Reverb

Definition

An electronic effect which can give the impression of different hall acoustics. For example, reverb can make a piece of music sound as if the performance is taking place in a cathedral.

Reverb is the name given to the natural series of very short and dense reflections of a sound that occur in a confined space such as a room or a hall. While echoes with a longer delay would be discernible, in reverb the echoes happen so fast and are so dense it is impossible for the listener to hear individual repeats. Reverb is the essence of natural sound.

Listening to a close mic'd instrument is like having the instrument play in your ear in a very small room. The addition of reverb to a sound makes it appear as if the instrument is being played in a real acoustic environment, for example a church or concert hall.

Nowadays reverb can be emulated digitally very easily and nearly all effects processors have a wide range of reverb types for different applications

Examples

This video demonstrates how a singer sounds without reverb, and then how the same voice sounds when reverb is added.

Related concepts

• Gated reverb (N5 Tech)