more ambience please

[Andreas G]

This thread is about artificial ambience technics. Beside reamping, what are your favorite tools and technics to create the most natural and unobtrusive ambience effects? Which FX (TC, Lex, Altiverb, etc...) and what settings are working for you? What are your fav combinations of fx, eq, delay...?

Thank you... Andreas

[wavcatcher]

Convolution Verbs.
They all do pretty much the same thing it's just a matter of using the right IR.
So most people pick a convolution verb base on hearing preset IR's that they fall in love with.

Personally, I've been a fan of Altiverb but also Waves IR1 and since I've fallen into a Logic frenzy this past year I absolutely love Space Designer.

Primarily I use large studios, scoring stages, or room IR's and blend them in just a little
in order to make a track really seem as if it was in that space. It is amazing how well it works IMHO. The trick is to not overdue it so it's swimming in room tone if you are just going for ambience.

[andychamp]

Most unobtrusive: simple delays. EQs on both send and return help A LOT.
Next in line: early reflections.
Always welcome: well-arranged tunes and mic placement.
I'm moving further and further away from reverbs these days.

[squeegybug]

Originally Posted by Andreas G

This thread is about artificial ambience technics. Beside reamping, what are your favorite tools and technics to create the most natural and unobtrusive ambience effects? Which FX (TC, Lex, Altiverb, etc...) and what settings are working for you?

Andreas,

I have a Klark teknik DN780 that has an "Alive" setting that I think works well for this. It's a pretty unique sound, dry and open at the same time, no long tails or echos, just more presence. Can be a little bright if overdone.

Don't know how well the settings would translate to other reverb units, but here is what it uses:

Pre delay = 0 sec

Reflections:
Pattern = 9. Highest density.
Level (distance) = 0. Close.

Decay = 8. This is not seconds, just a scale of 1 to 12. So a longer decay.
Low Freq = +1. Don't know the frequency.
High Freq = +3. Again no frequency listed.
Room Size = 0. Small room.

I like this effect for some added presence without getting washed out.

Steve

[u b k]

i can't seem to make friends with reverb. i love real plates, but there's no place to put one in a greenwich village apartment. i also love the averb in logic, it puts things in such a bizarre space, sometimes its perfect.

convolution verbs bore me, but others seem to love 'em so who knows. tc's classicverb is useful but i still end up turning it down to invisibility by the time the mix is finished.

i love delays, haven't mastered the short ones yet but i'm getting there.

oh for a plug-in reverb that makes me smile...


gregoire
del ubik

[Andreas G]

Thank you all for your responds.

Wavecatcher- I'm also a fan of convolution verbs for natural sounds, though I like Altiverb more than Logics Spacedesigner.

andychamp- do you use delays in the beattempo or do you calculate them for a fictive room? Kinda: a room has 6 meter wide, an instrument is panned hard left and needs around 20ms (3,4 meter/millisec) until the sound hits the right side of the room? How do you eq it? Simulating a highfreq lost, pushing diffusfield freq around 2k or do you eq just to your taste?

squeegybug- thanks for sharing, would you use the DN780 also on vocals and aoustic bass? I found these valways very critical for artificial verbs?

gregoire- to prevent you from installing an EMT140 in your bedroom... for vocals, have you tried Altiverb say with the wisselord room? Lower the first reflection until you get nearly an delayed reverb tail, you may also cut a little around 800Hz on the tail.

Andreas

[DirkB]

No single reverb does it for me, altough I like the room programms from TC to get some ambience going.
Best is to have at least some room tracks available and perhaps use those to send to different kind of verbs to get some space and decay to the sound.

Good luck,
Dirk

[squeegybug]

Originally Posted by Andreas G

squeegybug- thanks for sharing, would you use the DN780 also on vocals and aoustic bass? I found these valways very critical for artificial verbs?

Absolutely, at least for vocals. I don't often work with acoustic bass, so couldn't comment on that. I think almost all the effects in the DN780 are very musical and natural for all kinds of music, and as I mentioned the ambient "Alive" effect is quite useful. And small rooms are a strong point of the 780, often hardest to achieve from other reverbs I've used.

But the plates in particular are outstanding, and yes, I've heard they have been compared to EMT but I've not tried it myself. If I want some additional width or stereo space I usually team it up with Eventide 2016, rather than try to just add more stuff to the KT.

Steve

[20to20]

Your initial request mentioned 'besides reamping' but it's a
pretty effective method of generating a convincing 'space'...

In recent thread on Earthworks mics, I
mentioned playing individual tracks and/or
submixes back through monitors in the studio...

Then re-recording the sounds to two
new tracks using two omni mics...

By adjusting the distance of mics to monitors,
you can get some great 3-dimensional ambience...

It only takes a bit of this, added back into
your mix, to have very effective results...

Fresh air...

[wwittman]

the EMT 250, the only reverb I unequivocally love.

[tamasdragon]

Delays usually works better, but if you use reverb devices, use short spaces, and pan it accordingly near or far to the instrument to emulate space.
Regards Tamas Dragon

[Andreas G]

Originally Posted by DirkB

... altough I like the room programms from TC to get some ambience going

Hi Dirk, I have only the little MOne, most I like the chorus/flanger settings, the ambience algos are on the right way, just a little too metallic sounding for my taste, which TC Reverb do you use?

Andreas

[Andreas G]

Originally Posted by squeegybug

Absolutely, at least for vocals. I don't often work with acoustic bass, so couldn't comment on that. I think almost all the effects in the DN780 are very musical and natural for all kinds of music, and as I mentioned the ambient "Alive" effect is quite useful. And small rooms are a strong point of the 780, often hardest to achieve from other reverbs I've used.

But the plates in particular are outstanding, and yes, I've heard they have been compared to EMT but I've not tried it myself. If I want some additional width or stereo space I usually team it up with Eventide 2016, rather than try to just add more stuff to the KT.

Steve

Thanks Steve

[Andreas G]

Originally Posted by 20to20

Your initial request mentioned 'besides reamping' but it's a
pretty effective method of generating a convincing 'space'...

In recent thread on Earthworks mics, I
mentioned playing individual tracks and/or
submixes back through monitors in the studio...

Then re-recording the sounds to two
new tracks using two omni mics...

By adjusting the distance of mics to monitors,
you can get some great 3-dimensional ambience...

It only takes a bit of this, added back into
your mix, to have very effective results...

Fresh air...

I absolutely agree with you and this would probably the way I'd go in a normal studio with a nice sounding recording room... well I should have mentioned that I'm looking for a practicable solution for my own little one-room studio, for a nice ramping sound it's just a bit too small, anyway thank you for your thoughts.

Andreas

[aeroc]

delay bandpassed with high repeats mixed in at just a few percent. often times it works much better than verb. just dial in the bandpass and repeats with the mix up to where the effect is apparent, then tone down on the mix level.

[Andreas G]

Originally Posted by wwittman

the EMT 250, the only reverb I unequivocally love.

Thanks William, I know this unit and yes... this is the real Rolls Royce for unobtrusive, invisbly ambience reverbs, unfortunately they are not easy to find (I mean in good conditions)

[Andreas G]

Originally Posted by aeroc

delay bandpassed with high repeats mixed in at just a few percent. often times it works much better than verb. just dial in the bandpass and repeats with the mix up to where the effect is apparent, then tone down on the mix level.

Hi aeroc, I guess you meant time beat based delays(?) I always found this technic is nice as an invisible verb/rhythm glue but I'm not sure as for an ambient effect, I might give it a try again... thanks