plugin Crystalline to check out and review before the release (which is today, April the 5th, 2022). Here are my thoughts.
Disclaimer:
I only ever write about products I like. You should be aware that I’m affiliated with Baby Audio and they have sent Crystalline for me for free before the release to check out.
What is Baby Audio Crystalline?
Baby Audio Crystalline is a forward-thinking, modern sounding algorithmic reverb plugin. Baby Audio say it’s “meant to sound unreal in the most positive sense of the word”.
It’s designed to give you great control over shaping your reverb in creative ways and making it sit well in the mix. All while maintaining ease of use and quick workflow.
Features in a nutshell
Besides features that are commonly found in reverbs, here are the highlights of Crystalline for me:
- BPM-synced pre-delay and decay. This can result in a cleaner mix with the reflections being in sync. You can still switch off the sync, too.
- Five different size algorithms. These are separate from the reverb decay so you can do interesting things like a small space with long decay or a large space with short tail.
- The ability to shift the reverb’s emphasis between transient and sustain part of the incoming signal. This is huge for me. It allows to shift the sound of the reverb in a completely new way, and find the sweet spot where it sits in the mix best.
- Width control. You can also mono the lows which I really appreciate.
- Shimmer control which makes the high frequencies decay slower.
- Gating for those classic nonlin Phil Collins vibes!
- Reversing the reverb playback.
- Freeze for out of this world sounds. Great for automating.
Baby Audio Crystalline Review -Video Walkthrough
Here is my in depth walkthrough video of Baby Audio Crystalline. The blog post continues below.
How does it sound?
Crystalline is not intended to mimic realistic spaces. Quite the opposite, it can get quite surreal and you can really shape the reverb to your liking.
It sounds smooth and pristine. It’s a modern sound, in line with modern classics like the Bricasti M7.
Even at the lowest resolution available (labelled “Basic”) it doesn’t get lo-fi or grungy at all.
Many reverbs excel either in small or larger spaces. But I have enjoyed creating both types of reverbs with Crystalline. It works well and feels very malleable in use.
Crystalline also invites experimentation. It often surprises me in a good way by leading me somewhere different than what I had in mind originally.
User interface and workflow
The interface in Crystalline is clean and fairly minimal. There is no menu diving. Everything is quick and easy to interact with.
The controls are grouped into four sections: Reflections, Clean-Up, Depth and Shape. A few further controls are placed in the middle section of the interface. This arrangement makes total sense to me and works well.
The interface is fully resizable. It’s done properly – meaning the text and everything else actually gets larger when you enlarge the plugin window. There are light and dark modes to choose from.
The controls that Baby Audio have decided to go for are all very useful and contribute to the shaping of the reverb sound in a meaningful way.
All of this leads to a smooth and effortless experience. Using Crystalline feels like shaping and moulding a sound out of wax until you have it just right.
How I like to use it
I reach for Crystalline when I want that lush modern vibe. It’s great for quickly getting a reverb going on something without dropping out of my creative flow.
Many reverbs out there are fiddly to use, with tons of options and features to choose from. I feel Crystalline has been specifically designed to counter those types of plugins. It is very quick to try different things with it and get good results.
There is no option overload here and I really like that.
Feature requests
I like Crystalline as it is and I don’t think there are any glaring problems with it. But as with most plugins I try, I do have a few thoughts on what I might like to see in future versions.
Parameter modulation
I love automating controls like Sparkle and Transient for instance to create evolving sounds. I’d love to have some simple modulation options for the different parameters in Crystalline. Perhaps something akin to Output Arcade – simple LFO’s and step modulators with randomness built in?
Option for dirtier reverb sounds.
I like how Crystalline sounds and it works well in the mix. But I would not mind having the option to go for something a little bit grittier also. How about a bit crusher integrated in the algo?
Longer decay
The max decay of 10 seconds leaves me wanting for more! It can still get quite outer spacey. Especially with the shimmer turned up to the max, which extends the tails of the higher frequencies. And yes, there is the freeze function. But it still leaves me wishing for longer tails in certain situations.
Output volume adjustment
Crystalline seems to be balancing the output volume automatically. It does a fair job in that it doesn’t make things louder. If anything, I feel it sometimes makes the output of the track quieter. I would like to have an option to adjust the output volume manually.
Confusing reverse and freeze indicators
This is minor, but the indicator lights for reverse and freeze push buttons are always on. It often misleads me. Why not just switch off the lights when the functions are off?
A/B slots
Because it’s so quick and malleable, Crystalline invites you to experiment and try different sounds. Working with it I often get alternative ideas that I’d like to try. It would be nice to have some quick slots to switch between a few different settings to see what work best.
I’m using Cubase where A/B functionality is built in to the plugin wrapper. But a lot of DAW’s don’t have that.
Trial and copy protection
Baby Audio plugins run in free trial mode until activated. They will output 5 seconds of silence every 60 seconds. Other than that, they work exactly like the paid versions.
The plugins are activated by entering the serial key that is emailed to you after purchase. You’ll need an internet connection to activate the license. You won’t need to be connected to use the plugins once they’re activated.
Supported platforms
Plugin formats: VST, VST3, AU, AAX.
Platforms supported: Mac OS 10.7 and up including Catalina, Big Sur and
Native Mac M1 compatibility. PC Windows 7 and up.
DAWs supported: Ableton Live, Pro Tools, Logic Pro, FL Studio, Cubase, Nuendo,
Reaper, Reason and any other major DAW software on the market.
Baby Audio Crystalline alternatives
It’s a reverb – there’s a ton of competition out there. I feel what makes Crystalline special is the creative shaping options.
Therefore, an alternative that springs to mind is the Waves H-Verb. It is more complex to use but has some of the same features such as BPM-synced pre-delay, ducking and many other options for shaping the reverb very creatively.
Is Baby Audio Crystalline worth it?
Baby Audio Crystalline is on intro offer for $49. After that the regular price will be $99.
I am of the opinion that if you need something, it costs what it costs. If you don’t need it, it won’t be worth it to you at any price (not even for free).
Think about how Crystalline would fit in your workflow. Try out the demo properly and make your judgements based on that.
Baby Audio Crystalline review – Conclusion
Crystalline is a well executed creative reverb plugin. It sounds really lush.
It many offers innovative ways to shape the reverb. The possibility to drive the reverb engine based either or transient or sustain part of the signal is a great example of that and works really well.
All of the shaping options Crystalline offers are functional and meaningful. The plugin is a joy to use and sounds good.
I’ve really enjoyed using it and I’m sure it will find a place in many of my productions going forward.
This concludes my review. Click here to check out Baby Audio Crystalline.
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