Sound design with reverb
Like delay, reverb works by creating echoes of a source sound, spaced apart and repeated to varying degrees. Whereas delay is most often used as a creative effect – adding audible repeats to a sound, for example – reverbs are designed to create a more naturalistic ‘ wash’ of echoes, with the aim of tricking the ear into a false sense of space.
Because of this, reverb plugins tend to be used as mix tools, to place multiple elements in a unified space, or to simply add a touch of virtual ambience to dry sounds. Used with less subtlety, however, and reverb becomes a fantastic creative effect. That same ability to create a sense of space can be used to confound and engage the listener, creating unnatural positionings within the imagined space of your mix.
It’s worth remembering that reverbs come in different shapes and sizes, each with its own distinctive character. Plate and spring reverbs model classic physical effects; these are the least realistic forms of reverb, but both are hugely characterful nonetheless. Try both for vintage dub effects or unnatural vocal ambience. Algorithmic reverbs, which use a combination of digital delay, modulation and filtering, have been the most popular type of reverb processor for several decades now. These range from emulations of early digital ’verbs to those that come stocked with most DAWs. While character can vary, most offer deep control, allowing them to create extreme results and to be automated creatively. Finally, convolution plugins model the impulse response of real spaces. These can create the most realistic sounds, but they can also be pushed into brilliantly unnatural territory.
There’s always a way to creatively extend the plugins you have at your disposal, so over the next couple of pages, we’re going to show you how reverb can be pushed beyond conventional uses and employed as a sound design tool in its own right.