Reverb (size/mix)

▸What it is

Reverb simulates the sound of a space — the thousands of small reflections that follow any sound made in a room, hall, or cave. Size sets how big the imagined space is, which controls how long the tail lasts and how dense the reflections feel. Mix balances the dry source against the wet reverberated signal. Small amounts of reverb glue a sound to the rest of the track and place it in a believable space. Large amounts wash everything into a single ambient layer — useful on pads, dangerous on anything that needs rhythmic definition. Reverb on bass is usually a bad idea; reverb on pads and leads is most of the magic.

▸Questions

• Should the bass have reverb?

  Almost never. Reverb on bass muddies the low end and smears the rhythm. Keep bass dry; put reverb on the parts that already sit in the upper half of the mix.

• What is a good mix level for reverb on a pad?

  20–35% is typical. Past 50% and the pad becomes more reverb than pad.

• How is reverb size different from reverb time?

  Size mostly controls the density of early reflections; time controls how long the tail lasts. Many simple reverbs combine them into one "size" knob.

▸In the curriculum

First taught

PD4 · Space — Add reverb to set depth. Part of the Pad track.

This concept is taught once and is not directly reused in another lesson.