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Contents
What is a reverb? ......................................................... 1 What is a reverb?
Artificial reverberations ............................................. 1
In almost any space, we have surrounding objects, walls,
Reverb parameters and controls .................................. 2 floor etc. In such a space,
Direct/ Effect levels ................................................... 2
1. sound travels to you directly from the source –
Pre-delay Time ......................................................... 3 direct sound
2. some of the sound reflects on the surroundings
The reverb time......................................................... 3
and reaches your ear – reflected sound.
Early reflections ........................................................ 3
Usually there are so many objects and surfaces to reflect
Dampening ............................................................... 3
on, that there is a cluster of reflections that reach our
Using the reverb........................................................... 4 ears along with the direct sound. This group of reflections
gives us a sense of acoustic space and is called
Reverb as a send effect ............................................ 4
reverberation or reverb in short.
Setting up a reverb effect .......................................... 4
Balance between the reverb length and reverb level Artificial reverberations
(volume) .................................................................... 4
It is not always possible to record in surroundings which
Using different reverbs on different instruments ....... 5 have a great natural reverb. In fact most of our
Reverb for vocals ......................................................... 5 recordings are done in rooms adjusted so that very less
natural reverbs interfere with the recording.
For popular styles ..................................................... 5
What reverb styles are in trend now? ....................... 6 Plugins and hardware effect equipments allow us to add
a sense of space to the recording, artificially. We can add
How not to overuse reverbs ...................................... 6 a bright short plate reverb to a close miced SM58 vocal
recording. We can add large hall like spaces to create
chorale effects to vocal parts recorded one after another
in a sequencer.

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Recordings we make in our rooms, definitely benefit from More the reflected or wet sound level in the mix, more
artificial reverberation as we can add some pleasing distant the sound source feels, from the listener.
acoustic 'halo' to our recordings which is almost
impossible to get naturally from our rooms. Varying the wet / dry ratio for different instruments can
vary the perceived distance of each instrument from the
When we use VST plugins, synth sounds etc, anyway we listener, thereby giving a spatial depth to the mix.
need to add reverb since they don't come with a natural
acoustic space or ambience.

Reverb parameters and

controls
The image shows an example of a reverb
plugin interface. Let us have a look at the
three most important reverb controls.

Direct/ Effect levels

The ratio between the Dry or direct sound

level to Wet or reflected sound level.

We can either set it in the reverb – usually

a single knob that controls the ratio.

Or we can set the ratio to 100% wet in the

reverb unit and adjust the send level to
the reverb, of the particular channel to
decide how much of the reverb sound
should be mixed with the dry sound.

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Pre-delay Time More reverb controls if available :

The pre-delay time specifies the time lapse between the Early reflections
start of the direct sound and the start of the first sonic
reflection. Early reflections are the first reflections produced from a
This means that the time set for predelay is what decides sound before the complexity of the main reverberation.
how much time after the original sound, the first
reflections of the reverb sets in. For example, if we sing Early reflections give us a feel about the size of the room,
‘Silence’, and the predelay is 90ms, we will hear the clear how close the large reflective surfaces are, where the
‘S’ and 90mseconds will pass before the reverb starts sound source is within the reverberating space, and even
sounding. the material of the surfaces.

When you decrease the predelay time, the sound Using a reverb patch that has a lot of early reflections
source feels closer to the boundaries of the space can help reinforce the dry sound.
and moves it farther from the listener.
When you keep a longer pre delay time if you want Dampening
the sound clearer and closer to the listener.
High- and Low-frequency Damping parameters allow
The reverb time us to shorten the reverb decay for the high and low
frequency extremes. Most often when we see presets like
The reverb time is the part of the reverb which decides 'Hall' 'Room' 'Plate' etc, they have the damping set as
how long the reverb sounds. This is also known as the preset, even if the plugin does not offer individual control
decay time. To give an idea about reverb time setting : over the damping parameters.
1.8 millisecond is a fairly long decay time.
Low-frequency Damping simulates solidly built and
These three parameters – Direct/Effect Levels, sizeable spaces.
Reverb Decay Times and Pre-delay, give us enough
control to set reverbs very well for most of our High-frequency Damping simulates warmer sounding
needs. furnished rooms with soft funishings, carpets, curtains,
junk etc which absorb the high-end.

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have to keep raising the send level of the reverb. But

Using the reverb when we raise the reverb level too high, the track will
sound like coming from far away.
Reverb as a send effect
Remember we talked about Decay Time or Reverb Time
Using a reverb as a send effect as opposed to insert – the control that all reverb processors or plugins have to
effect has its advantages change the length of the reverb.
1. Using everb and delay as send effects lets the same
settings be shared by different tracks thereby allowing Change the reverb length setting. Try making the reverb
the whole project to share an ‘uniform space’. longer and reducing the fader. Listen how it sounds.
2. As minimal resource producers, when we use just
one instance of a reverb plugin instead of inserting it in Then make the reverb shorter by a bit and increase the
each channel that needs reverb, we have added fader a little bit. Listen again, experiment.
advantage of not wasting computer CPU and RAM
resources. With time we will get a feel for balancing the two
parameters of reverb length and reverb level to find the
Setting up a reverb effect best.

1. We set up one instance of the needed reverb Most often we will set this once when we start the mix,
treatment. then come back and tweak again as the other instrument
2. A send track to the reverb is setup for each track reverb levels and lengths are set. It is important to make
that needs the effect. this comparative adjustment of a track's reverb with
3. Changing the send level in a track determines how respect to the other tracks and considering the mix as a
much reverb effect is added to that particular whole.
track.

Balance between the reverb length and

reverb level (volume)

1. If the reverb is too long, we can’t keep the reverb

level high enough without affecting the whole mix.
2. If the reverb is too short, to get a full sound we will

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Using different reverbs on different 4. For a pop lead vocal, we will use short reverb times
so that the vocal does not sound too far away or muddy.
instruments
For popular styles
This gives a good contrast between them. As said before,
more the reverb, the sound is perceived as farther from
the listener. Adding different reverbs to different sounds 1. Make sure the words are clear – use predelay and
in the mix can add a spatial depth to
the mix.

If we use a short reverb for a vocal, it

will sound upfront and clear. Then we
can use a wider reverb for a backing
guitar, making the voice stand out
while the guitar does not muddy its
space.

Reverb for vocals

1. For the words to be clear, the
effect level and reverb time should not
be too high.
2. Increase the Pre-delay time to
keep the words clear, for the beginning
of the words to come across clear
before the reverb sets in.
3. The reverb setting will depend on
the kind of music or the effect we want.
If we are making a choir recording or a
vocal group, using longer reverb decay
will give the effect of big halls and
chapels where such music is usually
performed.

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short reverbs times. In your face pop vocal should have Reverb has the effect of pushing the vocals back. Try
a short pre delay time. pre-delay values of 60mS and above to keep the vocals
2. One more reason to use short reverbs in popular in front.
styles – to keep the vocal close to the front of your mix.
3. Keep a bright reverb – use the send eqs to cut out
the middle muddy frequencies carefully in a tasteful
manner.
4. To take care of the sibilance when using a bright
reverb, we can
a. Use a de-esser on the vocals
b. Instead use a de-esser on the feed to the reverb
Liked it? Found it detailed and useful? Actionable with
What reverb styles are in trend now? practical tips?
Though a generalization is not possible, the reverb Tell me so.
treatment these days are much less obvious than it used
to be. Short bright plate reverbs are more common than Please share it with others who may find such topics
long washy reverbs. Still the choice remains artistic. useful.

Don’t overuse reverbs Subscribe to receive more articles – detailed and

relevant. No spam. No junk. I won’t write or send you
Reverbs should be used in moderation. They should anything just for the sake of it.
primarily be used to make the vocals sound as if it shares
the same acoustic place with the other instruments. We
should not try to add too much reverb and delay to make
the sound ‘colorful’ or ‘smooth’ or with the intention of
masking a shortcoming in the vocal take.
Listen to commercial recordings you like and try to learn
from them till slowly it becomes natural.
Adding reverb adds space to the sound and affects the
stereo placement of the sound. Using mono reverbs and Want to make a report? Need help?
placing the wet signal where the original is, can help
prevent the stereo smear.

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