Relab Relab Q82 Natural Resonance Reverb

Most reverb emulations use static models that often ignore the hardware’s dynamic character. Building on the success of our popular LX480, and using a next-generation advanced machine learningframework and extensive analysis of millions of data points, we’re proudly setting new standards by capturing the true dynamic essence of the hardware with unmatched accuracy.

Q82 exceeds typical hardware emulations by meticulously re-creating not only the sound, but the ever-changing character of vintage gear, offering a living, and ever-evolving authentic quality.

Maximize Your Mix with Dual-Engine Reverb Control

Q82’s unique dual-engine design combines two powerful reverb systems, each with its own set of four outputs, working in harmony.

This dual approach gives you the ability to fine-tune both the width and “front-to-back” depth of your reverb in real time.

With Q82, you’ll enjoy the creative freedom of blending the distinct qualities of both modules in this twin-engine titan, ensuring your reverb always sits perfectly within the mix.

Achieve a Natural Reverb with a Frequency Based Approach

Most reverbs rely solely on the time the sound takes to reflect off surfaces. But Q82 uses unique resonators to replicate the natural behavior of sound traveling through the air.

Essentially, Q82 uses the room as an instrument, giving you a reverb that feels alive and integrated with the original signal, and producing a more natural and enveloping experience.

When you use the seven room size options from 1 to 1 million cubic meters, and an adjustable first reflection, you’ll be tailoring reverbs from subtle echoes to massive tails.

Dial in Dimension, Keep the Clarity

Enhance mode helps Q82 distinguish itself from other reverbs by creating the illusion of a space with minimal reverb.

Imagine having an additional set of hyper-focused microphones, capturing the very first echoes that bounce off surfaces in a room. This adds an extra sense of three-dimensionality to your tracks without introducing the muddiness that often comes with layering longer reverb tails.

Using Q82 to control “front-to-back” placement makes sounds more present and upfront, or subtly pushes them back, without drowning them in excessive reverb.

Timeless Reverb, Your Way...

Toggle between two unique reverb algorithms—a pristine, factory-spec German unit and a deeply characterful, time-worn US unit. With the Temperature Control knob, you can now emulate the evolution of sound from a cold startup to the warm, rich tones of a hardware unit left on for 72 hours. Your sound, your era, your choice.

Q82 2.0 captures the essence of classic gear aging. The US algorithm faithfully recreates the quirks of an unstable crystal clock and aging components, while the German version delivers the stability and clarity of a freshly restored machine. Together, they offer sonic flexibility no competitor can match.

You’ll hear the difference from the first instant: precision, warmth, and a touch of hardware magic. With Q82 2.0, your reverb evolves in real time, letting you craft timeless spaces for every sound.

Discover Unparalleled Depth With Hand-Tuned 8-Voice Modulation

Q82 also includes Relab’s proprietary hand-tuned Advanced Chorus Ensemble (ACE). The 8-voice modulation adds unique layers of depth and complexity to the reverb, making your sound richer and more textured.

Each voice is meticulously hand-tuned (using a special tool pictured here) and then deeply embedded within the reverb algorithm.

When you dial in the modulation, you can feel how it’s more like a natural part of the space you’re creating, rather than an added effect.

Refine Your Reverb with Expanded Bandwidth Control

The original unit’s frequency response was limited by its internal sample rate of the digital algorithm and analog filters, resulting in a natural roll-off at 8kHz.

Q82 gives you full control over this and offers a range from 4kHz to 16kHz. Instead of a typical low-pass filter, we recalculated the behavior of the internal sample rate and analog filters, to give you a highly unique and resonant frequency curve.

We carefully chose roll-off points that follow a specific geometric sequence (Renard Series), which, we believe, is what the original designers would have used had they ever chosen to enhance the original hardware.

Embracing Time's Imperfections in Plug-in Form

At Relab, our goal has always been to go beyond mere emulation. We strive to digitally recreate iconic hardware by capturing not only the sound but also the unique journey of a unit’s imperfections.

For the Q82, we meticulously selected three exceptional units from the US, Japan, and Germany. While the German unit—renowned for its rich sound and minimal noise—set the standard for our pristine emulation, the US model brought a distinct warmth and evolving tonal character, driven by its aging components and less stable crystal clock. These quirks added a human-like unpredictability to its sound, a hallmark of vintage analog gear.

Over 12 months, we engaged in painstaking reverse engineering, collaborating with veteran engineers to restore the German unit to its original 1980s specifications. To ensure complete authenticity, we custom-built interfaces to allow MIDI control of every original unit and analyzed the US version’s gradual heat-induced shifts in sound.

This precision was critical for our machine learning algorithms to run months of exhaustive tests, capturing every nuance and imperfection. Specifically, we modeled how temperature changes in the US unit caused clock fluctuations, introducing a ±3% stability factor that significantly impacted the reverb’s behavior. Q82 faithfully recreates the organic feel and evolving depth of pristine and time-worn classics by integrating these variations.

Preserving the Legacy of an Icon

The monumental task of replicating the sound and unpredictable behavior of hardware requires more than just brain power and great ears; it requires serious science and technology. So, we turned to the power of advanced machine learning.

Using a next-generation advanced machine learning framework and extensive research, we embarked on a 12-month journey to digitally recreate these vintage units’ essence. These systems meticulously gathered millions of data points, analyzing the hardware’s response in every conceivable setting scenario.

We conducted an average of 10,000 iterations for each setting and combination, extending this rigorous process across three distinct hardware units using seven computers. This dedication to authenticity, a hallmark of our approach at Relab, would have been virtually impossible using traditional emulation methods.

Features

• Dual-Engine Reverb: Combines two powerful reverb systems, each with four outputs, allowing precise real-time control of reverb width and "front-to-back" depth.
• Authentic Hardware Feel: Advanced machine learning captures the nuances and dynamic character of the original hardware, including its quirks.
• Precision Sound Sculpting: Offers real-time fine-tuning of reverb parameters, enabling detailed sound shaping for complex, textured reverbs.
• Dynamic Reverb Control: Replicates not only the sound but the evolving character of vintage gear, offering a living, ever-changing quality.
• Room-Based Reverb Design: Uses resonators to simulate natural sound behavior in real rooms, producing more realistic and enveloping reverbs.
• Enhance Mode: Creates three-dimensional space with minimal reverb, avoiding muddiness while maintaining clarity and presence in mixes.
• Dual Reverb Algorithms: Includes two distinct algorithms—pristine German and time-worn US—to offer flexibility from cold startup to rich, aged tones.
• 8-Voice Hand-Tuned Modulation: Relab’s proprietary Advanced Chorus Ensemble (ACE) adds deep, textured modulation, enhancing the reverb’s complexity.
• Expanded Bandwidth Control: Offers frequency range control from 4kHz to 16kHz, with a custom-calculated resonant curve based on original hardware limitations.
• Imperfect Vintage Emulation: Captures the organic imperfections of vintage hardware, recreating the evolving depth and unpredictable character of time-worn units.

Requirements