Topic: Adding reverb to a dry soundboard source?

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

I started experimenting with adding a very slight amount of reverb to my matrix recordings and was wondering if anyone has any extra advice on the best way to do so.

From what I've read so far it sounds like you should add the reverb until you can hear it and then back it off a bit.

Here is an example of what I did with reverb (Soundcloud) vs. without (LMA). In this case I took the untracked matrix recording that is on the LMA and added the reverb to the entire source. Thinking I might try to just add the reverb to the SBD source only next time and leave the AUD source without the reverb (since the room already provides a little bit).

With reverb:
https://soundcloud.com/fatah-ruark-2/mike-cooley-larimer-lounge

Without:
http://archive.org/details/mikecooley2013-02-24.ck930.sbd.mix.flac16

I'm using the Waves TrueVerb plugin in Wavelab.

Here is what the TrueVerb plug in was set to for the above recording:



For reference here is the manual for TrueVerb:

http://www.waves.com/manuals/plugins/TrueVerb.pdf

[page]

I've done this, but only when I had spot mics (as I could vary the reverb by instrument). For standard 4ch mixes, I EQ the aud/sbd feeds to highlight something missing in each and then use the audience source as the reverb effect and mix it that way. Case in point, I had a super dry sbd taped in a cave, so I added a db or two of bass in the board tape and added a touch of tube/transistor excitement to just the bass, then mixed. That allowed me to get more of an excited but very "present" and controlled bass without utilizing too much of the boom of the audience recording.

[splumer]

Instead of adding reverb, couldn't you have made the mics a little louder in the mix? It seems like what you want to add is room ambience, which the mics would provide. Great sounding recording, regardless, though I was getting some static.

[cybergaloot]

Your ears are your best judge in this department. I've been mixing my own recordings on the fly from all the board channels plus my own mics and I add a little reverb on the vocals and occasionally on horns. It really depends on what I'm  hearing though. Some vocals sound better with little or no reverb, some need a fair amount. Some saxes sound fine with none, sometimes they sound dry without adding some verb. I've never felt the need to add any reverb to the rest of the instruments. I try to use a light touch on what I do add. On my board I use the plate reverb with a short initial delay before it kicks in. That short initial pause before the reverb kicks in helps it sound a little clearer. But play around with what you have available in your editor until it sounds right to you. Less is usually more but not always.

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

Instead of adding reverb, couldn't you have made the mics a little louder in the mix? It seems like what you want to add is room ambience, which the mics would provide. Great sounding recording, regardless, though I was getting some static.

In this case it was a chatty crowd so I kept the mics a little lower than normal. That plus a dry sounding board made the recording sound a little weird to me.

I think I might go back and try to experiment with some old recordings. I have a few good ones where both the board and mics sound pretty good.

[Church-Audio]

Instead of adding reverb, couldn't you have made the mics a little louder in the mix? It seems like what you want to add is room ambience, which the mics would provide. Great sounding recording, regardless, though I was getting some static.

In this case it was a chatty crowd so I kept the mics a little lower than normal. That plus a dry sounding board made the recording sound a little weird to me.

I think I might go back and try to experiment with some old recordings. I have a few good ones where both the board and mics sound pretty good.

The best way to add reverb is to think of the actual space the recording was done in. And ask your self how lively was the room. And add reverb based on that.. Anything more will make it sound really bad and artificial. Good luck. I dont think we are talking seconds here. More like MS. For reverb with a predelay that will help it get more real sounding then using the mix control. You also have to use the high and low pass filters and low reverb time and high reverb time to get the room to sound more "right then wrong" Remember think of that room you were in.