Using Perfectspace

X3 user here.  How do I use Perfectspace?  I can bring it up in the Plugin FX menu, but I can't seem to get it to do anything. Appreciate any help.
 
John B.

It asks me to load a wav file, so it needs an audio file that already exists.  I was hoping to use it to track vocals in real time while recording.
 
JB

It took me a while also to figure this out, but I decided it wasn't worth it. Sonitus is a better choice. but I just use some native reverb from whatever soft synth I'm using (Aria, Play etc), then send it all to East West Spaces. Which is an excellent reverb that does not cost an arm and a leg.

OK.  I followed the instructions and found out how to do this.  But as somebody said, the latency was too much to use for tracking.  I appreciate your enlightening me on how to use this, though.
 
JB

Although Perfect Space is a good convolution IR reverb it is not 64 bit nor is it true stereo. I recommend the Melda production Multiband Convolution reverb. It is 64 bits and is true stereo. Plus it will load any IR. Its also very reasonable in price.
 
I think its the best at that price. On sale its a no brainer.  https://www.meldaproducti.../MMultiBandConvolution

John
Although Perfect Space is a good convolution IR reverb it is not 64 bit nor is it true stereo. I recommend the Melda production Multiband Convolution reverb. It is 64 bits and is true stereo. Plus it will load any IR. Its also very reasonable in price.
 
I think its the best at that price. On sale its a no brainer.  https://www.meldaproducti.../MMultiBandConvolution

John, these products do look interesting. Especially the spatial positioning aspect, available in two of the reverbs. I'm wondering if I could use, say, Mreverb, along with Spaces, to get the spatial effect? Maybe use only the spatial, mute the reverb? I looked on their forum, but there does not appear to be a search option (perhaps you need to join first). just wondered if you might be able to answer this. Thanks.

Thank You John. This thread has got me thinking about panning again. But I don't want to hijack it, so I think I'll start another one on spatial positioning. Johnbee, I hope you solve your problem with Perfect Spaces and reverb in general.

Reverberation is a surprisingly deep subject. It's everywhere in our lives all the time, although we're often unaware of it because our brains are processing it subconsciously. But take it away and suddenly we're in a strangely disorienting environment. Most people can't stand being in an anechoic chamber for more than a few minutes.
 
When thinking about artificial reverberation it's good to start by thinking about real acoustical reverberation and what it means to us for depth perception and location, as well as the aesthetics of musical sounds made more pleasing with the addition of time-based complexity. When you insert a reverb plugin, you're leveraging the listener's real-life experiences to create an aural illusion that means something to him, even if it's on an unconscious level.
 
A violin without reverb is fingernails on a chalkboard, but the violin was designed to incorporate the room as part of the instrument. Concert halls are carefully crafted for maximum diffusion density and spectral uniformity while keeping delay times short enough to not impinge on clarity. When you employ a digital reverb, it needs to partner with the instrument or voice in a similar manner.
 
OK, enough philosophizing. On a more practical level, and concerning vocal recording in particular, your best bet is to start with an acoustically-neutral environment. Use acoustical absorbers around the microphone and singer to remove as much of the room sound as possible. The result will be unnaturally dry and you probably won't like it, but it will provide a baseline from which to add artificial reverberation for any number of effects.
 
Part of that is panoramic. When someone sings, even unamplified, their voice is a monophonic point source. However, that's not how we hear it, because we're also processing reflections that come from many angles. That's what you want to duplicate. Except that instead of relying on what reflections the room provides (which is usually crap) you now have complete control over it. 
 
"True stereo" reverbs are irrelevant in this case, even though the end result is a stereophonic signal. That's because the source is monophonic and only the reflections are arrayed across the panorama. For this, PerfectSpace does a fine job. As it generates "reflections", it's panning each of them differently, imitating the effect of natural reverberation in a room. The main signal remains in place, but the perception is that it's coming from somewhere in a real physical space.
 
"True stereo" reverbs actually employ separate left and right reverb engines. They can enhance the spatial illusion when their input consists of multiple voices or instruments panned apart. A sound source at the far left of the room would not deliver the exact same reflections as another source at the far right side. The left source will favor early (short) reflections from the left, while its reflections coming from the right will be longer and quieter.
 
For that scenario, I would only bother with a convolution reverb if there was a particular IR that I wanted to use. There are some unusual IRs available that produce effects that are not possible with an algorithmic reverb. PerfectSpace in particular has some cool features that are rare on algorithmic reverbs. But for something mundane such as a vocal bus, algorithmic reverbs do just as well and are much less CPU hungry. Some give the option of mono-in-stereo-out or stereo throughout. Most are capable of both natural ambiance and surreal exaggeration.

You could concievably widen the reverb with PerfectSpace by splitting the track using two sends (1 left and 1 right) to two separate buses and have PerfectSpace on each 100% wet.Send both busses to a single sum bus and add Channel Tools to that bus and use it to widen the reverb image. This gives you a "true stereo" process as you are processing each channel separately. Not sure how it would sound, or if it is really is any better than several other ways of doing it, but it's free...
 
Dan