EskalateShimmer delay effect · synced echoes that climb an octave each repeat, into a glowing hall
The only shimmer delay you'll ever need to turn every echo into a stairway of light.
Echoes in time with your song, each one climbing an octave above the last and melting into a glowing hall: the ambient guitar and ethereal vocal sound, the moment you load it. A fifth or an octave down in one click, SWELL for pads, WASH from dry steps to a cloud. Zero latency, every repeat on the beat.
- Use it on 5 computers per copy
- Lifetime updates
- 90-day money-back guarantee
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- VST3, AU and AAX, Windows and macOS
- Try it free
Formats and DAWs
Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit): VST3 and AAX
macOS 11 or later: VST3, AU and AAX
Works in any 64-bit DAW that loads VST3, AU or AAX plug-ins.
Licence
Use it on up to five of your own computers per copy you buy. Yours for good, no subscription. Unlock it with your email and a six-digit code, no dongle and no password. It checks in now and then and works offline in between.
Delivery
Download links by email within about five minutes, and always in your account under Downloads.
Hear the difference
The same dry sound, without and with Eskalate.
Clean guitar, quarter-note steps
A dry clean electric guitar lead - Init (1/4 steps, each repeat an octave higher)
Dotted-eighth steps on the guitar
Dry clean guitar chords - Guitar / Edge Steps (1/8 dotted)
Vocal, ethereal echo
A dry sustained male vocal hook - Vocal / Ethereal Echo
Piano into a deep pad
A dry soft piano loop - Song / Deep Blue (1/2, high feedback, swell)
Octave delay on guitar phrases
Dry picked guitar phrases - Octave / Octave Delay (every repeat an octave above the last)
Every clip is level-matched, so the difference you hear is tone, not volume.
Eskalate in action
Why Eskalate
Every echo a step higher
The first echo is clean; each one after it climbs an octave on top of the last, until the repeats melt into a soft, bright cloud. No pitch shifter, delay and reverb to wire up by hand.
On the beat, every repeat
TIME locks to your song's tempo, from 1/32 to a whole note, straight, dotted or triplet, and the climbing repeats land on the grid too, at zero latency.
From dry steps to a cloud
SHIMMER sets how much each repeat climbs, FEEDBACK how many come back, and WASH melts them into a hall. SWELL fades each phrase in for pads.
Time. Shimmer.
Two big knobs do the work: how far apart the echoes are, and how much each one climbs.
- VST3 · AU · AAX
- Windows and macOS
- 0 ms latency
- 17 presets
The shimmer delay plugin
- Every echo a step higher. The first echo is clean; each one after it adds an octave on top.
- On the beat. TIME syncs to your song, and the climbing repeats land on the grid too.
- Three intervals. +12, +7 or -12, in one click.
- From dry steps to a cloud. WASH melts the echoes into a hall; SWELL fades each phrase in; zero latency.
- TIME (1/32 to 1/1 synced, or 90 ms to 2 s with SYNC off) and SHIMMER (clean delay to octave delay).
- FEEDBACK (one echo to an endless climb), WASH (dry steps up to a 7.8-second hall), INTERVAL (+12, +7, -12) and SWELL.
- MIX, IN and OUT with meters, and ENGAGE.
- 17 factory presets and your own preset files; A/B, undo and redo, MIDI Learn on every control; a window from 75 to 200 %; the full manual.
SWELL
Echoes that swell into a pad.
Half-note echoes climbing into a 6-second hall, each phrase fading in: the ambient pad, on one preset.
What Eskalate does
Every control has one job: the exact stair of echoes you hear in your head, faster.
TIME
Echoes locked to your song
With SYNC on, TIME is a note value at your song's tempo, from a 1/32 triplet to a whole note, straight, dotted or triplet; the line under it reads the time in milliseconds. With SYNC off it runs from 90 ms to 2 seconds.
SHIMMER
The climb, in one knob
How much of each repeat climbs by the interval as it comes back. At 0 it is a clean delay; at the default 55 % each echo adds an octave on top of the last; at 100 % the whole repeat climbs, a true octave delay.
INTERVAL
Octave, fifth or an octave down
+12 climbs an octave each repeat, the classic. +7 climbs a fifth for a chordal stair. -12 falls an octave for a dark glow under the sound.
FEEDBACK
From one echo to an endless climb
How many times the echo comes back; the line under the knob counts the repeats. Above 85 % the climb is held back so the top rings on without running away: 100 % holds the echoes almost forever.
WASH
From dry steps to a glowing cloud
A hall on the echoes that grows louder and longer as you turn it up: 0 is dry, distinct steps; the default 40 % a 2.6-second hall; 100 % a 7.8-second cloud.
SWELL
Pads that fade in on their own
One key: each phrase fades into the echoes over half a second instead of starting on its attack. No threshold to set: it follows your playing. The dry sound is never faded.
On the grid at every interval
Every repeat on the beat
The climbing repeats are timed to land exactly where the clean ones do, at every interval and sample rate, so the stair stays in time with the song.
SYNC
Musical time or milliseconds
One key switches TIME between note values at the host tempo and free time in milliseconds.
MIX
From a hint to all echoes
The echoes against your dry sound, equal power. The default 40 % is the classic start; 100 % is the echoes alone, for a send.
IN and OUT
Gain where you need it
Input and output gain, -24 to +24 dB, with level meters on both.
17 sourced presets
Start from settings that work
Guitar steps, pads, intervals, guides, clean delays, washes, an endless climb, a vocal echo and an octave delay, each built from a documented setting and levelled against the dry signal.
A/B and undo
Try every idea, lose none
Two complete settings to compare in one click, A>B to copy one to the other, and undo and redo for every move.
MIDI Learn and automation
Take complete control of your workflow
Right-click any knob or key and move a controller: it plays that control. Every control is automatable in your DAW too.
Zero latency
Play through it live
Your dry sound is never delayed, so you can play guitar or sing through it in real time.
A face that moves
Watch the echoes climb the stair
Each echo lights the next step up a floating stone staircase, and the stair goes dark from the bottom as the repeats fade; the haze above glows with the output.
Inside the plugin
The Eskalate window: two big knobs, FEEDBACK and WASH, three intervals and SWELL.
Every feature
Everything in Eskalate, down to the smallest switch.
36 features
The echoes
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TIME
1/32 triplet to a whole note at your tempo, or 90 ms to 2 s free
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SHIMMER
How much of each repeat climbs, from a clean delay to an octave delay
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INTERVAL
+12, +7 or -12: up an octave, up a fifth or down an octave each repeat
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FEEDBACK
One echo to an endless climb, the repeats counted under the knob
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WASH
Dry steps to a 7.8-second glowing hall
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SWELL
Each phrase fades into the echoes, no threshold to set
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SYNC
Note values at the host tempo, or milliseconds
Mix and level
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MIX
The echoes against your dry sound, equal power; 40 % by default
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Every repeat on the grid
The climbing repeats land on the beat at every interval
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Bounded at every setting
A limiter in the loop and on the echoes; the dry stays exact
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Level-matched presets
Every preset within 1 LU of the dry signal
Workflow and control
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A/B compare and A>B
Two complete settings, switch in one click
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Undo and redo
Step back and forward, or press Ctrl+Z
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MIDI Learn
Take complete control of your workflow: right-click any control, move a knob
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Host automation
Automate every control from your DAW
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ENGAGE
Click-free bypass, to hear the before and after
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IN and OUT meters
See the level going in and coming out at a glance
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Tooltips
Every control explains itself as you point at it
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Resizable window
75 to 200 %, and the size you pick is remembered
Presets
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17 factory presets
Starting points built from real settings producers use
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Previous and next arrows
Audition presets one click at a time
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Save your own
Keep your settings as .shimmerdelaypreset preset files
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Open presets folder
Back up or share your presets in one click
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Reset to default
Back to a clean start in one step
Performance
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Zero latency
Play guitar or sing through it live
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Light on CPU
About 5 to 6 % of one core; about 2 % with SHIMMER at 0
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Mono or stereo
On a guitar, a vocal, a keyboard or a whole bus
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Audio-reactive face
Each echo lights the next step of the stair
Licence and compatibility
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VST3 and AAX, Windows 7 SP1 or later
Loads in any 64-bit Windows DAW with VST3 or AAX
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VST3, AU and AAX, macOS 10.13 or later
Loads in any Mac DAW with VST3, AU or AAX, Intel or ARM
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5 computers per copy
Studio, laptop and more on one licence
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Email and code unlock
No dongle, no password, no extra app
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Works offline
No internet needed between check-ins
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Check for updates
From the plugin's menu; nothing installs without asking
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Lifetime updates
Every future update included
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Platinum priority support
Questions answered by the people who build it
How Eskalate compares
The classic shimmer delay in one insert, with the controls most leave out.
| Eskalate | Typical shimmer delay plugins | |
|---|---|---|
| The default | Synced echoes climbing an octave each repeat | Often a plain delay until you set it up |
| Timing | Every repeat on the beat, climbing ones too | The shifted repeats can fall behind the beat |
| Intervals | +12, +7 or -12, one click | Often one fixed octave |
| Pads | SWELL built in, nothing to set | A swell control with a fussy sensitivity |
| The wash | A hall on the echoes, WASH from dry to a cloud | A separate reverb on another insert |
| Controls | Four knobs and three keys on one page | Often fifteen or more controls |
| Latency | 0 ms | Often some |
| Try-and-compare | A/B, A>B, undo and redo | Often missing |
| Hardware control | MIDI Learn on every control | Often host automation only |
| Licence | 5 computers per copy, no dongle, works offline | Often fewer activations, or a dongle |
| Updates | Lifetime updates included | Often paid upgrades |
"Typical" describes what we commonly see in this category; it does not describe any particular product. Eskalate facts are from the plugin and its manual, October 2026.
What you get
Vox Samples
90-day money back · Thank you
Specs and system requirements
- Formats
- VST3 and AAX on Windows; VST3, AU and AAX on macOS
- Operating system
- Windows 7 SP1 or later, 64-bit; macOS 10.13 or later, universal (Intel and ARM)
- Host
- Any 64-bit DAW that loads VST3, AU or AAX plug-ins
- Channels
- Mono or stereo
- Sample rates
- Whatever your session runs at
- Latency
- 0 samples
- Time
- Synced: 1/32 to 1/1, straight, dotted and triplet, at the host tempo (up to 4 s). Free: 90 ms to 2 s
- Intervals
- +12, +7 and -12 semitones on each repeat; the first echo is clean
- Feedback
- 0 to 100 %; the climb is held back above 85 %, so 100 % rings on without running away
- Wash
- A hall on the echoes, louder and longer as it rises: none at 0 (dry steps), 2.6 s at the default 40 %, 7.8 s at 100 %
- Swell
- A 0.5 s fade-in on each phrase, set by the material
- Presets
- 17 factory presets; your own as .shimmerdelaypreset files
- Tail
- Reported to your DAW: about 8 s at the default settings and 120 BPM, up to 30 s
- Window
- 960 x 600 at 100 %, resizable from 75 to 200 %
- MIDI
- MIDI Learn from any controller routed to the track
- Licence
- 5 computers per copy you buy. Unlock with your email and a code we email you. Checks in now and then and works offline in between.
- Internet
- Needed once to unlock, then for the occasional check-in
- Manual
- https://voxsamples.com/eskalate-shimmer-delay-effect-manual
90Day money-back guarantee
Our guarantee
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90-day money-back guarantee
Not for you? Email contact@voxsamples.com within 90 days for a full refund.
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5 computers per copy
Use it on up to five of your own computers per copy you buy, and move it yourself from the plugin's Licence menu.
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Lifetime updates
Every future update and upgrade of Eskalate, included.
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Platinum priority support
A real person at contact@voxsamples.com, first in line.
Try Eskalate free
The whole plugin, with the same sound as the full version and no time limit. It goes silent for a moment every few seconds; the full version never does.
Windows and macOS installers in one download. Like what you hear? Get the full version on this page, with a 90-day money-back guarantee.
Questions
What is a shimmer delay?
A delay whose repeats climb in pitch, usually an octave, every time they come back, because a pitch shifter sits in the delay's feedback, melting into a reverb wash. You hear distinct echoes in time with the song, each a step higher and brighter.
How is it different from a shimmer reverb?
A shimmer reverb is a continuous climbing pad with no beat. Eskalate is rhythmic: synced echoes you can count, each one stepping up an octave, then blooming into a hall with WASH.
How do I get the dotted-eighth guitar shimmer?
Load the Guitar preset: 1/8 dotted echoes at 50 % feedback, half of each repeat climbing an octave, MIX 50 %. The first Song preset is the same idea at 1/4 dotted in a longer hall.
Can it be an octave delay?
Yes. Octave / Octave Delay puts SHIMMER at 100 %, so every repeat is an octave above the last. INTERVAL gives a fifth up or an octave down instead.
Do the repeats stay in time?
Yes. TIME syncs to your song's tempo, and the climbing repeats are timed to land on the beat with the clean ones, at every interval.
Can I play guitar through it live?
Yes. It adds no latency, so you can play or sing through it in real time.
Does it work in my DAW?
Any 64-bit DAW that loads VST3, AU or AAX plug-ins, on Windows 7 SP1 or later or macOS 10.13 or later. There is no standalone app.
How many computers can I use it on?
Up to five of your own for each copy you buy. To move it, deactivate it in the plugin on the old computer and unlock it on the new one.
Does it need the internet?
Once, to unlock it with the code we email you. After that it checks in now and then and works offline in between.
Is there a manual?
Yes. The full manual explains every control, every preset and the menus, with tips. It opens from the help key (?) in the plugin's top bar, and lives at https://voxsamples.com/eskalate-shimmer-delay-effect-manual.
What if it's not for me?
Request a refund from your account within 90 days.
Founder's Story
"When COVID hit, I finally had time to dive into music production—only to discover I was missing the right tools. The plugins I tried were clunky, overloaded with unnecessary features, and killed my vibe with endless tweaking. I knew there had to be a better way.
So, with my engineering background, I started making free and simple audio plugins for my producer friends. They loved them! That’s when I set out on a mission to create plugins that save you time, streamline your workflow, and keep your creativity flowing."
- Ryan Svensson (Founder & CEO)
Every shimmer echo you've heard. One insert.
Synced echoes that climb an octave, a fifth or an octave down, a hall from dry steps to a cloud, and pads that swell in, at zero latency.
$42.55 AUD常规价格 $141.86 AUD70% off
- 90-day money back
- Five computers
- Lifetime updates
Pairs with
Eskalate Shimmer Delay Effect
$42.55 AUD常规价格 $141.86 AUD70% off