Source Audio firmly established themselves in the stompbox big time with the release of the Nemesis delay a couple of years ago. Now they are poised to really turn some heads with the new Ventris
Source Audio firmly established themselves in the stompbox big time with the release of the Nemesis delay a couple of years ago. Now they are poised to really turn some heads with the new Ventris Dual Reverb ($399 street). With tons of processing power courtesy of two 56-bit chips, this beautiful box has the muscle to deliver classic reverb sounds as well as all new textures.
The Ventris is dressed up in a pretty, green, brushed-aluminum housing, with a very reasonable footprint given its two footswitches and seven knobs. It has 12 onboard reverb engines, with more to choose from via the Neuro mobile or desktop apps. In true Source Audio fashion, the Ventris is simple to use right out of the box, but it can go as crazy deep as you want with full MIDI implementation (for 128 presets), expression control, additional parameter editing, USB connectivity, and then some. You don’t have to use any of these functions, but they’re there if you want ’em.
What the Ventris really does, however, is sound awesome. Like, “up there with the best reverbs you’ve ever heard” kind of awesome. I won’t go through all the engines, but here are some standouts. The True Spring sound is astoundingly good and realistic. It has the drip and sproing of the real deal with none of the cartoonish artifacts that can taint some simulations. The Room and Hall algorithms are luscious and E-Dome (Tap fans take note) is freaking enormous. Some of the most inspiring sounds can be found with the Shimmer, Swell, and Offspring engines. The octave-up notes that accompany Shimmer are fabulously in tune and lend themselves to beautiful pads. Swell is super vibey and dynamic. Offspring is my personal favorite and one of the most creativity-boosting sounds I’ve come