Best Reverb and Delay Plugins: Space, Echo and Psychedelic Depth

Space is half the vibe in underground music. Dub techno lives in its delays, psytrance in its swirling FX throws, D&B in tight rooms that keep the drums punchy. Here’s what to use.

Reverbs

• Valhalla VintageVerb / Room / Shimmer (paid, cheap) – Valhalla DSP’s plugins are the best value in audio: lush, CPU-light and priced like a takeaway. Shimmer is a psy pad’s best friend.
• Valhalla Supermassive (free) – enormous, otherworldly reverbs and delays for nothing. Essential.
• FabFilter Pro-R 2 (paid) – surgical, natural reverb with a decay-rate EQ and beautiful visual feedback. Ideal for mixing.
• LiquidSonics Seventh Heaven (paid) – a celebrated recreation of a classic hardware hall/plate sound.
• u-he Protoverb (free) – an experimental “room simulator” with unique, bloomy tails.

Delays

• Soundtoys EchoBoy (paid) – the go-to character delay: tape, analogue, diffused, rhythmic. Instant dub vibes.
• Valhalla Delay (paid) and Valhalla Freq Echo (free) – flexible modes from tape to pitch-shifting.
• FabFilter Timeless 3 (paid) – a modulation monster for sound designers.
• Kilohearts Delay (free in Kilohearts Essentials) – clean, simple and fast.

Pro tips

1. Use sends, not inserts, so several sounds share one space and your mix stays coherent.
2. EQ your reverb return – cut lows below ~200 Hz and tame harsh highs to keep the kick and bass clear.
3. Sidechain or duck the delay so echoes bloom between notes rather than clouding them.
4. Automate FX throws: send only the last word or the last snare of a phrase into a big delay – classic psy and D&B trick.
5. For dub techno, put a filter and saturation inside the delay feedback loop.

Budget build

Supermassive + Freq Echo + Kilohearts Essentials = a complete space-and-echo toolkit for £0.

What’s your secret reverb or delay setting? Share your favourite chain below.

Sources

• https://valhalladsp.com/
• https://www.fabfilter.com/products/pro-r-2-reverb-plugin
• https://www.soundtoys.com/product/echoboy/
• https://www.liquidsonics.com/
• https://www.uhe.com/
• https://www.kilohearts.com/