Space and depth are really important to me when mixing. (And listening.)
I love when things feel three dimensional and have a tangible sense of depth and front-to-back perspective. My guess would be that most producers feel similarly and strive to do that in their productions before a mix engineer like myself gets involved.
Having said that, I’ve identified two main ways that a production can be better set up for a more believable sense of space and depth.
1. Use Less Different Reverb Types
In today’s age of digital instruments and soft synths, the chances are you are building “space” into your productions without even realizing it. Most modern samples and software instruments have reverbs, delays, and “room” type elements embedded into their sound. It’s easy to overlook this in the bigger picture of the production.
While it’s not inherently a bad thing, what it does do is create a feeling that every element is living in a different space. The piano has a room reverb on it with one decay time. The snare sample has a plate reverb with a different decay time. The guitar has a spring reverb, etc., etc.
While each element might sound great, when you look at the bigger picture of the song as a whole, it does not have one coherent space to it, and the ear gets confused as to which sonic universe is true. Being intentional about the effects you’re using, and the sonic palette they bring can really help to define the space and context of the production before it even reaches the mixing stage.
Try limiting yourself to using only one or two reverbs while working on a production. Maybe turn off some of the built-in reverbs that come preloaded on your favorite synth plugins, and apply your own external FX.
2. Focus on the Decay Times
Another important element with time-based effects, like reverb, is making sure that they’re in time with the tempo of your song. Doing so will allow the reverb to truly make things feel larger rather than smaller.
Long decay times do not always equal more size or a “larger” sense of space. Putting a long-tailed reverb on a snare or kick drum may make the space feel larger, but if the decay continues on for too long, it will wash out the following transient information, mask it and make it less punchy, defined, and – smaller.
Using a BPM to MS calculator can help you find the value of a quarter or half note in milliseconds and inform you as to where to set the decay of your reverbs. You can then use the pre-delay, dampening, and tone controls of the reverb to further define the size of the sound you are going for.
These are two simple tips to be mindful of when producing and using reverbs. See how it works in your own productions and how you can start to build a more tangible and defined space before bouncing things out for mixing.
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-Josh