Reverb is the persistence of sound after a sound is produced. Reverb is created when a sound or signal is reflected off of a surface causing numerous reflections to build up.

Arguably the most significant change in music production is that artists no longer require a studio to record. Music would be recorded in a live performance while producers simultaneously mixed the music. As technology rapidly evolved in the 50s and 60s, there was a shift from live-mixing to multitrack recording.

The earliest artificial reverb effects were created by simply outputting recordings – made in acoustically deadened rooms – through a loudspeaker placed within a reverberant space, and capturing the resulting sound.

2001

Bill Putnam, Sr.

Reverb and echo are reflections of sound in a space. Reverb is the same concept as an echo but with a smaller reflection time that often comes back within a second and conflates with the sound that hasn’t finished yet.

The reverb kind of evens out the voice and makes it sound more melodious. In essence, it actually kind of shows the full potential of your voice if you have done everything “perfectly.” This is why karaoke machines have a lot of vocal reverb! But don’t lose faith..

Why do people sound better when they sing in the shower? In the shower you are surrounded by hard, smooth surfaces that bounce the sound back to you. That gives your voice more power, turning up the volume. That stretches out the sound, making it richer and fuller, so you sound great, too!

Too much reverb drowns out your mix and makes everything sound “floaty” (for a lack of a better term). Scale back on the reverb. Use it to make your tracks stand out, but don’t make the reverb be the thing that stands out. You want the reverb to draw attention to the vocal, not itself.

Reverb will fill the sound of the vocals out nicely. It will give them more fullness and sustain, and will have a more “natural” sound to them. BUT reverb will also push the vocals back in the mix. It can cause them to lose energy and cohesion, because it overlaps the words and washes them out.

Use less than you think you need. A good rule of thumb is to turn up the reverb until you can hear it, and then back off a bit. Most of the time, you want to feel reverb, rather than hear it. You shouldn’t notice that it’s there, but you should miss it when it’s gone.

To EQ your reverb, you’ll need to make sure you’re using a reverb bus. Create a send on the instrument(s) you want to add reverb to, and set the output to an empty bus. Then, add an EQ and a reverb to that bus track. The reverb needs to be on a seperate bus.

If you mix them too loudly, they will stick out. What dB should vocals be recorded at? You should record vocals at an average of -18dB for 24-bit resolution. The loudest parts of the recording should peak at -10dB and be lowest at -24dB.

Every vocal is different and every song is different as well. But generally speaking, lead vocal should be moderately loud or the loudest element next to your drums in your mix.

Best EQ Settings for Vocals

• Roll off the low-end starting around 90 Hz.
• Reduce the mud around 250 Hz.
• Add a high shelf around 9 kHz & a high roll off around 18 kHz.
• Add a presence boost around 5 kHz.
• Boost the core around 1 kHz to 2 kHz.
• Reduce sibilance around 5 kHz to 8 kHz.

So perhaps the best advice is to conservatively apply the best of both worlds: use a little compression while recording — just enough to help limit the most unruly peaks and phrases and to even out the recorded signal — and then add more compression to taste during mixing.

A good starting point for a rock vocal would be a 4:1 ratio with a medium-fast attack and a medium release. Then, set the threshold for around 4 to 6dB of gain reduction. Increase or decrease the attack time until you get the right level of forwardness for the mix.