KERN Audio have released Open, available for $29.00.
If you produce electronic music, you know the struggle: you drop a lush reverb on a synth lead or drum loop, and suddenly your crisp transients get buried in a muddy, washed-out tail.
Traditional reverbs treat audio uniformly, which often ruins the dense harmonics and low-end energy of synths. Enter KERN Audio’s OPEN, a new algorithmic reverb built specifically for electronic music.
How It Works
Instead of using a generic space model, OPEN analyzes your dry signal across 40 psychoacoustic ERB bands (matching how human ears perceive frequency) and shapes its tail band by band.
If a specific frequency is active, OPEN automatically gives it a shorter reverb tail. In short: it dynamically ducks out of the way of your source material, keeping your mix clean without requiring sidechains or manual EQ curves.
True to KERN’s minimalist, CPU-friendly approach (and zero iLok nonsense), OPEN keeps things simple with just five knobs. The centerpiece is the BLOOM control:
- Low settings (Invisible): The reverb carves itself out from under your source for clean depth.
- Center: A flat, classical reverb.
- High settings (Exposed): Lutt/active bands get longer tails, turning your source into a massive, infinite ambient drone.
It also features three tailored engine characters—ROOM (tight and bright for drums/plucks), HALL (warm absorption for pads), and CLOUD (heavy diffusion for dark, drifting soundscapes).
Open is available to PC and Mac users (VST3 and AU).
For more information on Open, click here:
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