BAM is a stereo reverb processor inspired by late 70s / early 80s digital reverb units. These units are highly valued by sound engineers, producers, and musicians for their grainy, warm, and musical reverberations.

Here at OTO, we are passionate about the technology of digital reverbs, especially the vintage models!

We have carefully listened to all digital reverbs made from 1976 to 1986, studied their architecture, and read all available papers (from 1961 to today) on digital reverb design. It became clear to us that the musicality of early digital reverb processors was partly due to the algorithms (how the processor synthesized natural reverberation) but also to their hardware limitations.

The audio signal was heavily high-cut filtered (10 kHz was standard at that time) because of limited sample clocks. Some units used 12-bit gain stepping converters to achieve 15-bit resolution, while others used the first 16-bit converters. Then the samples were digitally processed through a 16 to 20-bit fixed-point CPU with limited memory. The algorithms had to be simple yet efficient to create the most musical and versatile reverberation within these constraints. The hardware itself added grain and warmth to the sound.

The technology used in BAM is very close to that of these early digital reverb units: 16-bit converters, 20-bit fixed-point processing, analog filtering, and even an input transformer transient simulator. Some of the 7 reverb algorithms are influenced by early designs, and some are completely new.

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More information about OTO BAM can be found here: OTO BAM