Life Without Reverb?

..and other FX. Is there? I've been drowning my sounds in FX since I started modular and I guess I went into modular because of FX. I occasionally get a comment asking to please cut down the reverb. Not so long ago I'd just think 'it's my highway so if you don't like it, go elsewhere'. But I never say it out loud. The music we love most is different for every single one of us, and mine always has FX in it. A few days ago I got another one of these comments, but it was right after I finished a session with the Serge Medusa and the VC Res EQ. No FX, all dry. And WOW, the sheer power of raw voltage just wiped me away. This video will have to wait a few more days or weeks.
I realized a few things. First, I never drown my sounds in total reverb when I make tracks. There's always an interaction between far sounds in a big space, and close/near sounds which are almost completely dry. I don''t think I shared enough examples so it would make a bit more sense to you.
But I almost never do completely dry videos. With the Serge example in the back of my mind, I may have never listened closely to my gear. It already started to dawn on me when I realized I can only make Strega sound good if I drown the thing. Then I discovered her beauty and I learned to make better patches with it.
It hasn't been easy to go completely dry and I did not succeed in this video. But I did my best and I learned a lot. I'll definitely try to find a balance in my next videos.
Have a great weekend!
R.

[@ChainsawCoffee]

Our music is electronic, and there is more than one signal path for a reverb. You can put a reverb between a VCO and an FM input, or on one of both inputs to a ring modulator. Just because it's an "effect" doesn't restrict it to the end of the signal chain. What is "resonance" but selective feedback? That "resonance" happens inside the bit we call a "filter," and a filter is basically an effect. Remember, each patch is a new instrument. We patch to create the future.

[@svetlovska]

I’m with you. My journey into Dark Ambient has been five years of listening to progressively larger reverb spaces. And I love it. :)

[@craigsurette3438]

Electronic music faces the problem that the sounds we create never inhabit their own real world acoustic space like acoustic instruments, until we amplify them with a loudspeaker. No acoustic sound is ever really dry, because the room they are played in, even if its a closet, effects the sound. Electronic "spaces" like reverb and delay devices, allow us to manipulate the usual assumptions of what a space sounds like, and tailor them and take them beyond the limits of what acoustic instruments allow. This is why i see effects as an intrinsic part of sound design, the same way water or thinner is an intrinsic part of making art by applying paint

[@Bestmann3n]

the moment you play sound on a speaker or through headphones it's "inhabited" in the real world.

[@raafmodular]

Love this video! You explain this so well!It is exactly the reason why I on regular basis try to create music with little to no effects. You do discover different paths and sounds and I started looking at some oscillators in a totally different way. Every time I create a patch there is a moment where I turn down all the effects to hear if it still sounds interesting. You also on the other hand learn the value of effects and where to put them. Varying betwen the dry wet is great (loved the Odessa patch, one day I would love to work with that oscillator). I love the dash of philosophy you always put in your videos. ❤

[@kilo_llama]

In analogy to the visual arts, I see things like reverb as a blurring, smearing or softening processing. There's a wide spectrum of hard- to soft-edged marks that can be made on a sonic canvas. In my approach to music, I often like less reverb in order to make forms with harsher, textural edges. But there's no wrong way to make sound if you're getting the sounds you want.

[@CinematicLaboratory]

Totally agree! I

[@jherekco]

Reverb is life. Sound without reverb is unnatural. I’ll never forget the sound of rock falling and ice cracking whilst standing at the Annapurna base camp, a natural amphitheatre of rock and ice, the reverb was immense…

[@kenschestok9515]

never too much reverb!! surprisingly, I think reverb (the hall of fame v1) was the last guitar pedal ever I bought over 15 years ago and realized "how did I ever live without reverb?" . ....on the other hand delay w/1 second infinite hold !!!! was the second guitar pedal I bought back in '91-92.... fast forward many years later the synths/ modular started to creep into my consciousness, but I hear you. it's never bad to push yourself to hear things raw and add to taste..it's kinda like cooking. found out my collide 4 is due to arrive around February 😢

[@GeirOpdal]

First: Please do a video on Odessa. I have been wondering about it for so long. I am an FM man by heart, but additive synthesis is also very interesting. I just have too many modules I "need" before I can buy pure "try-em-out" modules. As fo too much reverb? Well, sometimes people use way to much. I find my self using a lot less these days. But I still need "space" in my mix. Personally I feel its the end result that counts. Not what you use. When it comes to your use, I like it. Its one of the reasons I enjoy your demos. They tell the "true" story of a modul (especially vcos), since more or less _no_one_ release a track without any effect. For me the best demos is first a very short dry demo, then like yours; how will this sound in a proper mix.

[@tracyharms3548]

It’s odd how little and infrequently I have used effects. At least, relatively speaking.

[@Oystein_sandtro_music]

Thanks for a great video! Its nice to hear the raw sound of the modules! 👍

[@hobboth]

Guitar has a fret with strings which make the sound and the body to resonate and amplify the sound of strings. Synths have oscillators to make the sound and effects to enhance the sound of oscillators. I love reverb to the point when it's only fully wet blurry soundscapes. Maybe I like your channel because you like to do the same XD. But I think that oscillator "purism" is just a small niche in a vast dimensions of electronic music.

[@jonaseggen2230]

I was thinking about pianos and their predecessors that didn't have the big acoustic box. The best church organs are in big rooms..

[@CinematicLaboratory]

@@jonaseggen2230 I don't think a church organ would have the same impact without the church :)

[@justmakenoise-ww6yq]

At the beginning of my modular journey I thought FX was cheating, then I discovered Vallhalla on "Hans Zimmer's" desk. If he's "allowed" to do that, then I can do it too as a little noise maker :-) and now I love my "milky way"

[@isaacc7]

I just got my first big boy fx pedals, the Gamechanger Audio Auto series. Reverb, Delay, and Phaser. All of them have CV ins and outs for the parameters. Looking forward to getting lost in the far space lol.

[@addictive_noise]

there is a whole galaxy between clouds of reverd and dry sound, and I believe most people prefer something closer to the dry side when watching your videos because they want to focus on the modules/settings you are using instead of expecting a pleasing overall mix

[@CinematicLaboratory]

I will take this into account in future videos. I loved the more modest effects in this one and I still used tons of verb on the Mother 32 :).

[@DrDeemz80]

Was wondering if I was ever gonna see the Odessa in any of your videos, that thing is beast, I love it, was always curious to see what you would do with it

[@CinematicLaboratory]

It's definitely one of my favorite VCO's. Sofia is also a beauty. Both are completely unique in eurorack. I am still building my XAOC setup but I am expecting to do Odessa ep.01 in january.

[@DrDeemz80]

@CinematicLaboratory awesome to hear, definitely looking forward to it

[@snörre23]

@@CinematicLaboratory Looking forward to that, recently bought one after hesitating for years and could need some inspirations.

[@CinematicLaboratory]

@@snörre23 Did you also get the expander? You won't believe what will happen if you give four voices each their own modulation, pitch - or FM.

[@chromeangel]

There are those who think there is such a thing as too much reverb. Those people are wrong.

[@philaesfarewell]

A life without reverb is possible but pointless.

[@knobtechnology]

hugs you

[@DaveBenhamMusic]

I really enjoyed this video. I wonder what you would come up with combining Collide 4x4 with a Benjolin, and no effects.

[@kenswanson1093]

I love reverb. Not really ever thinking about it (other than I turn it up) .. and someone mentioning that it's a science of delays, ooo, yes .. that does sound logical. Like Beads is supposedly a 4 layer delay, .. which I really lean on.

[@ChrisMills-AmbientSpace]

Greetings, fellow space traveler.

[@greencontact]

Is it life then?

[@-umbrarium]

no wash=boredom

[@jonaseggen2230]

What is really good though, is to split the sound source where one or a pair is routed clean to a mixer, while the other maybe goes to whatever fx, but eventually to a reverb, even when the reverb has a dry wet knob. But one can get really deep and far with a modest use of reverb. But totally without reverb? Na. The modern classical piano is by many considered the best instrument, something that has much to do with it's resonating boddy. It's predecessors are very dull in comparison. Does it hurt to put reverb on a piano recording? No way.

[@Probbie]

Life without reverb!!! Are you crazy??? 😮

[@walrtbstudios5430]

I’m glad you’ve got yourself a Traigh- a superb filter, and with a greyhound on it! However, serious question: how do you get your Desmodus to sound 100% reverb and 0% delay? I’ve never been able to dial that in…

[@Bestmann3n]

I'm in the camp of people who generally don't like reverb. A little bit(if you can hear it then there's already too much of it) of mixing reverb is ok, wild/excessive reverb for deliberate sound design is also ok. Slather everything in reverb because it's gratifying? Well now you sound like every other synth tuber.

[@patricketp8356]

Not enough reverb in here!

[@10phantomrooms]

What is the FAR Space?

[@CinematicLaboratory]

Seriously?

[@10phantomrooms]

@ I mean is it a specific device with the name FAR Space or a description of the reverb you use? 🙂🤔

[@CinematicLaboratory]

@@10phantomrooms Ah, sorry, no. It's something I made up when describing the depth of a soundstage. Far sounds are dim (high end is cut off) and have ambience/space. Near sounds are dry and clear. If you mix them up, you'd get a sense of depth. There's an explanation in my Realms for Nebulae V2 video (link in video)

[@davepeachey3072]

@@CinematicLaboratory Speaking of which ... has there been any further progress towards completing/productionizing the Realms algorithm so we can try it in our own systems? Always enjoy your presentations even if, occasionally, they're a bit too esoteric for me (and give me GAS!).

[@CinematicLaboratory]

@@davepeachey3072 There's a download link on the Realms for Nebulae video and I am currently trying to get a faceplate for it. I am also negotiating with Synthux Academy to check if we can make a module. But currently, it's still a custom instrument for Nebulae V2.

[@real_anxst]

No! Next question.

[@CinematicLaboratory]

:)