Using reverb as blend to bring mix together

S

ste20man

New member
Hi all.

I'm using Altiverb 6 for the first time and I'm trying to use it on a send channel so I can route audio from other tracks to that channel so I get a 'blend' / impression that all the guitar tracks were recorded in the one 'space'.

I'm using this technique to 'glue' the tracks together. Is this the best way of doing things?

Altiverb has some beautiful IR spaces and I'd really like it to work out.

On the send channel that has the Altiverb plugin, is it better to have the send only output reverb, and no dry signal?

Cheers for your ideas, Ste. :)
 
I usually use verb to do just the opposite to give each instrument it's own feel.

Give it a try and see what you think gluing them all together with a single verb sounds like ..... if you don't like it - that's what the undo button is for.
 
I rarely use much reverb anymore. I used to think it 'glued' a mix together. Now it just sounds like mud to me, having the same reverb on all tracks. That being said, it is important to not have one instrument sound like it is in a garage, and one in a cathedral. Compression however, can really bring a mix together, in a cohesive space. This is all relative to personal taste, so anything I say or do, will not be held against me in the court of HR. :D
 
jimmys69 said:
so anything I say or do, will not be held against me in the court of HR. :D
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not true. :cool:

behead his lava lamp.




p.s.....back on track here...:)
I'd think compression (like may or may not have been mentioned here :D would be more of what I'd be reaching for for cohesiveness)
 
Dogbreath said:
not true. :cool:

behead his lava lamp.




p.s.....back on track here...:)
I'd think compression (like may or may not have been mentioned here :D would be more of what I'd be reaching for for cohesiveness)
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Dood! Bulb just burned out in mine! And a session in 10 minutes! WTF do I do? :eek:
 
Ha!!! The bulb was just loose! :D

All is good!!

Now to kill the cat that snuck in here, all hissy and sh*t.
 
ste20man said:
...On the send channel that has the Altiverb plugin, is it better to have the send only output reverb, and no dry signal?
Cheers for your ideas, Ste. :)
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Yes. If the verb was in-line (series) with the track you would use the verb's wet/dry mix control.
Bussed' (like you have) is a parallel -2nd path. That makes the 100% verb bus level added back in the wet/dry mix.
 
I still use a reverb bus, depending on the song. Gives the sense you are all actually in the same room. Full wet, then turn it way down, matbe 2 - 3%. Less is more. I use the Pantheon reverb and when used very gently, it sounds great.
 
Washburn100 said:
I still use a reverb bus, depending on the song. Gives the sense you are all actually in the same room. Full wet, then turn it way down, matbe 2 - 3%. Less is more. I use the Pantheon reverb and when used very gently, it sounds great.
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Panth' gets pooed sometimes but it's been staying in my templates as one of my default verb busses'. (One of about four or five.. :D
Got named 'SnareVerb, and kind of makes for a decent easy first try there and/or kit'.
 
moresound said:
I usually use verb to do just the opposite to give each instrument it's own feel.

Give it a try and see what you think gluing them all together with a single verb sounds like ..... if you don't like it - that's what the undo button is for.
Click to expand...

Same^^, I generally only use it for vocals and lead guitar to give a little more presence in the mix, unless the song as a whole calls for a more ambient sound.

Blending everything together? Layering compression is my best friend.
 
Same here, making everything sound like it belongs together is more about EQ and compression to me. But, when I want to make everything sound like it is in the same space, I will use a reverb send, 100% wet and send almost every instrument to it. How much of each instrument I send depends on where I want the instrument to sit. Move reverb makes it farther away, less reverb makes it more in your face.

If you want something to sound like it is in your face in a huge space, add 50-75ms of predelay to the reverb.
 
Thanks for all the thoughts, it's been really interesting to hear what you think. Can I ask a question related? A lot of you have said that you can bring a song together using compression. I have used a PSP vintage warmer on the master bus and that makes it sound a lot better to me. Do you know why this is? Why compress at all? Is it so there are no peaks that stick out in the song(if you know what I mean). I guess that would go for EQ too. To make a song 'smooth'.

Sorry for the very basic questions, :facepalm: cheers, Ste.
 
In the Todd Rundgren interview I linked to in another thread, he talks about using predelay on his reverb. What the hell is predelay? And how do I set it?!
 
It's within the settings of verb either with a rack mount unit or in the DAW.
It's the time between the dry sound and the first reflections off the walls - move the settings and your moving the walls = more space greater between the walls and you gives you more predelay.
 
mjbphotos said:
In the Todd Rundgren interview I linked to in another thread, he talks about using predelay on his reverb. What the hell is predelay? And how do I set it?!
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I just asked about this in a thread about a week ago in the recording section called "what the hell is reverb" or something like that. I'll use s snare as an example, basically predelay is how long from the time the snare hits until it's sound hits a wall or something and bounces back to the listener. It basically gives the listener the sense of space, more predelay would seem like a bigger room (I think). check out the thread it's explained way better by smarter guys. once they explained what all of the parameters were, i just used the tried and true method of turning knobs and seeing what happens, and it's helped a lot.

https://homerecording.com/bbs/gener...g-techniques/explain-reverb-me-please-338482/
 
Interesting stuff. I tend to use both compression and reverb at times for blending. All depends on song and mix. I almost always use a separate reverb for the instruments and vocals. Don't forget to play with the reverb parameters. Pre delay, eq, length etc all play an important part in setting up your verb. Also, I like to match my send pan to the track pan most of the time to give the track a sense of its own space. I also tend to group similar instruments to a stereo bus and apply small, SMALL, amounts of compression to blend the parts together if necessary. No different than what you are trying to achieve in a drum group or 2 bus compression. A great example is duplicated rhythm guitar parts panned left and right. I'll send that to a stereo bus and knock the peaks down a few db with a quick attack and release to get them to blend.
 
Again on PREDELAY: I mostly use ReaVerb in Reaper. I throw in an impulse file (tehre are big, small, wide rooms, etc). Down the botom of the settings is one called 'pre-reverb' is that what I want to set to 50-75 mseconds?
 
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