getting FX the heck out of the way

[Entrainer]

Are you referring to the build up of the layers and the tail?

I'd say from a quick listen that's several layers bounced...
a couple are filtered, including the reverb... wet/dry mix automated
towards the end with the filter coming off the reverb.
There's also some hats? filtered coming up.

Kick, Bass are side-chained.

Everything is HPF'd to keep out the way of the Kick, Bass

This is after 2 real quick listens on computer speakers.

I'm sure some others could add more.

cheers-

[aof21]

Originally Posted by mullet

Thanks for all of this advice - very helpful!!
Why is it better to have the reverb on a aux bus, aside form the obvious reason of cutting down on cpu and having a consistent reverb across all parts of my song? What do you mean by unity gain? 100%?

I think it does sound a little different although maybe technically it doesn't, but a bigger reason is so that it's easier to adjust the level in your final mixdown. and yes, so you can send multiple sources to the same reverb and also because it makes EQing or compressing your reverb sound easier, because even if eq and comp are built into the reverb plug itself sometimes its easier / sounds better to use a 2nd plug.

I'm using Waves IR-1 and as far as settings go, I install a long-dark ambient reverb for pretty much all parts other than percussion, to which I use a drums plate setting on my reverb. I dont tinker with the room size too much after I've installed the presets. The only setting I will adjust is the "reverb time" which I am assuming is the same as decay? For drums I have it at about 1.0s and for all else I have it at 3.0s.

I'm not too familiar with IR-1, but isn't that a convolution reverb? You might have better results with a non-convolution reverb. Sometimes the "better" reverbs I find are actually harder to get to sit in the mix and you're much better off (particularly on synths) to go for a cheap, thin sounding reverb. Counter-intuitive I know, but that could be half your problem, is your reverb sound itself is too "thick"

1. Yes I do like the longer reverb tail. As far LF and HF cuts go, my knowledge of this is that LF cutting is to make sure the reverb doesnt muddy up the mix.. and a HF cut to allow the reverb to sit back in the mix?

again, it could be the reverb sound you have and maybe rather than trying to fix it with EQ, just go for a completely different reverb plug, or even a cheap hardware unit. They all sound QUITE different!

2. My knowledge of early reflection is very foggy.. Is this defined as reverb being applied to the initial part of the sound? On the IR-1 reverb plugin, the ER default setting is 0.0 and pre-delay is 0.0. Also, the "Tail" default settig is 0.0

No, early reflection is a reflection from a "wall" that is close to you, so it's more like a direct echo. It's the difference between what you hear being reflected back to you if you are standing close to a flat wall, or singing in the shower is more like early reflections. The reverb "tail" is the long decaying thing you would hear in a catheral or a gym.
Here's a far lengthier, but more scientific explanation of early reflections: Early Reflections

but basically, my rule of thumb is that more early reflections are going to make it sound like its more in a "REAL ROOM." and zero early reflections will basically make it sound "artificial" because normally we are used to hearing early reflections mixed with the reverb. I think for what you're going for, you want zero or very little early reflections.

3. Some people say put compressor on before the reverb and some people suggest a side-chain after the reverb. Does ot make sense to do both?

yeah people say a lot of things. do whatever you feel like and whatever sounds good. before AND after seems like overkill, but there's probably a situation where that might work or be necessary.

Post up those audio samples if you have them!

[kasprouch]

Originally Posted by mullet

Also, if I want the reverb to sit back in the mix I low pass the fx itself at about 5khz?

theres no exact science to which frequency to cut and how much, but if you imagine noise coming from a distance, its always lacking high frequencies.. so roll off till it sounds dull. personally i lowpass the reverb as well - i can go much wetter than usual for a lush sound with everything above 5k thrown off - but experiment around this number as every sound is different.

for example, the cut at 100hz you mention, i would go much higher than that. doesnt mean it'll work with your material though... safe to say though that an IR thats lowpassed and highpassed 'll sound a lot better in the digital world. lowpassing many elements in your digital mixes specifically helps get rid of many of the reasons people snicker at itb mixes ---- > digital brightness as the name suggests, is in the top end... as far as im concerned, i sack it - dont really fancy the sheen. fwiw, analog desks do this automatically by focusing more heavily on the mids of tracks - digital in contrast focuses cleanly on alot of everything, especially the highs by providing brilliant resolution.

but thats a whole different can of soup all together.

Originally Posted by aof21

do whatever you feel like and whatever sounds good.

voila...

[mullet]

Originally Posted by aof21

Post up those audio samples if you have them!

I've posted the sample on page 1 at the bottom.