Reverb + EQ = Mix Control When adding reverb or

spatial effects to auxiliary busses within mixes, there are major benefits to adding an EQ afterwards. Some reverb effects feature EQ graphs but these are often less comprehensive than a dedicated EQ, which will give you more scope to get the additional frequency content generated by reverb under control. A good example of the benefits of doing this is brought into focus by the popular myth in production and mix circles that you simply can’t add reverb to bass parts. It’s true that adding reverb to super-low frequencies can add a soupy quality which often fills up a mix unnecessarily. However, the truth is that most bass sounds don’t only feature these lowest frequencies. Unless you’re working with sine-wave, pure basses, lots of bass synths feature plenty of low mid-range and even upper mid-range content on their attack portions, while electric and acoustic upright basses often feature harmonics which extend into treble frequencies too. Often, this higher frequency content benefits from some judicious reverb, helping to glue lower-sounding parts to the rest of your mix.

So, how to add reverb to these without affecting the lowest, less convenient portions of a bass’ harmonic content? This is where EQ, used in conjunction with reverb, comes to the fore. Using low-shelf or high-pass filter curves, you can eliminate the inclusion of low frequencies from the rest of the bass signal. Sometimes this works best by placing the EQ before the reverb (to ensure these frequencies aren’t even routed to the reverb plug-in) and sometimes it’s better to place the EQ after the reverb, to roll out the frequencies which your spatial effect of choice has generated.

This issue isn’t exclusive to reverb on bass sounds; any part in your mix which generates lower frequency content, including the lowest notes of pads, the bottom-end of weightier snare drums, toms, guitar parts, low pianos and synth sequences might see benefits from having their spatial treatments stripped of frequency content in this way. Equally, this issue isn’t exclusive to reverb either. It’s often the case that delay effects feature the option to exclude both low and high-frequency content, so that the echoes they generate are more blunted and less harmonically rich than the source sounds which trigger them. Again, with bass and low-mid range signals which you want to add echo to, using the high-pass filter or low shelf options to remove or roll out frequencies below 150Hz can be a major benefit. You can hear examples of this in the six-step walkthrough

Stripping Back FX Treatments.

When you’re coming towards the end of a mix, it can be easy to lose track of exactly how much extra content is being generated by reverbs, so it’s always a good idea to solo the auxiliary busses you’ve added to hear exactly how ‘weighty’ these have become, as you’ve added instruments to them. Do this one auxiliary at a time, so you can add or tweak EQ treatments for each in turn, putting each one under a careful microscope. Then introduce them all at once to double-check, before un-soloing them to check them back in the mix. Remember, if you like the sound of a particular auxiliary buss but it’s taking up too much space, you can always drop the level of its Return Fader. Learn to consider each auxiliary as carefully as you would choose and edit instrument and audio tracks you program and record.

Often the higher frequency content in bass sounds benefits from some judicious reverb