AKARSH SHEKHAR
WWYD : REVERB YOUR DELAY OR DELAY YOUR REVERB
Reverb and Delay are two of the most popular time based effects used while mixing tracks . Reverbs create a sense of space . Delays create a sense of depth and placement with a more distinct sound .
Reverb Your Delay
Because delay can become part of the sound ( think of the delay washing U2 ' s The Edge uses so often ), there are times when it makes sense to put a little extra reverb on a delayed signal to push it back a bit further in the mix . My basic mixing philosophy starts with a small room that I spend almost everything in the mix through . While the tempo and style will determine the size of this room , it is typically between 300 ms and 500 ms of reverb time . I even play kick and bass a bit through this little reverb . It just helps put everything in the same space and makes the tracks feel more connected .
You could choose to use this small room to affect the frequency content of the delay signal . I can always use the tonal controls on the delay to bring out some of the top and bottom of the signal , but I may want that energy to help light up the longest reverb if I choose to also route this delay signal to my second reverb .
You can achieve this effect by putting two plug-ins inline in your DAW , as almost all of them process audio sequentially by default . The downside to this is that it ' s wasteful from a processing point of view to dedicate a reverb to one track , and you ' re applying reverb to the entire signal , not just the delay portion of the sound . While this is a subtle distinction , it can make a difference if you apply it across multiple tracks . Mud stacks up very quickly in a mix . Setting a send pair on your delay return on your mixer allows you to apply reverb only to the processed output of your delays . This can bring the center sound of your voice or guitar to the front of the mix , while everything else falls behind , giving you a sense of depth .
Delay Your Reverb
Almost all reverb plug-ins made have a control called pre-delay . The idea behind this control is exactly what it sounds like , although the words " pre " and " delay " together are an oxymoron . If something is " pre ", it comes before , and if it is " late ", it comes later . Pre-delay , in reference to reverb , means a delay that is used before the reverb starts . In the early days of recording , this was accomplished by sending the reverb to a tape machine as a delay and then sending the output of that to the echo chamber or plate . The purpose was to move the start of the reverb away from the original start of the audio that triggered it . The sound at the beginning of the processed audio is complex and quite non-linear . Most reverbs are referred to as “ early reflections ” and this is the last part of the reverb sound where individual echoes are still discernible .
Because this part of the reverb is so distinctive , having it kick in at the same time as the signal you ' re processing can be very distracting and eliminate clarity fairly quickly . The pre-delay pushes these reflections back enough that they don ' t interfere with the signal you ' re trying to enhance with a bit of reverb . UA ' s Dream Verb ( which comes with all Universal Audio interfaces ) does a great job of graphing the way the pre-delay interacts with early reflections and diffuse reverb washout , which are separate portions of the sound of a reverberation .
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