Mix masterclass with Jon Musgrave
Choosing reverbs
A dash of reverb can make or break the sound of your mix so careful selection is key for getting the right spatial qualities
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Jon Musgrave
Jon is a London-based platinum award winning mixer, producer, composer and club remixer with a diverse CV that spans dance, pop, rock and music for media. He’s also a long term contributor to Computer Music. Jon usually handles final mixdowns, which is why we’ve got him to share some of his pearls of mixing wisdom here
When it comes to reverbs, the choice is often bewildering. This month we take a look at the different options and where they work best in a mix.
When we are recording instruments we inevitably capture some room sound, and for instruments such as drums and piano this can be a vital component of the final mix sound. Nevertheless, much of the time we are adding artificial reverb to dry sounds, and doing this tastefully and successfully will require a combination of balancing technique and the correct reverb choice.
In our first reverb mixing masterclass we looked at a quick and reliable mixing technique using three reverbs (small, medium and large), but didn’t really dwell on actually choosing the reverbs. This time we’re looking at specific types of reverbs and where we might use them.