There is something very special about the way a perfectly tuned plate decays. However, some plugin manufacturers manipulate the impulses in the modeling process to make sense mathematically in a certain user interface. This manipulation allows for decay control settings to be precise (1 sec., 1.5 sec., 2 sec. and so on). When dealing with an analog plate in the real world, decay times are hard to predict, let alone make perfectly even (value-wise).

Manipulating reverb tails to fit conveniently into a user interface just sounds wrong (literally). You’ll notice that the decay times on the Transatlantic Plate Reverb reflect the true decay time of any particular setting. When switching between the EU/US modes, the current decay setting will jump to the closest value in the new mode. The result in sound quality far outweighs the ability to select even numbers on a dial.