Actual Reverb Suggestions...No FX or Plugins?

[ghetto3jon]

hello. in my studio, i'd like to use little to no digital reverb (hardware or plugin). but the catch is, i'd like to make reverb heavy music (all things must pass, turn on the bright lights, etc). i know i'll have to use synthetic reverb from time to time for special effect...but for lead vocals, acoustic guitars, and stuff like that, i'd like to do my best to use the room (i built the room big...with no parallel walls and such, so i'd like to use it!).

for instance, for vocals: close mic with a large diaphragm, and stereo small diaphragm mics (far away). then blend the ambient mics into the close mic signal like an effects loop. will this theory work well? what do i have to keep in mind in order for this method to be successful?

any input is appreciated.

 

[manning1]

before digital reverbs years ago people used many devices to create effect.
3 head tape machines. natural room ambience. hallways, tiled areas,
sending a feed to a speaker and micing the speaker, building their own diy reverb tanks. in fact some majo studios became big revenue producers
purely because they could get a certain type of effect , so everybody wanted to record there. there were several in LA if i remember. forgotten the names. and i think the same went for london, NYC and nashville.
might be worth searching the net for the history related to the above.
peace.

 

[strmkr]

You could build your own plate.

http://www.prosoundweb.com/recording/tapeop/plate/plate.php

 

[Cloneboy Studio]

Have good sounding rooms designed.

 

[OneRoomStudios]

I heard that Man Or Astroman...? (a crazy experimental surf-rock band) built a little reverb chamber by taking an oil drum or propane tank (I've heard both versions) and poping a speaker in one side and a mic in the other....might be interesting

 

[Phyl]

Start out simple - throw up an omni mic and move it around the room until you find the sound you like. Record it to a separate mono track and bring the level up under the vocal or instrument you're trying to enhance until you get the desired effect.

If you're not getting as much reverb as you need, consider adding some reflective surfaces in the room to keep the echo going longer, or make use of some nearby rooms, stairwells, etc that have longer reverb characteristics.

I've read where people will take a monitor feed from the board and send it to a speaker sitting in a long hallway, then put a mic at the other end of the hallway. The sound bangs around the hallway, gets recorded by the mic, and is used as a natural (sort of) reverb. Really smart folks can even tell you how to calculate the reverberation of a space, given the dimensions.

I really don't know shit about this topic, I'm just regurgitating what I've read elsewhere. Sounds like you have the basics covered - a nice big room!

 

[Ronan]

Having extra mics far away will not really give you the reverb effect you are probably lloking for unless you are recording in a church. i would suggest that you use some sort of chamber. A tile bathroom could work or a stairwell. Send your vocal out to an amp in that room and put a mic in the other side of the room. Compress the hell out of that mic and bring it back into the mix. Or you could design a room just or reverb. the chamber at capitol studios in Hollywood sounds better than any digital reverb i have ever used.

 

[LRosario]

for instance, for vocals: close mic with a large diaphragm, and stereo small diaphragm mics (far away). then blend the ambient mics into the close mic signal like an effects loop. will this theory work well? what do i have to keep in mind in order for this method to be successful?

any input is appreciated.

Of course, the best way to test any theory is putting it to use. But essentially what you're trying to achieve is very similar to audio for movies.

If you have a vocal mic and pair that up with an ambient mic, what you have essentially is vocals and room tone.

This can be good and bad at the same time. If the acoustics of the room you're working in are up to par with what you want, then it should help bring out more color to the vocals. But if you're working in a noisy room or professional studio, then it's not going to do you much good.

All you really have to do is balance out those 2 tracks later on in a multi track editor. Also consider this:

Having the ambient track higher than the vocal track will give more reverb effect or perception of distance. Having the vocal track higher will deaden the reverb. You can even make copies of the vocal track and apply different reverb to each of them.

 

[ghetto3jon]

thanks for all of the advice. this forum is great...keep it coming!

jon.