How many reverbs in your average mix?

[Elsteve9]

How many reverbs are in your average mix?
Of course, we're supposed to think of a reverb send as a 'front to back' knob, but do you guys usually only use one reverb? I've lately, with my untrained ears, been using (generally), one for drums (mostly snare), and one for vox, guitars, etc.

So I usually have two...is that normal?
Should I be able to make that work?

Thanks,
Stephen

[maskedman72]

i use 1 for snare and vox........lightly.

[Charlie-O]

I tend to like to give things there own space , using maybe 4-5 verbs. Some times towo mono on the same instrument, Just to get the space Im looking for.

[Jules]

RMX 16 - Lead vocal

TC M3000
engine 1 - B vox
engine 2 - L ead Vocals ? / Keys?

Eventide - Spring reverb / ghostly reverb / Harmonizer?

Lexiverb plug in - Drums?

[RichT]

2 normally.

Powercore MegaVerb for room sim stuff on drums, guitars

Powercore ClassicVerb for vocals

[Midlandmorgan]

One for vox, 1 for instruments...occassionally one just for drums...but no more than 3 unless there's a special effect needed...

Choices range from freebies (Kjaerhus Classic Reverb, Voxengo Old Skool, etc) to high end (Samplitude's Room Simulator, UAD Plate...)

Just look for the one that makes me go "that's IT" for each need.

[Elsteve9]

Do you folks just flip through presets with a vague idea of what you want in mind, and maybe tweak a preset a bit; or do you just build the 'verb from the ground up?

-Stephen

[thethrillfactor]

Sometimes 8-10.

Different combo's layered together mostly.

It all music style dependant really.

[brownmouse]

usually its 1 reverb, 1 flange/phaser, and 1 delay.... usually.
joshua

[Paul David]

Originally posted by charlieo3601
I tend to like to give things there own space , using maybe 4-5 verbs. Some times towo mono on the same instrument, Just to get the space Im looking for.

Agreed, I usually use about 4-5 different verbs in a mix. I send certain instruments to multiple verbs and some I leave completely dry. I also use seperate L&R processing on stereo instruments.

[Elsteve9]

4-5 verbs? For an example, how might that work? A couple vocal plates? Then 1 hall, 1 predelayed darkish room, etc...

Randy: What other things have you been doing to enhance mixes?

I'm getting to a place where I feel like I've hit a wall lately, and need some help pressing through...
-Stephen

[jasonlivermore]

1 plate
1 small room
1 chamber
1 hall
1 eventide pitch or doubling effect.

Usually 2-4 delays too.

Jason Livermore
blastingroomstudios.com

[Drumsound]

Often times its one or less for me.

[planet red]

When I have time to do a proper mix (which is rare) I use a bunch of different sized and types of verbs to move things around between verses and choruses. Its nice to have one main vocal verb but everything else gets a lot of automation. Sometimes a bigger verb on the drums in the verse so everythings slightly more distant, then a smaller puncher sound for the choruses so the drums are a little more in your face.

Opposite thing goes for harmonies. smaller natural room sound for the verse and a bigger rich plate for the choruses so it gets a wall of sound type thing, then right back to a more natural room in the next verse. For me its a way to turn a song with a boring arrangement and no dymanics a little more interesting. Its all pretty subtle but makes everything breath more.

[ringo.fire]

for my its allways:

TC M3000 eng1= snare
TC M3000 eng2= room (toms, vocals or whatever)

sometimes:

SPX 990= snare plate or voicedoubler

from time to time:

waves ren.reverb= "next door"- like FX, strange reverbs

if necessary:

sending signal to a MSP5 monitor in the corridor or my big room, adding roomsound to instruments or submixes

[studjo]

mostly a PCM70 on snare (small room sound) or the real room mics - depends on style and how lucky I was at tracking

Eventide 2016 as main reverb (relatively new to me)
Lexicon 480 as enhancemet where needed

everything else depends on song and band


Jo

[C.Lambrechts]

4 / 5 or even 6 ... depends .... sometimes less ...; 3.

whenever there's acoustic guitars involved they get a bright shining hall just for themselves , maybe combined with a twad of a larger warm hall. Usually at least one room, sometimes a plate, don't like plates realy, unless I realy want that 'plate' sound and then I'll smear it on there like I do with my nutella chocolate toast in the morning .... like 3 or 4 cm thick .

Starting point with lead vocals is usuallly a lead vocal hall from the 960 (duh) and tweak that to taste, like to fool around with pre delay and size.

Other then that it comes random ... I rarely (if not never) know what I'm going to put on before I start a mix. In fact , every time I've been sure in past to go with one or the other preset upfront I ended up changing it.

What I will do a lot is automate send levels ...


All and everything depends on the track really.

[M2E]

Hey Thrill

I haven't been able to hear none of your mixes yet. Have you put them in the mp3 forum? I noticed that you put about 8 to 10 reverbs in your mixes. very interesting.
You mentioned to me before that you would send one of your mixes to me. Would you still be willing to? I would love to hear one.

Thanx
M2E

[cdog]

I am a HUGE fan of extremely short verbs and delays.... I hate dfegad the 80s where pop music sounded like it was recorded in the Bat Cave.

You can also use many short reverbs without your mix ever getting "soupy"....

I like a nice short reverb on bass

[toledo3]

Originally posted by cdog
I am a HUGE fan of extremely short verbs and delays.... I hate dfegad the 80s where pop music sounded like it was recorded in the Bat Cave.

You can also use many short reverbs without your mix ever getting "soupy"....

I like a nice short reverb on bass

You can use long reverbs too, without getting soupy, as long as you highpass out at the right places. Actually, I am fond of lowpassing out some of the top end on digital reverbs as well.

I usually end up using around 4-6 reverbs and a few delays....usually a short slap, a medium, a long, and a multitap.

[jerdude]

what kind of music are you guys mixing?

i do pop/rock stuff with samples and synths thrown in now and then for good measure.

i haven't used a more than 2 verbs on a track ever.

1 small room stereo verb... very tight small space.... on the lead vox just to give it a little stereo space.... make it feel a little wider... you dont really hear it

2nd verb is only used if i have a cello or string sect that needs some space.

room mics are all i need for the drums and snare.

my general feeling is that lots of verb makes things sound real dated.

thats my 2 cents

[Elsteve9]

Yep. Why didn't anyone engineering for the Police & U2 realize that their hits didn't have that much reverb on it, and everything else had gobs of it? Seems so obvious to me...
Has anyone ever LISTENED to the Joshua Tree? Zenyetta Monyotta? (What does that mean, anyway?) I can't stand to listen to the rest of the album long enough to hear if its any good!

-Stephen

[toledo3]

Originally posted by jerdude
what kind of music are you guys mixing?

i do pop/rock stuff with samples and synths thrown in now and then for good measure.

i haven't used a more than 2 verbs on a track ever.

1 small room stereo verb... very tight small space.... on the lead vox just to give it a little stereo space.... make it feel a little wider... you dont really hear it

2nd verb is only used if i have a cello or string sect that needs some space.

room mics are all i need for the drums and snare.

my general feeling is that lots of verb makes things sound real dated.

thats my 2 cents

I think that something with a good deal of verb can sound just as modern as something dry and in your face. It is all about context. Actually, I think that dry has become the "new" dated!

I usually have a plate type reverb on vocals, a small room reverb on things I want to be up front, a hall patch for things I want to throw into the background, and a cave type patch for things that I want to sound really exagerrated- all custom patches. Many built in patches sound good when you solo something, but like crap in a mix. I always return the reverb into an eq, sometimes a compressor, to tailor it to the track.

I also have a patch I wrote where the reverb is harmonized up an octave, and I may or may not use a little bit of that on vocals. There are no rules though, of course! Could be no reverb, if the track doesn't need it.

This is for pop, rock, dance... for jazz or blues, I would use maybe just a plate and a hall.

[jerdude]

certainly trends change.

i just dont hear very much pop/rock stuff with much verb... at least not big 80's plates.

for that matter i dont hear much at all with verbs all over... rnb, country...

a few very subtle verbs... ok maybe.

[thethrillfactor]

Originally posted by M2E
Hey Thrill

I noticed that you put about 8 to 10 reverbs in your mixes.
Thanx
M2E

The reason is i use 8-10 is i like to layer reverbs together to get an upfront quality(ambient and short with predelay) on certain parts but push the tails towards the back(longer decays. that way they stay out of the way).

Sometimes i modulate the tails also.

It tends to make certain parts fuller.

But its really music dependent.

I don't do it everytime.

I tend to use double reverbs on vocals,backgrounds and strings.

These days i've gone back to mixing fuller meatier snares with reverbs(i guess i've been listening to a lot of 80's and 90's music).

I'll try to see if i can find a mix that has this kind of example.

I promise.

Scouts honor.

[alphajerk]

between 1 to 6

[mpr3]

I use 4 to 6, but most of you probably wouldn't hear them. Layering ambience reverbs in a subtle manner can really liven up the soundstage in a natural, unimposing way.