If the reverb doesn’t have filter controls, using a separate EQ works just as well if the reverb is on an aux track and not being used as an insert. Similarly, frequencies above 10 kHz are somewhat antithetical to the nature of reverb (darker sounds seem farther away) and can safely be rolled off as well. Reverb below a certain frequency - usually somewhere in the low midrange, as high as 500 or 600 Hz - can be difficult to hear in a dense mix, but can still hurt the overall clarity. The reverb should feel like it dies before the next snare hit, so it “breathes” with the pulse of the song.Ī quick dive into the controls of most reverb plugins will reveal some sort of option for filtering or EQ’ing the incoming signal. For longer reverb on more rhythmic parts like a snare drum, the same basic principle applies. If there’s a natural pause in the part, the reverb should feel like it decays down to nothing in that space. If you’re not much of a “numbers person,” it’s also fairly easy to time reverbs intuitively.įor reverb on a vocal or a melodic instrument, the decay should feel like it finishes before the beginning of the next phrase. I often find it helpful to look up millisecond lengths for different note values (eighth, quarter, half, whole…) in the tempo of the song to help determine decay time. Reverb works best when the decay is timed to the song. The Decay Is Too Longīasically all reverb units and plugins will have some kind of control for decay time, meaning the length of the reverb’s tail. On the other hand, if you want one track to stand out with an intense reverb effect - or to completely bury it with one - putting reverb on an insert is the way to go. You can vary the amount of send for each track to make some seem closer (less reverb) and others farther away (more). If you want to use the same reverb for a few different sounds in a mix, put it on an aux and send those tracks there. This is not only an inefficient way to dial a reverb tone, but it’s also an inefficient use of the computer’s processor power. I’ve seen sessions where the same subtle reverb is copied as an insert on half the tracks in the song. Insert reverb tends to work well for more extreme reverb effects and sound design. Reverb on a send tends to be better for “natural” reverb sounds that give a subtle sense of dimension or glue a mix together. insert”, I’m talking about the difference between placing a reverb plugin directly on a track (insert) and using an aux channel for reverb that other tracks get sent to (send). Using reverb as a send rather than an insert, and vice versa, can have a tremendous effect on the sound you get.įor those who are confused about what I mean by “send vs. The way in which you use reverb is almost as important to getting the right sound as the type of reverb you use. Using an Insert Instead of a Send (& Vice Versa) In this article, I’m going to look at a few of the most common ways we tend to get reverb wrong and suggest some ways to get it right. Wherever you fall on that spectrum, updating your relationship to reverb is a good way to make your productions more effective. There are artists and producers who hate hearing any kind of noticeable reverb on a track, and there are plenty more who can’t live without it. Reverb can elicit strong reactions from some people. What happened? Maybe everything just sounded too good? You start adding reverb to things because it “just seems to make everything sound good,” and by the time you’re bouncing the track you have a cloudy, indistinct mess. Ruining a mix with too much reverb is almost a rite of passage for beginning producers, and chances are if you’re reading this, you’ve had that experience at some point. Reverb can be an easy thing to get wrong in music production.