>Step by step

1. The perfect balance

1

Setting up your session correctly for a new project is essential. I keep a template ready-made in Pro Tools to save me time when I start on a new project. But you can do this for any DAW. This template has two reverb auxiliary tracks. This means that the plugins are only on these tracks and not on the individual instrument tracks. 2

The reverbs on each auxiliary tracks have different settings. I will typically use one reverb channel for the vocals (so that all of the vocal tracks can be funnelled through a single chain and exist in the same acoustic space), and the other reverb channel for other instruments like drum components. Reverb tracks can be duplicated as needed, if you need more. 3

Duplicate the vocal tracks (and any other instrument tracks) that you will be applying the reverb to. This will double the volume of the vocals, so you’ll need to turn the volume down on the duplicates in order to avoid having your ears blasted off. Come back to these duplicated tracks when you’re ready to work on reverb later in the mix.

4

I add ‘sends’ to each duplicated vocal track that I will want reverb on. These sends make sure that the audio signal is sent through to the reverb auxiliary track of my choosing. For vocals, the destination track will be the same. But the key difference is how much signal I’m sending for each individual track. 5

Reverb, and other effects, should be applied towards the end of the mixing process. There are a number of key steps that you’ll want to carry out first, such as the rough balance of your instruments, equalisation, compression etc. So I always deactivate the sends on the duplicate tracks, as well as keeping the volume faders down, till I’m ready to apply effects. 6

The backing vocals on this track I worked on were very heavy with reverb. The send fader is really high (right) compared to the send on the main vocal duplicate (left). A signal heavily processed with reverb is known as wet while an unprocessed vocal is known as dry.