Stop Using So Much Reverb in Your Mixes!
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- Опубликовано: 16 мар 2020
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Wondering why your mix is sounding dull and muddy?
Would it surprise you to hear that I hardly use any reverb in my mixes?
Most new mixers use reverb as a massive crutch... but it’s a sneaky destroyer of mixes. I can almost instantly tell an amateur mixer by the amount of reverb that’s happening in their mix.
Using too much reverb is one of the most common reasons why your mix doesn't sound professional. So in this video I’ll show you how reverb can kill your mix, what to do instead, and the few specific areas that you SHOULD be using reverb. Sometimes it’s these simple tweaks that make the biggest differences! 
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Your mix could be improved with some reverb. Use it so that you hear its absence (when removed) rather than its presence (when added). In your mix, I hear its absence.
Me too. Vocals sound dead. They need reverb
I agree. Probably just scared to use reverb cause he doesn’t wanna mess anything up.
I feel like this also applies to other effects. I’m going to keep this in mind. Thanks!
I dont agree, reverb is a black art, I think a duck delay improves a guitar better than reverb, and the no reverb on this mix sounds clearer to me, it kind of makes them pop out. This particular genre of sound I would think is very difficult to mix.
The key thing with reverb is contrast. If you put reverb on everything, nothing sounds big. E.g. In order to make backing vocals sound thick, or snares sound fat, toms and room mics sound lively, you can add reverb, but you need tracks like kick, bass guitar, lead vocal etc. to sound dry to create contrast. And obviously EQ your reverb sends to remove the boomy resonance and any nasty highs. Just like you need a lot of dead centre panned instruments if you want your mix to sound wide. And dry sections of the song in order to make the wet sections sound bigger. Quiet sections to make the loud sections pop.
Yeah I agree. I'd use it on a bunch of gang vocals to have more depth (I never really liked it on a snare track).
Bra, dont say that... The example u showed theres no space to use reverb.
CORRECTION: use reverb if u have the space to, but dont let space limit ur creativity...
@@CherryOnToppishit’s a dense mix, frequency spectrum is already full
I’ve been thinking about this and 100% understand precisely what you are saying. In thinking about this, I could not help but feel that this approach is genre specific. For example, a melodic post-rock band like Hammock has their entire sound based around lush atmospheric reverb. A lot of their popular songs wouldn’t have worked the same without generous use of reverbs. ‘Decay’ by Counterparts is another example.. the intro wouldn’t have worked the same without substantial reverb
Right, genre specific-apply whatever amount of reverb is complementary to the song/instrumentation, youre right. May not have been what he said specifically here but I thought it was implied. Ultimately tho genre doesnt matter, if u apply too much reverb to a track in solo to the point that it muddies the mix, u fuktitup. If the mix sounds good with it, u did the right thing. Context matters.
Reverb depends on what type of music you are recording and how many instruments.
One of the biggest selling albums of all time “Van Halen 1” incorporated a lot of reverb. But it was only 3 instruments.
It was genius in the way that they recorded and mixed those tracks.
Eddie Val Halen's guitar reverb was panned right while the rest was all left sounds awesome.
@@alexrinaldi3257 dingding
I did actually like the reverbs on vocals and guitars but the drum room reverb made everything messy. I would say, that without that messy drum room reverb, the mix actually could benefit from those vocal and guitar reverbs. Just my two cents :)
Two things that ruin the mix when adding reverb on drums: too much lowmids and too much tail.
Viktore, je to hnus jak od roku 14/15 je skoro v každé písní milion tun reverbu, nedá se to poslouchat.
Always use natural reverb for drums, that’s whyJohn Bonham kit always mixed so well
@@michaelvasek3974 Yes
I think reverb sounds better because not hearing it is unnatural. So people are really trying to correct for the weirdness of not hearing any echo in a close miked source. Also a lot of guitarists go overboard on their own effects and forget that recording is a different situation and you can't just pile on the effects.
So I’m currently working on the first song I have ever recorded and mixed myself. Your videos have been a a huge help. I’m sure my mix still sounds like shit, but I feel like I skipped a bunch of early mistakes like these. Thanks for the content man. Super helpful.
You definitely got me rethinking my reverb usage! I'm excited to try and mix a bit more "dry" and hear the result. Thanks Jordan 🤘
I noticed how too much reverb creates a cloudy effect, not allowing specific layers to cut thru the mix. The difference is clear between the reverb & final track. Thanks Jordan 🤘🏼
I don’t do heavy rock, but your tutorials transcend genres. I’m applying a lot of your tips to singer/songwriter recordings. Thank you!
Yep I've been following him for years he's great!
Very cool video, I have been using reverb a bit to much, so this has helped and clarified what is good practice..Thanks Jordan
I think you can still use reverb if you're smart about it, eq it properly, keep it really subtle. Just got to not have any heavy hands with it.
Wow! This has really helped so much! I couldn't figure out why my mixes couldn't get as loud as a commercial mix even after mastering. Turns out the reverb was really messing it up! I took the reverb off the strings and vocals, including the vocal stack, and just left a small amount of delay, and it made a huge difference in the clarity of the song!
that's awesome, thanks for sharing Joel
I’ll always go with delay instead of reverb if I can hide it.
George Massenburg
Really Great vid! I get your points, as they're obviously valid. But I still like the actual sound and vibe of reverb, so I guess I have to find a healthy balance!
Hi Jordan, I can totally agree with you. The final Mix sounds way clearer. I would bet, that even if you cut all the unwanted low and high information on the reverb, it still sounds somehow crowded. One thing professionals do, they use reverb and delay and other effects with an idea in mind, and not just for the sake of it. Furthermore i would say that automating effects, is something most engineers starting out, miss out on. At least i did.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge
So good information. Beginner not know this and put reverb on really many things and think this is what there need to sound professional. In other genres deep house or 80's synth music you definitely need a lot of reverb.
When I open my current project next time, I'll take off the reverb from my piano, my two acoustic guitars and drastically reduce the reverb on my vocals, while adding delay and favouring it instead. Thank you for this video man! Subscribed.
I'm on the other side of the spectrum. I use a gang of reverb lol HOWEVER the type of music i'm trying to make is more of an old school Death metal/Deathrash metal with a lowfi type of sound. Perfect example of underground records with this type of sound would be Possessed - Seven Churches, Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness, Venom - Black Metal, Dark Angel - Darkness Descends, ect ect. It gives it this shity low budget sound but on purpose. Makes it sound like the record was recorded in a cathedral, ahhhh, I love that sound!
I would love to hear more about this because some productions I absolutely love, especially in power metal or symphonic metal genre they put tons of reverbs but still sounding professional and huge.
By the way, I think without drum reverbs and with high passing the reverb your mix here could be not too bad with just a touch of reverb. I think this is more like your preference.
It really depends on the style. Even when you imagine how a certain style sounds in your head you hear Pop-puck kinda closer and less spacious then Symphonic or Power metal. Symphonic metal is also based on orchestral sound and you never hear an orchestra without reverb cause it's perfomed in large halls.
@@Revontuletbanda lot symphonic metal even without actual real orchestras are very wet sounding but still clear enough. Take any Nightwish album like Wishmaster or Oceanborn before they included orchestra. To me even the guitars sound kinda wet.
half your videos seem to be about bad habits I personally have, ones which I worked to develop based on bad advice! so I really appreciate hearing this from someone who grew past that.
Absolutely love this example ! Makes total sense, thx for sharing 🤘🤘
Cries in Shoegaze
These are the awesome and seemingly obvious tips that really elevates my recordings -and why I subscribed to this channel
Pretty much learned everything worth mentioning on this channel. And ofcourse the "don't be a pussy" mantra as far as eq moves go :D
I notice the OH riding, please make a video on that! It's the kind of pro trick I'd like to know more about. Thanks a lot.
Dude, I love your work, please keep this up..👍👍
my congratulations, I learn a lot with your videos, I would like to know if you have any videos dedicated to talking about drum effects?
As long as you keep in mind what the reverb is for, and if it gets you want you need, you're fine! But it for sure isn't magic sprinkles!
It's more about this particular mix and this particular reverbs. It's clearly "in your face" style pop-punk and you really need that clarity here. However, you definitely can keep that reverb on your lead guitas without destroying your mix and add another drum reverb without destroying your drums (the one that makes them a little bit bigger).
I see this video like: "Okay, here's a mix that don't need a big amount of reverb. Let's do some reverb tweaks that I never going to do with a mix like this and hear that it sounds bad"
Great video. I usually only use reverb on snare , drum room mics ( I have a small room) , and sometimes Lead guitar. But , yeah , the trick is , not to crazy with it.
There's no rules...
I would love to see what you do with delays instead of reverb for your mixes. Obviously more of the modern records out now have a lot of room going on especially with the drum mixes.
I wanted to type 'start using delay in the song's timing' at like 9 minutes in..;) And the you said it.
Always great advice. Love your vids.
Thanks buddy! Love your video s and mindset on reverb and delays. I get into a lot of conversations and discussions with that haha :D
Cheers keep it up - love watching ya!
but hey: what are the main reverbs you like to use?
Man, I love your advice.... very real stuff to me!
I too don't use a lot of reverb. I don't really now why and my decisions are not really well educated decisions but just based off what I'm feeling like. Plus, I like that it forces me to focus on playing more cleanly.
Also, I read on the internet that reverb can cause some sort of phase issues? Is this true?
wow - I totally hear it - can you make a delay video which you prefer and where (your usual deal)
Crazy underrated channel
Interesting, I somehow see it as the opposite. Beginners don't use reverb at all and it makes the mix flat, dry and lifeless.
It was one of my mistakes for the longest time.
Reverb, together with EQ, puts sounds further back or closer to the listener. Therefore using it can make the mix layered and "3D".
Contrary to your last point, when I listen to reference tracks, they all use heavily more reverb than I do.
It feels weird to use that much, but in the end it probably makes it the most life-like and grand. Gives it that bigger-than-life feel.
It depends on the genre. On a pop-punk song it doesn't really make sense, the tail of the reverb would definitely blur with the attack of the following word.
You should hear early Slayer. Shit tons of ambiance and over saturated reverb until Andy Wallace came along and did Reign in Blood and took a lot of the ambiance reverb away and mixed only with hints of it in the mid 80s. You should also hear Death with the album “Scream Bloody Gore.”
can you please put up a tutorial on how to mix programmed drums? I can't find any tutorial on RUclips.
thank you so much for sharing your precious experience!
What’s your option on keeping everything dry then using a send to add reverb to all your synth layers?
So we put reverb to soften off the edges. Especially on vocals - Lead and backs. Apart from delay, what do you do to vocals to round it out a bit?
Depends on what type of music you are producing mixing etc, if I use reverb its sparingly and at a beat synced time. my verb is also eqed.
What about Devin Townsend or David Maxim Micic? They sound pro yet reverb seems to be all over the place on vocals, keys, even distorted guitars.
I realize I'm kind of off topic but do anybody know a good site to watch newly released movies online?
@Jamie Matthias flixportal =)
@Carson Adrien Thanks, signed up and it seems like a nice service :D Appreciate it !!
@Jamie Matthias Glad I could help xD
Thanks for saying that they sound very professional even drenched in verb same with plini and owane too their mixes sound amazing! I would just put it on a send eq the lowes and highs a bit and use a little less than what's natural
I read that Eddie Vedder hated the "far away" reverb sound on "Ten", I love it.
That was exactly my problem, thanks!
This is great advice for certain types of rock music
Lots of people need to hear this
I clicked on this vid and there isn’t a long list of a bunch of recommendations which is cool
I often put a touch of reverb, with predelay to make room for the transients, on almost everything in my largely acoustic music, to make the instruments sound more resonant, more "expensive", better quality than they are. For example, my relatively cheap ukulele sounds quite lovely with just a touch reverb. With subtle reverb, it sounds what I imagine a full solid body Uke would sound like. Once the mix sounds like I added reverb, I back it off a bit. In general, I like my mixes to sound fairly dry, but still lush. In other words, I like to add reverb to enhance the quality of the instruments, but low enough so the listener barely notices if at all that I've added it. A great free reverb for this purpose is AnwidaSoft Spatio Lite. Probably my favorite free one.
Yeah in acoustic music there's a point, especially if it is at a slow tempo.
Don’t use reverb as a crutch is solved by making the mix good beofre you add fx. Reverbs and delays are great if you know how to use them, eq them, mix them together, etc. Good use of reverbs and delays is actually a signature of many professional mixes.
I dont put too much reverb on my vocals just a bit reverb is okey on the drums i like to be as dry as possible
EQ and/or compress the reverb and it won't sound blanketed when it hits the limiter. It's all to taste too much is annoying but not enough is dry and boring.
Anybody tell me, why almost everybody is using too much of reverb in music since 2014/15? Why?
as far as the guitars go, also being a guitar player. I will use the reverb that comes with my amp, you would be blowen away how well it works! I also have a reverb tank from fender that works well. the verb that comes with a fender, or marshal works. BUT yes do not over do it.
I almost always overuse reverb,but i am aware of this mistake of mine,so lately i send all my reverbs to one group bus. At the end of mixing i can turn off all the shit i made,or i can turn down the fader
Spot on!
What about toms?
I remember the 80s when Clearmountain and Hugh Padgham used those giant gated snare drum. You couldn’t hear anything but that damn drum. Many hits had this and even more reverb especially certain genres like gothy stuff or My Bloody Valentine kind of thing. Of course the early REM
Records had too much reverb because perhaps Mike Stipe didn’t like his voice. It was that Indy sound. And even early in the 60s the vocal was often buried. Maybe in opposition to getting a radio pop sound and going for something more experimental. Suddenly in the 90s era of earnest singer songwriters reverb disappeared. And vocals were bone dry. Suzanne Vega and others in that zone sounded close and intimate without reverb. A backlash to groups like Heart who had cavernous vocals. If you go back to the fifties many engineers employed a slap back echo from a homemade chamber. buddy Holly Elvis P and later Robert that effect to hark back to the rockabilly era….just some random thoughts. Although I do love a big plate on a classic ballad by Frank Sinatra or Tony Bennett. Listen to the work of Al Schmidt for classy old school soft verb.
I'm a "professional" live engineer, but an "amateur" studio engineer. Given that perspective, I think that *your* mix sounds better without that reverb. If I were doing 150bpm pop punk with kick and snare hits every 200ms, I'd do what you did (but maybe keep some of the verb on the vocal).
I love this channel and it's full of great advice, but this is definitely a video to take with a grain of salt. My advice? Ask yourself "do I really NEED that reverb? And does it need to be that long?" more often, and you'll get a bigger, cleaner, and maybe even wider mix.
"does it need to be that long" was a key moment for me in music production. I ask that question every time I add reverb to anything.
I like using reverbs to swell in and melt transitions on certain guitar or string tracks.
I was not surprised, as I had heard of this idea before, but I did not really trust it, but , maybe I do a little more now hahaha
Devin Townsend would like to have a word with you... haha
Agreed! I feel like there is wayyyy too much of this going on with the vocals of modern mainstream pop music. Makes me sea sick whenever I’m in an Uber. Sounds unnatural and over compensating to me. 🤷♂️😂
I need all that reverb to cover up my mistakes... Lol... 🙂
Why does bit sound like we are listening to Sum 41?
I agree that too much reverb can ruin your beats. It's all about the balance. It seems to be easy, but it comes with an experience and analysis on how music is produced. For example you can make completely dry beat but if you add wet vocal to it, highly probable it will much perfectly. But it's learning, it's time and it's effort that you put in getting better at making music. It would be a joke if i said control your reverb and your music will sound good. It's just one sentence. There are many different factors that makes your music good or bad. Knowledge comes with time in the end.
And you didn't eq your verb that's why its messy but especially on the vocal it sounded way better with the verb
what u use reverb on vocal???
which ?=)
Hey man great tip on reverb i also did a reverb video on my channel also a few weeks ago keep up the great work man and keep making great music
Yeah.. but imagine a guitar and vocal situation. Strumming thing. And a just pretty loud vocal. A nice short verb is nice to close in on the vocals almost, and splash back into Dry Mix. That’s even more pro. Overuse of reverb is obviously obnoxious and will obviously cloud a mix. But the effect it can lead. And a depth it reaches is just another piece of the puzzle in my world.
How does a song w a lot of reverb sound clean and upfront?
Use pre-delay
Pre-delay, high pass, and don't be afraid to compress your verbs!
My mixes always sound very lively and full of energy. They sound phenomenal in my studio at home but, play them on itty bitty iPhone speakers and they sound like crap. So many people I talk to think they should remix all of the old Motown songs. I would imagine they would say the same about the Wall of Sound.
One thing that stuck out about mixing was that using small speakers was better because when a mix sounds good on a small one like a cheap boom box it will sound better on big and higher end speakers.
I understand what you're saying and your mixes sound really good. My one concern with this is that verb is a lot more prevalent in Hiphop and Pop, not necessarily to make things sit in the mix, but as a creative effect. Similar to Autotune used by people like Uzi Vert, Travis Scott and so on. This (Verb) applies to a few Taylor Swift, The weekend, Troye Sivan (and similar artists) tracks as well.
What are your thoughts on this?
Reverb is coming back in pop I think. His idea that it's amateur to use reverb must be genre specific. Although this video is also 3 years old.
@@cl9826 in his video about the noob mistakes specifies that this tip is mainly for rock/punk/metal producers
No. I like reverb! In fact, I'd say your song there would sound a lot better with some reverb on it, especially the vocals!
i guess i don't feel as weird for almost never using reverb. gated reverb on snares, occasionally on lead guitars after a delay to give it some wash. almost never on vocals. i track my background and harmony vocals at a greater distance to pull them back.
By recording vocals further away you're basically using the natural reverb of the room, instead of adding it later.
@@GG-ow3ke I mean my booth is pretty dead. It’s more about proximity effect and less directional sibilants.
Reverb is one thing you don't discuss much on youtube. You have a zillion compression examples though. I'd like to see a video on reverb use on drums.
This video made me think; most of the time there actually isn't reverb on the rhythm guitars. It's hard to accept because every time I perform live I always have a decent amount of reverb on the guitars. I don't know about no reverbs on leads though 🤔(I think the key here is to have it "duck")
I'm not disagreeing for this song. But the style of music needs to be considered. Shoegazey type rock often adds reverb while tracking or in post. Often the guitars or vocals are using verb like an instrument.
Man, my problem is, I don't have the proper ears for proper mixing. I noticed a difference but, very little. :(
Stuff it, I play surf guitar! :D
On a serious note: Great advice. Then again, I do actually play surf guitar :-)
I’m no professional, but I instinctively ditched reverb years ago. I get plenty of glue from the drum room alone.
It just ‘smudges’ anything that’s even moderately fast, and totally ruins the in-your-face-ness of metal.
Other genres, sure but not modern metal!
To be fair, you didn't filter out any lows (or highs) on the verbs which is a must. I think the result would be a lot better without all those lows in the verbs.
Some reverbs sound very good at low frequency though. Like lexicon reverb (uad or hardware) and some of eventide reverbs.
@@izvarzone Fair enough, but only if the source is lacking it imo. If your dry track is already full and with enough low end, you're just eating up headroom down there that the kick and bass could be utilizing.
I'm probably what you're referring to, but only use it on snare and toms just to beef them up a little
Nahhhh, your mixes are getting better every day!
@@ChernobylAudio666 thanks buddy much appreciated 😁🤘🧙♂️🤘
How would you use reverb if you want a mix sounding similar to Thornhill's latest record? It sounds very ambient, maybe a reverb at 10-15% wet on the master channel?
you never put reverb on the master channel
Yeah, use a reverb fx channel, and send different tracks at different volumes so you get the feel of 1 space, yet the tracks that need to be drier than other can remain drier
I do think this video helped me with perspective about my reverb useage. But I'm skeptical about the level of demonization of reverb here. Those reverbs you added did cloud things, but they also helped things. They added things I liked and things I didn't. Perhaps a lot more could be controlled if you did what a lot of people do and hipassed the reverb, even as high as something like 400hz. And maybe also lopass it. Really hone in on reverb instead of just sending all that reverb information indiscriminately. Thoughts anyone?
Absolutely agree, but i mean he does primarily hc/metal/rock stuff where there is often not really any reason nor space to send all rhythm guitars through your verb. Basically just automate it in the intro maybe bridge and outro and done lol. On drums ambiance is the holy grail but usually very hard to get through using reverb plugins. Room mics are godly if you can do it.
I have converted to this thinking a lot more lately. Delays instead of reverbs. Or nothing instead of reverbs. Except for drums where like you say, ambiance is the holy grail there. I do find it is making a better difference to lean away from reverb and use it sparingly in spots rather than with the mindset of "every track shares a space through these reverbs I set up."
In the specific case of this song, I would argue reverb is not very needed. But try doing that on a U2 or Pink Floyd tune, and the result may be quite bland.
I actually like the mix with the reverb. Is another style of production but not sound at all.
To me it seems that using verb is a matter of taste and preference. i don't think it ruins the mix necessarily. If used improperly then yes. I don't think it's amateur if it's used correctly. When I listen to some modern mixes, the band doesn't sound like they are in the same room. Adding reverb helps that. Delay does too. So do what you like. Just don't over do it.
I think the one thing I didn't like about a lot of Oldies - especially 1960s rock songs was that they were drenched in reverb which made them sound watered down like the video was talking about.
Really depends on the song and genre. This music you're mixing here is extemely busy already, there isn't any space for reverb. Contrast this with an "Adele" type ballad with a light piano, acoustic guitar and MAYBE a bass instrument of some sort....you better have reverb and delays on hand and lots of it, at least working in and out of the mix...or you WILL be laughed off the stage. Lots of chill EDM is swimming in a sea of reverb these days, and it sounds correct....for the song/feel.
Reverb is a tool, not an enemy. Learning when and how much to use it is part of the art of mixing.
Great advice as oalways, but ow can you hear ANY reverb in music as a whole that just slams the transients? Music like this has little or no room for ambience. There is no space. Individual tracks sound like there is reverb on them, and as soon as they are un-soloed they are lost in the wash of the slammed wave form of transients smashed together.
The best example you could have given is on a song that has ACTUAL space. Such as a slower tempo/ less gain-y guitars, and and a very good emotive vocalist.
Selection of Subtitles Please,
thanks ... ...
kisses for you
That's why the lead guitar and the lead vocal sound dryer than a popcorn fart I use reverb on a lot of things in my mix the trick is to eq your verb maybe side chain it and use a little less than what's natural to you
I mean. what your saying aint wrong. but u do know u can shorten reverb? that's one hell of a long tail you got going. I left reverb behind along time ago. Its room Emulations and slap Delays that get my attention. But again I must say. any reverb over a 1second does not belong anywhere near rock music unless your Devin Townsend. Also Ducking, predelay and even dynamic EQ can get reverb out the way to still have that cut.
There is nothing as „amateur“ mixing. Its all about taste, hype and how the crowd repsonse to the sound that u have created
there is such thing as amateur mixing
the mix got better with the reverb
So CLA is a amateur mixer then.