Need help choosing a high quality reverb

[softfin]

I'm currently working on a total of six records that I'm hoping to release at the end of the summer or early fall.
Phew, this far this project has been quite a challenge: mixing tunes all day long for two weeks now ... Before entering the mastering stage I've found that many tracks (especially the ones with vocals) would benefit from high quality reverb(s) and I really don't have a good enough reverb to use.

Would appreciate to hear about your experiences with different types of hardware reverbs and software ones also.

Thanks.

EDIT: I've been considering TC Electronic M-One XL and Lexicon MX400 as they're in the price range I could afford. So I'm looking for something that wouldn't cost much more than about 500eur.

[elektro80]

If you are going to add reverb in the mix now, then I suggest you go for software for now. Software reverbs give you more bang for the bucks if you are working on a DAW. In general, you will have 3-30 times more for comparable hardware reverbs. I´m not saying that hardware reverbs is a bad idea, but if you don´t need outboard reverb devices right now, then software is a far better choice.

Altiverb is very good. The UAD-1 reverbs are extremely good.

My suggestion is to both get a good convolution reverb ( + IR files for the one you choose) as well as something like the Universal Audio Realverb Pro and DreamVerb. But.. if you feel like you need reverbs, then you should also consider chorus and delay plugins. And when you do that then you might as well also consider compressor plugins. But you have some of those already?

[Jyoti]

I'm going to respectfully disagree with elektro80 and tell you to perhaps check out a secondhand Lexicon MPX1. Or even a new Alesis Nanoverb. Or, for a proper low-price, high-fun fix, the Behringer DR-100 rev pedal.

To pre-empt any possible offence, I must say that this is entirely a subjective thing, I just prefer how hardware reverbs sound. I'm not saying they're better, I just like them more!

I use the MPX1 as my main reverb, patching it into Logic is very easy and the results are always musical and tweakable. The snare short plate in particular gives a lovely feel.

I use the Nanoverb in-line with my Voyager. I love the fact it's tweakable and it's so quick to get a lush sound that seems to mesh with the obesity of the Voyager perfectly.

I use the Behringer on guitars (natch) and drum machines. It's got a nice spring emulation that sounds wonderful on old-skool drum machines. And a big, chorussy Cocteaus reverb too. Really, for the £30 it costs, you can't go wrong.

Hardware reverbs can be expensive, if you're looking at the new Eventides, Lexicons or Bricasti. But that doesn't mean they all are, particularly since in the scramble to "in-the-box" recording, people are selling off old units at silly prices. Kind of reminds me of when everyone sold off their "dinosaur" analogues in the '80s, knowing that the new digital synths were soo much better!

[elektro80]

Pretty much all of what you would call "hardware reverbs" these days are in fact digital software reverbs.

[Jyoti]

Yes, of course, albeit running on optimised DSPs (like the UAD and TC plugins do too). Ideally, we'd all have the space and budget for one of these:



Now, that's what I call a real hardware reverb!

[softfin]

[Jyoti]

[Jyoti]

As a slightly off-topic point: have you considered using a real reverb? In the early '80s, before I could afford even an analogue delay let alone a digital reverb (Quantec Room Simulator, anyone?), I used to mic-up my Mum's kitchen as it had a long, tiled extension. Pipe the snare through to a speaker, lovely reverb off that!

Similarly, if you plan ahead, you can transfer say a snare or vocal track to a four track, go out to your fave space (I've used empty venues in the past) and record the reverb from there.

In the end, nothing beats real reverb. It's just a bugger to get!

[softfin]

[kkissinger]

[elektro80]

I´m in fact considering to buy more outboard reverbs, but that is only because I use reverb a lot for sound shaping within patches and now I think it would be smart to have some reverbs and compressors in the same cabinet I have the main bulk of dotcom modules.

"Real reverb" or room ambience or whatever is also highly useful sometimes, but I don´t think that is in any way better than using various reverb plugins. It is just different.

My own use of reverb pretty much goes like this:

1. I use reverb within patches or as part of the signal processing when recording a live signal. Few would really recognize this as reverb.

2. I use reverb in the monitoring mixes in order ( but I don´t record this ). I should add that a performance is often very affected by the amount of reverb you throw in.

3. I use mainly reverb plugins when mixing. Apart from that I use whatever feels right. I also reamp tracks and record them off speakers. Oh.. and I often actually record synths that way anyway, even if I am using softsynths.

[Jyoti]

[softfin]