{"id":491,"date":"2018-03-10T22:31:29","date_gmt":"2018-03-10T22:31:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jackiemjoyner.com\/studiotrix\/?p=491"},"modified":"2018-09-02T23:38:48","modified_gmt":"2018-09-02T23:38:48","slug":"mixing-with-reverb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/jackiemjoyner.com\/studiotrix\/mixing-with-reverb\/","title":{"rendered":"Mixing with Reverb"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mixing with Reverb: How to Use Reverb for Depth Without Creating a Mess<\/h1>\n
April 26, 2016<\/span>\u00a0\u2022From\u00a0MIXING & MASTERING<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
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Mixing with reverb has two outcomes. There’s hardly any in between. Either you know how to use reverb and create depth in your mix while maintaining separation or you don’t know the tricks and end up with an absolute mess. Reverb is meant to enhance your mixes and songs, not destroy them. These explanations, tips, and tricks will push your reverb game to the next level.<\/div>\n
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Do you ever listen to professional mixes and wonder how in the world they have so many lush reverbs flowing throughout the soundscape, yet everything still sounds crystal clear? \u00a0How come you can’t achieve the same? The answers are here.<\/p>\n

Most of the time we jump in, grab a reverb that has a sound we like, dial it in to a certain volume on varying instruments, and then bounce the mix. \u00a0There’s so much wrong with that process… largely with what you\u00a0are<\/em>\u00a0doing but mainly with the thousand things you\u00a0aren’t<\/em>\u00a0doing.<\/p>\n

Let’s take the time to cover the fundamental basics of what reverb is and the types available and then we’ll get\u00a0right into the methods the pros use to blow minds and set the emotional feel of a song. \u00a0That’s the true power of reverb, but if you aren’t doing it right then you’re better off not using it. \u00a0Fear not, everything you need is right here.<\/p>\n

Once you’re privy to the secrets, your mixes are going to enter an entire new world. \u00a0Resist the temptation to revisit all of your old mixes! \u00a0That’s how exciting this is… but keep forward momentum. \u00a0We have a lot more mixing tips concerning every type of effect, but for now let’s look at…<\/p>\n

\"how<\/p>\n

Of all of the various effects at our disposal, the most misunderstood and dismissed is the reverb effect. \u00a0People throw that word out there like it’s a piece of jargon that shows they are “in the know” and leave it at that.<\/p>\n

“Just throw some reverb on it to smooth it out.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Okay but… what kind? \u00a0How much? \u00a0Is there a primary goal here? \u00a0Can we pull it off in a way that makes the song better than it currently is?<\/p>\n

These are the questions that will receive answers in this guide.<\/p>\n

What is Reverb?<\/h2>\n

Dig up any old dictionary or do an internet search and you’re going to the basic definition (and understanding that most people have) of reverb:<\/p>\n

Reverb Definition<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0an electronically produced echo effect in recorded music. \u00a0Short for “reverberation.”<\/p>\n

Reverberation Definition<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0a sound that echoes.<\/p>\n

That gets us nowhere fast. \u00a0To paraphrase,\u00a0reverb<\/em>\u00a0is an electronic reproduction of an echo… \u00a0 The problem with this is that in the music industry, especially for a mixing engineer, there’s a huge difference between an echo and reverb.<\/p>\n

Echo has a long delay in between repetitions, like calling your name out into the Grand Canyon and waiting to here it bounce back. \u00a0Reverb is thousands upon thousands of repetitions occurring so fast that you hear it more as a smear of sound based on the original. \u00a0We’re talking around less than 0.1 seconds versus several full seconds.<\/p>\n

If only reverb was that simple. \u00a0Before we can use it effectively, we need to understand the three aspects of reverb:<\/p>\n

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  1. Early Reflections<\/strong>\u00a0– Anywhere around 1 to 30 milliseconds<\/li>\n
  2. Body<\/strong>\u00a0– From around 30 milliseconds to forever depending on your choices<\/li>\n
  3. Decay<\/strong>\u00a0– The final tail end of the reverb sound as it drops below about 60dB in amplitude<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"visualizing

    These are three of the main four qualities of reverb that you will be controlling to create the sound you’re after. \u00a0The other is the size, shape, and material of the virtual room you’re creating.<\/p>\n

    You can already imagine the difference in the dimensions of a room having an effect on reverb. \u00a0Imagine a concert hall versus your tiled bathroom. \u00a0Imagine a small wooden box versus a large metal box. \u00a0The size effects the length of the reverb while the material effects the frequency response.<\/p>\n

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    Types of Reverb<\/h2>\n

    Fortunately we don’t need to design rooms (even in a simple plugin) every time we want to use a reverb. \u00a0We can run to a certain preset we know has the sound we need and use it as a starting point. \u00a0This is possible because reverbs typically behave in one of five ways, which represent the five categories of reverb:<\/p>\n