Analog Reverb(?)

  • Thread starter Thread starter nuemes
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Yep..goes back to what I said..It's how you use it. I eq Verb plugins outboard verbs delays...You have to. They are alwasy to bright.. I cut bottom at times too..They don't do the bottom right sometimes..Most rooms don't kick bottom and top out like this F/X units.
 
Most of the time I find that people who are not happy with their reverbs are using stock presets. Even a lot of the cheaper reverbs actually sound much better when you start editing the presets. Also, for some reason I see a lot of people loading their software verbs as inserts on each channel. By using a send return system and setting the verb to 100% wet, you really get a lot of options. You can try and EQ the verb preset within it's own interface screen, or you can also do it at the channel output. Many people don't seem to really mess with their density settings either. The density can have a huge impact on the tonality of the reverb. Sometimes I actually like compressing the hell out of the reverb output also. I find that it allows me to get a huge sounding verb that almost sounds gated, but can still maintain a short decay time with some sort of a tail (unlike an actual gated plate type setting).

As far as digital versus analog goes, I don't think that should be the argument. It should really be good versus bad sounding. Good digital reverbs have been the standard for years now. Once you get into the quality range of Eventide, TC M5000 and up, Lexi PCM series or 224, 300, 480 etc... the sounds get much more natural and they are easier to use as far creating a depth to your spacial field and not just sounding like a reverb.
 
Thanks for the thoughtful replies. I think nearly all of you are right; I got frustrated & jumped the gun thinking digital reverb itself is terrible when the issue is most likely the harsh digital reverbs from the units I own (Yamaha REV500, Ensoniq DP4 and stock ProTools reverb). They serve their function but there's nothing nastier and more unnatural than listening to those units trail off - even with EQ edits.

I'll check out the Lexicon & Kurzweil products when the opportunity arises. And a spring reverb, too :) Thanks.
 
I was gonna say, I have a REV500, and in the RARE event I actually use hardware for something anymore, it can do some pretty good snappendicular snare reverbs.

Then again I yanked all the good gated reverb impulses off my eventide DSP4000 and run them in SIR
 
check out the demeter real reverb... awesome. i think you can buy the tanks in em separate...

i also dig the master room - it's not gonna get you a low noise floor...but i like em.

i've been micing up speakers a lot lately for reverb. especially short stuff...(our room is small.)

Mike
 
noisewreck said:
Analog this, analog that. I'm so fuckin sick of this nonsense. Just because something is analog doesn't automatically mean it sounds good. In many cases I'd venture out to say that cheap digital is still miles ahead of cheap analog. Just look at the crappy noisy starved plate "tube" crap.
Click to expand...

on one hand you are correct. just because something is analog does not make it good. most cheap analog reverb is junk. but - cheap digital reverb is also junk. personally i hate both. if i want reverb, i put boards up in my studio and put the mic on the other end of the room. If i want more reverb, i record in a nearby warehouse. If i want a tin-sounding reverb, i put the mic in the vents of the studio.
you are right in saying that the starved plate tube stuff is crap. however, cheap digital is certainly not miles ahead of cheap analog. 16 bit recorders are not going to sound nearly as high quality as a 1/2" reel to reel. i still favor cheap analog over 20 bit converters. at 24bit there is some room to argue, but in my opinion not much. the reel to reel's are selling cheap nowadays, and i beleive they still outperform the cheapy SIAB systems and sound cards going at the same price.
 
I use TC Electronics M300 ($150) and a TC Helicon Voiceworks ($700) - both are very nice - I use an EMU 1212 card to get in and out of the PC

I also use my Cakewalk SONAR 4 plugins - no problem there either.

I guess digital is what you make of it.

I record live gigs quite often and the outboards are more important to me there.
 
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