In Short

Reverb is a great effect to give a mix space and sheen, however it’s possible to ruin a mix by using too much reverb, or the wrong type, or getting the settings wrong. Less is sometimes more when it comes to using reverb in a mix.

In Depth

It wasn’t long ago that access to great sounding reverbs was reserved for those who could either afford amazing rooms or hardware costing the price of a small car. Plugins have given everyone the chance to get the sound of high quality reverbs. In this article we suggest how to use reverb to enhance your mix rather than ruin it.

Is It Really Possible To Ruin A Mix With Reverb?

Reverb is tool and like any tool, in the wrong hands you can do a lot of damage. Here are some common mistakes when using reverb in a mix;

Too Much Reverb

When reverb is applied to a mix it knocks off the edges of the sounds, often referred to as smearing. This means that a mix can become muddy and lack clarity. So, the more you use, the less focussed a mix becomes.

Using One Reverb

In many cases reverb is faking a space, be that a room, a hall or a chamber. Given this starting point, it is understandable that some think that only one reverb is needed in a mix, to help glue the disperate elements of a mix together. This isn’t always the case. You may have an electric guitar that needs to sit in a small room to give it some context, whereas a vocal might need a plate with a long pre-delay.

Missing The Pre-Delay

If you ignore pre-delay it’s possible to wash out the elements of the mix. Pre-delay is used to delay the onset of the first reflection. It’s a powerful feature when used well. In some cases a longer pre-delay and shorter decay time will give you the sense of space without making the sound muddy.

Decay Time Is Too Long

A long decay time can sound great when an element is in solo in a mix, but as reverb is added to more elements it can start washing around, before you know it the entire mix is muddy. Like the amount of reverb, it’s also worth keeping an eye on the decay time of the reverb. Often what we think needs a 3 second decay time may just need something that last no more than 1.5 seconds… or less!

Not Using EQ On the Reverb

Sometimes a reverb can add unwanted frequencies and accentuate things like splashy top end on vocals, or low rumble on synths or guitars. It’s essential to use EQ to keep the mix clean. A common trick used in mixing is called ‘The Abbey Road’ trick, this is where you roll off the top and bottom frequencies, leaving the mid range for reverb. A lot of modern reverb plugins have these filters built in, but if they don’t you can add an EQ plugin into the chain to acheive the same effect.

How To Get The Reverb Right In Your Mix

Here are some tips to help you achieve the right reverb settings in your mix.

Dry Mix First

Make sure you’ve got a great balance and EQ on your mix before considering using reverb. It’s all too common with tools on tap such as compression or reverb to think we need to use them. Sometimes the mix is fine without them. This is especially the case if the tracks already have the natural reverb of the room they were recorded in. Also consider the type of track you are mixing, some types of music may use reverb as an effect, such as dance music, whereas an acoustic track may need very little reverb.

Insert or Send?

Depending on what job you want the reverb to do may influence whether you use it as an insert or send effect. It wasn’t long ago that reverbs were used on sends to conserve computer CPU. However, with modern computers this is less of a consideration, so it’s possible to have reverbs running as insert effects.

If you are wanting to use reverb to put elements into a space, then you may want to consider using sends for all those elements of a mix. However, if you want to use reverb as an effect on an element like a guitar or synth, then you might use that as an insert effect.

It’s Not Always A Room

Even though reverbs were first created to emulate room spaces they don’t have to be used just for that. The ubiqutous gated (or non-linear) reverb, made famous in the 1980s is sometimes the best reverb for the mix. There’s also some great reverbs that bloom in ways a room doesn’t. Sometimes there’s nothing better on an electric guitar than a twanging spring reverb. Be creative when choosing the reverb.

Less Than You Think

As we’ve already said, when using reverb it’s very easy to use too much and soon it sounds like your mix is being played back in a school gym.

One trick a lot of mixers swear by is to add reverb until you think it’s just right and then pull it down to less, in some cases 3 - 6db less. It may sound odd but it’s probably better to have a dryer mix than one with too much reverb.

Use Automation

In modern mixing automation is easy in any DAW. It’s often used to adjust the volume of tracks, but it’s also a powerful tool when used with reverb. Consider using automation to make certain elements, such as the verses drier and then bringing up the verb in the chorus. You can also use automation to temporarily flood elements with reverb, such as the end of a vocal line. Of course automation isn’t just reserved for the amount of reverb, you can also use it to adjust pre-delay or decay time during the mix. Check the video above from Julian David.

Summary

Modern reverb plugins give us so many creative possibilities when mixing. However, it’s easy to let them take over a mix and by doing so ruining a great track. These tips should ensure reverb enhances the mix and make it shine!