Recording - February 2014 - 55

All of the tracks in the mix have multiple Sends that feed all of the reverbs,
though each track typically utilizes only
two or so at most. By balancing ER vs.
later reflections/reverb tail, I try to subtly
place each instrument/vocal in a threedimensional space in the mix-lead vocal
and instruments up front, drums and backline to the rear, and other elements as
benefits the mix, song by song.
For pop/rock/R&B stuff, I'd tend to
emphasize the ER components for most
instruments, saving the use of longer reverb
tails and larger spaces for certain elements
(like background vocals or a snare backbeat). This can still give the sense of a big,
ambient space with less likelihood of muddying up the mix. For typical rhythm section
instruments like guitars, electric pianos, and
synths, I'd usually employ shorter room
reverbs with the emphasis on ERs. For something like an R&B horn section, I might go
for a tighter room or plate, with a bright
quality to bring out the brassiness of the
sound. Background vocals often get a larger room or hall with a longer tail, especially
wordless parts (oohs and aahs), which can
push them way back in the virtual
room/mix-panned wide in stereo, way in
the back of the virtual stage, vocal oohs and
ahhs with a nice rich, bright reverb tail can
fill up a lot of space in a chorus, for example, without stepping on other parts.

Sometimes, I have one additional
reverb with a general-purpose room setting, that I apply very lightly to all (or
most) of the tracks in an arrangement, just
to tie everything together. As I mentioned
earlier, this would be dialed up very subtly, so as not to interfere with the reverb
quality that's been sculpted for each element of the mix.
The modern mixer's reverb toolbox
So far, I've mainly been describing the
controls and use of the most traditional
type of (digital) reverb, an algorithmic
reverb, where the reverb is generated by
many individual digital delays, combined
by algorithms (formulas) into patterns
characteristic of different types of simulated real spaces and mechanical reverb
units. But there are other types of reverbs
in the modern mixer's arsenal, including
Modeling reverbs and Convolution
reverbs. Let's take a brief look at those.
The very model of a room
Modeling is a technique for creating virtual instruments and effects that involves
analyzing the physical components of the
real thing, and then creating software models of all the elements that produce the
sound or effect. For example, a modeled
piano or guitar might simulate the vibrating
string, the interference of the bridge, the

resonance of the soundboard, etc.. The
tone of the modeled instrument or effect can
be tweaked by the user, as if he/she was
building it from scratch, putting all the components together for a unique sound. When
played, a modeled instrument would
respond like the real thing, with simulated
vibrations from one component causing
simulated resonance in another, etc.-this
can provide a more natural sound and
response than other approaches.
Applied to reverb, the reverb designer
might analyze a real space (like, say, a live
chamber), and then write software code to
simulate the interaction of all the elements
of that space that give it its unique reverberant quality. This is similar to an algorithmic reverb in that the reverb simulation is
created from scratch via software, but a
modeled reverb would present different
controls to the user, based on the physical
components of the real room rather than
more general elements of simulated reverb.
So, instead of choosing a room type, a
user would have to specify functions like
size, shape, number of surfaces, angles
between the walls, curvature (like a
dome), etc.. Instead of LPFs for tone and a
simple Decay Time for length, the model
might call for the user to specify the material the walls are made of (stone, brick
plaster), and covered with (wood, foam,
carpet, drapes), etc.. These choices would

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Recording - February 2014

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