FabFilter: Pro-R 2 Reverb Plug-In

It wasn't that many years ago that my staff at Jackpot! Recording Studio kept mentioning FabFilter's Pro-Q 3 [Tape Op #132] so much that I began using it on everything; they were correct – it’s a well thought out EQ tool that's easy to use and sounds proper. Since I'd somehow remained ignorant of FabFilter's fine products, I raised my hand when the new Pro-R 2 reverb plug-in showed up in our reviews queue. The Pro-R 2 is an updated version of Fab's Pro-R, adding in more features, vintage-styled sounds, and extra control over the reverb. Even immersive Dolby Atmos usage up to 9.1.6. is available, though I only tried it in stereo. Pro-R 2 can also import WAV or AIFF impulse response files and analyze them to create a new setting. Throwing "wrong" files in there made for some super crazy fun sounds, and when I got serious about using it correctly I found a new setting that was highly workable in a mix. That's all pretty wild.

The Style button might not be an obvious first landing point, but you must check it out. Getting a reverb setting you like and then toggling between Vintage ('80s), Modern (like orig Pro-R), and Plate shifts a lot of the tonal character and will change how the reverb works with the source. From there, the big Space is in the top center and sets the room model and main decay time, continually moving between reverb types, and it's connected to the Decay Rate knob that can add up to four times the decay time or reduce it by 25%. All easy to navigate and audible – keep in mind that FabFilter's goal is to offer controls that cover a multitude of changes when used, and this all starts to make more sense.

The EQ/Decay Rate window covers the bottom 75% of the (scalable) GUI, and allows control over the returning reverb's tone, plus the Decay Rate controls decay times at selected frequencies. Take the boom out of the kick drum but make the cymbal reverb last for minutes. The Analyzer controls what we see behind the EQ curve settings, and in Reverb + Post mode it visualizes the decay of signals fading away as the reverb decays and is definitely affected when Space and Decay Rate settings are changed. Pre + Post will display the two frequency spectrums before and after processing, which is somewhat handy as well.

Having a built in Width control easily available is key for me, as I find myself adding RJ Studios True Mid/Side [Tape Op #150] after most reverb plug-ins in order to remove a lot of the center channel information and to make the reverb push out of the sides more. Turning it, I can hear it shift from center to L/R sides drastically, and I love this option a lot. The Ducking knob is also handy, as it'll allow the reverb to hide under the source material and then bloom out. Used carefully with the Predelay and Distance controls one can add reverb texture and depth to sources without smearing them out like a bad '80s mix! Distance is my second fave control, as it allows us to bring the reverb closer to the listener or diffuse the reverb and make it feel further away. Tonally, I find this extremely helpful.

The Character, Thickness, and Brightness knobs all work together in my mind, respectively adding or reducing wobbly chaos, denser textures, and top end. The Auto Gate button and slider sets up easy to manipulate gated reverb sounds. I dialed in a super cool retro-ish snare tone in seconds with this; something that has taken up my time before, with banks of plug-ins or too much hardware. The Freeze button is a trip, as it holds the sound of the current reverb in stasis, and I might find myself creating and committing beds of this sound in upcoming mixes.

When I open a plug-in and see more than six knobs or controls, I'm always likely to close it and try something else simpler or one that I'm more familiar with. I have little interest in spending time learning how most plug-ins work outside of sound restoration software, as I have clients waiting for me to get my work done and I need to move fast. I won't lie and say I didn't almost want to initially close Pro-R 2 and use something else, as the ten knobs, four buttons, and crazy EQ squiggles on the main display looked like "too much" to my eyes. But once I got going with Pro-R 2 it was so much easier to understand and utilize that I had imagined, and it delivered a massive amount of very creative and usable reverb sounds. It might be stuck in my workflow forever!