Effects

Question 1

Reverb

Answer 1

When you make a sound in any space, the sound waves travel around that space, bouncing off the walls before returning back to your ears as a series of delayed echoes. These echoes will have different characteristics, depending on the size of the room, the surface materials within it and all sorts of other variables.

Question 2

Plate Reverb

Answer 2

plate’ reverbs emulate the sound of a space by bouncing the signal off a suspended metal plate. Plate reverbs don’t sound terribly natural, but they have been employed on a lot of classic recordings and as such are considered a classic studio sound.

Question 3

spring reverb

Answer 3

spring reverb is an electromechanical device, but instead of using a metal plate, it pumps the signal through a box filled with loosely suspended metal springs. This produces a characteristically metallic sound that is even less natural than that of a plate reverb.

Question 4

the digital reverb processor.

Answer 4

These units might be standalone reverb boxes, or might include reverb among many other common effects. Most of them are ‘algorithmic’ in nature, using delay, pitchshifting and filtering techniques to simulate real-world spaces.

Question 5

ROOM SIZE

Answer 5

Larger sizes typically correlate to longer reverb times and possibly a wider stereo image. As even synthetic rooms can have standing waves, if the reverb sound has flutter (a periodic warbling effect), vary this parameter in conjunction with decay time (described later) for a smoother sound.

Question 6

EARLY REFLECTIONS LEVEL

Answer 6

This parameter sets the level of the first group of echoes that occurs when sound waves hit walls, ceilings, etc. These reflections tend to be more defined and sound more like “echo” than “reverb.” Prominent early reflections tend to work better with sustained sounds, such as vocals and pads, than percussive sounds. Balance the early reflections so they are neither obvious discrete echoes, nor masked by the decay. Lowering the early reflections level also places the listener further back in the room, and more toward the middle.

Question 7

PRE-DELAY

Answer 7

Simulates the amount of time it takes for a sound to leave its sound source and create a first reflection. Setting a slight pre-delay offsets the reverb from the dry signal, which can prevent reverb from “stepping on” the signal being reverberated. Also, increase pre-delay to give the feeling of a bigger space; for example, large room sizes tend to work well with significant pre-delay.

Question 8

DECAY TIME

Answer 8

This determines how long it takes for the reflections in the room to run out of energy. Long reverb times may sound impressive on instruments when soloed, but rarely work in an ensemble context (unless the arrangement is sparse). Reverb presets often link the decay time and room size parameters so you don’t end up with, for example, a small room with a very long decay. However, “wrong” settings can sometimes create useful sounds.

Question 9

DAMPING

Answer 9

With softer surfaces (e.g., a hall packed with people), the reverb tails will lose high frequencies as they bounce around, producing a warmer sound with less “edge.” If your reverb has an artificial-sounding high end, add damping to create a warmer sound. Damping affects overall tone, so setting it “oppositely” often works well (lots of damping with a bright-sounding song to warm it up, little damping if the song needs more “air”).

Question 10

HIGH FREQUENCY ATTENUATION

Answer 10

This reduces the high frequencies going into the reverb. If your reverb sounds metallic, reduce the highs starting at 4–8kHz. Remember, many great-sounding plate reverbs didn’t have much response over 5kHz.

Question 11

LOW FREQUENCY ATTENUATION

Answer 11

Use this to reduce low frequencies entering the reverb. This can prevent a muddy, indistinct sound that takes focus away from the kick and bass. Try attenuating from 100–200Hz on down.

Question 12

WIDTH

Answer 12

Some reverbs allow expanding or collapsing the stereo image.

Question 13

MODULATION DEPTH

Answer 13

To create more variation in reverb sounds, modulation adds subtle changes to the reverb characteristics. Increase modulation depth if the reverb sound needs more “animation.”

Question 14

MODULATION RATE

Answer 14

For reverbs with modulation, this determines the rate at which modulation changes occur.

Question 15

REVERB DENSITY

Answer 15

Lower densities give more space between the reverb’s first reflections and subsequent reflections. Higher densities place these closer together. Generally, as with diffusion, higher densities work better for percussive content, and lower densities for vocals and sustained sounds.

Question 16

HIGH FREQUENCY DECAY

Answer 16

With reverbs having separate decay times for high and low frequencies, this sets the decay of high frequencies. A longer high frequency decay gives a brighter, more ethereal type of reverb that can sound great on vocals as it adds more reverb to sibilants and fricatives, while minimizing reverb on plosives and lower vocal ranges.

Question 17

LOW FREQUENCY DECAY

Answer 17

With reverbs having separate decay times for high and low frequencies, this sets the decay of low frequencies. A longer low frequency decay gives a bigger, more “massive” type of reverb that’s more like a large live space, but when used to excess, can give a “muddy” sound.

Question 18

CROSSOVER FREQUENCY

Answer 18

This sets the dividing point between the high and low frequencies mentioned above.

Question 19

MIX

Answer 19

Use this to edit the balance of dry and reverberated sound. If the reverb serves as an insert effect, set this for the desired blend. If the reverb is a send effect, this is usually set to reverb only, with the return control determining the overall reverb level in the mix.

Question 20

GATE

Answer 20

For gated reverb, this sets the level below which the reverb tail is cut off. Using relatively high gate settings was a popular effect in ’80s synth-pop.

Question 21

GATE DECAY

Answer 21

When using gated reverb, this adjusts how long it takes for the reverb tail to decay after the reverb signal passes below the gate threshold.

Question 22

Delay

Answer 22

SINGLE: ‘Standard’ delay effect where all repetitions of the signal are spaced at regular intervals.

MULTI-TAP: More than one set of delays, which can be programmed to occur at different rhythmic intervals to one another.

SLAP BACK: A very short delay, close in volume to the original signal. Used a lot in Rock ’n Roll, Country and Rockabilly music. Almost sounds like a short reverb effect.

TIMED: A delay where the reflections are spaced out according to a set time.

PING PONG: Where the delayed signal constantly alternates between being panned hard left/right.

Question 23

Modulated delay

Answer 23

Flanger: A flanger sounds similar to a phase shifter, but can have a much more dramatic effect on your tone. Like a phaser, the signal is split into two copies, then one of them is delayed in time very slightly, usually no more than 20 milliseconds. The delay time also changes at a constant rate, which can be manipulated with a knob.

The effect was first discovered in the studio, where two identical reel-to-reel tape machines with the same track on each were synched to start at the same time. The engineer then pressed his thumb against the “flange” of one to momentarily slow it down and take it out of synch. And hence, the flanger was born.

Flangers create a much more complex harmonic reaction in the signal than a phaser, resulting in a more saturated and dramatic sound.

Chorus: A chorus pedal is very similar to a flanger and a phaser in that it creates two clones of the signal. The difference is that a chorus pedal uses a longer delay between the two signals, which creates a more subtle effect than a flanger or phase shifter. Chorus pedals are designed to mimic the wavering, space-evoking sound of a choir. Chorus pedals work really well in a stereo configuration, where the effect is produced through two widely spaced amplifiers. When standing between the two in a large room, it has a surreal 3D effect on the listeners’ ears.

Phaser: Phasers split the signal of your instrument into two exact copies, shift the phase of one copy, and then recombine the two as a single signal. As a result, notches (or particular frequency bands that are canceled out) are created, just like when you mismatch speaker wires in a home stereo unit. These notches are then swept through the entire frequency band, creating a rippling, Doppler-like effect in your sound.

Phase shifters are capable of creating subtle, submissive waves that don’t over-saturate your tone. There are scores of recordings with these effects, especially in classic rock.

Question 24

LFO

Answer 24

Low-frequency oscillation (LFO) is an electronic signal which is usually below 20Hz and creates a rhythmic pulse or sweep. This pulse or sweep is often used to modulate synthesizers, delay lines and other audio equipment in order to create effects used in the production of electronic music. Audio effects such as vibrato, tremolo and phasing are examples. The abbreviation LFO is also very often used to refer to low-frequency oscillators themselves.

Question 25

wah-wah pedal

Answer 25

A wah-wah pedal (or simply wah pedal) is a type of electric guitar effects pedal that alters the tone and frequencies of the guitar signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic name “wah-wah”. The pedal sweeps the peak response of a frequency filter up and down in frequency to create the sound, a spectral glide, also known as “the wah effect”. The wah-wah effect originated in the 1920s, with trumpet or trombone players finding they could produce an expressive crying tone by moving a mute in and out of the instrument’s bell. This was later simulated with electronic circuitry for the electric guitar when the wah-wah pedal was invented. It is controlled by movement of the player’s foot on a rocking pedal connected to a potentiometer. Wah-wah effects are used when a guitarist is soloing, or creating a “wacka-wacka” funk-styled rhythm for rhythm guitar playing.

Question 26

What is tremolo?

Answer 26

Tremolo is also a modulation effect, however in this case the movement and rhythm is created by varying the amplitude, or volume, of the signal. Tremolo is particularly useful for creating percussive shuddering or stuttering, as well as gentle or intense pulsating effects.

Question 27

Vocal Effects

Answer 27

Vocoders and Talxboxes