How to Choose Reverb

Reverb is an always present element in audio recording, whether it is natural or added by way of analog or digital effects. Adding reverb to tracks in your recording will help define a space and add depth to your sound. You can choose to use reverb on vocals, drums, percussion and many other recorded elements. Here are some things you need to know when you choose reverb.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Check the available options for your reverb unit, whether it is analog or digital, to see what kinds of options you have to work with. The most common types of reverb are rooms, halls and plates, and you may find variables like pre-delay, decay, diffusion and wet and dry mix.

2. Choose a room reverb for more subtle reverb and a short decay. Room reverbs are a great place to start because they can sit in a mix well without making it washy. Room reverb is good for piano, background vocals, strings and more. Try a room with a long decay for guitar solos to add some depth.

3. Try out a hall reverb for choirs, strings and especially big rock drums. Hall reverb can get muddy really quickly, so it's not a good idea to use it on everything, but it can add to some of the elements that strive for lots of space. You can get good arena rock sounding drums with a little hall reverb.

4. Use a plate reverb on upbeat songs. Plate reverbs have a vast array of sounds, with some being bright and others dark and some that decay longer than others do. The good thing about plate reverb is that it can add effect without getting too washy. Plate reverb is good on vocals, percussion, acoustic instruments and brass instruments.

5. Tweak your settings. Adjust the room size if you can, to change the depth of the sound. Mix your dry and wet signals to get a good balance of reverb that does not overrun your original sound but adds enough depth to be worth using. Change your pre-delay to fit your room size–use more pre-delay for a bigger space and less for a smaller space. Set your decay so that it does not get too washy.

6. Experiment. There are no rules to any part of audio recording as long as the end result sounds good. Use reverse reverb to add a cool effect. Try unconventional ideas to see if you can find something that works. Try not to use the presets every time you use reverb.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't use delay to try to get the same effect as reverb. Delay and reverb can work together to create depth and width to your sound, but they are different elements of sound and not interchangeable.