- Publisher: Undulae Music
- Product: Tinyspace
- Release: ARCADiA
- Version: 1.1
- Format: Max for Live Device (.amxd)
- Compatibility: Tested in Live 10, 11, and 12
In a world awash with reverbs striving for infinite lushness and cavernous realism, sometimes the most potent sonic statements are made in the smallest of spaces. Enter Tinyspace by Undulae Music, a deliberately “primitive” reverb that champions the beauty of compact, resonant, and often unconventional ambiences. If your productions crave metallic textures, jangly character, or subtle diffusion that enhances without overwhelming, Tinyspace offers a refreshingly focused toolkit.
This isn’t your go-to for simulating vast cathedrals. Instead, Tinyspace invites you to explore the micro-soundscapes that many larger, more complex reverbs overlook. It’s a specialized tool for producers and sound designers seeking to add unique depth, intriguing resonances, and tight, controlled spatial characteristics to their audio—all within an intuitive Max4Live device.
Embrace the Primitive: Why Small Can Be Mighty
The term “primitive” isn’t a limitation here; it’s a declaration of intent. Tinyspace excels where hyper-realistic reverbs falter, providing a distinct sonic signature perfect for:
- Crafting Unique Timbres: Generate intriguing metallic sheens, resonant jangly tones, and almost percussive reverberant artifacts that can transform mundane sounds into something extraordinary.
- Subtle Percussive Depth: Add incredibly short diffusion to tight, monophonic percussive elements. Give your drums and rhythmic components a subtle sense of space and depth without sacrificing their upfront punch or clarity – a common challenge with larger reverbs.
- Exploring “In-Between” Spaces: Tinyspace allows you to dial in those often-elusive ambiences – the kind of tight, boxy, or uniquely resonant spaces that are difficult to achieve with conventional algorithms. It’s about character, not just simulation.
Tinyspace’s strength lies in its focused design, built around a core diffusion network of 20 delay lines (10 per stereo channel), each preceded by two allpass filters. This architecture is key to its distinct sound.
Sculpt Your Micro-Environments: Inside Tinyspace
Despite its “tiny” moniker, Tinyspace offers a deceptively powerful set of parameters to precisely shape your compact reverberations. Each control is designed for musical and intuitive interaction:
- Input (Gain): The first stage of your signal journey. Use this to drive the signal appropriately into the diffusion network, optimizing the level for the desired character and response.
- Input HP (High-Pass Filter): Clean up the incoming signal by removing unwanted low frequencies before they hit the reverb. This is crucial for preventing muddy or boomy reverberations, especially with percussive sounds or bass-heavy material, ensuring the small space remains defined.
- Input LP (Low-Pass Filter): Complementing the high-pass, this filter allows you to tame high frequencies on the input. Use it to darken the initial signal for warmer, more subdued resonant effects, or to focus the reverb on specific frequency bands.
- Size: This is your primary control for defining the perceived dimensions of your micro-space. The “Size” parameter scales the delay times of all 20 internal delay lines, which range from a minuscule 1 ms up to 50 ms.
- Low Settings: Achieve exceptionally tight, almost imperceptible diffusion. Perfect for adding that subtle “air” or slight resonant coloration without an obvious reverb tail.
- Higher Settings: While still “tiny” in the grand scheme, higher settings will result in noticeably longer and looser sounding reverberations, pushing into more characterful, resonant territory.
- Feedback: This control universally adjusts the feedback amount for all delay lines. Increasing “Feedback” simulates more reflective surfaces within your tiny space. This dramatically lengthens the decay time and is key to generating those signature metallic, jangly, and sustained resonant tones that define Tinyspace’s unique character. Push it for intense, almost feedback-loop style effects.
- Crossfeed: Introduce stereo complexity and movement. The “Crossfeed” parameter intelligently takes the outputs of a few delay lines on the right channel and feeds them into various delay lines on the left channel. This process isn’t direct; the signals pass through their own individually tuned allpass filters with feedback, further enriching the stereo image and the complexity of the diffusion.
- Wet/Dry: The essential mix control. Blend the processed “wet” signal (the output of Tinyspace’s diffusion network) with your original “dry” signal to achieve the perfect balance, from subtle enhancement to full-blown resonant effect.
- Output (Gain): The final level adjustment for the processed signal, allowing you to match levels or boost/attenuate the overall effect as needed within your mix.
Practical Applications: Where Tinyspace Makes Its Mark
Tinyspace is more than just a reverb; it’s a creative effect for shaping sound in nuanced and often unexpected ways:
- Metallic & Jangly Textures: Crank the “Feedback” and experiment with “Size” to make synths, guitars, or even vocals ring out with unique industrial or bell-like qualities.
- Defined Percussion: Give snares, hi-hats, or claps a subtle lift and a hint of three-dimensionality without washing them out or pushing them back in the mix. The input filters are your best friends here.
- Creative Sound Design: Automate parameters like “Size” and “Feedback” for evolving, glitchy, or rhythmic resonant effects. Use it on foley or found sounds to imbue them with an abstract, otherworldly character.
- Tightening Mono Sources: Add just a touch of “Size” and a carefully balanced “Wet/Dry” mix to give mono sources a sense of belonging in a stereo field without resorting to obvious panning or wide stereo reverbs.
Technical Details & Integration
To start exploring these unique micro-spaces, please note the following:
- !!! REQUIRES MAX4LIVE !!! Tinyspace is a Max for Live device and requires Ableton Live Suite or Standard with Max for Live installed.
- Ableton Live Compatibility:
- Works perfectly in Live 11 and Live 12.
- Functional in Live 10, however, users may experience some “wonkiness” with text and background colors not being ideal for readability. The plugin still works as intended.
- Latest Version (v1.0.1): This version includes a crucial bug fix where the Dry/Wet parameter would incorrectly reset to its default value upon loading a Live set, even if automation was present. This ensures your settings and automation are reliably recalled.
Discover the Power of Primitive Reverb
Stop overlooking the impact of small spaces. Undulae Music’s Tinyspace offers a focused, characterful, and inspiring tool for any producer or sound designer looking to add unique resonances, tight diffusion, and distinct metallic textures to their sonic palette. It’s time to explore the creative potential hidden in the tiniest of ambiences.
Ready to add Tinyspace to your Max4Live toolkit? Free download now!