Space Designer overview in MainStage

Space Designer is a convolution reverb effect that you can use to place your audio signals in exceptionally realistic recreations of real-world acoustic environments. Space Designer generates reverb by convolving, or combining, an audio signal with an impulse response reverb sample. An impulse response is a recording of reverb characteristics, or more precisely, a recording of all reflections in a given room following an initial signal spike. The actual impulse response file is a standard audio file.

To understand how this works, imagine a situation where Space Designer is used on a vocal track. An impulse response file recorded in an actual opera house is loaded into Space Designer. This impulse response file is convolved with your vocal track, placing the singer inside the opera house.

Convolution can be used to place your audio signal inside any space, including a speaker cabinet, a plastic toy, a cardboard box, and so on. All you need is an impulse response recording of the space.

In addition to loading impulse responses, Space Designer includes an on-board impulse response synthesis facility. This lets you create completely unique effects, particularly when the synthesized impulse response doesn’t represent a real space.

Space Designer also offers features such as envelopes, filters, Output EQ, and stereo balance controls, which provide precise control over the dynamics, timbre, and length of the reverberation.

Space Designer can operate as a mono, stereo, or true stereo (meaning each channel is processed discretely) effect.

To add Space Designer to your concert, choose Reverb > Space Designer in a channel strip Audio Effect plug-in menu. See Add and remove plug-ins in MainStage.