"IKEA Hack" Plate Reverb Part 3 (Free IR files!)

Leo makes and gives away IR (Impulse Response) files of the now-famous IKEA Plate Reverb! And it's 100% free!
Viewers have been asking me about posting IR files since the first episode and I thought it would be a good video subject. So in this video, I explain how convolution works, walk you through the process of making an impulse response file and demo some sounds. It sounds just like the real thing!
You can download the free IR files from the following:
www.dropbox.com/sh/3h28jv0wap...
(You can load these .aif files into most convolution reverb plugins to get the IKEA plate sounds in your own music).
If you use these IR files and create some beautiful, brilliant, amazing music (or other art) please come back and share it in the comments below! I get a huge kick out of seeing my work inspiring the art of other people.
Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2019!
If you enjoy these videos please consider supporting this channel on Patreon! Even a $1 a month goes a long way :)
www.patreon.com/leomakes

[@hanapa]

Thanks not only for offering these IR, but also to explain how you made them. Very inspirational.

[@LeoMakes]

Thank you for watching!

[@mouldypretzel]

I used this with the default patch on the KORG M1 plugin (Just choir and strings) and a fast attack - slow release compressor (4:1). The result was an ambient choir that reminded me of the Temple of time BG music from the Ocarina of Time game on N64

[@gropapa]

Just used Plate V2 no damping on a Mellotron flute sound, through Logic's Space designer. Perfect. Thanks for all your efforts.

[@JGHFunRun]

Since you don’t have one of these for real I’m guessing it was a Mellotron sample ;)

[@ToesCapuano]

That was an awesome explanation of how convolution is applied. I though I took enough away out of this series on how plate reverb works, now I just got schooled with some bonus knowledge! Thank you!

[@reevant2215]

I went through the 3 videos and feel I learnt more in the hour or so than in years. Very well thought out and made. It explains a lot. Thank you.

[@suedelacy]

IR reverb is amazing! We literally take a snap shot of the space! I love that you got the IR from your creation!

[@Firemount767]

Leo I commented on part 2 expressing my sadness that I couldn't have these gorgeous sounds for myself. You have now fixed that, thank you Leo, I will certainly be using this all the time.

[@LeoMakes]

Go for it! Make the best music you can!

[@Firemount767]

Will do, and if I ever get round to releasing this album I'll be sure to put you in the special thanks

[@SporeSpood]

I'm a physics student and along with it comes the math involved with convolutions, linking the (beautiful) math not only to physics but also my hobby is the greatest thing!

[@williamrustrum]

You are very generous in sharing these for FREE. Thank you I really appreciate it. :)

[@portendinghonor496]

Just loaded a couple into the Reason RV7000MkII. Used the V2 w/light damping, then actually set a negative 10ms predelay(which I've never done before), Stretched out the size a bit, cut the LF damp at 80Hz, and used it as a send reverb across nearly every track in a current mix of "Up On The Housetop" we're working on, and I like it a lot! Gives it a bit more character than the plate sim I was using before. Not as full and dark, and that's kinda the point. Better for this particular track, but it highlights it's downfalls. There are very good reasons the original plates were hundreds of pounds! But it's a nice tool for the toolbox and I can't thank you enough for offering them up, and making the complete howto. Cudos!

[@chsm72]

I would try to put one or two more plates in parallel connected with springs to transfer the vibration to the other plates and pick up the response of them too

[@hookey2229]

My IR journey has just begun ;-) thanks for sharing this project and sparking my interest

[@herrjingjing]

Thank you! The reverb really sounds dope on synths! Great explaining of the capture process as well

[@Ochatach]

Can't wait to try them out in a new project :D Thanks Leo for the interesting videos and happy xmas and newyear :D

[@patkelly3966]

HA I've just watched episode 2 and coomented that it would be great to get some IRs and here they are! Sterling job thanks so much.

[@beatsbylacoka9531]

Thanks man subscribed after part 1! Gonna try out the IR's in Space Designer! Keep up this kinda content an this channel will go far!

[@JazzMac36251]

Thanks, Leo! Awesome job and awesome vid!

[@TrackingWidgets]

Fabulous evolution your plate reverb project. Myself and a friend built a short run of full size plate reverbs in the early 80s, using the same principles. It was enjoyable watching your short series. Even if someone doesn't build one, it will offer them more insight into the use of not only the physical units if they have access, but also what's happening when they adjust settings in a plugin. I've been thinking of a new design about the same size as what you've done here, thank you for providing a benchmark for the smaller plate material size. You could also try adjusting the tension on the plate support in the frame, which will affect the frequency response and length of decay. I am also thinking of making the plate an irregular shape, to test the end result compared to using similar logic when designing a chamber, i.e. no parallel edges, so that standing waves are reduced.

[@MazeFrame]

Spike pulese and frequency spectrum... Fourier Transform was HORROR in physics class...

[@BorkBorkDoggo]

Can't wait to try out these IR's, thanks for uploading!

[@nolanwolf1828]

Is amazing how metal effects certain sounds. Makes me wonder what a cheap water bottle 1/3 filled would sound like. Keep up the awesome vids ^~^

[@RedPee2000]

Cool, now I know what convolution is about and I am quite impressed!

[@DivKid]

Really enjoyed all of these videos. Great work Leo! :)

[@LeoMakes]

Thanks for the kind words, Ben! Hope all is well in your neck of the world.

[@UyaCipriano]

Thank you! Really enjoy these plate reverb series! And thank you for the IR also!

[@LeoMakes]

You're welcome! I hope you make good use of the IRs

[@izotopestudio6097]

Best channel i found this year. Man, im your fan now. From Russia with love =)

[@alessionanni]

Absolute Hero.

[@johnpenguin9188]

Nice timing, I’m just making impulse responses of my new studio over Christmas before everything gets crazy again 😀

[@svansy]

Coooooool! Thanks for the IR files. Will def use this!

[@LeoMakes]

Enjoy! And thanks for watching!

[@uglytattoo]

I really appreciate this series, you're both very knowledgeable about your subject and just plain good at making videos. It would be cool to see you trying out making other electromechanical sound effects - a spring reverb, or maybe a tuned reverb with sympathetic strings? Cheers!

[@LeoMakes]

Totally. This plate reverb has been fun and interesting, but I'd like to move on and make other things in 2019. I've got some interesting ideas :)

[@murahachibu]

Tape echo!

[@toen1939]

Agreed, signal analysis can get quite complicated (I regret I newer took those courses back in time), and especially how to do the unconvolution (and you did not even touch pseudo random sequences). But understanding how impulse responses work I do not think is that difficult to picture: If you clap (make impulse) in a room, this is no different from playing a single (non-zero) sample of your music. To convolve, for each sample in your music you play a clap (response) scaled to that sample and add them all up, and hence you make all of the samples (music) "see" the room. Well, works for me :-)

[@rootvalue]

I am loving these. Also big fkin kudos on those impulse edits 😂

[@alexfindex]

AND YOU INCLUDED V1

[@LeoMakes]

Ha! The truth is, I actually kinda preferred V1 on some of the sounds at the end of the video. Not all of them, but some sounded better in lo-fi.

[@depp657]

thanks man, must say like the version 1 sounds, they sound mean and claustrophobic. keep up the good work mate !

[@LeoMakes]

Yeah, I was surprised myself. I thought v2 would be better in every way, but I actually liked v1 more on some of the sounds at the end of the video. Anyway, they're both out there now so people can use whatever works best in any given scenario.

[@hannuback]

The v1 was more to my liking too. But it is a matter of taste with these, it was nice to hear it change because I'm going to build a plate reverb myself and I'm pretty confident I can get a sound I like from the plate I have. Just to see that the result is this tweakable just by altering the plate is encouraging.

[@joachimekermann8267]

Thanks Leo! I will use them in my next production :)

[@TwitchMusicUK]

LOVE THIS SERIES! Thanks for the IRs. Subscribed.

[@nadu_ned746]

Thanks Leo for the IR's !!

[@MaxedMusicArts]

Awesome! Thanks for this. Just saw that you make eurorack modules as well. Will definitely be keeping an eye out for you!

[@ineedacoockie666]

thank you so much! these sound really good :)

[@OblivionRatula]

Thanks for these. Will play tonight.

[@morgan0]

convolution basically overlays the entire impulse for every sample together and sums them together. for each sample you multiply the entire impulse by it. this is simple conceptually but usually uses more cpu and memory. so you have to have a buffer in ram as long or longer than the IR, which for hall reverbs could be fairly large. the longer the buffer, the more processing it takes to convolve it. vector math can speed it up dramatically but it’s still slower.

[@piotr803]

Such awesome set of videos! I wish you directly compared the sounds using the actual plate reverb vs the Convoluted IRs! :)

[@padlockbeats151]

LEGENDARY!

[@qtrax100]

Wicked stuff. You are the Jimmy Hendrix of plate reverb :)

[@_evolj]

You are a genius man

[@SamThredder]

I just read a thing about balanced piezos. Could be a thing worth knowing! It involves sandwiching two piezos, electrically isolated and sending one to hot, one to cold, and both to ground. Sounds good! I'm about to build one myself to go inside my wardrobe. XLR in and out on the door and a mechanical dampener controlled by a servo that places a wedge of foam against the plate going from minimum contact (the very tip of the wedge) to maximum contact (fully squished)

[@DeathTrapProductions]

THANK FOR THESE IRs MY GUY!! 🤘🤘🤘

[@EliseOfTheValley]

I love diy studio gear cause it can be on the cheap and totally custom. Plus a sub $10000 real plate reverb is rad to keep in your house.

[@MikeSmithADSRPro]

Nice mate, they sound great :)

[@sundamusik]

Great vid again man, its appriciated. Greets from holland

[@g-gnu4791]

Nice , Good job

[@hearmenow909]

Great content. Thanks for the IRs.

[@GreyManFaustus]

You are a man of honour

[@jcisme]

Awesome stuff..

[@Arkanoid_242]

Thanks for this great series! Would be lying if I said I didn't look forward to making my own plate ASAP :-) But for convolution, I'd much rather recommend Altiverb though. I love Steinberg, been using Nuendo since the early noughties, but their REVerence sounds terrible. When I say it's like comparing, say, uncompressed DVD Audio with MP3 in no more than 128kbps, I actually think it's a pretty literal comparison. It feels like REVerence only delivers a rough estimation with all details ditched in favour of CPU, whereas Altiverb, when using up to par impulses of course, sounds virtually genuine: grit, details, tone, and all! Pricey, but worth every penny/cent/öre. Cheers, and I'm looking forward to more awesome future videos :-)

[@antoniojambee]

You are great!

[@sjangcoenen1358]

making a plate sound like a spring looking forward to the next episode. i have send your 3rd episode to one of my childeren, and the 2nd to another one. it will take all of 'm, with the other two to come close. but i am curious where we will land, cause I have some up the sleeve as well. great video's even that you loose me

[@sjangcoenen1358]

oooh I think I should say: "I loose you" .... not native speaking...

[@AlenFekonja]

Thank you man. If it were not for you, I would not have ever found disquiet junto bunch of people. :) p.s. I've used your IR (V2,no damping) on my first "junto hunt", so thank you again. :)

[@iantanner7579]

very generous sir, just created some really good presets in Space Designer, - the v2 are awesome... - also, superb content, great info much love, E

[@LeoMakes]

Fantastic. Hope you use it to make your best work yet.

[@isaacsadovich7072]

Really good video :) The reason that the logarithmic sine sweep method is better for a space or plate capture is that it produces an even frequency band, has a higher SNR, and create less harmonic distortion in the higher frequencies when compared to the 'gun shot' method... I'm currently doing this for my dissertation... help meeee....

[@LeoMakes]

Exactly. I started reading up on things like this when researching this video and I started to feel light headed and dizzy as I went deeper and deeper into the subject matter (especially the maths). Good luck with your dissertation!

[@isaacsadovich7072]

@@LeoMakes Thanks!

[@jamoore84]

I'd love to check out some of your work. any links? are you on google scholar?

[@isaacsadovich7072]

@@jamoore84 I've not got anything published! :) But be sure to check out Angelo Farina - he's like the godfather of spatial emulation using 3d impulse response capture. :) really cool stuff

[@RobertSzasz]

Sweep vs impulse vs MLS is an interesting discussion. MLS has some nice computational advantages

[@RocknRollkat]

Excellent set of presentations, you put in a lot of work. Let me suggest that you use a much heavier gauge piece of aluminum stock, 3 feet by 3 feet for starters. Bill P.

[@IPushHard]

I highly prefer the non-converted reverb. I just prefer simplicity and organic to complex and digital. But the IR capturing WAS very interesting. Seems to me the the Kemper guitar amp is using exactly this technology (or their version of it) to capture the "essence" of a guitar amps tones. I had always thought it was just Black Voodoo Magic that my tiny monkey brain would never be capable of understanding. So, it's good to know that actual humans are responsible though they are using Black Voodoo mathematics. But now I do understand the general process. So, there's that. Great video. Thanks!

[@finwarman9887]

Yeah boiiiii

[@mikaelsin3802]

I f**k**g love your prototypes and videos, I’m waiting for more cool stuff you do to replicate it, the best wishes for you and the future of your channel

[@MrIantodd]

Such an original idea, thank you so much for making these videos

[@7JackWhis]

Great work! I would love to see a diy hardware spring reverb tank (rack size perhaps?) as well, to complete the video of the digital kit you built. And maybe a sound comparison with the plate? :) Keep it up! Cheers!

[@uelude]

+1

[@mmsound3667]

Hi! Again just reminding about cnc machine projects to make my own plate reverb:) I will really appreciate that. I'm just curious if it's really sounds like the real thing? In episode 4 I suggest make a little comparison between your Plate Reverb and Software Convolution Reverb with IR. Anyway that's really interesting yt channel. Very inspiring:)

[@basvredeling]

thanks!

[@StarOnCheek]

Mathemagicians.

[@douglasmiller6866]

wow !!!!!

[@kazunorikawasaki7081]

👍👍👍

[@jasonschannel9526]

I have Reaper, and I'm gonna try these IR files out. I did a recording of a band I do sound for a few months back, I want to add some of this on to some of the drum tracks and see how it sounds! Thanks for making these.

[@tommysedin]

Really cool series! Did you do any straight comparisons between the actual plate reverb and the convolution result? Would be interesting to see how well that process mimics the real thing.

[@LeoMakes]

Hey Tommy. I did think about doing this but I ran out of time. I wanted to get the video out before I go on holiday so people don't have to wait too long for the promised IR files. It's an interesting idea and I might do it later, but part of me wants to move on to other projects (I have some interesting/slightly-mad ideas to try 2019) :) Thanks for watching!

[@DreamPartnersMedia]

Honestly, it sounds amazing, but I would much prefer to have an actual plate setup like you!

[@sjangcoenen1358]

I thought you was very smart Leo, but that is true

[@johnpenguin9188]

I feel like this is a great project and a nice flavor of reverb. It’s not going to replace a massive/expensive plate reverb, but it’s a nice flavor like the spring reverb in a Guitar amp.

[@PolaBurrr]

thanx for IRs !

[@telsutton]

Well done getting the 'dark plate' IR files before you went to work with the angle grinder! Both fantastic with the right input! Thinking of building and upscaled version, but where to hide it in my mum's house..? Cheers for the videos... consider me subscribed.

[@jackfisher9833]

Reverb hardware is expensive so the mod you made is realy cool. I just wish you could miniaturize it so it could be used in gigs.

[@chriskonsultant725]

This is a great project, I’ve been thinking of something similar. To dampen it, what do you think of a set up similar to the transducer but with a sponge, soft brush or pad that you can use to apply various pressure to the plate.

[@caspermaster-com]

Really nice work! Only one thought i have, to me it seemed like you might overdriven the speaker that drives the plate while sweeping, in the live mic it sounded like some freq were distorting, and i i belive i could hear that in the convolutions as well

[@TSFAHTPS]

awesome mate, thanks from Australia! Does anyone know if there is a open source site where people can share IRs? could be fun if it doesn't exist....

[@austinfailz]

Hmm... I might see about using the plate reverb IR in my Torpedo C.A.B. M or Mooer Preamp Live after my preamp -> power amp model -> cabinet sim setup.

[@davidak_de]

I do not work with music and learned a lot here. Thanks! Does this Impulse Response Convolution work with any effect or just Reverb? Could this method be used to digitize and "pirate" hardware effects?

[@satyamnepal1925]

Hello, Great video!! You inspired me to pursue with my own reverb plate project. I am not an engineering student but, I am planning to make plate reverb for my degree project. I am planning to use collect data comparing two different metal plates, one being steel and other I haven’t decided yet. Do you have any suggestion which another plate should I use for my project?

[@DamnHeadHumpers]

I'm not sure if you still have this, but some kind of additional transducer with a pre-filer for feedback could sound very interesting.

[@famitory]

actually convolution's principle is very simple; play back the response every sample, multiplied in volume by the normalized level of that sample. this effectively replicates how the space responds to the sound because you can imagine any time-domain signal as being a train of impulses at different levels played in succession. the reason why there is complicated math involved is because you can't actually implement the simplified convolution without unreasonable amounts of ram and computing power.

[@randomname3669]

Thanks. This was the explanation that gave me intuition for what it does best, lots of explanations ive read were just going crazy over DSP stuff.

[@SporeSpood]

And the complicated math 'simply' multiplies the spectrum of the sample with the spectrum of the impulse and then converts that back to an audio signal!

[@famitory]

@@SporeSpood when you say 'multiply' do you mean like a matrix multiplication? is it just taking FFTs of both signals and matrix multiplying those? and if so, how is the temporal aspect of the impulse taken into account?

[@SporeSpood]

@@famitory No I don't mean matrix multiplication. There is a theorem (it's called "the convolution theorem", just plow through the algebra to prove it) that states that f * g = F^-1[ F[f] F[g] ]. A convolution of two functions (or signals) is the inverse fourier transform of the product of the fourier transform of one signal and the fourier transform of the other signal. I'm not quite sure actually how that would work in a discrete way, maybe you can use the periodicity of the fourier transform to ensure that you have enough samples to multiply through. (if you check en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convolution_theorem#Functions_of_discrete_variable_sequences, that seems exactly how it works)

[@SporeSpood]

@@famitory The temporal aspect of the impulse is what is being conserved in the fourier transform. Basically you're looking at the signal and going "how much of this frequency should there be, according to the impulse" and then going back to the time domain. Thinking more about it, the impulse acts like a transfer function (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfer_function) which is a way to describe the response of a mechanical or electrical system. Writing this down makes me kind of curious if I can predict the impulse the plate reverb will make, maybe I can make a synthetic plate reverb haha.

[@donepearce]

That's a really nice sounding plate - I was able to reduce the twang with some very multi-channel eq. Now, how about an enclosure? These things make fantastic drum mics if you don't isolate them...

[@eggaweb]

I wonder how reverb would work on other objects. For example, disposable aluminium roasting dishes or one of those metal thermo bottles.

[@Gnurklesquimp]

I'd love to see you make acoustics chambers, the mic that looks to me like a vacuum cleaner tube with googly eyes gave me this idea as I think I've actually seem someone whip one around while recording something generating sound on the inside, iirc

[@kolectivdnb8500]

You can make reverb and even delay using hose pipe or tubing near a loud sound source with a mic in the end . Works very well when placed around a drum kit while recording for example.

[@Gnurklesquimp]

@@kolectivdnb8500 Ohh yeah that sounds cool, I love bouncing sound around in weird ways

[@TheSimonarne]

can you make it out of different materials to change the daming. idk maybe like make one out of wood or copper or something different

[@CyrilleBoucanogh]

Great video! But IR in the Reverence sound very poor in comparison with the real thing you tested in the previous video. I'll try them in Altiverb.

[@zachjarrett8730]

I wonder if you are interested it adapting the Mod Wave tube spring reverb kit into a driver for a plate? Mono because of the kit.

[@Bhatt_Hole]

Do a spring reverb next!

[@uelude]

Wow!! Yes!!

[@g.h.t8186]

You can diy spring reverb please ? With a tank and lamp ...👍🏻

[@SimonTheMagpie]

Never give up on ideas! 🤩🤩🤩 Carpe diem 😂

[@userPrehistoricman]

How accurate is the convolution to the real plate?

[@althepsyphros3314]

How do I load them? I have the AIF files, what do I do with them? They don't work in fruity convolver (flstudio) and they aren't audio files.. I cant even open them? Can you help?

[@stupendousmusic4190]

I would love to have one of the, but building things is definitely not up my alley. Perhaps you might consider making and selling some of these for a fair price, for those of us who are not able to build them, or sell a kit version that is easy to assemble with minimum and basic tools." The LM Home Studio Plate Reverb." There's a thought. 😇

[@Timsturbs]

wow never heard of this thanks! do you plan on testing other materials for a plate like glass?

[@LeoMakes]

I did test a bunch of different materials when I was prototyping (my glass coffee table top, thin sheets of plywood, etc.) To be honest, I wasn't blown away by anything I heard so I left it out of the final edit. I'm sure if you find the right materials, you can get amazing, otherworldly sounds but I chose to just focus on traditional steel plate for this. Thanks for watching!

[@Timsturbs]

@@LeoMakes interesting, thanks

[@portendinghonor496]

Personally I like glass for putting PZM mics onto glass. Turns whatever you put it onto into a transducer, and different types of windows are excellent for that, but yeah I can see it not being the best thing in the world for a plate reverb.

[@IngoGarza]

The IR seems to not be downloadable anymore? :(