Convolution Reverb Pro is a sample based Max For Live device that allows one to digitally simulate the reverberations of a particular space from the real world, referred to as Impulse Responses (IR), to a sound, creating the illusion that the input was recorded in that space. It is essentially the process of filtering a source sound through a digitally stored room sample. The application of this can give a sense of roominess, but also tonal character and width.
The method used to capture the reverberations of a given space involves playing a loud sound, such as a gunshot, into an area, phasing it out and thereby leaving us with a sonic footprint of this space. This makes convolution reverb an invaluable tool compared to other, more standardised versions of digital reverb that typically use algorithms to simulate acoustic reverb.
I experimented with this by convolving a sample using a kick drum as an impulse response. I found I was able to accentuate the low frequencies of the kick within the sound of the sample, while also dampening the frequencies of the sample that aren’t in the kick IR File. This served as a useful tool, allowing me to achieve a clearer bass sound without having to use a low-pass filter which would have cut many of the samples harmonics.
Used creatively, this device allows one to explore various spaces of sound, including unconventional ones such as the kick I used, to introduce a whole new texture to a sound or body of work. Furthermore the same device facilitates the combination of two IRs, in early and late reflections respectively. This hybridisation of multiple space further adds to the versatility of the Convolution Reverb Pro.
Another interesting thing I found was that Ableton’s Hybrid Reverb actually combines both convolution and algorithmic reverbs.