Ujam UFX Reverb review
Ujam UFX Reverb: What is it?
Ujam’s UFX Reverb couldn’t be any more ‘2023’ if it had a picture of Taylor Swift on it. It looks as cool as a plugin effect can in the 2020s, has features like ‘Freeze’ and ‘Duck’ and even unusual ‘Finisher’ effects with cool names like ‘Time Is Fleeting’, ‘Terminator Bend’ and ‘Sea Of Resonances’ that are more about a feeling than a fact. We like that. It brings out our inner Zen.
There might even be a bit of artificial intelligence in there in the form of a randomiser that comes up with new sounds for you (or it could just be… a randomiser). Whatever, UFX Reverb screams ‘use me’. It’s one of the tidiest-looking plugins out there, and, as it turns out, one of the tidiest-sounding ones too.
Ujam UFX Reverb: Performance and verdict
UFX Reverb is an algorithmic reverb and as Ujam says, it’s not aimed at recreating real spaces but instead makes usable reverbs for musicians (not engineers) and those “who want to go beyond physics”. This explains the more ‘out there’ terminology, though things start off fairly ordinarily.
Also consider...
• Baby Audio Spaced Out
Very different design but similar modulation and delay reverbs and lovely, creative ethos.
• JMG Sound Hyperspace
Another incredibly creative algorithmic reverb with its own look and a broad sonic range.
You get to choose ten reverb modes to start with and these are standard Spring, Plate, Gate, Room and Hall options (among others). The controls start out innocently too, with left-hand ‘Dimension’ options controlling the duration of the reverb (Time), its early reflections (Size) and perceived spaciousness (Pre-Delay).
There are a set of controls to the right of the main dial under ‘Character’ that let you home in on detail, so Diffusion is more about controlling the reverb’s spread, Damping about how it dies away – higher value, higher frequency affected – and Modulation is for adding subtle or not so subtle movement. All well and good so far.
The two Ducking and Freeze options are where things start to get very interesting. Ducking reduces the reverb effect according to the input signal so you can get some lovely and instant contemporary pumping effects applied to the effect rather than the more common and well-used volume. Freeze essentially holds that reverb right there, looping it potentially infinitely for the kinds of long reverb tails that Eno et al took months in the studios in the 1970s to achieve. Here you just press a button for instant meditative ambience and, in the right instances, this can be quite brilliant.
You get the kind of ambiences that Eno et al took months to achieve in the 1970s…only in an instant
The mood goes up a level – or more into fantasy land – when you take a trip over to the right hand of the UI. Here you get a Filter section and Ujam’s Finisher effects, either or both of which can be bypassed with a simple button press. Filter has a drop-down of some 26 different filter types.
While you can’t go in and change any parameters – it’s more about simply adjusting the level of the effect by way of the dial – there’s a huge amount of variety on offer here. You can set up the width, add high, low and notch settings, or make the reverb sound like it’s being played through a megaphone. Similarly the Finisher effects are about delays, glitch, movement and those intangible ones we touched on earlier. Both of these modules really do add a lot to your sound but it is perhaps important to point out that they affect the reverb sound rather than the initial signal, so are very much affecting the tail, not the core ingredient. Still, they are great to have for some wild and wonderful sounds.
And talking of which, even more can be created by hitting the ‘Surprise’ button, where random values apply to the main dials and all drop-down options to create – in the main – some very usable verbs, the extremes of which are defined by the right hand dial.
Room to breathe
UFX Reverb was ‘built with the musician in mind, not only concerned about technical excellence but also inspiration and creativity’ and in that respect the reverb is an absolute winner. Its creativity options are instant and plentiful, and the sound can be hugely varied yet always clean and detailed. A top-notch reverb.
MusicRadar verdict: We love the interface, sound, and sonic options, but most of all it’s UFX Reverb’s creativity that will grab you. Instant, huge reverbs are yours.
Ujam UFX Reverb: The web says
"Ufx Reverb is a creative sound‑design plug‑in disguised in plain sight as a reverb. It’s sonically addictive and, despite UJAM having given us a few extra controls to play with, it remains incredibly easy to use."
Sound On Sound
Ujam UFX Reverb: Hands-on demos
ujam Instruments
Mattias Holmgren
Greg Kocis
Ujam UFX Reverb: Specifications
macOS Catalina (10.15) — macOS Ventura (13). Supported on Intel Macs & Apple silicon Macs (Rosetta and native).
Windows 10 — Windows 11.
Plugin formats: VST 2, VST 3, AU 2 and AAX. AU 2 version only compatible with Logic Pro X and newer. All plugin formats are 64-bit only.
4GB of RAM.
CONTACT: Ujam
