Introduction to Music Production Fran Jurado

Reverb Types

Hello, classmates:

My name is Fran Jurado, I'm from Ibiza (Balearic Islands) but nowadays I'm living in

Barcelona due to complete my studies in Theory of Literature, but I love music and I'm interested in

music production to know more things about it and share it with you. In this assignment I'm going

to talk about the different common types of reverbs that are used to create tones or mixing.

The reverb types are designed for use in a different ways such as locating an instrument in

the mix, build environments or create ringtones, etc. although they share the basic principle of the

reverbs: produce a slight sound permanence once the original source has stopped to issue it to

simulate the sound phenomenon caused by the reflection of waves in a certain space. A certain type

of reverb can be useful for a particular use but the decision of what use is most useful depends on

the person who is mixing, however it is useful to know the different nuances that each reverb

introduce into the signal so that we can decide how we want to apply the reverb. Here I make a brief

summary of how some of the best known reverbs work:

Hall reverb type:

This is one of the best known and used reverbs and its basic principle is to simulate the

reverb effect produced by a large room and is typically used to add a three dimensional effect to the

mix because they tend to fill the back of the mixture, adding depth without saturating the

foreground. It is recommended to use a short hall reverb in a mixture with few elements or slow

sounds as it provides a diffuse effect that adds depth and breadth to the track.

Room reverb type:

The room reverb is similar to hall because is also designed to simulate the natural sound of

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Introduction to Music Production Fran Jurado

an acoustic space, but the room is a smaller space where sound reflections are faster than in the

halls, less bright and faster decay. This type of reverb is recommended to add realism to recorded

instruments with a very close microphone position or directly recorded to the sound interface, so the

guitars and digital drum are good candidates for these reverbs.

Plate reverb type:

The reverb plate simulate one of the first methods for generating reverb based on transmit

sound through a metal sheet to resonate. The reverb plate work similarly to the reverb hall, although

the sound is usually denser and flatter, as if in two dimensions. The reverb plate are useful for

adding length and size to a sound without it away because it just adds depth, such as add some

power to a snare or kick too weak.

Spring reverb type:

The spring reverb simulate a method that is used commonly on guitar amplifiers by injecting

metal springs sound and letting it reverberate. The Spring reverb are useful in individual

instruments rather than complete mixes, or batteries or voices because the sound is not smooth.

Used in guitars it can add a twangy bounce and liveliness and electric pianos and organs can add

a classic sound (vintage) of depth and dimension.

Reverse reverb type:

The reverse reverb is the sound of the reverb backwards, so that the effect of the reverb

instead of starting with the original sound to fade, it starts with a silence and gradually becomes

stronger until the original sound is heard. This reverb is not based on any sound in reality and is

useful for special effects like voices of demons or creating unusual environments.

Convolution reverb type:

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Introduction to Music Production Fran Jurado

The convolution reverbs are a type of reverb using samples (also called "pulse") of real

acoustic spaces. These reverbs can produce a particular realistic "snapshot", but often have limited

ability to modify the parameters of the sample acoustic space. The convolution reverb is useful for

films to create the illusion of a particular acoustic space.

Convolution reverb type:

An algorithmic reverb is a type of reverb that is calculated in real time and usually have

modulation effects. These usually have many parameters, making it very flexible and versatile and

is useful for mixing instruments because they offer more subtle sounds and can be adapted to a mix

in a very specific way.

I hope this article is useful and if you see any errors will be happy to correct or expand my

knowledge on this topic with your contributions, thank you.

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