Reverb holds the power to take your mix from sounding dead to alive.
But, it also comes with the risk of making your mix unintelligible and frustrating to
the listener.
Good news is, there are a few simple techniques you can employ to harness all the benefits
of reverb while protecting your mix from becoming unclear.
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There’s a golden rule when it comes to mixing reverb: turn it up until you can hear it and
then dial it back until it blends in with the mix.
In other words, you should definitely notice when it is missing but not necessarily notice
it is there.
Of course, there are a few exceptions to this rule.
In some songs, you may actually want to hear the reverb.
For example, when we sing Miracles by Jesus Culture, I prefer the reverb on the lead vocal
to be a bit above the ‘blending in’ spot to give it more space and depth.
In high energy songs, you may want less reverb.
For example, when we sing Limitless by Planetshakers, the lead vocal sounds best with only enough
reverb to keep the vocal from sounding super dry.
Too much reverb on the lead vocal in a song like this makes the fast moving lyrics hard
to understand.
Now that you know how to mix reverb, let’s talk about three different reverbs you should
be using when it comes to church sound.
Reverb #1: Plate Reverb for Vocals
When it comes to live sound at church, plate reverb works the best for vocals.
It is bright, clean and has a bit of a sparkle, which adds brilliance to vocals.
The two things you want to dial in on this reverb are decay and pre delay.
Decay determines how long reverb lasts.
I generally set this between 3-4s, which leaves a nice, beautiful trail of reverb.
This works especially well on ballads, but you may want a shorter decay time on high
energy songs.
Pre Delay keeps reverb off the first part of the sound.
Setting this to around 150ms will keep vocal attacks (beginnings of words) nice and clear
and help eliminate harsh s’s and t’s.
Another setting you may want to use is hi cut, which takes high frequencies out of the
reverb.
I recommend starting with this as high as it will go.
Then, if you have problems with s’s and t’s coming across too harsh, dial it back
to about 5kHz.
Reverb #2: Hall Reverb for Instruments
Hall reverb is beautiful, but sounds dull compared to plate reverb, which makes it a
good option for instruments.
Giving instruments a different reverb than vocals will help keep separation between the
two and the vocals clean and clear.
Decay is the setting you want to focus on with this reverb.
I generally set decay between 2-3s, but don’t be afraid to experiment.
Keep in mind, many instrumentalists dial in their own reverb.
For example, electric guitarists use pedals for reverb and keyboards may use MainStage
or the built-in reverb on their keyboard.
So, only add reverb if they still sound too dry or you are struggling to get it to blend.
On a side note, there are certain times when you may want to use plate and hall reverb
on vocals.
For example, if you have a ballad where the vocal should occupy lots of space, adding
hall with plate reverb will add space to the ‘warm’ frequencies.
Reverb #3: Drum Reverb
Most reverb processors have a setting for drums.
If a drum preset is not available, a small to medium bright room would be a good choice.
Add this reverb to your snare, toms and overhead microphones.
The kick drum should remain dry unless you are using reverb for some kind of special
effect.
Use the golden rule by turning it up until you can hear it and then dialing it back to
where it blends in with the mix.
One final tip I have for you is don’t forget the kill switch for vocal reverb.
If you are not used to reverb on vocals, one issue you will run into is reverb being on
a vocal who starts talking into the microphone.
You need to be ready to cut reverb in these moments because reverb on a talking mic is
extremely frustrating to the listener.
Find a way to designate a ‘kill switch’ to vocal reverbs.
For example, on the Behringer X32, you can assign a mute group to the FX busses that
control the vocal reverb.
If you are using the Behringer X32 (or Midas M32), I have a bonus for you.
Download a cheat sheet for how to set up these three reverbs using built-in presets by clicking
the link in the description.
If you have questions, drop them in the comments.
I’d be glad to answer.
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See ya next time.