Reverb In Mastering

[jaynm26]

I know I hear that reverb is used in the master. The studio I where I actually intern as a mastering studio @ Nova Mastering in Austin, engineers spoke of it and explained it as a technique but I never actually put reverb in any master not even now (besides playing around with it in ozone when I was a rook which dosent count at all) Actually always been afraid to cause I know you can DESTROY a master if reverb is used improperly anyway.

1.) Do you use reverb in your masters?
2.) In what instances & situations do use it?
3.) Why do you use it in those instances & situations?
4.) And If you do how do you use it (settings/levels/parameters)?
5.) Where do you put it in your chain?
6.) Is it crucial or not crucial to have reverb in a master dose it really make it better?

 

[gecko zzed]

I know I'm not one of the names in your list, but here are my thoughts.

For 99% of occasions, I don't add reverb in the mastering stage. That should all have been taken care of in the mixing process.

However, the 1% where I do add it is when I've done a stereo recording off the mixing desk at a live gig without the benefit of room mikes, and I want to add back in the room ambience.

 

[jaynm26]

I know I'm not one of the names in your list, but here are my thoughts.

For 99% of occasions, I don't add reverb in the mastering stage. That should all have been taken care of in the mixing process.

However, the 1% where I do add it is when I've done a stereo recording off the mixing desk at a live gig without the benefit of room mikes, and I want to add back in the room ambience.

How do you add back in the room ambiance how do you set it up ? Which reverbs do you use and how?

 

[Chili]

You live in Austin?? I'm between a Rock and a weird place.

Just say No to reverb. (I'm in the 12-step recovery program for Reverb-aholics Anonymous)

 

[moresound]

R.A.A. !














x

 

[Chili]

R.A.A. !














x

Henry is my sponsor.

 

[moresound]

I'll take on others too!

If you feel eager to use reverb ..... call me day or night - Am there for you man.

Friends don't let friends use to much reverb.

 

[gecko zzed]

How do you add back in the room ambiance how do you set it up ? Which reverbs do you use and how?

There are any number of ways. However, the plugins I use most commonly are SIR, and two very old reverbs that I got when I first started with Logic; Timeworks and Trueverb. I set them up as inserts on the master bus, select the degree of space and wetness I want and off I go.

Just say No to reverb. (I'm in the 12-step recovery program for Reverb-aholics Anonymous)

What's this? the new puritans? Reverb is good. No reverb is like no salt on chips.

 

[Chili]

No reverb is like no salt on chips.

Yes, no salt.... but malt vinegar is good. Malt Vinegar on chips is like slapback on a vox. (I've got nothing else to do tonight, man)

To stay on topic, I would not think of using reverb when mastering my songs. I'm hoping at that point they are finished songs. As you (jaynm) noted in another thread, mixing is part of the creativity stage and that's when one decides when or how much reverb to use.

 

[moresound]

I gotta confess here.

I love reverb!! The more the better. Different verbs on every track.

GIVE ME REVERB OR GIVE ME DEATH!!!

 

[jaynm26]

You live in Austin?? I'm between a Rock and a weird place.

Just say No to reverb. (I'm in the 12-step recovery program for Reverb-aholics Anonymous)

Not now moved to dallas use i use to live in austin tho. where do you live chili?
and why the RAA? Bad experience please do tell?

 

[Waltz Mastering]

I know I hear that reverb is used in the master. The studio I where I actually intern as a mastering studio @ Nova Mastering in Austin

Is that Terra Nova? Anyway.. I've been in and out of reverb rehab since I was 16.. Just say no!

Once in a 1000 jobs .. maybe.. if that.. it's the gateway to stereo enhancement xXx.

 

[gecko zzed]

Once in a 1000 jobs .. maybe.. if that.. it's the gateway to stereo enhancement xXx.

Once in a 1000? That's a bit less than my 1 in 100.

But as some above said, reverb is properly the province of the mixing stage. It is a tool of last resort in mastering.

 

[jaynm26]

Is that Terra Nova? Anyway.. I've been in and out of reverb rehab since I was 16.. Just say no!

Once in a 1000 jobs .. maybe.. if that.. it's the gateway to stereo enhancement xXx.

Yep! In that one instance Waltz, how did you use it and why? What do you think it brought to the track?

 

[Chili]

Not now moved to dallas use i use to live in austin tho. where do you live chili?
and why the RAA? Bad experience please do tell?

I live in pf'ville.

No bad experience with reverb and I still use it. Certainly not during the mastering stage, though.

I am trying to do some different stuff, more americana/folk-ish, if you will, and go very light on the reverb. I really like how it is working out.

Ther reverb junkie antic was just me joking around.

 

[Massive Master]

I've used it on rare occasions -- RARE occasions... Could be for a million reasons. Every tune has a "space" but one doesn't and the band mentioned that the original tape (or computer or what not) was destroyed and they wanted to try to emulate that space -- Covering bad edits and bad ends (that's the common one) -- I'm a big fan of Bob's K-Stereo, which "technically speaking" could be considered a reverb of sorts (although it's really not what most would consider a "reverb" by any stretch).

Tell Jerry I'm still planning on a motorcycle trip down there - Maybe this spring... Austin is high on the list for a SS1K (1000+ miles in 24 hours or less) and TNM is high on the "drop-by" list once I'm there.

 

[Waltz Mastering]

Yep! In that one instance Waltz, how did you use it and why? What do you think it brought to the track?

It was actually a client request.. and maybe once on an acoustic piece ..and like Gecko said ..maybe in a live situation.. but still rarer than hens teeth.

I'm a verb/ambience snob.. I used to do beta testing for Lexicon.. I think that Jerry would clarify that it's not used much in mastering at all.

 

[ashcat_lt]

I guess hypotheticals can be hard to speak to, but I find myself wondering about the case where you receive an "album" of mixes which all sit in wildly different spaces. Is there any use for a reverb to help create consistency across the various tracks?

 

[Girish]

When you place reverb in the mastering process I'm guessing it would cover the whole track and start blending things as a whole. So it is best to use reverb in the mixing stage. So you can add different reverbs to individual tracks. Mastering to me is brightening, widening, polishing etc

 

[gecko zzed]

I guess hypotheticals can be hard to speak to, but I find myself wondering about the case where you receive an "album" of mixes which all sit in wildly different spaces. Is there any use for a reverb to help create consistency across the various tracks?

It would take greater skill than I have to make this idea work. The difficulty is that what is done can't be undone, and if you have a set of songs all differing in their sense of space, all you would be doing is pasting another space over the top of them. I think this would harm more than help.