Using reverb on a stage can do even more harm to your tone. The result is often that you need to adjust the settings on your amp and pedals to compensate. A big reverb sounds impressive but the tone you’ve worked so hard on to achieve will sound coloured and less dynamic. However, reverb created by an effects unit will in many ways sound authentic but it won’t be the same as having a pristine tone coming from your amp and reflecting off the surroundings. In that regard, using reverb in a small room like your bedroom, makes sense. It’s therefor tempting to drench your guitar in a huge reverb but this can do more harm to your tones than good.Īs explained above, the reason for using reverb is to create the impression of space. Your guitar doesn’t sound anything like those huge stadium tones you love and desperately are trying to achieve. Using reverb to compensate for lack of space A typical spring unit seen in Fender amps.Ī typical bedroom or rehearsal studio will sound pretty dry as the reflection time is short. Our ears hear and use reverb or the reflection of sound to calculate space and orientation. Without reverb, a recording would sound flat and less real or alive. ![]() ![]() This was a common trick in the days before plates and spring, where producers would use reverb chambers.Ĭommon for all techniques is that you want to create the illusion of space and a more lively and open sound. Placing a microphone a foot or more away from the guitar cabinet will allow the tone to breathe and the mic will pick up some of the sound reflecting in the room.Īnother approach is to play back a recorded signal into a room and re-recording the ambience. A common trick is to place a drum kit in a hall or a room that has a unique reflection character. Reverb can also be achieved in the recording process, utilising the ambience in the room. Strings and orchestra might get a reverb resembling a concert hall or a small room for a quartet, while guitars might get a digital spring simulation or perhaps a large hall for that special effect. Reverb can also be added on individual tracks or groups to create a specific effect. A producer will often use a short reverb on an individual track or group to create a room, allowing some separation between the tracks or instruments. Reverb is always used on recordings in some form (I think Slayer’s Reign in Blood was recorded without any reverb to create an overly aggressive tone). ![]() Some units can also create artificial reverb with different effects added. These are units, either studio hardware/software or pedals, that simulate different types of reverb, including plate and spring but also natural reverb (church, hall, small room etc). They have a distinctive sound and are still favoured by many producers and guitarists for their unique and vintage flavour.ĭigital reverb appeared in the late 70s. Plate (an actual metal plate reflecting sound) and spring (sound fed through one or more springs) are mechanical devices often used in studios and guitar amps in the 50s and 60s. Reverb can be replicated or simulated either mechanically or digitally for use in music. Simulating reverb A large reflecting metal plate used in studios in the 60s and 70s. In a small Club, the band will sound dry and tight, because the sound reflects earlier. What you hear is the sound from the stage and PA system being reflected on the venue’s surfaces creating a big reverb. Going to a concert at a large venue, like and indoor or outdoor stadium, will give the impression of the band being drenched in reverb. The larger the space the larger the reverb will appear. The surface could be anything – a wall, furniture, persons etc. Reverberation, or reverb, is essentially sound reflecting off a surface creating a feedback with different time and decay. In this feature we’ll look at different types of reverb and the do’s and don’ts when it comes to using reverb as a part of your guitar tones. Still, it’s an often misunderstood effect and if used wrong, it can do more harm than good. ![]() Reverb is one of the most common effects used by both guitarists and producers.
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