Reverb, or reverberation, is one of the most vital elements in professional-sounding vocals. Reverb can emphasize certain emotional and tonal characters, generate intimate or expansive spaces, and make your vocal line stand out in your mix.
When you overuse or misuse reverb, it can lead to undefined and washed-out vocals which may be the opposite of what you’re after. To make sure you’re getting the best out of reverb plugins on your vocals, we’ll go through some of the best reverb techniques that you’ll want to try out in your projects.
1. Use an Aux Channel for Reverb Effects
One of the first things you’ll want to do when designing and sculpting the reverb for your vocals line is sending your vocals to an aux track with your chosen reverb plugin.
You may encounter certain audio contexts where you insert reverb directly onto your vocal track(s) and produce desirable sounds. However, an aux track for your reverb allows for a much greater degree of control, mixing, and sound design. Make sure the reverb on your aux track is set to 100% wet, and you can then blend it in with the dry (original) signal.
This is a simple step that is relatively easy to do in all audio-editing programs, and comes with the added benefit of potentially improving the performance of your DAW. If you’re having technical issues, and you’re a Logic Pro user, learn the best methods toimprove Logic Pro performance on your Mac.
In most audio projects with vocals, you want the main vocal line to sit in the front and center and remain clear throughout. Reverb can be both your greatest friend and greatest enemy in achieving this. A key technique you’re able to use to make sure your central vocal line does not get washed out is to change the pre-delay settings.
Pre-delay determines at what point the first early reflections of sound are heard over your dry signal. By adjusting the pre-delay in your reverb settings by a few milliseconds, or even seconds, you may make your dry vocals cut through your mix before the reverb effect comes in.
You should also consider the strengths ofdifferent types of reverb, so you can choose the right one for your objectives. For example, use a room reverb for an up-close and intimate feel and a plate reverb for some added punch and brightness. Remember that the trick is to combine a variety of techniques to get that polished vocal sound you’re after.
3. Use Contrasting Reverb Effects
One of the aspects of audio that people’s ears are most perceptive to are contrasts. It is partially why dynamism, variation, and movement in melodic lines or effects are generally an indicator of quality production.
Change the Decay Times
One way you can add some contrasting reverb effects to your vocal lines is to use long decay times in the breaks between lines—and shorter, drier, decay times during.
Sidechain Your Dry Vocal to Your Reverb
This method works similarly to altering decay times, but functions by ducking out the reverb effect whenever your dry vocal signal is playing. You can set it up by placing a compression plugin on your vocal track(s), and using the sidechain menu (available on most modern compressors) to select your reverb’s aux track.
Then, you’ll hear the contrast of a drier vocal signal during melodic lines, and the full force of the reverb will come out just as the vocal line falls away. You can alsouse sidechain compressionto generate pumping effects that could suit the style of your creations.
Use Two Mono Reverbs With Different Panning
Instead of having one stereo reverb (that sounds both left and right), you can try putting two mono reverbs panned left and right. This method gives your reverb effect more width, and you can control each mono reverb with greater precision.
An interesting way to use this technique is to use two different reverb types for each side; for example, a shorter plate reverb on the right and a longer hall reverb on the left. This provokes a sonic effect where the reverb seems to evolve over time across the stereo image. More importantly, this technique also preserves the clarity of your original vocals.
4. Bring Your Backing Vocals to the Back of Your Mix
As we’ve mentioned, stronger reverb effects end up moving audio signals further back in your mix. You can make full use of this when mixing your backing vocals to push them to the back. One of the reasons it is important to do this is so that your backing vocals don’t clash with your lead vocals space-wise.
Bear in mind that stronger reverb settings will wash out the articulation and wording of your backing vocals, which may be desirable or not. If you want to maintain some clarity in your backing vocals, consider EQ edits, like a low-cut filter, to carve out a distinct space in the mix for such vocals.
If you’re unsure about EQs and the frequency spectrum, you’ll benefit greatly from learninghow to use EQs to improve your audio.
5. Use EQ and Other Effects on Your Reverb
To avoid the lack of definition and washed-out effect that reverb (and the accumulation of multiple reverbs) plugins can provoke, you can place an EQ on your reverb aux channel. Then, use both a low-cut and high-cut filter. This method is a trick pioneered by Abbey Road sound engineers, and is a great way to maintain sonic clarity in your mix.
By no means should you limit yourself to only adding EQs to your reverb effects. Delays work hand-in-hand with reverb plugins to generate a sense of depth and space, and both should synchronize their delay/decay times to the tempo of your audio. Add in some compression for a tighter dynamic range (before the reverb plugin) or reverb tail (after the reverb plugin).
Experiment with combinations of distortion, modulation, saturation, gates, and more, and you can produce unique and striking reverb effects. You can also learnhow to reverse your audioand your reverb effect to add some great sounds to bridge between transitions.
6. Glue All Your Vocal Parts Together
For those of you with a tendency for multiple vocal tracks, a very beneficial technique can be sending all your vocals to one reverb plugin—on top of other diverse reverbs you may have used. This reverb functions like a glue, adding cohesion to all your vocals. It gives the impression that they relate to one another and that they were recorded in the same space.
For more ways to glue together multiple vocal lines, instrument groups, or entire mixes, learnhow to use compression plugins.
Take Your Vocals to Another Level
To get the best-sounding vocals, you need to make full use of the best reverb techniques. For more control, set up an aux channel for your reverb effects. Alter the pre-delay setting to bring your lead vocal to the front, and choose the right type of reverb.
Use contrasting reverb effects to add vitality and dynamism to your vocals, and go for stronger reverbs on your backing vocals to push them back in your mix. EQ your reverbs for added definition, and use other effects to generate unique spatial sounds. Add in some reverb that glues your vocals, and your vocals will reverberate like never before.
