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Lontana Reverb tutorial: place a sound in space

2 min read · Updated

Lontana Reverb is an algorithmic reverb (8-line delay network) with 5 characters: Room, Hall, Plate, Ambience and Massive. It puts a sound in a space, from a small room to a space that could not exist in real life. The numbers match the markers on the screenshot.

The plugin

Lontana ReverbComing soonFrom a small room to infinite space, in a single reverb.

Step by step

NAUPLY Lontana Reverb interface, with numbered markers for each step

  1. As a send or an insert

    Recommended: put Lontana Reverb on an aux (send) track and send the tracks you want to reverberate to it. As an insert on a single track, keep a low Mix.

  2. Pick a preset

    For example Vocals > Vocal Plate, Drums > Drum Room, or Mix Bus > Vocal Plate (Send), already at 100% Mix for a send.

  3. Mode, Decay and Size

    Choose the mode (Room, Hall, Plate, Ambience, Massive), then set Decay (tail length) and Size (size of the space).

  4. Pre-Delay

    10 to 40 ms of Pre-Delay keeps a vocal or a snare in front of the reverb.

  5. Clean up

    Low Cut (200 to 400 Hz) keeps the low end of the mix clear; a lower Damping HF makes the reverb softer.

  6. Set the Mix

    Mix at 100% on a send, 15 to 35% as an insert. Freeze holds the tail to build a pad.

The five modes

Room: a room. Hall: a large hall. Plate: a dense, bright, slightly modulated plate, ideal on vocals. Ambience: very short, adds air without an audible tail. Massive: huge, with a tail about 2.4 times longer and gentle saturation.

Shaping the space

Size goes from 0 to 200%: above 100% you deliberately go beyond a real room. Decay goes from 0.1 to 60 s, Pre-Delay from 0 to 250 ms. Diffusion sets the density (low = distinct echoes, high = smooth wash). ER Level and ER Time set the level and offset of the early reflections; at 0% they are off. Width sets the stereo width (0 = mono, 100 = normal, 150 = extra wide).

Keeping the mix clean

A reverb that clouds the mix is fixed with filtering first: raise Low Cut (200 to 400 Hz) and lower Damping HF, which makes the tail's highs die away faster. Damping LF does the same for the lows if the tail gets muddy.

Presets are sorted by category (Vocals, Drums, Instruments, Rooms, Halls, Plates, Ambient & FX, Mix Bus); those marked "(Send)" are at 100% Mix. Save, Save As and Delete manage your own presets.

Freeze and sound design

Freeze holds the current tail forever: new sounds no longer enter it, creating a pad to play over. For textures that climb in octaves, Lontana Shimmer transposes the sound inside the reverb loop; for rhythmic echoes, Lontana Delay completes the line.

Lontana ShimmerComing soonA reverb that climbs in octaves, for pads and textures.Lontana DelayComing soonDigital, analog or modulated: one delay, three characters.

Frequently asked questions

Should the reverb go on an insert or a send?
Preferably on an aux send with Mix at 100%: several tracks share the same space and the mix stays coherent. As an insert, 15 to 35% Mix is usually enough.
What pre-delay on a vocal?
10 to 40 ms: the vocal stays in front and the lyrics stay clear.
My reverb makes the mix muddy, what should I do?
Raise Low Cut to around 200 to 400 Hz and lower Damping HF.

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