The original hardware plate reverb from German company Elektromesstecknik was released in 1957 and revolutionized how reverb was used in the recording industry. Here are my top 7 reverb plugins to use when mixing … 1. Once you understand this, and use reverb not as a band-aid but as a tool to create separation between elements (and to add character and tone to tracks), you’ll find that the elements of your mix will live more harmoniously with one another. So in that sense, while you can “hide” things using reverb, you can’t fix things with it. Worth considering is reverb plugins are essentially recreating many, many copies of whatever is fed into them, so if you’re sending in something that is deficient, you’re only multiplying the deficiency. This might just be me, but sometimes I feel like I really have to put in significant work to make a reverb sit perfectly in a mix, far more work than it takes for me to feel satisfied with other types of processing like compression, saturation and even delay. I’ll admit, I have a love/hate relationship with reverb. If we don’t curate that space and caringly place our tracks within it, it can negatively affect our mix in a variety of ways. Strange way to open an article about reverb plugins, right? Not really. The idea is that we are connected to the different spaces in our homes, and if we make adjustments to these spaces by arranging them in ways that promote positivity, we will live happier (and healthier) lives.
Have you ever heard of the concept “feng shui?” It’s a practice that originated in ancient China that claims to enable humans to live more harmoniously with their environment.