Introducing Tai Chi v1.5 – a free update for all Tai Chi and Tai Chi Lite users which brings significant enhancements for reverb and synthesiser enthusiasts.
Tai Chi v1.5 now includes three powerful new facilities, all taking inspiration from classic reverb designs with a modern twist:
- A unique Unison Chorus technology that brings a stunning unison like effect to the reflection engine – it is perfect for fattening up classic analog / virtual analog synths and brings an extra dimension to your library of loops and stems (available in Tai Chi & Tai Chi Lite)
- Two new high density nonlinear reflection modes capable of providing a short, sharp apparition of heavy reverberation that is ideal for snares and fast synth lines that need a burst of dense ambience that will not swamp a mix with long decays (available in Tai Chi & Tai Chi Lite)
- A new shimmer reverb control perfect for adding glistening, harmonically rich overtones reminiscent of the classic shimmer sounds of the 1980s that you can easily dial into any of your favourite Tai Chi presets (available in Tai Chi only)
In this article we first take a whistle stop tour of the sound of Unison Chorus and nonlinear reflections on a collection of DAW loops. We then deep dive into the shimmer reverb enhancements, and finally examine in detail how all three features can work together to transform even the simplest of synth stabs.
You can download the update from the downloads page (just install over the top of your existing installation if you already have Tai Chi). If you’re new to Tai Chi why not pick up a demo, or simply read on to learn more about the new features.
Unison Chorus & Nonlinear Reflections On Loops & Stems
First let’s take a listen to the Unison Chorus and nonlinear reflections in action with some basic loop-based audio samples.
Working with synths is great for the ultimate in flexibility when composing, but if you’re primarily using loops or remixing from multitracks and stems you’ll have much less flexibility over the base sound. So if you need to put a drum loop in a tight space without killing the vibe, fatten up a synth line more than your chorus can manage, or add an ethereal pad-like air around a synth line while retaining the aesthetic of the part Tai Chi is here for you!
All of the examples in this section are taken from Logic Pro’s stock loops library to illustrate the versatility of the plug-in with sources that we do not have absolute control over. A major challenge when working with loops in this way is that they may already have delay and reverb effects applied so we do not have a great deal of latitude to add additional reverberation. The nonlinear reflections in these cases are set to a very short length, which allows us to blast the source with very short ambiences and rapidly build the Unison Chorus effect without uncontrollably drenching the audio in additional reverb.
These audio illustrations are presented in dry / mixed cycles to illustrate without / with Tai Chi. Samples are named per the Logic loop file name followed by the Tai Chi preset.
Synths and Instruments Loops
80s Ballad Chords 3 (dry / mix), 80s Ballad Chords 2 (dry / mix), 80s Ballad Chords 1 (dry / mix): Tai Chi – Synth Ballad
Mirror Ball Synth (dry / mix / dry / mix): Tai Chi – Dynamic Rich Pad
Bot Chord Layers 02 (dry / mix / dry / mix): Tai Chi – Luscious Blooms
Radiant Chord Layers 03 (dry / mix / dry / mix): Tai Chi – Dynamic Rich Pad
Mega Anthem Synth (dry / mix / dry / mix): Tai Chi – Epic Synths
70s Electric Piano 71 (dry / mix / dry / mix): Tai Chi – Wavy Groove
Cascade Chord Layers (dry / mix / dry / mix): Tai Chi – Epic Synths
New Horizon Synth Layers (dry / mix / dry / mix): Tai Chi – Achromatic Ions
Ion Drive Chord Synth (dry / mix / dry / mix): Tai Chi – Achromatic Ions
Rhythmic Loops
Chord Beat 01 (dry / mix / dry / mix): Tai Chi – Snare Shot
FM Accents Beat (dry / mix / dry / mix): Tai Chi – Fraternal Twin
Arcade Summer Percussion 01 (dry / mix / dry / mix): Tai Chi – Bright Nonlin
Loops sample credit: Apple Logic Pro
Now that you’ve heard a little of the power Unison Chorus and nonlinear reflections have under the most constrained of situations, let’s bring the final piece of the update to the stage – shimmer. We’ll dive into a little more detail from here on, discussing the background to the shimmer effect and moving on from the Logic samples to custom audio. We’ll present the samples in different mix states separately so we can really focus on what the new facilities are doing.
What Is A Shimmer Reverb?
A shimmer reverb is simply a combination of reverb, pitch shifting and a feedback loop that iteratively shifts reverberated audio up (or down, or both) to create harmonics that build on top of each other over time – the reverb blurs the shifts so that steps cannot so easily be heard. Often found in guitar pedals and hardware reverbs from the 1980s and 1990s, the effect has been used for years on synth pads and guitar slides, and is particularly prevalent in ambient styles of music.
There are two common topologies for a shimmer reverb:
- A standard (i.e. non-shimmering) reverb with a pitch shifter device (and usually a delay) before or after it connected in series. All of this is put within an outer feedback loop so that audio passes through the devices repeatedly, shifting up over time again and again;
- A dedicated shimmering reverb where one or more pitch shifters are incorporated into the reverb’s internal loop structure(s) – in effect similar to the above, but a fully integrated purpose-built reverb is designed for the task.
Back in the 80/90s the first shimmers heard on records were those hand crafted by innovative engineers that had devised their own shimmer topologies in mix studios. This was often achieved by connecting heavily diffused long reverbs from devices like a Lexicon 224 with a pitch shifting delay unit (e.g. something from the Eventide DDL or AMS DMX lines) all looped back on itself to create a feedback loop. Other effects including filters could be added, or engaged in the delays / reverbs themselves to tailor the sound and length of the effect. A little hard to control in terms of decay time, but effective.
Some modern plug-ins continue to use such a topology within a single plug-in, a good example is Eventide’s ShimmerVerb. Other shimmer plug-ins exist that bring the pitch shifters within the reverb loop body, but despite these being readily available some musicians are still creating shimmer reverbs themselves in DAWs like Bitwig! You can check out an interesting example here which builds a simple reverb and shifter from basic DSP building blocks (delays, all-pass filters, attenuators, and so on).
You will often find that shimmers do not have a standard reverb time control, this is because with so much diffusion and feedback in the loop it is sometimes very difficult to actually be specific about the decay time. You in effect have 3 loop levels – tight inner loops (diffusers), middle loops (the reverb itself has a loop) and the large outer loops (the reverb/delay/shift feedback structure). These heavy wash reverbs tend to be quite a dominant / heavy mix element, which in some genres is ideal.
Tai Chi takes a different approach than both of those above, and conversely is more easily controlled. This is a simple and convenient shimmer facility that does not dramatically adjust the character or decay of the reverb itself – so a few example presets are included to get you started, but it can be used quickly and easily with any existing Tai Chi preset (of sufficient decay time that you will hear the shimmer build, usually a few seconds or more). Just visit the Fidelity tab and dial in some of that classic shimmering sparkle. It defaults to a very musical octave shifter, but you can easily choose from +1 cent to +12 octave up-shifting in single cent divisions if you prefer (only up, down or up/down shifting is not available).
If you’re not familiar with the sound of a shimmer reverb, take a listen to this very basic synth chord progression taken from a modelled classic FM synth. First the dry audio, next with the unison chorus from the Cyber Shimmer preset (no reverb), then we add the reverb without shimmering, and finally the full preset with its shimmer engaged.
Dry source (FM Synth Pad)
Dry/met mix – reflections with unison chorus (no late reverb)
Dry/met mix – reflections with unison chorus, reverb with no shimmer
Dry/wet mix – reflections with unison chorus, reverb with shimmer
Let’s listen to another, a saw PWM example from a classic synth model using the same Cyber Shimmer preset.
Dry source (VA Synth PWM Pad)
Dry/met mix – reflections with unison chorus, reverb with no shimmer
Dry/wet mix – reflections with unison chorus, reverb with shimmer
The additional overtones should be clearly audible, but to illustrate the effect visually consider this screenshot from Pro-Q showing a frequency spectrum before and after the shimmer effect – the line in red is a synth waveform dry compared to the spectrum in white where you can see where many additional harmonics have been added to the sound. This is the key difference between a standard reverb and a shimmering reverb – most reverbs only add to the signal in time not also in frequency.
The harmonics decay away exponentially in level because each iterative octave up-shift around the reverb loop has an associated attenuation (as is the nature of reverb itself). Also note that the harmonics are rolled off at around 8 kHz (far beyond the top note of a piano) to avoid piercing high frequencies being generated and propagating through the reverb (which would eventually alias and fold back down as unpleasant audible artefacts if left to manifest to extremes).
Let’s try another few examples, some more complex arp based patches. The first a modelled VA synth line.
Dry (Classic VA Synth Bright Melody Line)
Dry/wet mix – reflections with unison chorus, reverb with no shimmer
Dry/wet mix – reflections with unison chorus, reverb with shimmer
This sample has more high frequency content, so the shimmer is slightly less prominent – again the Cyber Shimmer preset was used with the preset’s EQ enabled (which has a high shelf lift and rolls off the lows).
Moving on to another Tai Chi preset called Plucked FM which is paired with an arp line again from the FM synth.
Dry (FM Synth Plucked Arp)
Dry/wet mix – reflections with unison chorus, reverb with no shimmer
Dry/wet mix – reflections with unison chorus, reverb with shimmer
Naturally sources with a lot of high frequency harmonics will not present a shimmer effect as strongly as those without because the naturally occurring harmonics. The natural harmonics will typically present at a higher volume and thus take precedence in the acoustic presentation over the shimmered ones – hence shimmers tend to work best with content that is not already harmonically well endowed above the fundamental such as the first pad samples. Further, it is worth noting that the Tai Chi shimmer is designed for delicately supplementing its existing reverb aesthetic with a relatively light and clean shimmer effect – it is not intended as an extremely heavily diffused wash-like dominating shimmer as you may already have to hand in pedal and other dedicated shimmer reverb plug-ins.
We can illustrate this further, so take a listen to a brief melody lines played on a classic VA synth to hear the effects in action on content with more high frequency content. Although you can hear the effect in the tail and adds dimension and a little higher octave/frequency lift, it is a more subtle effect. Less prominent, but when removed the patch offers a little less character. This shows the limits of shimmer effects, so if you are looking to pull off a good shimmer it is important to have picked an appropriate patch. Unison Chorus is bringing a lot to this frequency rich patch, with only a little work needed from the shimmer to fill out the spectrum.
Dry (Classic VA Synth Bright Stab Melody)
Dry/wet mix – reflections with unison chorus, reverb with no shimmer
Dry/wet mix – reflections with unison chorus, reverb with shimmer
This is a good example of how Tai Chi’s shimmer can be used to gently augment a patch with additional complexity without dramatically changing the character of the reverb itself.
Moving on to another type of instrument – electric piano is a source that typically glistens under the flattering light of a shimmer reverb. In this sample the Wurli Glisten preset is selected which has the shimmer set to a moderate level and reverb treble multipliers set reasonably low to contain the shimmering to the first few octaves – a useful tip if the effect is too strong on a given source. It also features unison chorus, thickening the overall presentation.
Dry (Electric Piano)
Dry/wet mix – reflections with unison chorus, reverb with no shimmer
Dry/wet mix – reflections with unison chorus, reverb with shimmer
Electric piano sample credit: Dan Wheeler
What Is Unison Chorus?
It’s the perfect accompaniment to vintage analog and early digital synths with lonely voices! Now they can play in unison like never before – this is the unison control classic synths were never born with!
This is a new way of designing a chorus effect that pushes past the practical voice count limitations of regular choruses. Typically when a chorus sounds good, you’re tempted to increase the voice count to squeeze more from it – but then start to run into comb filtering artefact limits so end up dialling it back a little. Unison Chorus is not susceptible to this effect, so the chorus always sounds as thick and juicy as you like.
It can also spread chorusing voices further out in time than is typical of chorus effects, thickening a sound spatially as well as temporally – this pairs very effectively with the nonlinear facility also added in this update.
If you’re a synth fanatic, once you get into this you may well find yourself going back to your old synths and experiencing them in a completely different way than before – it had me firing up some old hardware synths with limited voice counts and enjoying the process of exploring them like they when they were new 20+ years ago!
Classics like the Roland Juno-60 have wonderful waveforms that were augmented at source by a lavishly rich chorus to thicken the sound – this was very important for anybody seeking to imbue additional richness to those classic tones with a detuned warmth despite the synth’s very low voice count – but the thickening that could realistically be achieved with a small number of well modulated delay lines is of course quite limited. While early digital VA synths from the Access Virus, Novation Nova and Waldorf Microwave lines do often feature a high quality unison capability, their relatively low voice counts make it difficult to substantially thicken pads whilst managing the voice count limit so those also made heavy use of good quality choruses. I could spend hours arguing over whether the Juno chorus or Virus b chorus/phaser combo gave the better result!
The main problem with chorusing is that it quickly finds its limit. At high chorus voice counts peaks and troughs in the frequency spectrum (comb filtering) tend to become very audible, to an almost dominating degree, so the effect can only be used to add a handful of additional voices before the artefacts start to degrade the sound. So when using early analogue synths, early VAs, and some recreations, it can be difficult to balance unison and chorus to achieve the effect.
To thicken sounds further we can now turn to Tai Chi’s Unison Chorus which resides in the reflection module chain – it’s built into the processor itself at a fundamental level rather than being a post effect which is the reason it is so effective. Of course being part of the reflections is easy to manage in terms of the amount of perceived reverberation it adds around the source. There’s every reason to add this on top of your synth’s existing unison and chorus, it typically pairs well.
Returning to the PWM pad example that you already heard with unison chorus, we will compare the sound of the dry with the reflections when utilising unison chorus.
Dry source (VA Synth PWM Pad)
Dry/wet mix – reflections only with unison chorus
You should be able to hear a rich and warm aura of reflections around the dry; the effect of adding additional voices in this way is characteristic of a heavy chorus but without any comb filtering artefacts – it is similar to the effect we would be able to achieve adding detuned voices at source at a lower level than the primary voice, hence the name Unison Chorus.
Also note that the reflections are spread out in time, just over a half second worth, which comes from the chorus spread of 300 ms and a further 300 ms as this patch is using a non-linear burst reflections pattern. This creates some welcome ambience, but it’s not essential – in this patch it just sounded better with a little spreading. You’ll also find it sounds great on plucked sources, but each will need time adjustments to taste.
Unison Chorus and Shimmer Combined
To illustrate how powerful the features work together to create the Cyber Shimmer preset, check out this example where we take an even more basic synth stab chord with a little vibrato (this helps us to hear the effects). We first show how the reflection module’s new non-linear shape and unison chorus module can strengthen the initial presentation of the sound, and then bring in a heavily chorused shimmer tail to add a glistening new dimension to the patch.
Dry source (VA Synth Single Vibrato Stab)
Reflections
The first sample is an equally balanced wet/dry mix of non-linear reflections using the standard Tai Chi reflection engine chorus (i.e. a fairly light standard chorusing – not unison chorus). Note that it elongates the stab providing a thick halo of dense reverb around the chord with subtle chorus.
We then engage Unison Chorus to dramatically thicken the sound. Note how the reflections are providing the lift that a unison in a synth typically would, by adding multiple moderately detuned voices at a level slightly below the primary voicing. We arrive at a thick and luscious unison/chorus presentation.
Going backstage for a moment, just listen to the effect fully wet – the detuned voices are clearly audible as an inappropriately dispersed chorus when heard without the primary voicing. Note that the typical peaks and troughs in spectrum from a heavily voiced chorus however are completely absent – this allows the combination to sound richly harmonic without chorusing artefacts.
To aid quick comparison, a series of fades between dry and mixed emphasise the power of unison chorus.
Reverb
We next bring in a heavily chorused late reverb, of the type possible with earlier versions of Tai Chi for reference.
Now utilising the full power of the Cyber Shimmer preset, it is clear how the shimmer facility adds a new dimension to the reverb by iteratively adding extra +1 octave overtones to the sound so that the later phases of the tail bloom with a collection of glistening high frequency overtones.
For a final comparison, we make another series of fades between dry and mixed to illustrate the full effect in context.
Nonlinear Reflections
The Tai Chi reflections engine has been updated to include nonlinears, there are two modes:
- Nonlinear envelope – a hold and decay time (with associated levels revealed by clicking the time/arrow button between the dial values) can be used to provide a short dense decay burst;
- Nonlinear room – a higher density version of the standard rooms pattern (the familiar spacing control will determine the length of the nonlinear region)
The principle motivation for adding the nonlinear modes was to provide weight and impact for the unison chorus facility, so many of the unison chorus presets utilise these new patterns. However nonlinears offer a classic sound in their own right. While typically implemented as a train of short bursts, those in Tai Chi differ by presenting as a very intense burst of reverberation that quickly dissipates.
With user-selectable control over hold and decay time in terms of milliseconds or tempo, they are ideal for adding weight or rhythmic interest to percussion such as snare strikes.
Dry
Wet – Snare Light Lift
Wet – Snare Light Lift with quarter note hold
Try Tai Chi For Yourself
Tai Chi is the perfect reverb for adding depth and character to synths, and with the power of Unison Chorus, shimmer and non-linear reflections there’s never been a better time to hear how it can elevate your electronic soundscapes.
All LiquidSonics reverbs are available to try for free for 14 days, just head to the demos page, drop a code into your license manager and then pick up the installers from the downloads page to check them out for yourself.
