REVERB questions/recommendations/thoughts

[livexfast]

We all love reverb, and I'm trying to figure out the best way to implement it in pt9 mixes. I know reverb as a plug in takes up tons of cpu, but i really like it on pretty much every track I use, and i'd like to customize each channel to have it's own reverb. So far the reverbs i've tested that come with PT9 are garbage, way to digital and cheesy. The garage one is OK. What I'm really looking for is some authentic spring reverb to get in the mix, ESPECIALLY for vocals.

Back to the point, I really just wanna hear how people approach getting good reverb in their mixes, weather it be pre or post production. I've got a bunch of sessions that need some good verbs but i'm just not satisfied yet. I've heard good things about the UAD plug-ins, any opinions?

Also, I've been looking at some actual rack mountable reverbs, like the lexicon mx400. I'm a little confused however on how to get a rackmount reverb in the signal chain. It's 4 in 4 out and I usually record with 8 live mics. Does it just work like a plug-in? like i could toss it like you would any plug-in accept you control the settings on the actually piece of hardware? Also, does that stress the cpu out or does the hardware have it's own processor like the UAD does?

Anyway, sorry if this is vague and the questions aren't particularly direct . I would just love to hear peoples approach as to what hardware/plugins they prefer to achieve great reverb (which in my opinion means vintage, analog sounding reverb) and how they route it in their setup. Thanks! enjoy! have fun!

[nst7]

For reverb, whether hardware or software, traditionally people use aux sends to send several tracks to one reverb, adjusting the level on each track depending on how much reverb you want on that track.

You can do this more than once, of course. You could also have reverb as an insert on the track if that's the only track that's going to use that type of reverb.

There are some good choices for software reverb. One of the best values right now, that would blow away almost everything else, is the Lexicon LXP Native Reverb, which just recently dropped in price to $399 (not every dealer has updated prices yet).

[HD2]

Originally Posted by livexfast

I know reverb as a plug in takes up tons of cpu, but i really like it on pretty much every track I use, and i'd like to customize each channel to have it's own reverb.

That could easily end up being a pretty muddy washed out sounding mix if you have a bunch of different reverbs happening at the same time.
If you don't intend to have them all going at once, you could just set up a 2 or 3 different aux tracks with verbs on the inserts and then send say drums to one, guitars to another, vocals etc. Then you could always automate the reverb changes for different parts of the song

[tobias bluth]

Originally Posted by HD2

That could easily end up being a pretty muddy washed out sounding mix if you have a bunch of different reverbs happening at the same time.
If you don't intend to have them all going at once, you could just set up a 2 or 3 different aux tracks with verbs on the inserts and then send say drums to one, guitars to another, vocals etc. Then you could always automate the reverb changes for different parts of the song

i agree with that.i am using mostly altiverb but i know that it is quite expensive.for some stuff i still using the waves renaissance reverb witch was my go to before altiverb and they just dropped the price for that.for more simple operation try out the tsar from softube,as always evaluate before buying.it looks like avid dont want to change the status of d-verb as a"crap-verb",i mean eq 3 and dynamics 3 are very usable and improved in sound compared to the earlier versions,but d-verb remains unusable

[Shifted Music]

I like the sonnox reverb for adjusting small spaces and ambiences that help create a full/3d although subtle effect/sound.

I also like the IR based reverbs. I use TL space but the main thing is the IR's. I LOVE a bunch of the Lexicon IR's and many of the Bricasti ir's and there are so many IR's available (I spend a whole weekend it seems searching, downloading and adding pics and organizing a rather large IR library...) The combo of a good adjustable reverb and a ir based one is a perfect combo to me.

[JFreak]

Less is more. If every track is reverb'd, then it just becomes muddy (as in nothing is clearly in front and that means nothing is set back). In effect, this negates the real use of reverb, the reason for reverb should be making the stuff more 3D as in "something should be in-your-face and something should not".

What was already said, generally it is a good starting point to have an aux track with reverb plugin and send stuff into that one reverb.

BUT THERE ARE NO RULES !!


The more current trend is using "source" reverbs, meaning that a reverb on a track should clearly mark the track's spot on the mix. One track, one reverb, one spot. This cannot be done if the reverb algorithm itself cannot position the source properly so no freebies here. TC VSS3 and Sonnox Reverb are few such plugs that can be used, and as far as hardware is concerned, you will have to look into devices such as TC M4000, TC M6000, Lexicon M960 and apart of the M4000 these are not cheap.

Better to try the generic (aux) route first and then dive into more complex ways once you know the basics