Best way to vary Reverb/effect amount

[playboy354]

Hello,

What is best way to choose how much reverb or other master effect is used?

Is it better to set send level to max 127 and vary the return level in master efx for how much you want (say 45)?

Or is better to have return level at 127 and vary the send level to get what you like?

Does it even make a difference in sound?

I need that spacious reverb for modern pop.

[psionic311]

Typically you wouldn't set either the SEND or the MASTER FX level to 127... that's just too much. Of course, everyone has different tastes, so use the following as a guide.

Set the MASTER reverb level to somewhere between, say 50 to 100, depending on how wet you want the overall mix to be. Let's say you think you want a pretty wet mix. You put the MASTER reverb return level to 100.

Then set the SEND for each instrument to vary depending on how much reverb you want on that track. For example:

You want your pads in this song to be very wet and background. Set the pads SEND level somewhere a bit high, like 100.

You want the strings to be more upfront than the pads, but still inside a big space. Set the strings SEND level to like 60.

You don't want any reverb on the bass. Set its SEND to 0.

You want the drums to be pretty much in your face, not in the background, but not totally dry either. Set the drums SEND to 30.

Now, you have some friends listen to the song a few times. They think it's pretty good overall, except they say it sounds like everything is in a huge cave or something. So you lower the MASTER reverb return level to 75. It sounds much better, tighter, but still big to your liking. But your friends still think that's it's a bit like a cave, esp after you drop the beat and cut to silence... there's the obvious reverb tail still playing on for a second or so when it should be quieter. So you change the MASTER reverb type from a large cathedral to a small hall instead. Everyone likes the mix now. And so on. HTH

[pete.m]

Also - if you are in Sequencer mode - remember that you can alter the amount of the fx as you go through the song. You just record the changes in for each track or for each effect, the same as you would record any other event. You can record the changes on the fly, or else insert a MIDI CC event at the appropriate point.

Using the same method, you can also change the effect itself - i.e, from one type of effect to another - during the song, but that's another story...

[StephenKay]

Never set them (sends/returns) to 127. I always use 100, and vary things from there. Gives you room to go up or down if you need to later.

[Gunnar]

Typically you wouldn't set either the SEND or the MASTER FX level to 127... that's just too much. Of course, everyone has different tastes, so use the following as a guide.

That is a very nice writeup, psionic311