Reverb: What you NEED to know

Everything you need to know about reverb, how it works and how to use it. Composer Guy Michelmore looks at convolution vs algorithmic reverb, insert vs bussed based, the most important controls and demonstrates some of the leading plugins. Links to the reverbs below.
Check out Guy’s "How to Write Music" course!
Download our FREE guide: thinkspaceeducation.com/htwm/
- - - - How To Write Music - - - -
How To Write Music explores the fundamental skills that underpin every great piece of music whether it’s a song or a film score, string quartet or video game sounds track.
Check out the free guide here to get you started: thinkspaceeducation.com/htwm-yt1/
www.liquidsonics.com/
www.audioease.com/altiverb/
www.soundsonline.com/spaces-II
lexiconpro.com/en/products/pcm-native-reverb-plug-in-bundle
www.waves.com/plugins/ir-l-convolution-reverb
valhalladsp.com/

[@elektronnoise729]

A thing which could be mentioned and something I always do is to put a 100% wet reverb or echo on a parallel bus and mix it ever so slightly in. This mimics the dry/wet effect but you are able to EQ and even compress reverb or chain other effects. It' s pretty nice to have reverb without low end frequencies and there is much more free space in room for your original sound source.

[@tnbee]

thanks a lot! I learn about convolution reverb from this video! 😅

[@bobcarwell9172]

Thanks ! Would love a video on how to blend and combine libraries generated from different sound stages or rooms with differing reverb characteristics.

[@rustamh7675]

Da Guy is the most needed topic, the most in demand for our music business. I am looking forward to your advice.

[@zelly8163]

Guy you are such a good teacher thank you again.

[@MarcoAndKati]

I've just got Cinematic Rooms recently, and I am blown away by its sound! A must have !

[@leonardinno5719]

Always a good source of inspiration 👍🏻👍🏻very good

[@ladysteinberg565]

This tutorial was just what I was looking for.... I have a really powerful computer yet on some projects the computer crashed and stuttered and cracked.. I was that person putting fx on each instrument 😳.... watching this and following your guide it’s cured.... my processor is happy 😃 .Very very informative thanks.

[@abagatelle]

Remember the reverb tail at the end of Pearl & Dean cinema ads? Brilliant!

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

Oh that dates you!

[@abagatelle]

@@ThinkSpaceEducation but they changed it slightly after revamping the brand. Not as good as the original though. I think there might even be a Pearl & Dean Reverb Tail Fan Club!

[@steveperrett9395]

@@abagatelle Pearl & Dean Reverb Tail Fan Club!? Hahahahaha! Brilliant! :D

[@falkemusic4423]

Glad to see you giving Cinematic Rooms some love. I did not know about it until relatively recently and never was satisfied with the usual entry-point suspects (Valhalla, Spaces, etc.). It looks like CR is going to be my go-to one, at least for some time now, for it seems incredibly clear and quite beautiful in the way it produces reflections etc. I have not yet found any other reverb coming close to it at that price point. I also love MIR, but that is a bit out of my price range for now.

[@spiralfirst6488]

A subject that seems to be left behind but is very important. I have learned much today thank you GM.

[@DJLA]

Hey man the quality of your camera at the start is crunchy. My image looks like that if I have my DSLR outputing HDMI but when its in a 'photo mode' (like manual mode) in order to put out the full signal the camera should be in a movie mode. I could be totally wrong on that, but thats exactly how my image looks when I do that on my ones!

[@Nightmoore]

I think he just has it so dark in there, his camera is increasing the ISO a ton to compensate. That will introduce plenty of noise.

[@DJLA]

@@Nightmoore it’s a different kind of noise. Bumping iso wouldnt make those jagged kind of edges in the image, usually using hdmi out when in a photo mode has this exact look. Changing the camera to movie mode changes the hdmi output to a higher resolution.

[@andy-frost]

Great video Guy. Thanks for all of your tips and tricks. Reverb is such an in depth subject.

[@paulgrooveside2803]

Excellent explanation and demonstrations thanks, Guy.

[@c-m-laurin-lenschow]

Exactly the kind of video I was looking for - thank you!

[@courtlaw1]

As usual thank you for getting this content out to us. I was talking to another fan of yours the other day and we both agreed if you were making these videos in the 80's you would easily have been on PBS in America. In the United States PBS is one of the greatest television stations ever created.

[@TresSeaver]

"That gorgeous, washy sound" -- what Christian Henson calls "a bit of splosh".

[@I_am_Angerer]

Haha oh my. I love Christian's understatements. His humour is as dry as the Gobi desert

[@alontrigger]

Great video, thanks, Guy!

[@brianwellscomposer]

Native Instruments also has a nice algorithmic reverb called Raum. Plenty of toys.

[@InfiniteConstellations]

I love Raum so much

[@DarkSideofSynth]

Raum is great and it was also free when it came out

[@joegrint6280]

Yep Raum is amazing - I got it for free as well!

[@mistral-unizion-music]

Valhalla Supermassive is also a great free one.

[@curiouscatlabinc5035]

C'mon Guy??? Not as much of even a honorable mention of the reverbs that comes FREE in Cubase. Revelation and my personal favorite Reverence are algo and convo verbs respectively and they sound just as great as most you have to pay for. In Reverence you can import your own impulses and have all sorts of fun, including making the impulse lonnger and manipulate it in many ways. You are of course planning to make a separate video about the bundled reverbs of Cubase, am I right? Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you! :D Speaking of honorable mentions in Cubase reverbs we can't overlook RoomWorks and setting it to max "efficiency" and turning the whole thing into a lo-fi wonderland no-go zone for proper reverbs and delays. Only in Cubase!

[@sundogstudio1]

Thanks so much for this quick "verb" primer, Guy. Just what I needed right now. I'm in the process of mixing down some home recorded sax music and have been a bit confused on how to do reverb without going over the top. I'm using the built in reverb in Cubase. Basic but does the trick.

[@andrewd6236]

Ah thankyou Guy for gracing my recommendations once again! I am preparing the popcorn 🍿

[@jurgenschuler8389]

That's the first time, I'm bewildered by one of your videos, because my experiences with convolution and algorithmic reverb is the opposite. I have some algorithmic reverb plugins, a small number of which can overload my CPU with a small buffer size, while I can use as many convolution reverb plugins in any session.

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

Hmm interesting. It maybe specific to each plugin then more than the tech

[@anatomicallymodernhuman5175]

Yep. There are light and heavy CPU plugins of both varieties. I think that algorithmic comprise both the very lightest and very heaviest.

[@steveripley1330]

Excellent as Always. Happy New Year Guy!

[@gosia8295]

I'm in love with this channel

[@RedimAmeti]

Guy’s comments section is one of my favourite on KZbin

[@DaveDickens]

Thanks Guy, really helpful. I do like the very atmospheric sounds that you got with the Cinematic rooms on your lockdown challenge video. Cheers Dave

[@raymondspagnuolo8222]

Very helpful! Thanks for posting!

[@joegrint6280]

That was really useful Guy - thank you!

[@matthew.wilson]

The one case I can think of where you wouldn't want a bus reverb would be the aforementioned surround case. Imagine a conductor in the middle of an orchestra or large choir - the sound from each instrument or voice follows a very different path to get to each ear (and those paths are what reverb simulates). But that's an extremely niche use case and, if you really need it, you'll probably be looking at doing a bunch of freezing/individual rendering to get it to work. Besides those phasing issues.

[@jamescalvey5273]

Interesting and ridiculously informative as always, thank you!

[@AKAtAGG]

Lockdown is incredibly frustrating, but it DOES give me way more time to watch loads of GM videos, which can only be a good thing.

[@MrJessebo]

I love your stuff. Listen on my morning commuteand it's brilliant! Might i suggest or, erm request a bit of compassion and catch those peaks and raise the quiet bits on your speaking track? Pretty please with sugar on top?

[@MrJessebo]

Sometimes I find it's difficult to hear it all and I have to turn it up and then WHAM it hits my speakers pretty hard

[@counterpoint1014]

Hi, Guy. Thanks for this convolution vs algorithmic reverb explanation. Cinematic Rooms looks enticing for reverb. I was also wondering about VSL Mir Pro. Do you have any experience with VSL Mir Pro? I ask about that because I love the idea of arranging instruments in visually-oriented space. Thanks.

[@-sui-]

One more important usage of reverb is spatial placement (front to back) of instruments, and then of course there's the nuclear option for convolution reverb for orchestral music: Vienna MIR. It does reverb and spatial instrument placement at the same time, so if you have decently dry samples you can set up your orchestra seating however you want with minimal effort. To be fair many people don't need that and will be happy with standard seatings and never try to re-pan their libraries. But if you are like me and really want that German seating then MIR is just so much easier than fiddling with panners and reverbs to get everything sitting correctly left to right and front to back.

[@bensokol-composer1859]

Poor Guy. I think the lockdown is getting to him. in all seriousness though, I thoroughly enjoy watching your videos, especially if I am hitting a lull in motivation to continue learning about and creating music. Also, I purchased your Music Theory short course on ThinkSpace Education, and have been enjoying that immensely as well. Thank you for your constant stream of advice and energetic teaching methods!

[@lanteilawson]

I have been following n watching almost all ur video. I noticed u have a pure talent for voice acting. Are u in that line of business. If yes pls n pls take us through a professional voiceover production.

[@Szymanski-Composer]

A very good explanation! Bests!

[@chrisw1462]

Melda Productions has a wonderful multi-band convolution reverb - a limited free version and a $60 full version. It lets you sculpt the Impulse Response and you can record your own IR in the plugin load an IR file in several audio formats. Like most of Melda's effects, the amount of control you get in the full version is amazing - probably overwhelming for beginners.

[@DEADLINETV]

Although I loved getting NI’s Raum for free, it is Arturia’s REV Intensity I use almost all of the time this days! It has some great modulation options, sounds really good and is CPU efficient! Great video Guy, learned a lot!

[@LindaMissad]

so helpful, thanks, Guy

[@bookstuart]

Thanks for the overview Guy. Btw I built a spring reverb into my PE synthesiser in the 70s, it’s still around here somewhere..

[@Livingstone1138]

Another honorable mention would be Virtual Sound Stage in my opinion, especially for orchestral tracks. It gives you a convolution verb which is automatically sidechained on bus for all the instances chosen, and takes care of the positioning of each instrument on a stage. Helped my mixing a lot in many cases.

[@minder01]

Putting this here: Do not buy VSS. It hasn’t had support for a year and is a dead product.

[@Clapstain]

Another bonus to using algorithmic reverb is file size, some of the impulse response libraries are very large. Regardless cinematic rooms is my go to just because it sounds so magical.

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

Keep in mind that impulse responses are just regular audio files. That means any audio file can potentially be used as an impulse response.

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

Exactly - I mentiont that near the end

[@elliotr9095]

Indeed, like a piano through a guitar strum, or a rimshot, or an anvil whack, etc...

[@TogerFimreite]

It's amazing! When I am struggeling or venturinging into new aeria of learning within music, Guy Michaelmore publish a video about it. I should perhaps change my passwords... 🤔 Thanks Guy! Love your videos!

[@NeverduskX]

ExponentialAudio's Nimbus and R4 reverbs are currently on massive sales. From what I understand, Nimbus is a top-tier plugin for realistic reverb while R4 is famous for experimental character reverbs. Both are algorithmic but have excellent quality. The sale ends tomorrow though.

[@davmar9923]

Spring reverbs were commonly used as guitar FX in the 60's and 70's and would be useful in replicating period sounds.

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

And that sound when you dropped them....

[@andyangyh]

@@ThinkSpaceEducation Or when someone walked heavily across the stage and the whole thing went..."BOING!"

[@stutty1400]

And still used now :)

[@Zer0Spinn]

There's a video called "Sounds inside a nuclear power plant cooling tower" where you can hear reverb in action in a pretty cool way. The tower is so big that your brain has enough time to count each early reflection for about a second, then they start to overlap and turn into the reverb tail. You even notice the pre-delay and the bit of phasing due to the position of the camera.

[@AlienObserverMusic]

Oh wow that was great. I did some classes on acoustics in uni and we had to record impulse responses and analyze them, it was great. Thank you for the video recommendation, it was awesome, watched it like 30 times already. I always clap when Im in a tunnel or something where there are clear early reflections, it's so satisfying!

[@Zer0Spinn]

@@AlienObserverMusic Glad you liked it. I would love to get an impulse response of that place hahaha

[@yadinmichaeli12]

Oh great tutorial thank you very much😊

[@gitaar70]

Guy you're great!

[@paulmarriott7683]

Thank you Guy, really useful content. I've been trying to work out the theory of using two reverbs for a while for my orchestral compositions. So, I'm going to try what you mentioned with the convolution reverb for placing the instrument in the room and then, couple with the algorithmic for the washy wonders. I assume for orchestral compositions, you use the same setup across all instruments so that they all sound like they're in the same place?

[@actualizedanimal]

Thanks a lot for this video, Guy. The stuff about busses and diffusion was very illuminating. Although you said that some of these plugins were expensive, I wasn't expecting some of them to cost well over $600... I think I'll probably just stick to my DAW's default reverb plugin, ha ha. (Or whatever reverb effects the VST instruments I'm using have.)

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

Pro kit like CR and altiverb comes with that price tag. If you do this for a living and use reverb all day its a no brainer but there are great inexpensive alternatives

[@LBJedi]

Thanks for the tutorial Guy: very helpful! One quick question: if you’re using a library that was recorded in a space like Spitfire’s Abbey Road One for example, would you skip the convolution reverb because the sample is already placed in the room?

[@iwannadance3070]

I see. I click. I watch. I like. Same procedure as everytime when guy uploads a video

[@bookstuart]

Me thinks someone else that has a tradition on Silvester 🤔

[@alexsandroaraujofreitas5145]

Thanks for the video Guy!! Did you ever tried the MIR PRO? If not, could you please try it once comparing with Altiverb? Thanks in advance. Cheers Alex

[@hapticfabric5925]

I've never worked out how to use the send/buss reverb when bouncing stems or individual tracks for later mixing. If I bounced each stem or track individually along with the output from the reverb send channel, and then mix them together afterwards, is it the same as bouncing each one dry and then mixing together after with them all going through the reverb channel at the same time? Or does the reverb need to be used only once.

[@TheGuitartwanger]

Great video, as always. I think it’s time to patch your old Lexicon 300 in Guy 🙂

[@bryzalpha]

Can we have a video about legato please? Having a hard time finding a good legato. (Although I'll admit I'm quite picky.)

[@jarthur7135]

Hi Guy ! I realize this video is a bit old, but I watch your videos when I can to try and learn something new. Do you personally use the in house reverb provided by Cubase? Like room works ?

[@ernestebell1735]

I own East West's Hollywood Orchestra, and it has a built in reverb for a variety of halls. I'm guessing that Spitfire and other libraries also have reverb options. My question is: If I want to use different libraries for different orchestral sections (CineSamples for percussion, Spitfire for strings, and EWQL for winds, for example) within the same piece, is it best practice to use the "dry" option on everything, and then run them all through a single bus with reverb, or will using the built in reverbs together work?

[@bryangl1]

Good as usual, but apparently recorded during a power shortage. Ecomisng on lighting, Guy?

[@peacefulpigeon7254]

Have you used fab filter pro R ? Any thoughts on this as a versatile reverb plug in thanks

[@jeremiahlyleseditor437]

Supermassive is another good one Hotto Spring Reverb is free, sounds OK

[@TheGuitartwanger]

...and it’s free too !

[@Zer0Spinn]

Is supermassive worth it if you own the vintage verb already?

[@TheGuitartwanger]

@@Zer0Spinn I think so , yeah. It’s free so you have nothing to loose giving it a try

[@Am6-9]

Supermassive and VintageVerb are completely different.

[@TheGuitartwanger]

@@Am6-9Absolutely. In fact , these two are really the only plugins i use reverb wise - i still use mainly hardware

[@tvanya]

It is over a year ago you made this video, so you may not even look at comments on this any more. However, if you do, I wish to ask your opinion using dry and wet reverb settings to place a group of instruments on the stage, putting dry samples closer and wet samples farther from the audience.

[@Rockhopper1]

thank you really struggled with reverb

[@chillingFriend]

Cheers! What are your thòughts on the cubase stock reverbs? How to they compare to those from the video?

[@geoffreycartry8258]

Hey great video again but why didn't you talk about Cubase built-in reverb roomworks and its different versions.

[@wodenoftheangles3339]

As a relative novice to reverb - are we now at a point in technology where home computing power is adequate to run reverb algorithms making outboard hardware/rack gear obsolete? I'm looking at buying a Lexicon Mp1 rack unit for my home recording studio.. or should I just buy a nice plug-in bundle?

[@es__music]

When it comes using something like Altiverb over spitfire libraires that already have a room and verb, is it then not necessary? What about if I want to combine it with other piano or synth libraries? You mentioned using convolution reverb first to put everything in a space, but then I would have less editing of the early/late reflections per instrument group because convolution reverbs are actual samples? Would I need to duplicate each instance of Multiverb for each instrument group, one for early and the other for late reflections?

[@stiffiron]

Very helpful!

[@georgeatsiknoudas2402]

Hello Guy ....I have question... It's better to using reverb from vst synths like Kontakt ,omnisphere or using bus fx chanel and disable the reverb of synth plugings? Thanks for your time...

[@slygate]

Hi Guy, I wonder if you or anyone else who has commented here could guide me with what you mentioned nearer the end of the video - using 2 reverbs in the right way?

[@Julzantoine]

Hi Guy. Thanks for all your amazing work on youtube and Thinkspace Education. I bought some courses of yours (writing music, and sample oprchestration in a week end)... but i have to admit that all these reverb things are stil confusing me. For example, i mainly use Berlin Brass, Berlin Woodwinds and Spitfire Symphonic Strings(and sometimes The orchestra, which is quite easier to use). Should i turn off all the decca tree mics, and keep only the close one and the add a space designer IR for each one of the library (i'm on logic). Should i turn on all the ambience mics even if the places are different? (teldex vs AIRlush) Should i find something inbetween? What would you advise to mix these kinds of "so much multiple mics option" libraries? Thanks and good luck for the lockdown :(

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

Start with the tree and mix up the close and ambient to taste. If in doubt use just teh tree or rthe defaul setup

[@Julzantoine]

@@ThinkSpaceEducation So i use convolution reverb only for dry samples libraries like the Vienna one you speak about in "Orchestral in a weekend", that's right? Thanks for your answer anymay !

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

@@Julzantoine More or less yes. I know people love some convo freverbs as finishing large halls but for me its convo to put the instrument in the room and obivously if its an ambient library like spitfire theres not a lot of point

[@Julzantoine]

@@ThinkSpaceEducation allright. . I suppose you’re busy man, so Thank you so much for your answers! :)

[@gderksmusic]

I'm currently quite happy with EW Spaces 2 and the standard version of Seventh Heaven

[@chrisshollinrake6826]

Good vid, but being a Cubase user it might have been a tad handy to have mentioned the built in reverbs, Revelation, Reverence and Roomworks.

[@StephenRCar]

Reverb makes the sound alive for me. I have a rather arcane setup because I write music only occasionally so anything I do is essentially "hobby". But siomne has been performed so maybe I'm a bit further along than I think. What can I do if I work from a Finale platform with typing input. I just received a midi keyboard but the set up is soooo complicated for me. I will just have to join thinkspace I'm thinking.

[@davmar9923]

My understanding is that convolution reverbs are created using a sample of the reflections in an actual space from an impulse sound, e.g. a starter pistol, not a frequency sweep as you described.

[@christophercrimmins6143]

they do both

[@craigetchison]

Would you send all your instrumentation through the same convolution reverb to "set them in the room" so to speak and then send them individually through other selected reverbs?

[@nickbedrock4083]

Very interesting and entertaining, as most of Guy's stuff is, but it would have been helpful to understand why reverb and delay are different. It confuses the hell out of me. I've just bought Waves CLA Epic in the hope that I don't have to think about this question.

[@chaddonal4331]

Reverb is placement in space. Delays are echos. Reverb pushes things back. Delay adds extension to the sound (without moving the source backwards). Reverb makes bigger. Delays can bring focus.

[@ricgus3]

Guy, you have been such a bright light for me during 2020! Inspirational and helping me getting of My butt! Bought Seventh heaven on black friday also! Really good reverb!

[@tomhick5372]

Early this time! When will the masterclass be, by the way?

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

Probably next Tuesday

[@tomhick5372]

@@ThinkSpaceEducation Good to know, thanks.

[@jinpengyangcomposer2538]

Thank you

[@walidchoumane8593]

Hello ag What's it's the best way to make reverb and all effects generally ? On each vst instrument or make it on master piste tks

[@silentonall]

The best digital VST reverb you will ever here to date is still Valhalla Plate. Hands down.

[@Am6-9]

There is no such thing as “the best ... reverb”.

[@MartinJG100]

Great stuff, Guy. PS - The sound and clarity on your last two vids seems to have dropped off a little. Not as clear as usual.

[@MusicTheatreAcademy]

Thanks for this Guy, one of the things I have to keep mentioning to students who love to bus their reverb is to not send un -eq'd signals (especially live drums). Do you have a preference for how many tracks you would send to each reverb bus? (In orchestration) do you do it by section?

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

I have 2 reverbs for each stem - 1 convo and 1 algo so I have 5 or 6 stems and therefore 12 reverbs,. BUT.... if Im doing drumns or whatever thats almost always a separate reverb

[@MusicTheatreAcademy]

@@ThinkSpaceEducation awesome, thanks for this! Makes things much clearer to me for an orchestral mix.

[@Simon-qr7ur]

@@ThinkSpaceEducation Convo reverb is sent in the algo or they are in parallel ? Thanks

[@christianholmstedt8770]

Thx for the video. Good explanations of the basics. I do have questions. Can you go through why one would use individual reverbs on each instrument. If we look at real life physics there really is only one reverb (the current room) applied to the entire ensemble/group playing. There can not be multiple reverb responses.

[@ThinkSpaceEducation]

True. So you try to use one library so they are all in the same space if possible. Then add one reverb to give the cohesive sound. If thats not working, place instruments in the same virtual room first.

[@christianholmstedt8770]

@@ThinkSpaceEducation So basically I should do my arrangement/composition and just apply one reverb (to the master track or whatever it's called) and make it work that way? To me that would be the 'correct' way of doing it. Correct? When is it proper to add other reverb effects to individual instruments?

[@russkalen2337]

Yes, but what if your samples (Spitfire) already have quite a bit of reverb? How to keep it from going too "washy" when you add other instruments?

[@KennySerane]

Spitfire is known to be wetty samples. But you can adjust settings to close from audience to keep sound more dry. It’s one of the reason SF is not the only orchestra library in the world. Try LA scoring strings for example for a dry tone

[@musicalnut20041]

Circling back to the two reverb method. I get bussing each track to your “room” verb. Where would you put the washy-glue-it-all-together verb? :) using Logic here.

[@BrianFields]

On a second bus, or you can just slap it on the master channel.

[@wd25a]

No , convolution reverb does not necessarily mean a sample of a real space. This is just one application of the impulse responses you can capture. Liquidsonics Reverberate for instance is mostly based on hardware impulse responses not real spaces. It has a tiny handful of real spaces and hundreds of hardware reverb impulse responses.

[@I_am_Angerer]

So I just searched for "Air Lyndhurst Reverb" because I wanted to see if there's a way of simulating that room for close mic'd sounds. And there, a Guy Michelmore video. But wait, it's only 6 hours old?! How did you know?

[@alexsandroaraujofreitas5145]

Take a look to Mechanics hall in Altiverb. It sounds quite close to Air.

[@I_am_Angerer]

@@alexsandroaraujofreitas5145 thanks Alexsandro! Unfortunately, I don't own Altiverb

[@Leftblu]

Asking for everyone - what are you best/favorite kontakt libraries for making ambient music (that could fit chill game(s))? I got some libraries but looking for more.

[@mrdali67]

The problem I see is finding the "Holy grail" general reverb for your projects. We all know that reverb as other effects are often used for special effects. What I would really like to know is, where you should look for that general "Holy Grail" Reverb for your projects, as I have always been told to take care with using different reverb settings on each instrument cause it can make your mix mushi and and make it nearly impossible to get to sound right. I would think this must also be a problem when you mix various orchestral libraries where some is sampled very dry and others are sampled with ambience build into each instrument ???

[@CarlosMartinez-gr1rp]

There is no holy grail, because in mixing there are 5 conflicting objectives you can pursue with reverb. The art here is to learn to use reverb sensibly to improve some of them without messing with the others.

[@jeremiahlyleseditor437]

Melda MConvolutionEZ is another free one that sounds great.

[@andrewlouden3419]

I recognised a couple of those words! Still interesting though.

[@Zer0Spinn]

I am a producer first and a musician second so I understood all of this but I get your feeling too. I feel like that when he starts talking about complex theory hahaha Just a step at a time :)

[@jonwatte4293]

Counterpoint: Using all the CPU is not the biggest problem of inline reverbs, IMO. That's what Threadrippers are for! :-) Different reverbs on different tracks loses cohesion -- a send reverb sounds more unified IMO.

[@RemyRAD]

Well as a 50 year veteran Audio Engineer with multi-major music award nominations and making history doing so. I've come up with a view recording techniques of my own and my own personal feelings. Convolution reverbs is a bunch of convoluted crap. Oh isn't that lovely. They used a little clicky thing. To sample some rooms. With unknown microphones placed in unknown positions going into unknown preamps. As they try to reproduce a room from samples taken from whom? It's designed for amateurs. Real Audio Engineers know what to do with plates and springs and algorithmic digital reverberate or's. And you use additional EQ's. You use additional compression and/or limiting. You add downward expansion and/or gating.. And you actually Audio Engineer the sound of the recording sounds best with in your opinion as the official Audio Engineer and/or Producer. Otherwise you might want to rely upon goofball convoluted reverb. Another term for convoluted, imitated. With scrambled ingredients. Convoluted. And oh it sounds just like the room. How the FUCK would you actually know? Unless you've been there. Unless you have recorded, there. They show you a pretty picture. Therefore it must sound like the picture. This is called, marketing and advertising. If it looks like the room. Therefore it must sound like the room you are looking at a picture of. Kind of like having a software 1176 limiter. It'll sort of work like an 1176 limiter. You could use it as an 1176 limiter. You have your choice of different revisions of those 1176 limiter's. But unless you've used one. Unless you have owned numerous ones. How do you know what it's like to have an 1176 limiter of any revision? But if you see a picture of one on your computer. Therefore it must sound like that one. And so yes. Many of these have been able to be mathematically extrapolated to imitate the concept of design theory. And their operations. What went into the original units. In the digital realm. But it's not going to sound like 1176. Unless the cartoon in front of you looks like an 1176. Therefore it will sound like an 1176 Rev A-B-C-D-D-F-G and well. I've owned all of those originals. They don't sound like software. Software does not sound like them. Software works like them. Software imitates them. Software is not them. And does not give you. What the real units provide for. It's a good imitation. But that's all it is. Imitations can be great! You can take the body off of a 1970s VW beetle. And replace the body with a very nice, authentic reproductive casting. With a fiberglass Lamborghini body. Now! You've got a Lamborghini! And it's going to definitely get you laid more often. But it's not going to win you any races or Grammy awards. Because it's really a VW beetle that only looks like a Lamborghini. With its very well emulated, fiberglass body. And so it must be a Lamborghini! It sure looks like one. All 58 hp and 4 cylinders of it. But it sure looks like it's going fast all of the time! At 30 mph. Very impressive indeed! An authentic fake. That's truly authentically fake. But it sure looks cool. This is what convoluted collusion of convolution is all about. It's more fake shit. That puts a bitterly larger load on your CPU. And for what? To be convoluted of course! What else rhymes with convolution? Chaos. It's chaos reverb. It's a sample having numerous well-known, algorithmic equations it's flying through. To make you think the picture you're looking at sounds that way. And so the song sprung forth called WOOLLY BULLY. Because it's all woolly bullshit. Of course for composer at home such as this fine British gentleman composer/arranger. Needs a convenient, cup of tea. From teabags instead of loose tea. Because they are so much more convenient. More easily and readily accessible. No stems, no seeds that you don't need, Plate Stupendous, is all you need. And it's all in how you tweak it. The plate, the reverb. The limiters. The downward expanders. The digital algorithmic equations. Some with selections. Some just with pushbuttons. And you get what you need fast. To keep those extraordinary creative tunes, rolling. I can relate to the need of fast access electronically created spatial reproductions. I specialized in live, on location, album recordings, live coast-to-coast broadcasts, world broadcasts live on the MTV satellite, NBC-TV satellite, PBS TV satellite, a few other satellites. Where I need a full rostrum of multiple pieces of redundant equipment. To have everything patched in all at once. Everything is running all at once. 20+ limiters. Nearly 20 expander/gates. Dozens of equalizers cranked to the extremes. A stereo output bus limiter. Originally designed for FM radio. And you have to create a hit sounding mix. For a chart topping group. Within the first 60 seconds of the first song of their set. Until the director gets the thumbs up from you to go live. And you have to imitate the style and sound and mixing technique. Of that of the engineers that created their hit recordings. And you're going to have to do it completely differently. Which you're going to emulate. With your technique. With whatever you have already pre-plugged in. And have to roll with it that way. And you need to punch a button on a digital algorithmic reverb. To get the room you want. Instead of stepping through numerous menus of nuance bullshit adjustments. For all these quasi-pseudo-wannabe, OCD self-professed, audio expert engineers. Don't get me wrong. That's all great! When somebody hands you a $20,000 contract and gives you months in the studio. To come up with something really good. And you are certainly given more than 60 seconds in all the wrong things patched in with all the wrong microphones in the wrong positions with lots of background noise and bleed that becomes massive hemorrhaging into your microphones all. And that's a much different style and technique required for that sort of engineering. That I've been doing for over 30 years with my latest facility. A great big huge diesel box truck. With the box within the box. Split into 3 separate rooms with central HVAC. And a custom-built for NBC-TV 1972 vintage all transistor, custom Neve audio console. And 16 additional API inputs. Because this was no basement studio on wheels. I had one of the finest trucks of this type, in the USA and still do. But the virus has killed my industry and business and career. And I'm still alive. Virus free. 65 years of age and there ain't no vaccines yet available for me. I'm not sitting in my car for 2 days. That's even more bullshit than convoluted reverbs. And I simply won't put up with such nonsense. On either side. Vaccines or convoluted reverbs. But hey. They are very convenient for you composers. It puts it in the right place in the space in your head. Or should that have been it puts it in the right space, in the place, in your head? I mean it puts it in your head in the right place and space with the right space and place you need it in your head. And you better have a very nice fully loaded very expensive state-of-the-art, computer to handle that load. And well if you are a nice wealthy British composer gentlemen. You might have this type of nice facility. Most won't and most don't.

[@Boosty_Boost]

I would like to know everything about compressors please :3 .. i cant hear much difference from one to another honestly.

[@dafingaz]

Nice!