Effects

Distant Horizons

A 22 HP multi-algorithm stereo reverb built on a 4x4 Feedback Delay Network with shimmer, freeze, and full CV control.

What is a Distant Horizons?

Distant Horizons is a multi-algorithm stereo reverb built around a Feedback Delay Network (FDN). Where a basic reverb produces one room sound, an FDN-based reverb gives you several distinct algorithmic spaces in one panel: a concert hall, a plate tank, a granular cloud, a tuned-resonator bank, and a shimmer mode that reinjects octave-up pitch-shifted audio into the feedback path for an ever-rising harmonic halo.

The Feedback Delay Network was formalized by Jean-Marc Jot in the late 1980s as a generalization of the Schroeder reverb. Multiple delay lines feed into a mixing matrix (Hadamard, Householder, or unitary rotation) that scrambles their outputs back into all the inputs. With proper damping and diffusion, an FDN produces dense, smooth, naturalistic tails with far fewer audible 'metallic' artifacts than parallel-comb-based designs. Modern reverbs from Lexicon, TC Electronic, and Valhalla all build on this idea.

The shimmer algorithm is the move that defines a generation of ambient music. Take the reverb's feedback path, pitch-shift it up an octave (or two), and reinject it. Each pass through the loop adds another octave-up copy of the previous tail, building a slowly-rising harmonic cloud above the original sound. Brian Eno, Eventide's H3000 'Shimmer' preset, and the Strymon BlueSky made the technique a standard. Distant Horizons puts it under voltage control.

Five algorithms in one module - Hall, Plate, Shimmer, Cloud (granular diffusion), and Resonator (tuned comb-bank for metallic ringing) - share a common engine and parameter set, so morphing between them is fluent. With freeze, pre-delay, internal modulation, and full CV control, this is the kitchen-sink ambient reverb in the rack.

Our Distant Horizons

Distant Horizons runs at native speed in the browser. Five algorithms (Hall, Plate, Shimmer, Cloud, Resonator) share a 4x4 Feedback Delay Network with Hadamard mixing, frequency-dependent damping (separate HF and LF damping for naturalistic tonal contour), input diffusion, internal modulation (depth + rate), pre-delay, and freeze. Per-algorithm tuning shapes the FDN's character into each space.

Both MIX and WET outputs are exposed - the MIX outputs blend dry and wet for inserted-effect routing, the WET outputs give pure reverb for parallel/send routing. Five CV inputs (Decay, Damp, Mix, Size, Shimmer) plus FREEZE and CLOCK gates make the whole module voltage-controllable. Tone knob shapes overall brightness; input gain compensates for hot or cold sources.

Honest status note: some algorithms (Shimmer, Cloud, Resonator) are still being tuned - they sound recognizably like their target algorithms but haven't been A/B'd against a reference plugin yet. Hall and Plate are solid. We'll keep refining the harmonic content of Shimmer's pitch-shift in particular - it's a tricky algorithm to get right. 22 HP, the most parameter-rich reverb in the rack, designed to be the ambient-and-sound-design centerpiece.

In a patch

Distant Horizons sits late in the chain, after VCA and any time-of-flight effects like delay. For send/return-style routing: patch your source into IN L/R, take MIX L/R into the output, set Mix to 30-40%. For parallel routing: split the source - dry signal goes around the reverb, wet signal goes through it - and use the WET L/R outputs into a separate mixer channel for independent wet-level control.

On pads, hall mode with long decay and low damping creates the wide, lush texture that defines ambient. On drums, plate mode with shorter decay and higher damping gives the snappy 80s reverb sound. On a melodic line, shimmer mode (with the SHIMMER knob up) adds the rising-octave halo that makes any sound feel ethereal.

Patch a slow LFO into Size CV for evolving room dimensions. Patch an envelope into Decay CV to shorten the tail on percussive transients (so each hit doesn't smear into the next). Send a gate to FREEZE to capture the current reverb tail as a sustained pad you can play over.

Inputs

IN L (audio) — Left audio input. Mono sources patched here are processed by both reverb halves in stereo modes.
IN R (audio) — Right audio input. Patch with IN L for true stereo source preservation.
Dcy (cv) — CV modulation of decay length. Adds to the Decay knob.
Dmp (cv) — CV modulation of high-frequency damping. Adds to the Damp knob.
Mix (cv) — CV modulation of dry/wet mix. Useful for breath/swell pedal style automation.
Size (cv) — CV modulation of room size. A slow LFO here makes the space slowly expand and contract.
Shm (cv) — CV modulation of shimmer amount. Only effective in Shimmer mode (mode 2).
Frz (gate) — Freeze gate. While high, the reverb tail is held indefinitely - input is ignored, decay is locked at infinity.
Clk (gate) — Clock input for tempo-synced features (pre-delay sync, modulation rate alignment).

Outputs

WET L (audio) — Pure wet output, left. Contains only the reverb tail with no dry signal - use for parallel chains where you want independent wet level.
WET R (audio) — Pure wet output, right.
MIX L (audio) — Dry/wet mixed output, left. The all-in-one output for inserted-effect style routing.
MIX R (audio) — Dry/wet mixed output, right.

Controls

Decay — Reverb decay length, 0-1. 0.3 = small room, 0.5 = medium hall, 0.85+ = cathedral, 1.0 = infinite (use Freeze gate for true infinity).
Damp — High-frequency damping, 0-1. 0 = bright reflective surfaces (tile/glass), 1 = absorbent surfaces (carpet/curtains). Higher damping makes the tail darken over time.
LoDmp — Low-frequency damping. Helps keep low-end from building up to mud, especially with long decays.
Diff — Input diffusion, 0-1. Lower = audible early reflections (clear bouncing sound); higher = smooth Gaussian-like diffuse field.
Size — Room size, 0-1. Smaller = tight ambient (small chamber); larger = sparse, expansive (concert hall, cathedral).
Mod — Internal modulation depth on the delay-network taps. Adds chorus-like motion to the tail. Helps avoid metallic ringing on long decays.
Rate — Internal modulation rate. Slow rates = gentle drift; faster = vibrato-like motion in the tail.
Shimr — Shimmer amount in Shimmer mode (mode 2). Blends in an octave-up pitch-shifted feedback path for ethereal halos. No effect in other modes.
Tone — Tonal balance of the reverb tail. 0 = darker; 1 = brighter.
Mix — Dry/wet for the MIX outputs, 0-1. 0 = fully dry, 0.5 = equal blend, 1 = fully wet.
Freeze — Manual freeze toggle (paired with the Freeze gate input). Locks the current tail indefinitely.
Mode — Algorithm select. 0 = Hall, 1 = Plate, 2 = Shimmer, 3 = Cloud, 4 = Resonator. Each mode has very different character - try them all on the same source.
PreDl — Pre-delay before the reverb starts. Separates the dry transient from the wet bloom - critical for keeping vocals and lead instruments intelligible.
InGn — Input gain trim, 0.1-2x. Boost quiet sources or attenuate hot ones to feed the reverb at its sweet spot.

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