Re: [linux-audio-user] Global reverb setup

On Sun, Nov 19, 2006 at 03:06:38PM +0100, Yves Potin wrote:

> Using a global reverb in the final stage of a mix, especially when
> using Jamin in Ardour, may improve tremendously the global quality of the
> sound. But I wonder what kind of reverb can be used to obtain the most
> neutral and most efficient effect, considering that, by definition, I
> don't know on what audio system my mix will be heard.
> ...

Using reverb is part of the mixing operation, not of mastering.
Global reverb (the same on all sound) is usually a bad idea.

It all depends on the kind of music you are making, and what
you want to achieve with the recording - recreate something
that sounds as if it was played in a real acoustic space, or
a soundscape that is completely abstract.

If you want to recreate a natural acoustic space the reverb
is not used as an effect. If well done, the listener will
in most cases not even notice that any reverb has been added.
This will be the case for classical music, jazz, folk, ethnic
music, etc.

For classical music, if recorded in a well sounding hall,
often no extra reverb is used and the whole perspective
is created by microphone placement.

For close-miked multitrack recordings you will need to
add reverb to individual tracks, how much depends on
where you want a particular instrument of vocal track
to be situated in the mix. In other words you use the
reverb to create depth, placing some tracks in front
and others in several layers behind each other. The
type of reverb you need here is one that corresponds
to a real acoustic space, with early reflections and
a reverb tail, often adjustable separately.

The other extreme you will find in any form of 'electronica'
where you can do more or less what you want with reverb,
since there is no natural reference, and often the intent
is to create something that sounds unnatural in the first
place. Anything goes here.

Mainstream pop falls between these two, using reverb both
for creating ambiance and depth, and as an effect.

The tradinional way is to use one or more post-fader
auxiliary sends, each of them feeding a particular reverb
or other effect unit. The reverb signals are mixed in
just as extra tracks. A reverb used as an effect on a
single track can also be wired as an insert.

Now using aux sends in this way is a pain in Ardour since
each send is in a separate window. It's a problem both
for effect sends and foldback mixes. This is IMHO one of
Ardour's design flaws. On old-style analog mixers you
had a number of aux sends and a knob for each of them
on each channel. Very practical but of course expensive.
Hardware digital mixers often have a large number of aux
sends and use either assignable knobs or faders to control
them, or allow for any the aux busses to be controlled
by the main faders - you push a button and the faders
jump to the gains for an aux send, push another one and
they control again the main mix. Ardour would benefit
much from such a system, either using the main faders
or a smaller assignable one.

-- 
FA
Lascia la spina, cogli la rosa.