StarLab

Review

Strymon spent years refining reverb algorithms in the guitar pedal world before bringing that expertise to Eurorack, and StarLab is the result. At 28HP and $649 it's a significant investment, but the sound quality justifies it: 96kHz/24-bit processing, 120dB+ signal-to-noise ratio, and a fully analog dry signal path that never touches digital conversion.

Three reverb structures — Sparse, Dense, and Diffuse — cover fundamentally different approaches to spatial processing. Sparse emphasises early reflections and granular scatter for rhythmic, textured ambience. Dense delivers rich, plate-like sustain. Diffuse produces blooming, ever-expanding washes and reverse effects. Within each structure, the real-time controls for pitch, processing rate, core size, delay, and harmonic content provide deep sculptability.

The integrated Karplus-Strong synthesis engine is a genuine surprise. Hold a note via CV and StarLab becomes a playable monophonic string/pad synthesiser within your reverb chain. No other reverb module offers this. Combined with the resonant filter, multiple modulation waveshapes, and four user-recallable presets, StarLab isn't just a reverb — it's a sound design environment that happens to excel at spatial processing.