Chapter 12  Signal Processing 473

Figure 12.41. Digital

reverb devices: (a) TC
Electronic M-One
effects processor a
(courtesy of TC
Electronic,
www.tcelectronic.com);
(b) Waves True Verb
reverb plug-in (courtesy
of Waves Ltd.,
www.waves.com).

^ Increase the settings above 35 msec. Can you hear the discrete delays?
^ If the unit has a phaser setting, turn it on . . . how does it sound different?
^ Now change the delay settings a little faster to create a wacky flange effect. If the unit
has a flange setting, turn it on. Try playing with the time-based settings that affect its
sweep rate. . . . Fun, huh?

Reverb
In professional audio production, natural acoustic reverberation is an extremely important
tool for the enhancement of music and sound production. A properly designed acoustical
environment can add a quality and natural depth to a recorded sound that often affect the
performance as well as its overall sonic character. In those situations where there is little, no,
or substandard natural ambience, a high-quality reverb device or plug-in (Figure 12.41) can be
extremely helpful in filling out and giving the production a sense of dimensional space and
perceived warmth. As we learned in Chapter 3 (Studio Acoustics and Design), reverb is closely
spaced and random multiple echoes that are reflected from one boundary to another within
a determined space (Figure 12.42). This effect helps give us perceptible cues as to the size,
density, and nature of a space (even though it might have been artificially generated). These
cues can be broken down into three subcomponents:
^ Direct signal
^ Early reflections
^ Reverberation
474 Modern Recording Techniques

Figure 12.42. Signal level Reference

level
versus reverb time. 1
Input signal Output signal
Early reflection

60-dB decay
Main reverberation

Level
0.5

sub rev
e.rfl
Early reflection (ch-1) delay time E.rfl
Early reflection (ch-2) delay time Sub rev
Reverberation time Pre dly Reverb time

Time

The direct signal is heard when the original sound wave travels directly from the source to
the listener. Early reflections are the first few reflections that bounce back to the listener from
large, primary boundaries in a given space. Generally, these reflections are the ones that
give us subconscious cues as to the perception of size and space. The last set of reflections
makes up the signal’s reverberation characteristic. These sounds are comprised of zillions of
random reflections that travel from boundary to boundary within the confines of a room.
These reflections are so closely spaced in time that the brain can’t discern them as individual
reflections, so they’re perceived as a single, densely decaying signal.

Reverb Types
By varying program and setting parameters, a digital reverb device can be used to simulate a
wide range of acoustic environments, reverb devices, and special effects. A few popular
categories include:
^ Hall—Simulates the acoustics of a concert hall. This often is a diffuse, lush setting with a
longer RT60 decay time (the time that’s required for a sound to decay by 60 dB)
^ Chamber—Simulates the acoustics of an echo chamber. Like a live chamber, these
settings often simulate the brighter reflectivity of tile or cement surfaces.
^ Room—As you might expect, these settings simulate the acoustics of a mid- to large-sized
room. It’s often best suited to intimate solo instruments or a chamber atmosphere.
^ Live (stage)—Simulates a live performance stage. These settings can vary widely but often
simulate long early-delay reflections.
^ Spring—Simulates the low-fidelity ‘‘boingyness’’ of yesteryear’s spring reverb devices.
^ Plate—Simulates the often-bright diffuse character of yesteryear’s metallic plate reverb
devices. These settings are often used on vocals and percussion instruments.
^ Reverse—These backward-sounding effects are created by reversing the decay trail’s
envelope so that the decay increases in level over time and quickly cut off at the tail-
end . . . yielding a sudden break effect. This can also be realistically created in a DAW by
reversing a track or segment, applying reverb . . . and then reversing it again to yield a true
backward reverb trail.
 Chapter 12  Signal Processing 475

Figure 12.43. Altiverb sampled

acoustics processor plug-in. (Courtesy
of Audio Ease, www.audioease.com.)

^ Gate—Cuts off the decay trail of a reverb signal. These settings are often used for
emphasis on drums and percussion instruments.

Do-It-Yourself Tutorial: Reverb Types

1. Go to the ‘‘Tutorial’’ section of www.modrec.com, click on ‘‘Ch. 12—Reverb Types,’’
and download the sound file.
2. Listen to the track.

Impulse Response Reverb

Impulse response reverb devices and plug-ins (Figure 12.43) are capable of accurately
simulating the sampled acoustics of real halls, cathedrals, bathrooms, missile silos . . . virtually
any acoustic environment . . . in a real-time processing environment. This process is carried
out through the modeling of an acoustic environment in the digital domain from a recorded
impulse response. This reverb ‘‘footprint’’ is created by firing a starter pistol or by playing a sine
wave sweep from a speaker into an auditorium, church, or other acoustic space. The result-
ing reverberation decay is then recorded as a digital audio file, and (using a process called
deconvolution) the dry source signal is then extracted from the audio file. The resulting acoustic
fingerprint can then be used to re-create the actual acoustics of that particular environment
within a mono, stereo, or surround soundfield.
Since the process of creating an impulse response isn’t overly difficult, an ever-growing number
of concert halls, reverb devices, microphone simulations, and bathrooms are showing up on
the Web as a download. In addition, certain plug-ins will even let you insert a .jpg picture or
slideshow of pictures into the preset, so as to show mic positions and other details of the
sampled space.

Pitch- and Time-Shift-Related Effects

Another time-based effect that is best carried out in the digital domain is the alteration of
pitch and time within audio. A wide range of effects devices, plug-ins, and DAW program
applications can be used to carry out these functions, although it should be noted that