Reverb Question

Snowman999

Active member
I have Pro Tools 6 and only have the reverb that comes with it. Small/Med/Large - Hall/Room 1 & 2/Ambient/ etc

I'm mixing, and I do NOTHING with any true knowledge. I listen to what I like and leave it at that. I have one professional who rarely likes the amount of reverb I use (I just love the sound of acoustics and vocals drenched in it). He actually found one of the songs to have perfect verb on everything. He thought it was too much. But, thought I had done everything perfect.

Not all songs are noticeably in the same vein. But, if I copied the reverb from one song to another, and really only varied the input/output, should that keep all the songs uniform in basic sound? Obviously, I still have to listen to what I believe is correct. But, is it a good starting point?
 
The broad strategy would work.

If you have a set of songs, using the same type of reverb, even if you very levels appropriately, will add an overall cohesion to the sound. So, yes, copying the reverb from one song to the other is fine.

However, that doesn't address the other problem of how much is too much. There is a fine line between varied personal preferences and what becomes unmusical.
 
Naw there’s no line. Do whatever you want. Make it sound the way you want it to sound. If it’s actually good, people will appreciate it. If you’re the only one that likes it, that’s fine too.
 
gecko zzed"There is a fine line between varied personal preferences and what becomes unmusical."

I think I keep it within musical bounds. At least I hope I do.

If you’re the only one that likes it, that’s fine too.

If I get ten people to like this, I'd be happy.

I make fun of myself a lot, partially because it's true. But, even my songs pre-melodyne still have strangers that enjoy them. You can't ask for more than that. Though money is always nice. But, that will never come for me.
 
Trying to sell it is a whole other job, and one I’ve never been good at. :)

I've had one great paid gig, and it was offered without me looking. My band was Frances Farmer My Hero. My first CASSETTE was The Unauthorized Biography, a pop rock opera about the life of Frances Farmer the actress. In 1995 or 96 my friend made a cheesy website and some guy in Bolzano Italy bought a copy. One email said "Maybe one day you come to Bolzano and perform for us." I didn't bother telling him, I recorded it almost 8 years earlier, and hadn't spoke to a single musician since that time. In 1998 he wrote and offered a gig at the Sconfinarti multi media festival, and the pay just couldn't be refused. It was a GREAT SHOW. We played in a 14th century castle.

That experience would make a great screenplay, all the problems that went into getting there. One funny one: My singer smoked a lot of pot. I asked her to please not bring any with her, she could buy when we arrived. She agreed. She did bring some with her, she hid it in a tampon tube.
 
I have heard many many recordings that people have done that are drenched in reverb. I guess its a personal thing, but they seem to like it because they think it makes their voices sound fuller. To me, I hear an empty room the vocals are in and non-matching instruments.
 
Over time.....having heard recordings and live performances of the same song by the same artist......I've noticed that they tend to use a bit more reverb on their vocals in live performances. I'm not sure why. And no......I'm not mistaking the room reverb for applied reverb.
 
Over time.....having heard recordings and live performances of the same song by the same artist......I've noticed that they tend to use a bit more reverb on their vocals in live performances. I'm not sure why. And no......I'm not mistaking the room reverb for applied reverb.

It's because most singers double their vocals on record. Live it's bare. So, reverb is added to fill out (if that's the proper phrase) their sound.

Johnny Thunders used to CONSTANTLY say "More reverb. More reverb."
 
I never liked songs that were very dry, and I usually apply reverb...though there are times when more dry just works for a given element, and I'll often not add reverb to every track, and will leave some things completely dry simply to create the feeling of more depth for the things that do have reverb, and that way I don't need as much reverb.
I also like to use maybe 1-2 similar reverb types...but then change the decay time or the pre-delay time for each of the elements I apply it to in the mix.
So the use of different delays, plus throwing in some dry elements too...you get a more 3D feel to the mix than when you slather everything in reverb, thinking that more reverb will give you more depth. It's really the contrast between elements that can give you that...but there were times in the past when I would drench things in reverb...and even today, some situations call for that...it's just a different way to present an element in the mix, or the whole song for that matter.

There was a time where I use to think that with reverb, I wanted to always create the sense of one, unified space that a bunch of musicians were playing it...but I don't stick to that approach all that much anymore, and it's really about the mix conveying whatever mood/feel you want it to have....unless of course you want it sound like a bunch of guys all playing together in one room.

Anyway...don't be afraid of contrast...so that for example you might have a good amount of wet on the backing tracks, and then the vocal comes in 100% dry, and you get that up-front feel to them. Of course, there are times when things can become...unglued...if there are too many disconnected elements all fighting for attention. So combining both subtlety with more direct sounds can work better than everything the same.

Of course...it's really whatever sounds good to you...but keep in mind that even if you really like drenched, syrupy reverb on everything...if the mix becomes so diffused that you can't make out vocals or you lose image and directional focus...then maybe you're overdoing it a bit. ;)
 
Back
Top