Reverb is one of the secret ingredients that makes certain retro game music shine. And now, fans of the original PlayStation can use its digital reverb in their projects. This is all thanks to PS1 Reverb by Shirobon.
What is PS1 Reverb?
PS1 Reverb is a collection of impulse responses created by the musician Shirobon. You can use them in any convolution reverb plugin, and it’ll replicate various environments from classic PS1 games.
How Convolution Reverb Works
If you’re not familiar, convolution reverb is a type of effect that uses an impulse response (IR) to simulate an acoustic space. Impulse responses are created by playing a burst of sound in the area (usually a sine wave sweep) and capturing the sound of its reverberation.
How Shirobon’s PS1 Reverb Was Created
The PlayStation’s built-in sound processing unit (SPU) offered digital reverb as one of its effects. Shirobon exploited this by burning a custom sine sweep to a CD, then placing it in an original PS1 console. He fed the audio into various reverb settings, thus generating the impulse responses.
What Comes with PS1 Reverb?
The pack includes four impulse responses:
- PS1 Studio IR
- PS1 Church IR
- PS1 Dome IR
- PS1 Hall IR
Each one has different characteristics. So be sure to try them all and experiment with different settings.
Download PS1 Reverb: Impulse Responses for Free
You can get these impulse responses for free from Shirobon’s BandCamp page. They’re free to download, but please consider giving him a donation for his work.
Load these impulse responses into a convolution reverb plugin to mimic the original PlayStation's digital reverb.
Need a Convolution Reverb Plugin?
Most major DAWs come with a stock convolution reverb plugin. In fact, we’ve put together this resource to help you find it.
But if you don’t have one, you can get Convology XT for free from Impulse Record.
This free convolution reverb plugin comes with 74 impulse response files. Plus, you can upload your own IR files to create custom reverbs and effects.
Discover Another Retro Gaming Reverb Plugin
If you want more retro reverb, consider checking out SNESVerb by Impact Soundworks. It’s a delightful plugin that lets you recreate the ping-pong reverb effect used in classic SNES games.
Learn more about SNESVerb in our review.
SNESVerb is a lightweight plugin for creating the ping-ponging reverb effect used in 16-bit video game soundtracks. It's also useful for other lo-fi processing effects.
