How many of you apply reverb on the master?

The Lounge General Discussion
#21

And for that matter there are so many reverbs that would work well on master. They don’t have to be ultra complex algorithms.

So focus on connectivity, interface, and budget.

Plenty of good and cheap rackmounts as well. Lexicon racks… TC M-One XL sounds great for $150-$200. Many of these racks have spdif, so you can setup a system where you record the dry from your gear over analog jacks into your interface, and the wet from the reverb over digital.
Good if you have a fear of commitment and don’t want to sacrifice another pair of analog inputs on your interface.

I had store credit at a store that didn’t stock the Mercury 7 :wink: This made the difference rather big.

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#22

This is a good point. I have found that I don’t tweak the reverb much. I dialed in a preset and have just left it there. So, keeping it simple for master is probably best. That way it’s just there, doing it’s little (but important) job.

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#23

Is there some funny canceling going on in the reverb, if it‘s applied to the sideband? Or are you taking the sideband as a source for the reverb that‘s going to regular left/right.

I hope you understand what I mean, left right reverb mid side :crazy_face:

#24

It is reverberating the sonic information that only exists in the side band. So using that as a source.
It is ignoring sonic information that is mono.

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#25

This is kinda genre dependent I suppose but…

Never for mastering someone else’s track unless they specifically ask, and then I’d ask them to get that done in the mix if possible.

Unless your listening environment is perfecto, you’re gonna miss things that the reverb is doing to the mix, surely?

Obviously for creative effect of your own stuff it’s fine, and for blending between tracks… but if I’m mastering someone’s track and they’ve used reverb on the final mix, it usually sounds crap in certain places. This doesn’t really apply to drone/noise stuff perhaps?

#26

I wonder if maybe the OTO Bam might be something for this. But maybe that’s overkill like the Chase Bliss pedal as well. Tho I’ve seen a fellow musician or two use the Bam specifically on the master, here on Nauts and elsewhere.

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#27

This track is OP-1 into Oto Bam and that’s it. Starts off dry then Bam fades in, so you can get a sense of what it’s doing.

Another OP-1 + Bam ambient piece (plus a mashup of field recordings from Octatrack):

I usually use reverbs as a send effect but Oto Bam sounds great on the master of ambient tracks

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#28

Dear lord that’s lovely. Thank you for sharing this. I’m enjoying this just because it’s great music, reverb or not.

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#29

I just watched the Blawan talk from the recent Thomann synth event. It seems he runs the main out (mono) from his modular setup into a delay pedal and then into the Blue sky before it hits the PA.

#30

…well there is no right or wrong…

but additional reverb on masterbus is pretty questionable…

if it’s done, it’s done for very detailed cosmetic purpose…with pretty hi end algorithms that run very short room responses…
any longer tails will only end up in special effect department…

and in live use…it’s always a mess that gets out of hand for sure…

it can be great for subgroups…of course, though…
but on an all containing master, it’s shortcut cheating that won’t work in average at all…

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#31

I love dry mixes but they never turn out good in reality. I think some amount of reverb on the master (even just 2% or 3% mix) is necessary. I remind myself that even the “dry” mixes I like over my monitors are still getting some degree of natural reverb from the room.

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#32

If you are going to experiment in software, I recommend Valhalla Vintage Verb. It is amazing. And since you are looking at the Oto Bam, they probably have somewhat similar algorithms, since they are both inspired by those vintage units.

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#33

Thank you for the kind words! :pray:

I think Bam would suit your music well, but it’s definitely not lacking without Bam.

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#34

id say always get a hardware mixer and add your reverb pedal as ‘return effect loop’ adding it on certain channels and passes - to add depth… reverb on over all mix isnt a definite no no . just seems a bit like a blanket over everything that might not need it. your choice, your music my friend.

#35

I’ve got some nice reverb pedals (a BAM, Blackhole), but I feel it’s a bit overkill - I prefer using them more creatively / heavy on separate sounds. Since I have my A&H Mixwizard, lately I use its built in short plate reverb. It’s perfectly fine for this kind of master reverb to give some air to hats and stuff.

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#36

How about affordable or free vst options for this process? I record mostly dry and during the mastering stage might be interested in tossing a plugin on the master for glue. Any recommendations?

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#37

Raum, Eos, the free Valhalla Supermassive.
As long as it has some low frequency filtration. :thup:

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#38

Where can I see that video?

#39

I’ve been using a mono spring reverb subtlety on the over all mix, I don’t really think of it as a character thing but more just a way to smooth some ruff edges. It comes back in parallel with the stereo. I suppose it probably doesn’t add space like some reverbs might. Its pretty barely noticeable.

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#40

A few days ago I got the Death By Audio Rooms and its perfect for synths.
It offers six reverb types that are different enough from one another and incredibly musical.

I had already ordered the CXM but after seeing some demo vids of the Rooms I changed my mind. I´m very glad I did.

It’s not exactly cheap but I would really recommend anyone looking for a great reverb to check it out.

As for using reverb on the master I usually add very little reverb just make the mix “breathe” and “more open-sounding”.

However I have overdone it and learned my lesson the hard way.
I really like AdamJay’s sideband reverb idea and will definitely look into that.

It’s almost impossible to not learn something new on every visit here.

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