Aberrant DSP Lair Review: A Backstory-Rich Reverb With Some Insane Abilities

Unique effect plug-ins are often hard to come by…

It’s not often that I’m able to stumble upon something truly unique, a plug-in that takes existing techniques and re-packages them in an entirely creative, unique way. A reverb is a reverb, for example. If you buy a reverb, you know what you’re getting into. That’s not to say all reverbs are the same, though; each developer will add their own touches to slightly set themselves apart from the rest of the reverbs out there, and it’s often enough to warrant a purchase.

But, when it comes to Lair by Aberrant DSP, they’ve taken uniqueness to a whole new level. Not only have they created a fascinating reverb engine that caught my interest almost instantly, but they’ve done something that I have never really seen a plug-in developer do before: they’ve created lore.

I’m not joking. There is an entire backstory behind this plugin. And, as someone personally interested in creative writing, that’s seriously awesome.

The backstory that Aberrant DSP have come up with consists of Lair being a mysterious diskette conjured up by a mad-scientist-like individual in an occult-y fashion, complete with sacrifices and portals to the “belly of a dying star.” The whole story is on the store page, and it’s worth a read; because just reading it made me giddy to try this thing out.

Will Lair grant my every last wish, or will I be cursed for the rest of eternity? There’s only one way to find out.

A Breathtaking Interface

I will not mince words: this is the single best looking plugin I have ever laid my eyes upon. And I’m not sure it’s particularly close, either.

Before I even get to the crazy things that Lair is capable of, I just have to express my pure love for the visual design. They have absolutely nailed the occult-style theming down to a science. What’s even cooler is that, when the plugin senses sound input, things light up and move in real time. Everything is perfect, down to the last detail: the symbols adorning this plugin, the font choice, the color scheme. It all really makes you feel like you’re using the actual diskette that’s discussed in the backstory.

Speaking of the diskette, it’s right there in the middle. I haven’t been able to decipher exactly what the symbols mean, but I do know that it controls how long your reverb is. The straight line is the shortest reverb, and the strange curly thing to its right is the longest; the dial starts at the straight line and moves clockwise until it’s as long as possible.

The devices in the top right allow you to select what mode your sound will pass through. The “artifact” gives you a dark, spring-like wash, the “mirror” is Lair’s answer to a plate reverb, and the “rift” is a seemingly endless room reverb. Each mode comes with two special knobs (directly under the device) that allow you to play with it further. For the “artifact,” it gives you a volatility knob and a tension knob. If you want a full breakdown of what every modulator does, check Aberrant DSP’s website for a good description.

The drive knob adds distortion in one of three flavors (selectable by clicking on one of those symbols), and the modulator will give you motion based on what waveform you’ve selected. I can actually decipher those symbols!

To the left of the diskette are your traditional width, panning, mix, and pre-delay knobs that will help you shape your sound further. But, all of the major work is done on the right side of the reverb.

Overall, the plugin’s functions are easy to use, even though things look complex. It’s just a matter of turning knobs until you get a sound you like. And, considering just how many ways there are to mess with your sound, it might take a while. But, the entire process is a lot of fun, and besides, it’s hard to get frustrated with a plugin when it looks this good.

Into the Lair

It’d be a shame if the plugin looked this good and didn’t sound as good as it looks. I was in luck.

This thing is capable of so much that I’ve never seen before in a reverb. You can make simple room reverbs, dark harmonic sounds, or even endless voids of sound that feature a nearly-sickening vibrato. It’s pretty incredible how much you can do here.

For what it’s worth, while the plugin’s entire branding is “reverb for the occult,” you can use it to make any sort of sound you want. That is, you don’t have to be scoring for a horror movie to have a good time with Lair.

There are also 77 factory presets that can show you just what Lair is capable of, as well as providing you with a good starting point for you to work from. I’ll be highlighting three of those presets below, all played on a simple guitar note. The three presets highlight the three different devices you can use.

The first preset, “Dusted Artifact,” is a fairly simple room reverb using the artifact. The next, “Foolish Flames,” is a very cool, stutter-y, pitched up reverb that uses the mirror. The last, simply titled “End of Time” alongside a set of coordinates, needs to be heard to believed.

These are all using the same raw guitar sample that I play at the beginning of the clip. I believe that these three presets really show you just how much you can do with this plugin; they are just the tip of the iceberg.

Pros and Cons:

Pros:

It’s not just a reverb; it’s an experience.

I could gush about the way this plugin looks for hours. When you’re using it, it really doesn’t feel like you’re using just another reverb. You’re using a high-quality reverb that feels like it’s ripped out of the shadow realm in the best way possible.

It’s easy to use and capable of both the simple and extreme.

As I mentioned earlier, it’s a pretty easy plug-in to use, and when you get a handle of things, you can make some of the most extreme reverbs that I’ve ever heard. But that doesn’t mean you can’t use it for simple purposes; the simple reverbs sound just as great as the world-bending ones. It’ll work as well for a AAA sound designer as it will for a bedroom EDM producer.

The possibilities here are endless.

It’s cheap.

You can grab this reverb for $36 USD. For what you’re getting, that’s a bargain. You can also do a free trial if you’d like.

Cons:

Get ready for some post processing.

Some of the frequency responses that come out of this thing are decently harsh, especially when you get to the crazy, world-bending reverbs. Pairing this with a dynamic EQ would be a great idea; that way, you can do whatever you want and not have to worry about any nasty frequencies that may come your way. It’s also relatively light on the CPU, so you’ve got a lot of room to pair it with something that’ll tame it before you hear it.

Conclusion: Should you get it?

It’s powerful yet tamable, it’s complex yet simple, it’s reasonably priced, and it looks absolutely incredible. I knew that when I saw the lore for this plugin, it would be something special. If you’re looking for a reverb that’s truly unlike any other, Lair is about as good as it gets.

Buy Lair here.