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SoundOnSound:Est.1985

UseReverbLikeAPro:1
Howtopengineersusetheirmostimportanteffect

Technique:Effects/Processing
PublishedinSOSJuly2008 Printarticle:Closewindow

Inthisarticle:
SendEffects&MixBalance ListenTotheOnlineExamples ChoosingReverbPresets FurtherReverbReading TweakingReverbs:The ControlsToReachForFirst TheLong&TheShortOfIt HowMuch,OnWhich Instruments? BlendingYourMixWithDelay EffectsInstead BringingItAllTogether RoomForImprovement NextMonth:TopProducers TalkReverb

Ifyou'veeverspenthoursmixingonlytobe confrontedwithawallofmud,youmightneedto thinkharderabouthowtousereverbanddelayin yourmixesandsomesimpletrickscanyield dramaticresults.

MikeSenior

Reverbanddelayarearguablythemostcommoneffectsusedatmixdown, butbecausetheyfindsomanydifferentusesinthiscontexttheycanseem bewilderingtomusicianswhoarestillintheprocessofgettingtogripswith thefundamentalsofstudioproductionthosesettingupahomestudio, perhaps,orthoseenrolledinamusictechnologycourseforthefirsttime. Partoftheprobleminevitablystemsfromthewiderangeofdifferentdevices availablethatcansupplythesetypesofeffects,andfromtheirfrequently inscrutableeditingparameters.Thereis,however,anenormousamountof informationonhandtodemystifysuchtechnicalities,notleastinSoundOn Sound'sonlinearticlearchive(seethe'FurtherReading'boxforsome suggestions).Furthermore,thepresetlednatureofmanyeffectsunitsthese daysmakesitunnecessaryforthebeginnertodelveveryfarintotheiralgorithmicinnards,andtobehonest Ithinktherearequickerresultstobegainedattheoutsetbyworkingfrompresets,andleavingmostofthe effectsparameterswellalone! AsIseeit,themorepressingdifficultywhenstartingoutisdealingwithbasicpracticalquestionssuchas howmanydifferenteffectstouse,whicheffectstoapplytowhichinstrument,andhowtodecideonsuitable levels.SointhisarticleI'llbetryingtoeliminatesomeoftheguessworkbysuggestingabasicgeneral purposeapproachtousingreverbanddelaywhilemixing.IntheprocessI'llpinpointsomethingstowatch outforwhensurfingreverbpresets,aswellashighlightingthehandfulofeffectsparametersandtechniques thatmakethebiggestimpactwiththeleasteffort. However,I'vealwaysfeltthatthere'sonlysomuchyoucancommunicatein printalonewhenyou'redealingwithmixingtechniques,soI'vealsoput togetherabunchofaudioexamplessothatyoucanjudgeforyourselfhow usefuleachofmyproposedmethodsisinpractice.Youcandownloadthem inMP3orWAVformatfromtheSOSwebsiteat www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul08/articles/reverb1audio.htm. Onthemostfundamentallevel,bothdelayandreverbareaboutaddingthe characteristicsofanacousticenvironment,eitherbycreatingsimpleechoes orbysimulatingmorecomplexpatternsofsonicreflections.Thereason theseeffectsareusuallysoimportantatmixdownisbecausetheindividual partsinmostmodernmultitrackprojectscommunicateverylittleinthewayof acommonsenseofspace,andassuchsoundabit'dislocated',ratherthan seemingtobelongonthesamerecord.Obviously,synthesizersandsampled soundsoftenhavenosenseofacousticrealismtothematall,buteven mikedinstrumentsareoftenrecordedverycloseup,toreduceroom reflectionsasmuchaspossible,allowingdecisionsaboutthenatureofthe production'soverallacousticspacetobedeferreduntilthefinalmixdown. Forthisreason,theprimaryobjectiveofreverbsanddelaysistoreconnect tracksthathavenoinherentconnectionbygivingthemsomesharedacoustic characteristics,andit'sthistaskthat'sthesubjectofthearticleathand. Naturally,therearecreativeapplicationsofreverbsanddelaystoo,butthese arewindowdressinginmostmixes(aswellasbeingverymuchmorea matterofpersonaltaste),andwilldoyourmixlittlegoodifthemainedifice doesn'treallycohereproperly.
SendEffects&MixBalance Sendsareyourfriends: whetheryou'reusinghardware orsoftware,reverbanddelay areusuallyusedassend effectsbecausethatway you'recreatinga'space'that canbesharedbydifferent tracks.

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Becausetheunderlyingaimistogivetheseparatetrackssomethingincommon,itmakessensetosetup yourpluginsorhardwareprocessorssothatthesameeffectcanbeappliedtomultipletracksatthesame time.Whetheryou'reusingahardwareorasoftwaremixer,themannerofdoingthisisprettymuchthe same.Firstofallyousetuptheoutputofyoureffectsprocessortofeedasparestereomixerchannelthen yousetupaseparatemixofyourtracksspecificallyfortheeffectsprocessorandsendittotheunit'sinputs, whereupontheeffectedsignalfeedsbackintothemix.Bychangingthelevelsofthedifferenttracksinthe sendmix,youdeterminehowmuchoftheeffectisaddedtoeachtrack. Inhardwaresystems,themixerwillhaveauxiliarysendcontrolswhichallow youtocreateanumberofindependenteffectssendmixes,eachmix appearingonaseparateoutputsocket.Byconnectingdifferenteffectsunits tothemixer'sdifferentauxiliarysendoutputs,youcandriveseveral independenteffectsatonce,assumingthatyouhaveenoughfreemixer inputsthroughwhichtoreturntheiroutputs.Insoftware,aseparatemixer channelusuallyneedstobecreatedtoholdtheeffectplugin,whereupon auxiliarysendscanbecreatedoneachrelevantmixerchanneltofeedit. (ThisisexactlythekindofsetupIusedinCockosReapertocreatemyaudio examples,usingasectionofanotherwisedrymultitrackproject.)

Irrespectiveofwhichkindofsystemyouworkin,though,therearetwo importantthingsthatyouneedtobearinmindifyou'regoingtoensurethat thiskindofeffectconfiguration(usuallycalleda'sendeffect'or'effectloop') worksproperly.Thefirstthingisthatyouneedtomakesuretheprocessors orpluginsyou'reusingonlyoutputeffects,notamixofprocessedand unprocessedsignals,otherwisechanginganyauxiliarysendlevelwillalsohaveanimpactonthattrack's overallvolume.Someeffectsunitshaveseparatelevelsettingsforeffected('wet')anduneffected('dry') signals,whileothersofferaMixBalancecontrol,whichneedstobesettooneextreme(usuallylabelled somethinglike'100percentwet')tostopanyunprocessedsignalbreakingthrough.

Whenusingsendeffects,make surethattheeffectissetto100 percentwet.Someplugins, suchastheUAD1Plate140 reverb,havethissettingasa default,butnotalldo,so remembertocheck otherwisewhenyousenda signaltotheeffect,thatsignal willnotjustgetthereverb,itwill becomelouder,ruiningthe balanceofyourmix.

Thesecondthingtoensureisthateachchannel'sauxiliarysendistakenfromapointinthesignalpathafter thechannel'sfaderinotherwords,thatyouusewhatiscalleda'postfade'auxiliarysend.Thatwaythe amountofeffectsforanyinstrumentwillvarynaturallyasitschannelfaderismoved.Ifyoufedtheauxiliary sendfrombeforethefader,thenyoucould,forexample,fadeatrackcompletelydownandyou'dstillbe hearingitsreverbrarelyadesirablestateofaffairsexceptfortheoccasionalspecialeffect. ListenTotheOnlineExamples

Asusual,we'veplacedanumberofaudioexamplesdiscussedinthisarticleonlineatwww.soundonsound.com/sos/jul08/articles/reverb1audio.htm

ChoosingReverbPresets

Nowthatwe'reclearonhowtosetupthenecessaryconnections,it'stimetostartconsideringtheeffects themselves.Firstofall,let'sstartbylookingathowyoucanusejustreverbtodrawafinalmixtogether,and thenwe'llbuildonthattoshowthesubtlydifferentpossibilitiesthatareaffordedbydelayeffects. AsI'vealreadymentioned,thereareenoughthingsfornewcomerstomixingtoworryaboutwithout programmingtheirownreverbsfromscratch,soIwouldcertainlyrecommendstartingfrompresetswhere possible.However,thistacticonlyletsyouoffthehooktoacertaindegree,becauseit'sstilluptoyouto selecttherightprocessorandpresetforthetask.Hereareafewtips. Thefirst,andprobablymostuseful,thingIcansayisthatyoushouldignore thepresetnamesandinsteadtrytoimaginethekindofspaceyouwantyour mixtoinhabitpicturingarealenvironmentcanhelpfocusthemindhere, althoughthismaynothelpasmuchifyou'retryingtocreateamoreother worldlysound.Awrongchoiceinthisregardcanbealmostimpossibletosort outduringmixing,whereasareverbwiththerightkindofinherentacoustic signaturebutthewrongtoneand/orlengthcanusuallybetweakedintobetter Forreverb,itoftenmakes shapecomparativelyeasily.It'snotuncommonformetowadethrougha coupleofdozenpresetsbeforeIfindonethatinstinctivelyfeelslikeitfitsthe sensetostartwithapreset,but knowingwhatmakesareverb mixinhand,andit'svitalthatyoudon'thurrythisprocess. Beyondthatratherintangibledecision,though,thereareafewothermore noticethethreephasesof downtoearththingstoconsider.Firstofall,ifyouhaveachoiceofreverb initialdelay(orpredelay),the processorsorplugins,bewaryofanythatproduceametallicsortofsound, earlyreflectionsandthedense particularlyinresponsetonoisytrackslikedrums.ToshowwhatImeanby reflectionsofthereverbtail, this,letmeturntothefirstofmyaudioexamples:theReverb1andReverb2 andhowhighfrequenciestend audiofiles.Theformerhasapronouncedmetallicringtoit,whereasthelatter todecaymorequicklythan (whilestillfarfromperfect)isabitbetterbehavedinthisregard,andislikely lowerones. toprovemuchmoreusable.Theproblemwithmetallicresonancesisthat,by thetimethereverbisatalevelwhereit'sdoingitsjob,theovertonesbecometooclearlyaudible, unpleasantlycolouringthemixasawholeandmakingtheeffectsoundtooobvious.Reverbswithobvious resonant'character'dohavetheirusesatthemix,buttypicallyforother,morespecialisedtasksbeyondthe scopeofthisarticle,soit'sbesttosteerclearofthemtobeginwith.(It'sworthpointingoutthattheReverb1 filealsoveersofftoonesideofthestereoimageasitdecays,whichisn'tidealeither.) Anotherbasicprinciplewhenlookingforreverbsthatwillbindamixtogetheristotreadcarefullywithany thatseemtohaveveryprominentfrequencyextremes.Neitherveryhighfrequenciesnorverylow frequenciesaremuchusewhenusingreverbtobindatracktogether,theformertendingtomakethereverb tooaudibleinitsownright,andthelatterreducingpunchatthelowendofthemixwheredefinitionis
patchcanhelpwhenitcomes tofinaltweaks.Inparticular,

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normallyreallyimportant. FurtherReverbReading
Ifyoufindthatyou'restrugglingwitheffectsrelatedjargon,oryoujustwanttoknowabitmoreaboutdifferentreverbtypesandpluginparameters, headovertotheSOSwebsiteatwww.soundonsound.comandcheckouttheextensivearticlearchive,whichhasthousandsoffreetoviewarticles foryoutobrowse.Youcansearchthearticlesyourself,usingthesearchfunction,butifyou'reshortontimethenhereareafewofthemostusefulon thesubjectofreverbanddelay:
Reverb:FrequentlyAskedQuestions(SOS May2000)www.soundonsound.com/sos/may00/articles/reverb.htm AdvancedReverberation(SOS October&November2001)www.soundonsound.com/sos/Oct01/articles/advancedreverb1.aspand www.soundonsound.com/sos/Nov01/articles/advancedreverb2.asp SequencerReverb&DelayMasterclasses(SOS June&July2003)www.soundonsound.com/sos/Jun03/articles/sequencerreverb.aspand www.soundonsound.com/sos/Jul03/articles/sequencerdelay.asp UsingReverb&DelayInCubase(SOS October2007)www.soundonsound.com/sos/oct07/articles/cubasetechnique_1007.htm ImprovingTheSoundOfYourReverb(SOS August1996)www.soundonsound.com/sos/1996_articles/aug96/improvedreverb.html ChoosingTheRightReverb(SOS March2006)www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar06/articles/usingreverb.htm ConvolutionProcessingWithImpulseResponses(SOS April2005)www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr05/articles/impulse.htm

TweakingReverbs:TheControlsToReachForFirst

Ifyou'relucky,youmighthaveselectedareverbpresetthat'sperfectforyourtrack.Inmyexperience, though,nopreseteverseemstofitthemixlikeaglove,andIroutinelytweakthereverbsoundinavarietyof wayswhilemixing,tomakeitmatchbetter.WhatIalsofindisthatamongsttheforestofreverbparameters frequentlyprovided,someendupbeingmuchmoreusefulthanothers,sohereareafewpointersforgetting thequickestresults. Themostimportantthingthatyouneedtogetrightisthebalancebetweenthelengthofthereverbandits overalllevelacrossallthetracksinthemix.MostpeoplewhosendmixesinforMixRescuetendtohave misjudgedthisbalance,eitherbyhavingthereverbtoolong,sothattheycan'tfadeitupfarenoughwithout itwashingoutthewholemix,orbyhavingittooshort,sothattheycan'tgetafullsoundwithoutdistancing theirtrackstothehorizon.Almosteveryreverbprocessorhassomekindofcontroltochangethelengthof thereverb(oftenlabelledDecayTimeorReverbTime),sooneofthemostimportantthingsyoucandoisto experimentwithdifferentreverblengthsettings,jugglingthereturnchannel'sfaderintandem,tofindthe bestbalancebetweenthesetwoparameters.Infact,thisissomethingIoftenfindmyselfcomingbacktolate inthemix,asitcanbedifficulttojudgeproperlyuntilthecomparativereverblevelsforalltheinstruments aresetup. IfyouhavealistentotheReverbLengthaudiofilesyoucanhearhowthe lengthofasinglereverbcanaffectthefullnessofthemix,givenafixedeffect returnlevel.ReverbLengthShortleavesthemixabitlackinginwarmth,while attheotherextremeReverbLengthLonggoesoverthetop,swampingthe detailsinthemixandgivingitselfawayasanunnaturaleffect. ReverbLengthMediumstrikesabalancebetweenthesetwoextremesand thereforesoundsmoresuccessfulincontext.I'vealsocreatedafileofthe samesectionwiththereverbbypassedsothatyoucanhearhowit's contributingtothesong'sblend.(Incidentally,Ifyou'rehavingdifficulty initiallydistinguishingthedifferencesbetweenthedifferentsetsofaudiofiles, tryimportingallofthemintoyourownsequencersothatthey'reallplaying backatonce,andthenuseyourmixersolobuttonstoswitchbetweenthem whilethey'replaying.Thismakessubtleadjustmentsbetweenthefilesmuch moreapparent.)

Ausefulstartingpointistoset upfourbasicsendeffects:a short(ambient)andlong reverb,andashortandlong delay.Youcanthensend differentamountsofanyof ThenextmostcommonthingIdowithanyreverbisadjustitstonalitytosuit yoursignalstooneormoreof thetrack.Someequalisationcontrolsareoftenbuiltintothereverbprocessor, theseeffects,tocreatea feelingofcohesion.Placingan butIusuallyprefertheextraflexibilityaffordedbyaseparateequaliser EQafteryourreverbordelay followingthereverbinthereturnchannel.WithmoderncommercialstylesI canmakeitmucheasierto almostalwayscutawaysomeofthelowfrequencieswithahighpassfilter sculptthesoundtofityourmix. setsomewhereinthe100300Hzrange,simplybecauseitallowsmetokeep Rollingoffthelowandhigh therequiredfocusandpunchofkickdrumsandbasslinesuncompromised.I frequencies,forexample,tends tomakereverbordelayless alsooftencuthighfrequenciesaswell,eitherwithalowpassfilterorhigh conspicuous. shelf.Thisispartlybecauseithelpsmakethereverblessaudibleasan

addedeffect(particularlyinresponsetovocalconsonantsandhigh percussion),butalsopartlybecauseithasthepsychologicaleffectofmakingthereverbseemfurtheraway fromthelistenerthanthebrighterdrysounds. However,inadditiontocuttinghighendandlowend,itcanalsomakeagreatdealofsensetosculptthe reverbreturn'stonalityevenfurtherifyoufindthatit'scolouringthemix'soveralltoneundesirably.Another reasonfordoingthisisthatthefashionthesedaysisforreverbtobeprettyinconspicuous,butitstillneeds tobehighenoughinleveltogettheinstrumentstogelproperly.Ifyourreverbhasaprominentfrequency responsepeakwherelittleelseishappeninginyourmix,thiswillmakethereverbeffecttooaudiblewell beforetheoverallreverblevelishighenough.AfewwellplacedreverbreturnEQcutsoncethemixisup andrunningcanthereforereallypaydividendsifyou'reafteranupfrontproductionsoundthatis neverthelessstillcohesive. TodemonstratetheimpactofthesekindsofEQchanges,Iusedthesamereverbeffectfromtheprevious example,onwhichI'dalreadyusedallthetypesofEQI'vebeentalkingabout,tocreatetheReverbEQFull audiofile.Ithendroppedouteachofthethreefilterbands(ahighpassfilterat240Hz,averygentlelow passfilterrollingofffromaround7kHz,anda5dBpeakingcutoveraoneoctavebandat580Hz)to generatetheReverbEQHPFOut,ReverbEQLPFOut,andReverbEQPeakCutOutfiles. ThefinalreverbparameterthatIregularlyreachforisthepredelaysetting,whichsimplydelaystheonsetof

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thereverbreflectionsbyaspecifiedamountthelongerthepredelay,thecloserthedrysoundsappearto beincomparisonwiththeboundariesofthesimulatedroom.Somereverbpluginseitherhavenopredelay optionorhaveazerodefaultsetting,andifleftunchangedthispsychologicallypositionsanysoundsource muchfurtherawayfromthelistener,effectivelyrightagainstoneoftheboundariesofthesimulatedroom. Thisisn'ttheonlyproblem,though,becausewhatalsohappensisthatthealmostinstantaneousearly reflectionsofareverbwithoutpredelayinteractunpredictablywiththedrysoundinawaythatcan noticeablyalteritstone.Animmediatereverbonsetcaninterferewithvocalintelligibilitytoo,byblurring importantconsonants.Again,MixRescuecandidatesregularlyencounterallthesedifficulties,simply becausetheyignorethepredelaysettingandevenifyourreverbhasnointernalpredelay,that'sno excusenottodialoneinmanuallybychainingdelayandreverbeffectsinseries. Tohearhowaudiblethesefactorsareinpractice,trycomparingtheReverbPredelayInand ReverbPredelayOutfiles.Thefirstoftheseusesa35mspredelay,whilethesecondhasnoneatall.Tomy ears,thevocalisttakesaclearstepbackwardswhenthepredelayisbypassed,andsoundslessclearinto thebargain.
TheLong&TheShortOfIt

Onthefaceofit,ifyou'retryingtogetyourtrackstosoundasthoughthey'reallroughlyinthesamespace, sendingtoasingleglobalreverbfromallofthemisacommonsenseapproach.However,inmyexperience thisputsalotmorepressureontheengineertoselectandtweakthatsinglereverbtogetrespectable results,soIusuallysuggesttothosestartingoutthatit'sactuallyeasieriftheyusetwo.Letmeexplainhow thisworks. Theideaisthatthetworeverbseachservedifferentpurposes,andtheycanbemixedandmatchedtocope witharangeofrecordingtypeswithinmosttypicalprojects.Thefirstreverbisshort(usuallywellundera secondinlength)andwithperhapsonly510msofpredelay.Whatthisdoesissimplymakedisconnected soundssticktogethermoreconvincinglywithinthemix,aswellassettingthedistancebetweenthese soundsandthelistener,butwithoutmakingitselfobviouslyaudibleasanaddedeffect,givenitsminimal reverb'tail'.(Asaresult,someengineerscallthiseffectambienceratherthanreverb.)Thesecondreverb canthenbesettogivemuchmoreofasenseofanacousticspace,usingalongerandperhapsslightly brighterreverbasrequired,butcombiningthatwithafairlylongpredelay(maybe3070ms),toavoidthe effectdistancingsoundsthatit'sappliedtoverymuchfurther. Havingthesetworeverbsonhand,youcanthendealwithavarietyofdifferent situations.Forexample,abonedrysynthesizertrackthatbelongsinthetrack's backgroundmightneedlotsofshortreverbtopushitawayfromthelistener, whereasaleadvocalmightonlyhavejustenoughtomakeitsoundasifitbelongs inthemixindeed,itmighthavenoneatallifyouwanttoachievethemost upfrontsound,albeitattheriskofitsoundingdisconnectedfromtherecordasa whole.Bothofthetracksmayneedabitofthelongerreverb,though,ifyou'retrying tomakethemsoundnaturaltogether. Totakeanotherexample,drumoverheadmicsthatalreadyhavealotofroom soundonthemcouldeasilywarrantnoaddedreverbatall(althoughyoumighttry tomatchthesoundofthelongerreverbtothemsomewhat,togetother,drier soundstoworkalongside),butsomeoftheaccompanyingclosemicsmaybenefit fromsomeoftheshortervariety,toavoidthemadvancingtoofarforwardinthemix perspective.Aretriggereddrumsample,however,wouldprobablyneedboth reverbs,carefullyapplied,toblenditconvincinglywiththerestofthekit:theshorter reverbwouldprimarilysetitsdistance,whilethelongercouldhelpto retrospectivelyteleportitintotheoriginalrecordingroom.

Thinkaboutwhatreverb youwanttoapplyto whichinstruments.In thispicture,the overheadswillalready havecapturedsome roomsound,sowhileit makessensetomatch Clearly,bothofyourreverbswillneedtobetweakedtosuitthetrack,butaslongas thesoundofyour'long' youstayfocusedontheirrespectivepurposesyoushouldn'tgotoofarwrong.Ifthe reverbtothem,you shorterreverbcan'tblendtrackstogetherbeforeitbecomestooaudible,tryfurther mightnotwanttoadd reducingitsreverbtimeordialinsomeEQcutsonthereverbreturnchannel.Ifthe anyreverbtothemat all.Theclosemics, longerreverbismakingthingssounddistant,youcantakeoffsomehighendto however,maybenefit pushitfurtherintothebackgroundifit'smakingthingssoundwoolly,adjustthat fromsomeshortreverb level/lengthratioorcrankupthereturnchannel'shighpassfilter. tostopthemleapingout ofthemix.

Todemonstratethisdualreverbsetupinpractice,I'vedonearoughmixofthe chorusofmylittledemoprojectusingjustthesetwoeffects,tocreatetheDualReverbsBothfile,butIhave alsothenmadetwofurtherfiles(DualReverbsShortOnlyandDualReverbsLongOnly)designedtoshow whateacheffectiscontributinginisolation.TheDualReverbsDryfile,asyoumightexpect,isthesame sectionwithoutanyreverbatall,justforreference.

HowMuch,OnWhichInstruments?

Manypeopleeschewreverbonkickandbassentirely,toavoidlowendmush,butthere'snoneedtobe hardandfastaboutthisandriskthrowingthebabyoutwiththebathwater.Ifalittlereverbhelpstoachieve amoresatisfactoryblendoftheseinstrumentswiththerestofthetrack,it'snobadthing,justaslongasyou keepanyundesirablebassoverhangincheckwithyourreturnchannelEQ. OnetypeoftrackthatIrarelyputreverbon,though,isanybackgroundsynthpadImightbeusing.These invariablysinkintothetrackwithoutanyextrahelp,andbecausetheyalreadytendtocreatea homogeneousblanketofsound,evenlargeamountsofreverbwillseldombenoticeableallthereverb doesismakethepartsoundbehindthebeat!Ifasynthpadistoofarforwardinthemix,amoreeffective recourseistojustshelveoffabitofhighendwithEQ.

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Probablythemostimportantthingtosayaboutusinganyreverb,though,isthatit'snotabadideatoerron thesideofusingtoolittleingeneral,particularlyifyouanticipateusingmasteringstyledynamicsprocessing onthefinalmixatalaterstage,becausethiswilltendtoincreasethelevelsofmixdetailssuchasreverb tails.Inalotofcaseswhereanobviouslyreverberantsoundisn'trequired,it'squiteausefullittleruleof thumbtosetlevelssothatthereverbonlyreallydrawsattentiontoitselfifyoumutethereverbreturnthat wayyoucanbeprettysureit'sonlysupporting,ratherthanoverwhelming,thedrytracks. Whenyou'retryingtofinessereverblevelsinyourtrack,anotherhandytricksuggestedbytopengineers suchasGeoffEmerickandAlanParsonsistemporarilytomutethemostprominenttracksinthemix, typicallydrums,bass,and/orleadvocal.Thisletsyouhearmoreclearlywhetherthereareanylessthan idealreverbbalancesamongstthebackgroundinstrumentation.
BlendingYourMixWithDelayEffectsInstead

Delayisamuchsimplereffectthanreverbmostofthetimeyoucanprettymuchsetthedelaytime(the distancebetweentheechoes)andthefeedbacklevel(thenumberofechoes)andyou'reoff!Perhapsit's becauseofthissimplicitythatsomanymusiciansignoreitwhenitcomestothemix,ormaybeit'sjustthat theydon'twantanykindofdistracting'echoeffect'.Thisisashame,however,becausedelayisalmostas usefulasreverbwhenitcomestogluinginstrumentstogetheratmixdown.Infact,insomesensesdelayis superiortoreverbformanydrysoundingmodernstyles,asitcanachievecohesionwithoutanyobvious reverbtail,leavingindividualsoundsmoreupfront,distinct,andrawsounding.Italsotendstoleavethemix soundmuchclearer,becauseitdoesn'tfillupallthegapsinthestereofieldinthewayreverbtendsto. Althoughtherearemanyusesformonodelays,ifyou'relookingtousedelay effectsforsubtleblendingtasks,you'llgetthemosttransparentresultsifyou usetheminstereo,suchthatifyousendanypannedorstereotracksinyour arrangementtothedelaychannel,theechoesreturnwiththesamestereo positioningandspread.Thiscanbefiddlytomanageinhardwaresetups, evenifyouhaveastereodelayunit,asveryfewmixershavestereosends, soyoumayneedtocarefullyjugglethelevelsoftwoseparatesendcontrols perchanneltomaintainthecorrectstereoimageinthedelayreturn.In computersystems,thingsareusuallyalittleeasier,althoughitpaystocheck thatit'sallworkingasyouhope.IwasusinganAppleLogicProsystemvery recently,forexample,andcouldfindnostraightforwardwayofpanningthe sendfromamonotrackacrossthechannelsofastereodelayeffect althoughwhetherthisproblemwasmyfaultorthesoftware'sisanyone's guess!

Commercialtracksrarelyhave sendlevelsfixedthroughout, andusingautomationonyour sendlevelstobringthings forwardandpushthembackin differentsectionsofthesong canreallyaddinterest.

Again,youcoulduseonlyasingledelayeffecttopullyourmixtogether,but I'vefoundthatsettingupacoupleofcontrastingeffectsactuallymakesiteasiertogetresultsquickly:the firstisashort'slapback'delay,with50100msdelaytimeandzerofeedbackandthesecondisalonger delaywithsomefeedbackandadelaytimesynchronisedtothesong'stempo.Theshortdelayoperates muchliketheshortreverbI'vealreadydiscussed,althoughyouneedtobecarefulfeedinghighlevelsof percussivesoundstoit,asthesecanbegintosoundasthoughthey'reflamming,interferingwiththetrack's rhythmicpulse.Becausethelongerdelayistemposynchronised,ittucksitselfintothemixinavery transparentway,creatingthesamekindofwarmthandsustainasthelongerofmytworeverbs,butwithout addingmuchinthewayofasenseofrealspace. Muchlikethereverbs,delaysalsobenefitfromjudiciousEQ'ingtosuitthetrackinhand.Fortunately,exactly thesameprinciplesapplywhenmassagingtheEQsettingsintoshapeforeithereffect,sothere'snothing morethatneedstobesaidexceptthatyoushouldgiveitthetimeitneeds.Toillustratethedifferentflavour thatdelaysoffercomparedtoreverb,I'veagainsetupasimilarsetofroughmixesofmydemosong's chorus,butthistimeusingthetwodelayeffects:they'retheoneswiththeDualDelayfilenames.
BringingItAllTogether

Manyprofessionalmixengineershaveaselectionofstandardeffectsthattheysetupbeforetheyevenstart tomix,havinglearntfromexperiencewhichunitsandalgorithmshavereliablydeliveredtheresultsthey needonprojectafterproject.ThefourspecificeffectsthatI'vedescribedherearedesignedtobefairlyall purposeinthisway,andcanbeusedintandemtotietogethermixesinavarietyofdifferentstyles.For example,ifyourrecordingisalreadyfairlylivesoundingandmostlyneeds'gluingtogether',theshorter reverbanddelaycancometothefore,whereasthelongervariantscanbefadedupwhenmorespaceor sustainarerequiredtoenlivensomethinglikeaheavilyoverdubbedpoporelectronicarecord.Alternatively, thedelaysmighttakeprecedencewhereatrackalreadyhasthenecessaryspatialcharacter(orjustneeds tosoundveryupfront),butlacksasatisfyingresonanceandfullness.Toshowhowthesefoureffectscanfit together,I'vemixedthatdemochorussectiononemoretimeusingallfoureffectsatonce,tocreatethe AllEffectsWetfile,andyoucanuseAllEffectsDrytogetaperspectiveonhowmuchdifferencethey're making. Thereremainsonefinalveryimportantpointtomake,though:theeffectslevelsonmostmodernrecords don'tstaystaticthroughout,butactuallyadapttosuitchangesinthearrangementandunderscorethelong termebbandflowofthemix.Thatmeansyoushouldn'texpectthereverbanddelaybalanceinyour chorusesnecessarilytotranslatedirectlyontoacontrastingversearrangement.Toillustratethis,I've createdthreelongeraudiofilesofthedemosong(theAutomationfiles),takinginthefirstverseaswellas thechorus.ForAutomationInactiveI'vejustkeptthesameeffectsettingsIusedinthechorus,andyoucan hearthattheeffectlevelsbecomeabitoverbearinginthesparserarrangement.However,justfadingdown thelevelsofthetwodelaysandthelongerreverbduringtheverseusingmixerautomationeasilysortsout thisproblemfortheAutomationActivefile,withthebeneficialsideeffectthatastheeffectslevelsfadeback

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upforthechorussectionitmakesthesoundabitmoreexpansiveand'widescreen'.Again,comparethese twoaudiofileswiththeeffectlessAutomationDryforanideaofwhattheeffectsareaddingoverall.
RoomForImprovement

Evenwithaudiofilestodemonstratesomeofthefactorsinvolved,there'salimittohowfaryoucanimprove yourmixingtechniquewithoutgivingitsomepractice,soifyou'vefoundtheapplicationofreverbsand delaystobeabitofablackartsofar,tryoutthefoureffectsetupI'veadvocatedaboveonafewofyourown tracks.Withalittleexperimentation,you'llfindthatyourearswillbegintoattunethemselvestothemore subtlecharacteristicsofyourmix,sothatyoucanbalancetheeffectslevelsforeachtrackmuchmore successfully. ManythankstoSarahRichardsonforperformingthevocalsforthisarticle'sdemonstrationmix. NextMonth:TopProducersTalkReverb

Whilethereverbtechniquesintroducedhereareagoodplacetostartforstraightaheadmixingtasks,bothnaturalandartificialreverbsplayamuch largerroleinmostprofessionalproductionsinpractice,havingasmuchimpactontherecordingprocessasonthemixdown.Soifthisarticlehasleft youhungryformore,staytunedfornextmonth'sindepthspecialfeature,inwhichI'llbecomparinginsidertipsandtricksfrommorethan70ofthe world'stopproducers.Justdon'texpectthemalltoagreewitheachother...
PublishedinSOSJuly2008

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