Plate reverb?

[HapiCmpur]

I understand the difference between hall reverb and room reverb, but I don't really get plate reverb.

What kinds of applications do most people use plate reverb for? When would you be most likely to choose it over one of the other reverb options?

[Henri Devill]

Plates are mechanical reverbs..where "sheet" of metal{different metals and thicknesses different sounds ect.} is excited with a transducer then picked up..Think of this like takein a large thin sheet of metal and shakeing it..Sounds like thunder.. right..Well if you put a "speaker on it and play something over that speaker then you mic it there you go mechanical verb..Vocals{but anything can go thru a plate} are very nice with plates as they are "tighter"..Experiment..have fun.Good luck



Don

[James Argo]

What kinds of applications do most people use plate reverb for? When would you be most likely to choose it over one of the other reverb options?

I don't think there's special purpose for this kind ( or I dunno ), but I like it to be aplied with vocals and little bit on organ sound stuff, and in my most case, it gives better approach to some plucked instrument like dulcimer, Harpsicord, Santur, etc... say... brighter than other specially when you apply a bit hard wet (deep). It's only my subjective opinion. And I found many early 60 - 70 musician (ELP, John Anderson, etc) used plate on their recording rather than room reverb. Sometimes I feel like just follow their rule to get that 60-70 sound with reverb. Just my humble opinion...

[powderfinger]

i've heard a lot of people say that plate reverb is the great for the snare drum

[mixmkr]

hall and room reverbs generally are trying to simulate an environment...hence their names.

plate reverbs were/are the reverb units of yore, typically bright sounding and possibly on the thin side. While it was an attempt to recreate a natural space (hey...like all reverb units..maybe?), they were more artificial sounding.

they sound great on vocals, snares, drums in general... anything that you might want a bright, sizzly sound.

[TexRoadkill]

Originally posted by mixmkr
they sound great on vocals, snares, drums in general... anything that you might want a bright, sizzly sound.

That's why the should be used carefully. Nothing will eat up your high end definition faster than a plate reverb.

The most obvious use of plate reverbs is probably on pop vocals. A lot of pop ballads have them to help smooth out the vocals and give them a sheen. They are also a bit for a 50's type of vibe. Chris Isaak uses them a lot on his vocals.

[Shailat]

First of all you should know that no two plates sound the same so beware as you switch from one reverb unit to another. A plate works very well on fast tempo songs. You can hear the effect without over doing it. Also on Trumpets a good plate can enhance the brilliance. Another example - If you want to mix in a piano but you know that using a "hall" might push your piano to the far end of the room or clutter the mix, use a short plate with a short pre-delay and you'll get a nice effect with the closeness you want.

I like Plates on vocals - percussion - woodwinds - Jazz drums - strings - trumpets - acoustic instruments - guitar

[Stealthtech]

Originally posted by powderfinger
i've heard a lot of people say that plate reverb is the great for the snare drum

That is correct...works great with snares !

[HapiCmpur]

Thanks for your helpful information and opinions, gentlemen.

I take it from your responses that most of you (if not all of you) would have no qualms about using several different types of reverb in the same piece of music. Is that correct? I mean, unless you're shooting for a live concert sound, you probably wouldn't have anything against using, say, plate 'verb on a vocal, hall 'verb on an organ, and room 'verb on a guitar, all in the same song. (Sparingly applied, of course.) Am I correct, or would you be unlikely to do such a thing?

[TexRoadkill]

There is no one way to do it. When you use outboard effects you are limited to what you have but with plugins you need to exorcise a little restraint because it's easy to have as many different reverbs as your computer can handle.

For music that I want to sound 'realistic' I will usually pick one reverb to be the actual room and might use a different type on vocals. Usually the other effects will be subtle delays and echos but mainly I only use one or two reverbs at most.

[sjjohnston]

Originally posted by HapiCmpur
... I mean, unless you're shooting for a live concert sound, you probably wouldn't have anything against using, say, plate 'verb on a vocal, hall 'verb on an organ, and room 'verb on a guitar, all in the same song. (Sparingly applied, of course.) Am I correct, or would you be unlikely to do such a thing?

I'd say you're correct (in the pop and rock world, anyway). If that works, it works. At some point, a whole bunch of different types of reverb gets muddy, though, as your "sparingly applied" reference suggests you understand.

A side note: consider how often people mix spring reverb with room/plate/natural reverb. Just a typical guitar amp (particularly when played by surf guitarist) in a club = spring + natural reverb.