Reverb Cards

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  • Created by: ben
  • Created on: 19-04-22 16:21

Reverb Parameters

  • Reverb type – What kind of reverb emulation it is. There are Halls, Rooms, Chambers, Plates, etc… 

  • Size – What the physical size of the space is. This can range from small through to large. 

  • Diffusion – How far apart are the reflections from each other. 

  • Pre-delay – Sets a time delay between the direct signal and the start of the reverb 

  • Decay time -Also known as RT60, which is how long it takes for the signal to reduce in amplitude 60 decibels. 

  • Mix (Wet/Dry) – Sets the balance between the dry signal and the effect signal. When you have the reverb effect on an insert you need to adjust the wet and dry ratio, when you are sharing the reverb in a send and return configuration you want the mix to be 100% wet. 

  • Early Reflection level – Controls the level of the first reflection you hear. Early reflections help determine the dimensions of the room. 

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General Technical Points about using Reverb

  • Reverb is added to recordings that have been made using close-mic techniques or recordings that have been made in anechoic chambers / dry spaces. This is so that reverb levels can be controlled by an engineer or performer. 
  • Reverb is an auxiliary effect 
  • Reverb time / RT60 
  • Reverb is often found in guitar amplifiers / FX pedals / synth in-built FX 
  • Reverb can be a dedicated hardware / rackmount unit 
  • Reverb can be added with a software plug-in 
  • Natural reverberation 
  • Captured using ambient mic’ing techniques. 
  • More reverb is captured if a microphone is further away 
  • Omni or fig-8 microphones pick up more reverb than cardioids. 
  • Ambient mic’s are added to close mic’ed signals and blended together 
  • Ambient Mic Tecniques: spaced omnis, A-B pair, co-incident pair, X-Y pair, ORTF, M-S, Blumlein stereo, Decca tree, binaural, Sound field, PZM, boundary. 
  • Room acoustics determine the nature of the reverb 
  • Echo chambers 
  • Up until the 1950’s reverb was made by playing a dry signal in a room. This was achieved by placing a loudspeaker at one end of a room and an omni-directional microphone at the other. The height and angle of the microphones affect the amount of reverb. The room would be constructed from reflective material like stone or concrete to increase the amount of reverb. The room needs to be sound-proof to prevent noise from getting in. The signal from this microphone would then be added to the dry mix. Often this reverb is controlled in the mix with a keyed gate . Some studios used garages or stairwells 
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Plate Reverb

  • In 1950’s, the EMT 140 Reverberation Unit was released. Though a plate reverb unit is large, it is smaller than a dedicated echo chamber. 
  • It was very expensive 
  • The unit consists of a large metal sheet. The sound is input by a speaker-like transducer attached to the sheet, causing the sheet to vibrate. The reflections from the edge of the sheet are picked-up by microphone-like transducers. 
  • Two microphone-like transducers are used for stereo. 
  • The reverb time is controlled by a damping pad which is used to absorb the reflections more quickly. 
  • Plate reverbs give a very dense reverb 
  • Even today, plate reverbs are often used on vocals 
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Spring Reverb

  • Developed in the 1950’s. 
  • The spring reverb works in a similar fashion to the plate reverb except a spring is used instead of a metal sheet. The main advantage of the spring reverb is that it’s a lot smaller. 
  • Spring reverb has a characteristic twangy sound. 
  • When a spring reverb is knocked it creates a thundering sound 
  • Spring reverbs tend to have a mid-range boost and a long reverb time. 
  • The reverb time can be adjusted by the tension of the spring. 
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Digital Reverb

  • Digital reverb appeared in recording studios in the 1980’s 
  • Yamaha and Lexicon were the pioneer manufacturers. 
  • A signal is input into a computer algorithm which consists of many delays /echos with feedback and filtering which emulate the reverb characteristics of real spaces. 
  • The main advantage of digital reverb is that the character of the reverb can be easily changed by adjusting parameters on-screen, or even via MIDI 
  • Also the early reflections are more prominent than plate or spring reverbs so they sound more realistic. 
  • Digital reverb is very heavy on the CPU, as CPUs got quicker, the realism of the reverb improved 
  • In the late 1990’s digital reverbs became software plug-ins in sequencing packages.
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Convolution/Sampling reverb

  • Convolution reverb became a reality with increased processing power 
  • It appeared in studios in the 2000’s 
  • Sony pioneered this type of reverb 
  • Convolution reverb takes a sample of the reverb of a space called an impulse response. This is created by emitting an excitation/stimulus into the room. Such signals include a sine sweep/balloon pop/gun shoot. Frequently, the excitation signal must later be de-convolved from the impulse response or cut from the start of the impulse response. 
  • It is then convolved with the dry signal to produce the reverb. 
  • It allows a sound to be placed in a specific venue without having to actually visit it, or to recreate specific hardware units. 
  • Various plug-ins: 
  • Reverence (Cubase) 
  • Space Designer (Logic Pro) 
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