Volumes and dynamics

A

arosemond

Member
I recorded a track with lots of reverb on the vocal, it sounds fine at a lower casual volume, but when i turn it up the reverb takes over everything. I recorded it with a tascam dp03sd portastudio and studio projects b1 condenser mic awhile back and i just found this out using my newly acquired sony mdr 7506 headphones. I dont hear this problem with commercial tracks such as the a team by ed sheeran or lump sum by bon iver. Is there a reason for this or is it normal?
 
That's sounds normal to me, but you didn't say if only bandpass was sent to reverb - maybe not the reverb, but the un-needed frequencies in the effect
 
That is one of the reasons to check your mixes at different volumes.

It is a normal thing to have happen. If the reverb is too much at high volumes, it's too much at lower volumes too. It just isn't as obvious at the lower volume.
 
Farview said:
That is one of the reasons to check your mixes at different volumes.

It is a normal thing to have happen. If the reverb is too much at high volumes, it's too much at lower volumes too. It just isn't as obvious at the lower volume.
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Yep. That happens...
 
Well, there are untold numbers that don't apply Loudness Compensation at low levels, also. Many of those understand it only applies to others : )

Myself, I was just addressing the; "ya, there's too much reverb", or, reverb in the wrong places disability that goes around
 
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Sorry, there is just an unclear language here that I am done trying to understand....

Thought I was the grumpy old man.
 
For me there's a few other variables. Besides how loud the playback, there's what you're listening on and of course the environment (background noise etc.
My van's system seems very different in exposing' reverbs I use than my monitors.
And there's been times with tracks on the radio- in a few different cars or vans, where I've noticed reverb details much better at low volume, then if right there and then when I turn the song up.. as assuming to hear it better'.
 
(I have a feeling this isn't exactly mastering related, but as long as we're on the subject...)

And speaking of mastering, there's another step that tends to 'flatter' certain effects.

Key points are in there - (1) Listen at different volumes for sure. (2) EQ the signal going to the reverb. Something that people have been doing for decades that suddenly has a name attached is the "Abbey Road" trick. HPF around 5-600, LPF around 5-7kHz. I always HPF'd a little lower (3-400Hz) but then dipped the mids around 800-1200Hz or so. LPF'd around 8-10kHz, but again, a pretty substantial dip around the "scratchy ex-girlfriend" frequencies (2-4kHz or so).

What you wind up with is a 'warmer' and more natural sounding verb that doesn't clash with the source. That means you can hear it better without it being as loud. That makes it sit in the mix better (which is kind of the goal of everything).

Another thing I did frequently was to (3) mute the verb... You can gets used to "too much" pretty quickly. Mute it. If the mix sucks without the verb, it's still going to suck with it. If you turn it back on and all of a sudden it sounds like "HOLY SH*T -- VERB!!!" it's usually an indication that there's just too much.
 
My last thing only had reverb on the analog synth kick - rhythm wolf . Easy way to get the effect of synth pad mud/glue. Nothing loud about it at all
 
Massive Master said:
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Another thing I did frequently was to (3) mute the verb... You can gets used to "too much" pretty quickly. Mute it. If the mix sucks without the verb, it's still going to suck with it. If you turn it back on and all of a sudden it sounds like "HOLY SH*T -- VERB!!!" it's usually an indication that there's just too much.
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I like this a lot. It's like a reality and perspective check 'tool. We can easily progressively work our way too far in a given sonic direction ..w/o the occasional comparison checks.
 
Thanks for your input guys ill keep trying new stuff with the reverb cos i want some but i dont want it to overpower everything
 
arosemond said:
I recorded a track with lots of reverb on the vocal, it sounds fine at a lower casual volume, but when i turn it up the reverb takes over everything. I recorded it with a tascam dp03sd portastudio and studio projects b1 condenser mic awhile back and i just found this out using my newly acquired sony mdr 7506 headphones. I dont hear this problem with commercial tracks such as the a team by ed sheeran or lump sum by bon iver. Is there a reason for this or is it normal?
Click to expand...

Your "newly acquired" Sony 7506 cans are well known for their extreme highs. Those cans are great for tracking but not for mixing at all. Before you make any drastic changes to your mix.......and they may be warranted......listen to your other mixes and other very familiar tracks on the Sonys. You may be surprised. Just sayin'. My 2 cents.
 
Mixter brings up a good point. The reason thos headphones are so popular in recording studios is because they bring up vocals, which is good when you are using them to hear yourself singing. But it is completely terrible when you are trying to mix with them. That upper midrange brightness will give you a false sense of what is going on in the mix.
 
The headphones are the only thing i have to mix with, also might the problem be that my mixes are just too loud? Ive remixed the song in question and ive got better results but may be its just so loud and its slamming sound into my ears?
 
Reverb is in essence an effect that is adversely affected by volume. It is meant to simulate sound from a distance where the volume is dampened. I use reverb on my monitor channel but wait until I'm mixing to apply the right amount to the recorded track.
 
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