Among guitarists, there seem to be two
schools of thought about reverb: one
theorizing that no guitar should ever go
without it, and another suggesting that all
reverb should die. I tend to be of the latter
persuasion, but as a recording engineer I
find that wise use of fake ambience based on
the circumstances is a more practical mode of
operation. If recording with a lovely, naturally
occurring room sound isn’t possible, as it often
is not, then the subtle application of a carefully
tweaked and blended room ‘verb applied at
mix time can make a dry, claustrophobic guitar
sound much more natural.
Beyond just making things sound more natural though, there are many guitarists
for whom reverb is an essential element of their playing style. For instance, trying
to convince a surf band to record without spring reverb would be ridiculous,
and a lot of players raised on Eddie Van Halen are all but married to that early
EVH plate tone. Where many neophyte recording guitarists go wrong, however,
is going too heavy on the pedal or amp reverb when laying down guitar tracks.
This can lead to muddy, distant tones and a recording that sounds like a terrible
demo. If your reverb unit really is essential to your style then by all means record
with it, but when it doubt, dial it back or turn it off. There’s little that can be
done about too much reverb on a recording, but if it’s not quite enough, most
audio mixologists will have plenty of options for adding sweet reverberations
after the fact. Keep in mind that many of these will likely be of much higher
quality than your average reverb stompbox.
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TONE TALK //
Get it on Tape: Tips for Nailing your Sound When Recording
PHOTO BY ANIRUDH KOUL, VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Wise use of reverb