Softube Dimensions

Seven Reverbs with real character

There few things more boring than a guitar sound without reverb. As a guitarist for more than 50 years, it’s something I really learned (the hard way?). I’ve also learned to literally love a good reverb. During my years as a review writer for Musikermagasinet, we published an awful lot of reverb reviews. In a couple of the very last issues of this magazine, there were actually two large articles where I presented some of my absolute favorites among the reverb plugins. It landed on a total of 36 different plugins!

But… the beauty of the matter is that development in this area has progressed by leaps and bounds. In the three years since these two articles were published, technology has become increasingly sophisticated at emulating both old hardware and real acoustic rooms, so today we have a plethora of reverb plugins that sound almost fantastic, and some almost touch on the concept of otherworldly nice.

It seems only natural then to take a closer look at some of the ones that I think have succeeded best in recreating the parts I mentioned above, that is, both old analog/digital hardware and real acoustic rooms.

Dimensions

First up, I’ve picked a reverb from Swedish developers Softube, Dimensions. This plug-in appeared on the market sometime between 2024 and 2025, but it has since received an update that has expanded the number of different types of reverb to seven, adding the Chamber algorithm to the six algorithms that appeared in the first version. We can assume that the other six reverb types have also received a little touch-up.

The six original algorithms are Spring, Plate, Room, Concert Hall, Random Hall and Cathedral. And then we have the icing on the cake, the new Chamber. The best thing about these basic types is – apart from the fact that they all sound really good – that they really have distinctly different basic characters.

But, as if this were not enough, the Softube developers have added capabilities for the user to fine-tune a number of parameters in the different algorithms. And here we actually find a few different parameters depending on which reverb type we have chosen. Some examples: In the case of Spring, you can choose between two different spring tanks and you also have a bass and a treble filter; Plate offers an Analog or a Digital variant, and the Analog has three options, Bright, Medium or Dark, while the Digital instead provides some filter options plus a modulation setting; Room offers both Shape and Diffusion settings, and also three different Tone controls and two for Modulation; while Random Hall and Chamber have a few more options on different settings that can affect the sound, including a Freeze function.

Common controls

In addition, all seven algorithms offer four different parameter settings that have been placed centrally in the clear graphical interface. There we find pre-delay, a kind of tone control (Dark to Bright), decay time, plus a balance control for the dry and affected signal respectively. On the far right in the simpler version of the interface we find controls for Shimmer, where we can adjust Amount, Pitch, Feedback, Attack and High Cut. On the Output side we have High and Lo Cut filters, controls for the output signal, and Width (stereo width). In addition, the latest version (now: 2.6.41) has had a Ducking function added for some time. This was added as a concession to all those users who missed this particular feature, and here we can give the developers a lot of praise. During the development, they had first decided that Shimmer was a more important function than Ducking and they therefore chose not to include the latter, but after a minor “public outcry” they listened to the users and added Ducking in an update.

At the top of the app’s GUI is a simpler version of the level meter for input and output signals, and there is also a diagram showing how the different algorithms behave in terms of frequencies and decay.

However, it is possible to expand the user window and get some additional functions. Then you get well-sized level meters, plus settings for Headroom, Highpass and Phase invert. Now we’re talking.

Softube also offers a solid collection of different presets to start from. You can of course also edit these and save your own versions if needed or desired. The developers have chosen to divide these presets into five different groups, where “All Purpose” is something of a best-of list. The groups Bus, Drums, Vocals and Shimmer are more or less self-explanatory.

Here we have created our own guitar plate, and saved it for future use.

We might as well mention that Softube also offers a slightly slimmed-down version of this reverb, Core Dimensions, for about half the price. There, the number of algorithms has been cut down to these five: Spring, Plate Analog, Plate Digital, Synth Hall, and Chamber. The Core version has also been slimmed down in terms of adjustment/control options.

The seven algorithms…

With the seven algorithms, it is intended that most users will be able to find a variant that is suitable to start from. And they have certainly succeeded here. The classic spring reverb Spring has been emulated from a traditional tape echo (Roland’s Space Echo, perhaps?) and it has lots of character. At the same time, we avoid that loud spring rattle that makes no one happy. An excellent compromise, in other words.

The plate reverb, Plate, has a dark and dense character meant to work excellently for vocals or drums. I personally love this for my guitar overdubs. Here Softube are generous and offer three emulations of mechanical plates and an emulation of a classic digital plate reverb from 1976 (EMT 250?).

The Concert Hall is extravagant and frugal at the same time. A given choice for vocals and synth overdubs, and suitable for any studio. It emulates a digital device from 1978 (Lexicon 224 maybe?).

Room gives a tight and extremely useful reverb if you want to recreate a typical studio room, without too long a reverberation. It is a variant of the Concert Hall algorithm, and the original could also be found in the first version of the 224. Clear similarity in the sound character, but here a smaller room with more discreet echoes has been created.

Random Hall on the other hand is a larger, open reverb of a typical 80s style, with great possibilities for glueing together all types of sound sources in a convincing way (this could be a Lexicon 480).

Cathedral gives really long reverberations – as was to be expected. Large and embracing, with wonderful modulation possibilities. Originally created as a synth reverb – it is found in Softube’s Model 77, among other things – and it is perfect for synth pads and the like.

This is what the Chamber algorithm looks like in real life. Here we have also used the built-in Ducking function.

The latest addition, Chamber, is based on a completely new method for creating realistic reverb tails and is perfect for drum rooms, for example. Also perfect for all sorts of small acoustic rooms with short decay, but can also be used with longer decay without disturbing artefacts.

Shimmer

Let’s squeeze in a few words about the Shimmer function here. This is an effect that has appeared in quite a few different reverb contexts recently. Most often, you use a pitch-shift function to lift up part of the signal, say an octave, and in this way you get a kind of discreet shimmer that can be experienced as a bit dreamy. By both modulating and filtering, and perhaps also using feedback on the new signal, you can create further interesting effects. This effect is best used in fairly sparing doses.

General impressions

Having used Softube Dimensions for quite a few different music projects, I can only praise it for its exemplary versatility. Here you find some of the most conceivable reverb types you could possibly need. With a good convolution reverb such as the AudioEase Altiverb as a complement, you cover almost all needs for studio or live reverb. I really liked the Spring algorithm because it didn’t try at all costs to emulate the typically horrible reverb tanks found in some old Fender amps. This one does sound springy, but in an eminently useful and pleasant way. Gorgeous!

The same can be said about the Plate algorithm, which has become a real favorite of mine. It sounds beautiful without being mushy or too flattering. And it lets us rewind to the past, when a plate was a plate, and everything that was run through it came out with a real golden lining. Room and Chamber work great when you just want to get a little bit of ambience/room feeling, and both the halls and the cathedrals definitely have their uses. With Dimensions Softube has once again managed to create a really good effects plug-in! Full marks for versatility!

If only this kind of reverb had been available when I started recording music… Sorry, I forgot… It was. But who had room for a real sheet metal plate with a cabinet as big as two freezers, and who could afford to pay for it? Personally, I could only afford an Accessit Spring Reverb. Who said everything was better in the past?

Summary

A collection of emulations of seven of the most popular reverbs in recording history, all in one plug-in
Seven distinct reverb algorithms: Spring, Plate, Concert Hall, Room, Random Hall, Cathedral and Chamber
Shimmer effect that can transform any reverb into a shimmer reverb
A graphical visualization of the reverb’s decay
A large collection of presets
Time (decay time), Dry/Wet, Dark/Bright and Predelay controls

Link: A walkthrough