4ms-mesa

4ms Mesa

Stereo plate reverb with deep modulation and CV over everything

20 HP Eurorack module

Mesa is a stereo plate reverb designed in collaboration with Valley Audio (creators of the Plateau plugin). It runs a Dattorro-style plate algorithm at 96kHz/24-bit on a dedicated DSP, with CV control over every parameter and four phase-offset LFOs for deep chorused modulation. Mesa covers everything from tight ambient slap-back to cathedral-scale tails, frozen drone beds, and even tuned resonator voices when Tuned Size is engaged.

Features

  • Stereo Dattorro-style plate reverb (Plateau algorithm, designed with Valley Audio)
  • 96kHz / 24-bit DSP
  • CV control over every panel parameter (-5V to +5V)
  • Four internal phase-offset LFOs with continuously variable shape (saw → triangle → ramp)
  • Tuned Size mode: 1V/oct tracking on Size CV for playing the reverb as a tuned resonator
  • Freeze button (momentary or latched, mode selectable) for infinite-sustain tails
  • Clear button instantly empties the reverb buffer
  • Independent Input Filter (pre-tank) and Reverb Filter (in feedback path), each a tilt EQ
  • Pre-Delay up to 500ms
  • Diffuse Input toggle for transient-preserving slap-back vs smeared plate sound
  • Dedicated Clip LEDs at input and output stages
  • Bi-color Mod Rate LED indicates LFO rate and direction

Controls & Jacks (36)

  • Pre-Delay— Delay inserted between the dry input and the reverb tank, from 0 to 500ms. Adds initial space before the wet signal arrives, useful for sepa
  • Dry/Wet— Mixes between the unprocessed dry signal (fully counter-clockwise) and the wet reverb signal (fully clockwise). The red Clip LED above the k
  • Input Filter— Tilt filter on the incoming audio before the reverb tank. Center = flat. Counter-clockwise rolls off highs (lowpass), clockwise rolls off lo
  • Mod Depth— Amount of LFO modulation applied to the four internal delay sections. Fully CCW = no modulation (static plate); fully CW = deep chorusing an
  • Input Level— Input gain trim from -infinity to roughly +3dB. The red Clip LED next to the knob lights when the input stage is approaching clipping. Set s
  • Mod Rate— Speed of the four internal LFOs that modulate the reverb's delay lines. Each LFO is phase-offset from the others, producing rich chorus-like
  • Mod Rate CV— CV input for Mod Rate. -5V to +5V, sums with the Mod Rate knob position.
  • Diffusion— Controls how smeared or diffused the reverb is. Fully CCW leaves audible repeating echoes; fully CW produces a dense, washed-out cloud with
  • Decay— Sets how quickly energy bleeds out of the reverb tank. Fully CCW = very short decay; fully CW = a near-infinite, slowly-dying cloud. Combine
  • Size CV— CV input for Size. -5V to +5V, sums with the Size knob. When Tuned Size is engaged, this jack tracks 1V/octave so you can play the reverb as
  • In L— Left audio input. Max input level approximately +9.6V / -9.6V.
  • Out R— Right audio output (dry + wet mix per the Dry/Wet knob).
  • Reverb Filter— Tilt filter inside the reverb feedback path. Center = flat. CCW darkens the tail by rolling off highs each loop, CW brightens it by rolling
  • Out L— Left audio output (dry + wet mix per the Dry/Wet knob).
  • Pre-Delay CV— CV input for Pre-Delay. -5V to +5V, sums with the Pre-Delay knob position.
  • Clear LED— Blue LED next to the Clear button. Flashes briefly when Clear is triggered.
  • Mod Shape— Continuously morphs the LFO shape across the four modulators: rising saw at fully CCW, triangle at center, falling ramp at fully CW. Differe
  • Reverb Filter CV— CV input for Reverb Filter. -5V to +5V, sums with the Reverb Filter knob position.
  • Mod Shape CV— CV input for Mod Shape. -5V to +5V, sums with the Mod Shape knob position.
  • Decay CV— CV input for Decay. -5V to +5V, sums with the Decay knob position. Excellent for animating tail length with envelopes or LFOs.
  • Dry/Wet CV— CV input for Dry/Wet. -5V to +5V, sums with the Dry/Wet knob position.
  • In Filt CV— CV input for Input Filter. -5V to +5V, sums with the Input Filter knob position.
  • Size— Large center knob controlling overall delay times inside the reverberator, perceptually heard as room size. Fully CCW = very short metallic
  • Diffusion CV— CV input for Diffusion. -5V to +5V, sums with the Diffusion knob position.
  • In R— Right audio input. Max input level approximately +9.6V / -9.6V.
  • Diffuse Input LED— Blue LED indicating Diffuse Input is engaged.
  • Mod Depth CV— CV input for Mod Depth. -5V to +5V, sums with the Mod Depth knob position.
  • Input Clip LED— Red Clip indicator next to the Input Level knob. Lights when the input stage is clipping.
  • Tuned Size LED— Blue LED indicating Tuned Size (1V/oct on Size CV) is engaged.
  • Tuned Size— Converts the Size CV input to 1V/octave pitch tracking, so you can play the reverb as a tuned resonator. With Tuned Size engaged, sending a
  • Mod Rate LED— Bi-color LED next to the Mod Rate knob. Blinks at the LFO rate; color indicates direction/phase.
  • Dry/Wet Clip LED— Red Clip indicator above the Dry/Wet knob. Lights when the output stage clips.
  • Freeze— Holds the current reverb tail forever, recirculating audio inside the plate while suppressing new input. Mode-selectable between momentary (
  • Freeze LED— Blue LED next to the Freeze button. Lights when freeze is active.
  • Clear— Instantly empties the reverb buffer so new echoes can build up cleanly. Adjacent blue LEDs flash when triggered. Useful for gating reverb ta
  • Diffuse Input— Engages the input diffusion stage (a pre-tank smearing network). With diffusion on, transients are softened before hitting the plate; with i

How-To Guides

  • Master Bus Glue
  • Frozen Drone Bed
  • Tuned String Voice
  • Gated Reverb on Bar Boundaries
  • Rhythmic Slapback Echoes

Explore the interactive Mesa panel on BleepDex — tap any control to learn what it does.

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