Effects such as reverb and delay are extremely important when it comes to making a mix come together. They can convey a sense of space when there really was none and can add depth to an otherwise flat mix. But what are they really? Well, let’s talk about it.
WHAT IS REVERB?
Reverb is defined as “The persistence of sound after the source stops emitting it, caused by many discrete echos and reflections”. Go into big room and clap or talk loudly. What you hear happening immediately after you quit talking or clapping is called reverb. The larger your room, the more reverb you will hear. Now, this article isn’t going to be a lesson in what all the parameters are in a reverb plug-in. That’s what manuals are for. I want to talk about the idea and uses of reverb.
Usually, a mixer will use reverb to put the audio into a “space” or to give it a sense of power. What do I mean? Well, if you tracked the drums for your song in a tiny drum room, that’s what it’s naturally going to sound like. For the most part, that’s not what the majority of bands are looking for. You could add a reverb that simulates a much large room to give the listener the idea that the drums were recorded in a different space. Given a large enough reverb, a vocalist or drum kit could sound like they were placed in a massive cathedral when really they were in a small 10x10 room. Next time you listen to a song, try to focus in on the drums. Can you hear that it sounds like it was recorded in a big room? It probably wasn’t! It’s all about listener perception.
I’m not a huge “room reverb” guy. I am more into a type of reverb called plate reverb. What is plate reverb? Well, basically, it’s a sheet of metal in a box with a few wires and pickups attached. Not too glamorous, I know.
I use plate reverbs because they are usually clearer and brighter than room reverbs. I’m not really trying to simulate a different environment with my reverbs, but a different sense of space than what a room simulation reverb offers. The “tail”, or when the reverb fades, of a plate is smoother than a room reverb as well, so for my purposes, a plate reverb is usually better suited for my mixes than a room style reverb.
MULTIPLE REVERBS
I don’t just use one reverb on the entire mix either. On almost every song I work on, I have one reverb for my drums, one for my guitars, one for my backing vocals, and one for my lead vocals. They might be a mixture of rooms and plates, and they all might be plates, it depends on the situation. They are definitely not all the same size, meaning some sound larger, they have different length tails (some hang out longer than others), not the same EQ. Some have “pre delay” added - this makes the reverb effect wait a few milliseconds before being heard so the dry audio come through clearer. The point is, don’t use the same reverb for your entire mix. A long reverb on the vocal might sound great, but on the guitars it might sound terrible. Same for drums. Maybe you like a large, wood room sound on the snare, but on the vocal it wouldn’t work. You have to mix smart and give each element of your song it’s own character and space in the mix. My favorite reverb, at the moment, is the Steve Slate Verbsuite Classic (pictured at the start of this article). It has excellent sounding rooms and plates and also has great simulations of classic reverb units like the Lexicon 224 that have been staples in audio production for years.
DELAY
Another great “space” tool in the mix arsenal is the delay plug-in. Delays, of course, are basically echoes. Something is said or played and then the plug-in repeats it. Simple. I use several different delays in my mixes. Some are short and some are much longer, depending on the need. Usually vocal delays have two different reasons to be there, thickening and effect. You can use a 1/8 note delay quietly on a vocal to liven it up a little and give it some excitement, while a longer delay, such as a 1/4 or 1/2 note delay would be used as an effect, say on a powerfully sung note or for the guitar solo. My favorite delay of all time is the Slate Repeater, but almost any delay will do.
There are some times in a mix where I wish the guitar player had played the part twice so I could pan it out in stereo or that the recorded stereo instrument (guitar or piano usually) isn't quite getting me the “all the way to the outside” imaging I am looking for. In this instance, delay can be used to widen the stereo image if used sparingly and constructively. What you do is this : If the track isn’t stereo already, duplicate the track. Pick one of the two tracks and, in the first plug-in spot, add a basic mono delay and set the delay time to 20-28 ms. Keep the mix at 100%, and pan the two tracks hard left and right, respectively. That’s it. On a stereo track that needs widening, I usually split it into two mono tracks and add the delay to one of them. I don’t like using a stereo delay and just turning one side’s mix to 0% because many times the volume sounds lopsided to me that way. Just a personal preference.
Many times, I am using delays in place of reverbs. It allows me the “space” without the constant take up of bandwidth that a reverb can have. Many times what the listener perceives as a reverb or space will actually be a delay doing the same job, only without some of the unwanted side effects. When using delay in place of a reverb, the mix between delay and dry vocal/instrument should be very small (85% dry, 15% effect is a good start) so as the delay isn’t heard as much as it is felt in the mix. Of course, longer delays that are meant to be heard are a different story, which brings us to my next topic, vocal effects.
VOCAL EFFECTS
Nothing makes a blah vocal sound better than effects. This can range from a basic reverb all the way to flanging/phasing. My favorite vocal effects are some of the most basic. I like a quiet 1/8 note delay on the lead singer, maybe a small about of plate reverb, and possibly a hint of chorus to thicken them up. I have been using a free plug-in lately for my vocal chorusing called Multiply, by Acon Digital. Even though it is free, to me it is one of the best chorus plug-ins out there, so check it out next time you need some chorusing on your vocal, bass or guitars.
Occasionally I will use more drastic plug-ins like a flanger or phaser to accentuate a long held out note or possibly to give a close, tight vocal some added “zing”, but those effects really draw attention to themselves, so use them sparingly.
One of my favorite vocal effects isn’t a plug-in at all, but an EQ adjustment. It is the “telephone” effect. It gives your vocal or instrument an extremely lo-fi sound that can be very cool in the right situation. Sometimes I will use it on the delay track so that the delays sound lo-fi while the vocal sounds very up front and modern. If you use it on whole sections of a song it can make the rest of the song sound even more awesome when the effect is removed.
So that’s how I use reverb and delays. Just some cool little ear candy tips to make your mix stand out from the rest of the pack. Next time I’ll discuss some of the final steps such as automation, tape sims, and VCA groups. See ya soon!
Steve Nall
Head Engineer - LIRS
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