Reverb?

Homeville said:
So, I want to make sparse, scratchy, reverb-drenched songs. Like a broken down barn.

I have: A TASCAM 424 MKII (and headphones), 2 mics (a Green Bullet for vocals, and SM58 for whatever), and assorted instruments. What else do I need? What do I use for reverb on everything that isn't through my guitar amplifier (which has nice reverb)? I'm particularly concerned about my voice.

Should I use a plan old guitar pedal reverb?

Do I need a pre-amp?

I like lofi, but I want it to sound decent, demo quality (indie-label demo quality not, say, major label demo quality).

Thanks in advance!
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I still have the same Tascam...back in high school when I first got it and didn't know much, I used a Boss multi effect pedal and plugged my mic in it and went into the tascam for a bit of reverb. Never tried it with any other stomp boxes though should work though if you have a stomp reverb...but you can try it and mess with the settings.
 
F* That!

kiss my ass, geezers! I don't know what the hell a "broken down barn" is supposed to sound like, but whatever. howbout an hr comp of all the "drenched sparse reverbery wall of sound phasey flangey pitch shifting creamy milky analog bass drum compressor why?!" songs? then you guys could get together and mic up your RNC's with your u87s. no wait, I mean SPs. yeah. let the RNC actually make the music. as long as it's DI'd thru an avalon it'll be phat. make sure to put a reverb plug on it. oh, and make sure to tell the mastering guy to make it quieter, because its too loud.
 
i dont think the sounds that this person is looking for should be linked with a shitty sound at all. i asume he wants a grass roots feel to his music and wants a reverb which will fill that aesthetic. many many albums have been made with such a aural feel and sold a ton of units. iron and wine went from scratchy barn verb country 4 track recordings to being one of sub pops more popular artists of late. microphones engineer and artist phil elvrum does huge low fi productions that sound like mud really, but it works damn well and enough people like his stuff that he gets to fly around and produce.

recording is a medium to get across the feel and creativity of an artist. this medium has NO FUCKING RULES.
 
Yeah, actually Iron and Wine and Phil Elvrum (microphones, mt. erie) are right in line with what I want to do, Mr Rich. I'm glad someone got it. I was just looking for advice on how to do that. I really like that sort of sound.

Don't know how everything got so wacky.
 
it's because some people are one track minded and think their way is the only way....that doesn't leave room for experimentation. Just do what you do and we'll help you get there.
 
The Tascam has effects sends. Buy a reverb unit and hook it up to the sends, then you could apply varying levels of verb to the individual tracks. The manual should tell you how to do this.

If you want cheap but half decent I'd recommend the Lexicon MPX110 (the older MPX100 can be found even cheaper on ebay).

Good luck with your recordings

Edit: assuming you're in the US there's one here that ends in 5 hours, currently at $36:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Lexicon-MPX10...ryZ23790QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 
I'm all for character in recordings Homeville. I agree that pristine, machine-like recordings don't always fit the bill as well.

Other people are always concerned about deleting every stray chair sqeak from their recordings, but I think those things are really colorful on certain songs.

(And I like to buy my clothes at Good Will stores, so I know what you mean about the personality of them.)

Anyway, I'm afraid I can't really add any advice regarding the type of verb you're looking for, because I can't say I'm really familiar with any "reverb-drenched" lo-fi recordings. I like lo-fi, but I'm just not familiar with the reverb-drenched movement I guess.

I know this is probably way off base (because he actually records for a major label), but is Springsteen's Nebraska album anything like you're talking? Have you heard it? He recorded that on his own with an older Tascam cassette 4-track. If so, then I know a little bit about how he got that sound.

Just trying to help.
 
I've heard a lot of good things about that Springsteen album, but haven't listened it yet. From what i've heard of it, I would say it probably fits what I would like to do.

I don't think there's a particular reverb-movement that I'm aware of, I just think a lot of artists I like just tend to use that effect a lot. Here is a link to one such song, by The Castanets :

http://asthmatickitty.com/musicians.php?artistID=2

The song is on the left. I think it's brilliant.

I am very interested in analog reverb,falken, is there any units you guys have tried and would recomend? I love analog fatness :)
 
I use a fostex. furman also makes one. I am sure there are others. I think one was mentioned in your other thread.
 
Ok I'm glad you posted the link to that song, because it gave me an idea of what you're talking about.

Cool song, and I liked that guy's voice.

I think the main reverb you're hearing there is the sound of a really live room. It doesn't sound like artificially generated reverb. It could be, but it sounds like a room to me.

I think there's some reverb on some of the other instruments once they come in.

I don't know. I could be wrong.

My favorite part of that song is definitely the intro.
 
Homeville said:
There's a whole movement (going back to Dylan, actually)that wants to return to a more stripped down authentic sound, not unlike the field recording of yore. That's what I want. Believe it or not, this can still be "worthwhile to listen to..." Artists such as The Mountain Goats, the Olivia Tremor Control, or Neutral Milk Hotel use their lofi aesthetic as an asset, and I bet they have a larger following than "BlueZ'inc."
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I think the sound your looking for does not lie in equipment (digital versus analog) or effects like reverb. The sound comes from the character of your songs (including lyrics) and the way your mix is arranged. If you want sparse, then keep the songs to a few instruments and voices. If you need multiple instruments, space them over time like the Castenet song you cite or allow for plenty of quiet passages in the song. Fill your mixes with a lot of dynamic variations and avoid squashing the hell out of everything with too much compression. You could also track live by recording everything at once rather than track by track. It's hard to do if you are a solo musician and the mic set up can be a challange, but it gives a band a very real, authentic sound. Personally, I would avoid the heavy reverb approach. I don't really hear it in Neutral Milk Hotel or some of the other bands you noted. In fact, there seems to be more of an up front sound to the vocals. Finally, although this thread took a quick and nasty turn, I understand where you are coming from and what you are trying to acheive. As you note, this kind of raw authenticity has been around for a long time. You can find it in a lot of places from Gillian Welch to Stephen Malkmus, from old Dylan to Cracker, and in new stuff by groups like Bright Eyes. Neil Young made a career of it with songs like Last Trip to Tulsa, For the Turnstiles, Ambulance Blues, etc. But, again, they key lies in authentic playing, songwriting, and arrangment.
 
dwillis45 said:
I think the sound your looking for does not lie in equipment (digital versus analog) or effects like reverb. The sound comes from the character of your songs (including lyrics) and the way your mix is arranged. If you want sparse, then keep the songs to a few instruments and voices. If you need multiple instruments, space them over time like the Castenet song you cite or allow for plenty of quiet passages in the song. Fill your mixes with a lot of dynamic variations and avoid squashing the hell out of everything with too much compression. You could also track live by recording everything at once rather than track by track. It's hard to do if you are a solo musician and the mic set up can be a challange, but it gives a band a very real, authentic sound. Personally, I would avoid the heavy reverb approach. I don't really hear it in Neutral Milk Hotel or some of the other bands you noted. In fact, there seems to be more of an up front sound to the vocals. Finally, although this thread took a quick and nasty turn, I understand where you are coming from and what you are trying to acheive. As you note, this kind of raw authenticity has been around for a long time. You can find it in a lot of places from Gillian Welch to Stephen Malkmus, from old Dylan to Cracker, and in new stuff by groups like Bright Eyes. Neil Young made a career of it with songs like Last Trip to Tulsa, For the Turnstiles, Ambulance Blues, etc. But, again, they key lies in authentic playing, songwriting, and arrangment.
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well said.
 
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