reverb question

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WEBCYAN

WEBCYAN

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Ive heard some say that recording vox in a place with natural reverb like the shower is a good way to add reverb. Yet, in studios I always see as much insulation up to prevent that. Yet they still add reverb digitally.... :confused:

Ive found that reverb does help a vocal track sit into the mix much better, but why the difference in recording??
 
i really think the shower-thing is a joke unless you put an overhead-mic onto your toilet's flush-box (is that the word? no way... some one tell me!), and I think overheads for vocal-recordings are quite unusual - maybe back in the old days with elvis standing in a "reverb room".
micing the common way with a mono-mic you will get a very chorusy track... if you want this: just mic the normal way and add some mono-chorus. this way you won't annoy your neighbours that much. ;)

and don't forget: the dryer you track the more you can tweak afterwards.
 
Six, that is good advice,but don't forget that reverb units only emmulate the reflection of sound in various situations.Echo chambers are still used in recording today and many producers and engineers prefer them to outboard gear.The sound produced in a bathroom or hallway or gymnasium ect. could be mixed with a dry track to give excellent results.
 
Listen to six...

The guy knows what he is saying...

The rawest, pure sound, dryer, the better.

Why?

Let's say you record a vocal track with reverb already on it. And let´s say you or the singer perform it like never before... it's a masterpiece and you won't be able to do it again. Or let's say you can't track it twice because you have little time to do so.

Now:

Imagine you pit that in the mix and you dont like the reverb that was recorded there...
Or that the reverb makes it muddy or indistinct or puts the track far away in the soundscape...

Now you get it why...

Dont use effects (specially in vocals) during recording (I mean don't record 'em) unless you already know that's the fx you want and you are prepared to live with it...
If possible (except for filters) don't even EQ it.

Not the same for compressors that might be useful during the redording process sometimes.

Peace.

PC
 
Hey vulcanofga!

That's true, but it is because each room has it´s own unique reverb, and producers already know what they are looking for. For home recorders and small project studios it´s not a bad idea to record dry tracks, specially when you don´t know how to control phase cancellations that may ocurr in a reverberating room, altering the original sound of a particular voice.
Indeed, there are lots of studios with their own sound due to the rooms and chambers, equipment is similar in major studios, natural reverb is not.

Peace.

PC
 
You are right PC.

If you will notice in my post I did say to mix the echo chamber sound with a dry track.My meaning there was to record the sound dry,and then play it in the Echo Chamber with a monitor (or an amp) and then mix them together as desired.And as previously stated I agree with your original advice.This is just another way that reverb can be added to a dry track.
 
Yep that's the way to do it

You are entirely right... that is THE way to get the coolest reverbs since the beginning of the studio days... Real good sounds...
Unfortunately, where we live is a small place, a tiny apartment in Buenos Aires, and natural reverbs achieved were awful, but I still like the good 'ol procedures. In fact I hope someday some good studio will hire me and I'll be able to do it if I want to.

Peace.

PC
 
The whole shower reverb thing is an old leftover from the days when great reverb was expensive and didnt come with your average editor. The whole "natural is better" is part of the same war of conservative vs liberal, organic food vs genetically engineered food, alt medicine vs western, and on and on.
 
As far as I am concearned,I don't think natural reverb is better across the board.It is definetly good and useable,and in many cases it does sound better to me on certain voices and musical phrases.I like to hear a good room sound sometimes.I like a little natural ambience in a mix.If you use a shower or a room or an auditorium or an outboard piece of gear or even a digital software program,it gives us musical and creative choices.If you haven't used natural reverb in a while, you should give it a try.It may open up a different sound and get the creativity flowing in a different groove.
 
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