Another hot tip might be to sidechain the reverb channel to the vocal and let it duck outta the way while the vocal is sounding. That's definitely really helped me get a bit more clarity in some situations!
On top of the individual reverbs, I always use a “Master Reverb” at the End of the mixing chain. I send all Sub-Masters (Instruments, Vocals etc. with all their effects) to a “Master Reverb” Bus with the same level and level the Bus at around -18db or less. The “Master Reverb” should only be a room (concert hall, dense room, stadium, … depends on the music you are producing) and is sent to the Master Bus (obviously). If necessary, I decrease the amount of individual reverbs a bit to avoid reverb overkill. To me it is the easiest and most natural way to glue the Band together. It represents what would be the situation in a live environment, the whole Band in one room.
Do you have the outputs of all the effects tracks routed to the "Master Reverb" as well, instead of them being routed to the default = master bus? When you say "level the bus at around -18db", does that literally mean that you don't want peaks higher than -18db on your master reverb bus? If so, why leave such a large amount of headroom? I'm learning, just being curious :-)
@@MrSlimfinger In front of the Master Bus I use three Sub-Master Buses for Vocals, Drums and Instruments (with all effects etc.). Those buses feed the Master-Reverb Bus with post fader sends. By doing so you can place them a bit individually inside the room. The Master Bus is fed by the three Sub-Master Buses and the Master-Reverb Bus. You can choose the amount of Master-Reverb at your favor. I personally do not want to place the band too deep inside the room, that is why my Master-Reverb is at around -18db or so. Sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on the song and the effects prior to it.
I think rules are extremely helpful for beginner to intermediate mixers. When starting out "trust your ears" was frustrating because I had no idea what a "good" anything sounded like and it's hard when you're first starting out to be able to pick out details from a specific instrument when it's buried in the mix. For me these rules videos tend to give clarity and confidence to the things I find myself reaching for so I am super grateful for the series. You're awesome Joe!
If you feel like it some day, as a complement to this video I'd love to have your take on the different functions of reverb and what varies in the approach for each. I can think of at least 3 different functions for reverb: 1) to give a certain "artistic" coloration to a sound 2) to move an instrument in the 3D space -most commonly, I guess, to push it backwards-, and 3) the "glue reverb" that is used to make tracks from different origins sound cohesive. In my view this tutorial is "how to use a hammer", but with a hammer you can build chairs, crack walnuts open, pull out nails... and the procedures are different in each case lol. Just an idea...
Comments I hear today about "new or modern" music is, "It all sounds alike". Then, when they record and do their mixes, the first thing I hear is, "I want it to sound like this band or this song". Well.....??? Joe has said this before.....listen to the song and let IT tell you what is wants.
Thanks Joe! I always learn something I didn't know on your videos! You have been a great teacher and I am much better at recording and mixing because of you!
Great to have you Joe. I've always said the world would be a better place if everyone was a mentor and teacher that wants to share the knowledge. Awesome instruction and with comic relief! It makes me feel better about the decisions I make when mixing and recording. Thank you!
One of your best points around 13 minute mark : the longer the reverb, the less you add; the shorter the reverb, the more you might include in the mix. Thanks!
All you need is the imagination of your music. where is your hero? interior(room, hall) or exterior(street, beach)? where is the location? front? rear? left? on ground? in the sky? 1. front + ground = kick, bass 2. rear + sky = something in the sky you can set the distance using eq, comp, reverb. 1. front eq = full sound comp = less reverb = less + long ER(depends on the distance from the wall) 2. rear eq = less low and high comp = more(it means it can be more affected by air) reverb = more 3. ground eq = simillar to front but more low comp = depends on distance reverb = depends on distance 4. sky eq = lowcut comp = depends on distance reverb = depends on distance imaginate your music. feel the physics inside of your music.
Joe, Thanks for the tips and sharing the design of your studio space, in a previous video. Also, thank you very much for sharing Whitney’s and your work. I am a fan.
Thanks Joe. Loving your useful content and appreciate your presentation which is characteristically friendly, frank and various degrees of entertaining/funny ❤
Always good to understand solid fundamentals. Best rule is that there is always an exception to every rule, but have a baseline first. Thanks for the great tutorial.
Love your videos! You’ve really helped my mixes a ton lately and I feel like I’m finally fully understanding the whole mixing process. Keep up the good work!
Starting to get it! Been working as a musician in studios since the late 70s...(the old splice block days!). You’re helping me get a handle on digital. Thank you sooooo much! BTW, I’m using Reaper.
You'd have to admit though that there's nothing like the thrill of doing a live mix to tape, automation in a DAW has taken that away from this generation. I doubt that they could imagine making adjustments to 24 tracks in real time as you bounce tracks down, or in the final mix, rolling up and down the desk tweaking this and that like a madman!
Joe- Really enjoy your teaching style and especially appreciate how consistent you are in what you say from video on to video. This method has helped me learn S1 faster than i have ever learned anything else. For example, your explanation of using Sends or EQ of reverb. This style has no doubt helped countless not only learn S1, but stay w/ it.
As far as reverb for guitar goes I think it all depends on the type of acoustic guitar. That will determine if I add reverb. For example, if there is an acoustic steel-string rhythmic strumming thing going on then reverb could ruin it. However, If there is a nylon string acoustic classical piece then a slight touch of reverb will sound good. I agree that these things are personal preferences. The same thing goes for a steel string open tuning solo finger-picking composition. A little bit of reverb sounds great. I think one problem is people tend to add too much reverb to compositions like that. If there are other instruments involved then that would be the time I pull back from adding reverb. I don't like reverb on bass guitar. I almost never use it on the low end. But what do I know? no rules right? E.Q. the reverb is good advice. It's amazing how much mud reverb can add. Lot's of good information in this video.
Digging your videos - straight to the point, no b.s., and levity without goofiness. Rock on! I've been exploring compression and multi-band comp on the verb returns too for even more control over the shape.
You are making a difference in people's lives with your insight and experience. Thank you very much for your contribution to the art of recording and humanity in general. Thanks mate.😁
Thanks Joe for this video. Indeed the most importatn is really to side-chain/send the tracks to use reverb. First reason I begun using this was when I had a not so powerful workstatoin. But the easiness of use is another valid reason for it.
Just because no one else adds reverb to acoustic, doesn't mean you shouldn't! In fact, I'd argue that that is exactly the reason why you should add it!
Excellent Joe. I'm guilty of adding reverb to the vocal track itself and have run into those issues. Usually this occurs when I'm excited about whats happening in the song and not taking a sip of coffee.
Your rant about usually never adding reverb to acoustic guitars made me smile, because I was just watching your latest video in which you do precisely that :) No rules indeed!
Another awesome Joe video. (Hi!) I know this is 2 years old... but came across it today and wanted to add a thought... I add a pre-reverb eq to the reverb send, so the reverb isn't getting hit with all those build-up frequencies to begin with. Essentially - EQing the signal going INTO the reverb, without touching the source's EQ. Thanks for all you do. I've learned SO much from your vids, and still do.
Hey Mark! Always good to see your face around here. I like EQ-ing after the reverb, because sometimes reverbs add low frequencies, even if the source material doesn’t have any.
@@HomeStudioCorner - makes total sense.... BUT... one of the things I love about doing it pre is that I can cut offending frequencies that can wash through a reverb. One can have a totally innocent vocal S or SH that gets a whole life of it's own, turning Godzilla and wreaking havoc in Reverbland, but pre-EQing it out can help prevent that. 😃
Another great video Joe. One more thing that made a huge improvement to my reverberation 😁 was adding just a touch of pre-delay to seperate the vocal from the delay.
I've been using the rules 2 to 5 with great success (not so much the 1st tho). One more nice thing is to A/B the mix muting the fx sends and adding pre-delay helps quite a bit. I'm mixing hybrid but have only one multifx rack by now, (the other delay is in the vet xD), eventually tracking thru it on the way in. Then I see CLA and co. using 4 delays and 4 verbs... Wonder if I should get hold of some more unit(s)...
Hi Joe! This is the best reverb video that I have ever seen! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience ♥ Please make video about the violin or any bowed string instrument recording and mixing. (solo and section recording and mixing) This is always confusing for me to pick the right microphone, set the right distance, choose right room to recordings and pick the right effects on my mix. Thank you very much ♥
Sometimes I like to send the raw ‘uncompressed’ source to reverb so you get more effect on loud parts and less on quiet parts. Sounds more like how a real room works.
hi Joe, wonderful videos, thanks so much. Just one thing: can you let us hear your 'befores and afters' for longer? Sometimes times are too short to be able to appreciate the difference between a track that places eq on a reverb and the same track that mutes it !
Maybe it is easier to explain this with a picture. Not just the reverb but also the pan, EQ and compression of all the signals of the instruments should create a certain space where you want it to take place. With that in mind it became wayyyy easier for me to make decisions regarding the sound, the lenghth and amount of reverberation. Especially when it comes to acoustic instruments and vocals this really make sense. In electronic dance music, well, that might be a whole different story then. Sometimes - just btw - I mess around with my IR verb and load a crash or whatever sound into the plugin and see what happens. Try that too, it's fun for a rainy day.
Id like to thank you for these tips. I experimented with my demos and it has improved the sound quality dramatically. Just curious, how you would mix a dreampop/shoegaze track? Would be interesting to see.
I love to hear your opinion on reverb on a resonator! Sometimes you hear (a lot of) reverb on this specific string instrument to get a so called "desolate desert feeling". How can I use reverb on this?
Really appreciate your skills. I have been having problems using reverb for a long time. But after watching this video, Im hearing the difference much better in my recordings. Thanks alot! Btw Joe did anyone ever tell you that your voice sounds exactly or reminds them of James Hetfield from Metallica..I find so..that's a compliment
1. Does it even need reverb? 0:30
2. Find 3 go-to reverb sounds 2:37
3. Use sends 5:37
4. EQ the reverb 8:19
5. Add too much, then back it off 11:20
thanks !
hero
@@PianoNeithMetalRock ☺️🙏🏽
Another hot tip might be to sidechain the reverb channel to the vocal and let it duck outta the way while the vocal is sounding. That's definitely really helped me get a bit more clarity in some situations!
Or lengthen your pre-delay.
A ml 0]
@@slowpokeproductions or both.
Also wanted to add how beautiful the voice is in the recording used in this video. So refreshing to hear such a sweet voice.
Every well recorded vocals tend to sound beautiful. If u can’t achieve that, u’re doing something wrong when recording
wdym joe has an angelic voice
Everything needs reverb Joe. Everything. I can’t go to space without it.
On top of the individual reverbs, I always use a “Master Reverb” at the End of the mixing chain.
I send all Sub-Masters (Instruments, Vocals etc. with all their effects) to a “Master Reverb” Bus with the same level and level the Bus at around -18db or less. The “Master Reverb” should only be a room (concert hall, dense room, stadium, … depends on the music you are producing) and is sent to the Master Bus (obviously). If necessary, I decrease the amount of individual reverbs a bit to avoid reverb overkill.
To me it is the easiest and most natural way to glue the Band together. It represents what would be the situation in a live environment, the whole Band in one room.
That is super helpful, thanks!
Yeah m8, nice idea, specially if you want the thing to fill like a band
Do you have the outputs of all the effects tracks routed to the "Master Reverb" as well, instead of them being routed to the default = master bus? When you say "level the bus at around -18db", does that literally mean that you don't want peaks higher than -18db on your master reverb bus? If so, why leave such a large amount of headroom? I'm learning, just being curious :-)
@@MrSlimfinger In front of the Master Bus I use three Sub-Master Buses for Vocals, Drums and Instruments (with all effects etc.).
Those buses feed the Master-Reverb Bus with post fader sends. By doing so you can place them a bit individually inside the room.
The Master Bus is fed by the three Sub-Master Buses and the Master-Reverb Bus. You can choose the amount of Master-Reverb at your favor. I personally do not want to place the band too deep inside the room, that is why my Master-Reverb is at around -18db or so. Sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on the song and the effects prior to it.
@@Torsten08 Ah, I got it! Thanks for the explanation!
From West Africa 🌍 Sierra Leone 🇸🇱. Much love ❤ to you legend himself Mentor Joe .
I think rules are extremely helpful for beginner to intermediate mixers. When starting out "trust your ears" was frustrating because I had no idea what a "good" anything sounded like and it's hard when you're first starting out to be able to pick out details from a specific instrument when it's buried in the mix. For me these rules videos tend to give clarity and confidence to the things I find myself reaching for so I am super grateful for the series. You're awesome Joe!
"It just makes sen-ds to use sends".... 😂😂.... love your sends of humor, Joe 😁
If you feel like it some day, as a complement to this video I'd love to have your take on the different functions of reverb and what varies in the approach for each. I can think of at least 3 different functions for reverb: 1) to give a certain "artistic" coloration to a sound 2) to move an instrument in the 3D space -most commonly, I guess, to push it backwards-, and 3) the "glue reverb" that is used to make tracks from different origins sound cohesive. In my view this tutorial is "how to use a hammer", but with a hammer you can build chairs, crack walnuts open, pull out nails... and the procedures are different in each case lol. Just an idea...
While am waiting download to finish am preparing to feed my musical brain,I want to say hi to jo gilder,much love from East Africa Tanzania🇹🇿
Comments I hear today about "new or modern" music is, "It all sounds alike". Then, when they record and do their mixes, the first thing I hear is, "I want it to sound like this band or this song". Well.....??? Joe has said this before.....listen to the song and let IT tell you what is wants.
Wow, just wow. I spent 2 hours watching your vocals videos and I can't wait to hop on a new session with these tips. Thank you so much my man.
Thanks Joe! I always learn something I didn't know on your videos! You have been a great teacher and I am much better at recording and mixing because of you!
Great to have you Joe.
I've always said the world would be a better place if everyone was a mentor and teacher that wants to share the knowledge.
Awesome instruction and with comic relief!
It makes me feel better about the decisions I make when mixing and recording.
Thank you!
God blessyou Joe; thanks for sharing...
Excellent as always. Thank you
Thanks. I appreciated what you said about Humility. And.., Its part of the Humility of Being Human.
One of your best points around 13 minute mark : the longer the reverb, the less you add; the shorter the reverb, the more you might include in the mix. Thanks!
So glad I came across your page..been watching videos for the past 2 hours learning everything I needed help with...thank you
Joe, you are great teacher. Everyone should watch this video!!!
thank you bud !!! always exceptional content !!!!
Thanks, Joe. Your advice is always thought-provoking and useful.
All you need is the imagination of your music. where is your hero? interior(room, hall) or exterior(street, beach)?
where is the location? front? rear? left? on ground? in the sky?
1. front + ground = kick, bass
2. rear + sky = something in the sky
you can set the distance using eq, comp, reverb.
1. front
eq = full sound
comp = less
reverb = less + long ER(depends on the distance from the wall)
2. rear
eq = less low and high
comp = more(it means it can be more affected by air)
reverb = more
3. ground
eq = simillar to front but more low
comp = depends on distance
reverb = depends on distance
4. sky
eq = lowcut
comp = depends on distance
reverb = depends on distance
imaginate your music.
feel the physics inside of your music.
Thanks Joe, as always, easy to understand.
Joe,
Thanks for the tips and sharing the design of your studio space, in a previous video.
Also, thank you very much for sharing Whitney’s and your work. I am a fan.
Thanks Joe. Loving your useful content and appreciate your presentation which is characteristically friendly, frank and various degrees of entertaining/funny ❤
"...that goes on for days." Dude you're hilarious. 😂
Always good to understand solid fundamentals. Best rule is that there is always an exception to every rule, but have a baseline first. Thanks for the great tutorial.
Love your videos! You’ve really helped my mixes a ton lately and I feel like I’m finally fully understanding the whole mixing process. Keep up the good work!
Starting to get it! Been working as a musician in studios since the late 70s...(the old splice block days!). You’re helping me get a handle on digital. Thank you sooooo much! BTW, I’m using Reaper.
You'd have to admit though that there's nothing like the thrill of doing a live mix to tape, automation in a DAW has taken that away from this generation. I doubt that they could imagine making adjustments to 24 tracks in real time as you bounce tracks down, or in the final mix, rolling up and down the desk tweaking this and that like a madman!
Joe- Really enjoy your teaching style and especially appreciate how consistent you are in what you say from video on to video. This method has helped me learn S1 faster than i have ever learned anything else. For example, your explanation of using Sends or EQ of reverb. This style has no doubt helped countless not only learn S1, but stay w/ it.
Thanks
Thanks Joe
Hi Joe, Great video as usual, Thanks
As far as reverb for guitar goes I think it all depends on the type of acoustic guitar. That will determine if I add reverb. For example, if there is an acoustic steel-string rhythmic strumming thing going on then reverb could ruin it. However, If there is a nylon string acoustic classical piece then a slight touch of reverb will sound good. I agree that these things are personal preferences. The same thing goes for a steel string open tuning solo finger-picking composition. A little bit of reverb sounds great. I think one problem is people tend to add too much reverb to compositions like that. If there are other instruments involved then that would be the time I pull back from adding reverb. I don't like reverb on bass guitar. I almost never use it on the low end. But what do I know? no rules right?
E.Q. the reverb is good advice. It's amazing how much mud reverb can add. Lot's of good information in this video.
These rules videos are the best.
You give guidelines instead of just doing a follow along so people can know how to do it on their own fr
Great as always, Joe!
Ur tutorials are really helping me thanks alot
Great tut Joe! Could you do a 5 rules of delay? That would be awesome.
Digging your videos - straight to the point, no b.s., and levity without goofiness. Rock on! I've been exploring compression and multi-band comp on the verb returns too for even more control over the shape.
I've always use send, but never thought of EQ the reverb. Amazing technique, and thank you very much for your efforts and instructions!
thank you so much for this one man! learned so much from it🤘🙏
7:40 "shush quiet" 😂😂 happens to me all the time. Btw, great video 🙌🏻
Also, if you‘re lucky enough to own an old spx 90 add a bit of the good old gated reverb to your snare and toms.
You are making a difference in people's lives with your insight and experience. Thank you very much for your contribution to the art of recording and humanity in general. Thanks mate.😁
Thanks Joe for this video. Indeed the most importatn is really to side-chain/send the tracks to use reverb. First reason I begun using this was when I had a not so powerful workstatoin. But the easiness of use is another valid reason for it.
Terrific tutorials. Thanks so much!
Great vid as always 🙏🏿🙏🏿
Just because no one else adds reverb to acoustic, doesn't mean you shouldn't! In fact, I'd argue that that is exactly the reason why you should add it!
Super helpful, thank you!
You are the best in the best from the best on the best
You the man Joe!!!
Thank you so muchhhh!!!
This really helped❤❤❤❤
Extremely helpful video - thanks!
Buddy big thanks for your time it’s appreciated...
Great video, I learn something everytime.
Excellent Joe. I'm guilty of adding reverb to the vocal track itself and have run into those issues. Usually this occurs when I'm excited about whats happening in the song and not taking a sip of coffee.
Your rant about usually never adding reverb to acoustic guitars made me smile, because I was just watching your latest video in which you do precisely that :) No rules indeed!
Cool, so much learned
I use B Reverb 2 especially on Vocal its great.
Another awesome Joe video. (Hi!)
I know this is 2 years old... but came across it today and wanted to add a thought... I add a pre-reverb eq to the reverb send, so the reverb isn't getting hit with all those build-up frequencies to begin with. Essentially - EQing the signal going INTO the reverb, without touching the source's EQ.
Thanks for all you do. I've learned SO much from your vids, and still do.
Hey Mark! Always good to see your face around here. I like EQ-ing after the reverb, because sometimes reverbs add low frequencies, even if the source material doesn’t have any.
@@HomeStudioCorner - makes total sense.... BUT... one of the things I love about doing it pre is that I can cut offending frequencies that can wash through a reverb. One can have a totally innocent vocal S or SH that gets a whole life of it's own, turning Godzilla and wreaking havoc in Reverbland, but pre-EQing it out can help prevent that.
😃
Makes perfect sends. Thanks, Joe.
Well, put..Great info..
Really insightful! Do you have a video on how/when to use side chain or parallel compression?
Awesome tips!
I love your talks. U r so full of experience :).
Love you joe!
Please, do not mistake: "Take a sip of your coffee and then pull it back down" and NOT: "take a joint and then push the reverb to the limit"! 😆🚬
Depends on genre......
Love this statement
...Presbyterians smh ...am I right?
Ummmmmm... not sure what Presbyterians have to do with it, so no not really.
This was very helpful! Thank you Joe! We now have a bettter way to use reverbs than before. Your send trick just made a lots of sense 👌
This helps me a lot ❤
Another great video Joe. One more thing that made a huge improvement to my reverberation 😁 was adding just a touch of pre-delay to seperate the vocal from the delay.
Thank you so much
Perfect vid 🔥🔥
721 thumbs up, and 5 thumbs down--one for each rule they don't follow. Coinicidence?
Keep up the work, Joe G.
I love my 80s new wave with reverb on the acoustic gtrs.
I've been using the rules 2 to 5 with great success (not so much the 1st tho). One more nice thing is to A/B the mix muting the fx sends and adding pre-delay helps quite a bit.
I'm mixing hybrid but have only one multifx rack by now, (the other delay is in the vet xD), eventually tracking thru it on the way in. Then I see CLA and co. using 4 delays and 4 verbs... Wonder if I should get hold of some more unit(s)...
Thanks for the info.
Hi Joe!
This is the best reverb video that I have ever seen!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience ♥
Please make video about the violin or any bowed string instrument recording and mixing. (solo and section recording and mixing) This is always confusing for me to pick the right microphone, set the right distance, choose right room to recordings and pick the right effects on my mix.
Thank you very much ♥
Great Video!
Good vid. I like her voice too
Good explanation on the “sends”
Sometimes I like to send the raw ‘uncompressed’ source to reverb so you get more effect on loud parts and less on quiet parts. Sounds more like how a real room works.
Good Video Brother. I am really enjoying your channel. You have done great!
I like ur lessons
Thank you!
Dude, you're a joy to learn from!
I sometimes add some verb to glue my 2 bus and open up the mix a bit. Very short decay time. Or early reflections only.
hi Joe, wonderful videos, thanks so much. Just one thing: can you let us hear your 'befores and afters' for longer? Sometimes times are too short to be able to appreciate the difference between a track that places eq on a reverb and the same track that mutes it !
Youre vids are so helpful ty✌🏻
thanks so much
Hey Joe, really enjoy your channel. I find it very informative. I need all the info I can get. Stay safe my friend.
Blessings
I like this approach to reverb , using only 3 on multiple sources , do you could you do a video like this on delay as well
Learned more about actually mixing reverb in this 1 video than hours fiddling around in FL
Good teacher
Maybe it is easier to explain this with a picture. Not just the reverb but also the pan, EQ and compression of all the signals of the instruments should create a certain space where you want it to take place. With that in mind it became wayyyy easier for me to make decisions regarding the sound, the lenghth and amount of reverberation. Especially when it comes to acoustic instruments and vocals this really make sense. In electronic dance music, well, that might be a whole different story then. Sometimes - just btw - I mess around with my IR verb and load a crash or whatever sound into the plugin and see what happens. Try that too, it's fun for a rainy day.
Id like to thank you for these tips. I experimented with my demos and it has improved the sound quality dramatically.
Just curious, how you would mix a dreampop/shoegaze track? Would be interesting to see.
The ratings say it all. watching now!!!!!
Thank you for this video man , you just answered one of my biggest questions and it is nor related to reverb but thanks dud , POG
I love to hear your opinion on reverb on a resonator! Sometimes you hear (a lot of) reverb on this specific string instrument to get a so called "desolate desert feeling". How can I use reverb on this?
clear....helpful....what more could you want?...thanx...
Awesome tips man, really helpful, stay like that bro!!
Really appreciate your skills. I have been having problems using reverb for a long time. But after watching this video, Im hearing the difference much better in my recordings. Thanks alot! Btw Joe did anyone ever tell you that your voice sounds exactly or reminds them of James Hetfield from Metallica..I find so..that's a compliment