7 Expert Tips For Professional Reverb Use

Reverb, one of the most widely used audio effects in music production, is often taken for granted. From a professional point of view, it takes years to understand how, when, and in what amount one should use it. Reverb is used primarily to give depth and dimension to your mixes, but it can quickly turn a good-sounding mix into something muddy and indistinct if not used properly. However, if you know the basics of the effect mentioned above but, to some extent, struggle with the desire to master it, the following few tips will be of great help.  

1. Do Not Use Reverb on Everything and Anything!

In music production, beginners tend to use reverb on just about anything. I would urge you to consider a different approach. Try using reverb to get that 3D sound. This means that some things should sound closer in the mix than others. This effect is precisely what gives depth and dimension to your mix. For example, listen carefully to some rock' n' roll songs with orchestrations.  

2. Use of Density Can Be Essential

In short, the density parameter indicates how much reverb reflections are close to one another. Lower densities give more space between the reverb's first and subsequent reflections (Hall Reverb). Higher densities place these closer together (Plate and Chamber). Generally speaking, as with diffusion, higher densities work better for percussive content and lower densities for vocals and sustained sounds.  

3. Pre-delay Usage

Pre-delay simulates the time it takes for a sound to leave its source and create the first reflection. Considering this, you should decide where to keep your vocal in the mix, more upfront or back. Experiment with pre-delay to achieve the desired position for the vocal.  

4. Do Not Overdo the Reverb Tail

Reverbs with a long tail can sometimes sound epic on solo instruments, but hearing it in a full mix is a different story. If you wish that long reverb on the solo instrument, try to automate this parameter and decrease it to a reasonable amount when the rest of the elements in the mix start to play.  

5. Shape It Further with Equalizer

As I mentioned before, reverb tends to make things sound big. Making something too big on a low-end or high-end is not the best idea. Instead of leaving it as it is, apply a low or high cut with an equalizer after the reverb effect. By doing this, you will have more control over particular frequencies. As a result, you'll be able to emphasize or mask certain aspects that need further polishing quickly.  

6. Use It in Combination with Stereo Enhancer Effects

The elements in the mix differ in stereo image size. Additionally, not everything should be stereo in your mix. For example, after tweaking the reverb on a piano, place a stereo enhancer effect right after it and experiment with the stereo image amount. Doing so will make room for other instruments in the frequency spectrum.  

7. If You Have Several Reverb Effects on Group Tracks, Group Them All Together

With this trick, you can easily do A compartments with a single mouse click. This can be beneficial to overlook the amount of reverb in the whole track and fine-tune the effect levels properly.