New Music Gear Monday: TC Electronic DVR250-DT Hardware Controlled Reverb Plugin

We all love the tactile features of a console, which is why many engineers opt for a hardware controller of some sort when it comes to mixing. With that in mind, it looks like a new trend is beginning to unfold as plugins are now being combined with a dedicated hardware controller, and TC Electronic is leading the way. Recently the company introduced its TC2290-DT delay complete with an outboard controller to great fanfare. Now the company has come back with another piece in the series. This time it’s the DVR250-DT, an emulation of the famed EMT 250 digital reverb but with a few more tricks up its sleeve, as well as another dedicated control surface.

The EMT 250 (see the graphic on the right) was the very first hardware digital reverb (introduced way back in 1976),  and to many engineers, it’s still one of the best sounding units ever made. As far as digital goes, its resolution wasn’t all that great as compared with what we see today, but that’s what actually gave it the sound that we’ve come to love. The problem is that there were only 250 units ever made, many of the parts are no longer made, and keeping them running is getting to be next to impossible. Even with that a 250 can still carry a price tag of around $20,000 on the used market, if you can find one.

Although there have been other EMT 250 plugin emulations on the market for a while, TC Electronic adds some different twists to the famous EMT reverb with the addition of delay, chorus, phasing, echo and space, along with the 250-styled controller interface. The controller features the classic “lollypop” parameter controls, although here they’re selector switches instead of the original 250’s hardware vertical potentiometer.

For those familiar with those controls, you’ll be right at home, as the DVR250-DT features a similar layout to the vintage unit, with a row of switches on the bottom for Reverb, Delay, Phase, Chorus, Echo, Space, and a Set control for setting a parameter. The toggle switches include the familiar reverb delay time, low and high frequency rolloff, and predelay. There are also stereo input and output LED meters at the very top. The controller connects to any computer and is powered via USB, and is compatible with most DAWs.

The best thing about the DVR250-DT is the price. At $349 for both the plugin and controller it’s a lot less than one would expect. It’s available for VST, AU, and AAX formats on both Mac and PC.

Find out more from the dedicated webpage on the TC site, or watch the video below.