this is a simple and, much probably, silly question.
I usually insert some reverb in the main output. In this way, obviously, all tracks share the same “reverb sound”.
Now, I would like to keep one track “dry”, with no reverb signal in it. Well, I’ve tried any kind of combinations: the “wet” signal is still there.
I’ve tried with “sends” but, apparently, switching on and off its controls does not change the final result: the bleeding “wet” signal is always there.
Another question: having reached the goal, namely to keep some tracks wet and others dry, is it possible to change the single amount of (wet) signal for each single track? And how?
If you put reverb on the master out, everything will be affected by it. You could set up a separate out, or rather just use a regular FX channel, and send all tracks you want reverb on to that. This way you also have more control over it, you can EQ and apply effects to only the wet signal as well.
I think you should search around the web for information on how to apply reverb to music. You will most likely find some very useful information which will tell you the standard practices. You are asking a very basic question and you probably need to familiarise yourself with some of those standard practices to understand things. Also I’d suggest working through the Cubase turorials, they will show you how to do these things in Cubase.
Essentially, you need to add your reverb it as a ‘send’ effect. That is, you create a ‘send’ channel with the reverb as an insert on that channel, then you ‘send’ audio from other channels to your reverb channel which is finally mixed to the output buss along with the dry channels. Thus, you only get reverb on as many channels as you decide to send to the reverb channel.
While there is no ‘absolute’ rule, certain processes are most appropriate for inserts and certain for sends.
Reverb is primarily used to create ‘space’ primarily in the sense of how close or far something is from the theoreticl ‘front of the sound stage.’
You don’t want your guitar player playing in a subway tunnel, your singer in a bathroom and your drummer in a cathedral. You want them all in the same room … which ever one you choose.
This is why it is used as a send. You place one reverb (or often two for different purposes) in a buss or fx channel and then you send different amounts from your, in my example, singer, guitar player and drummer. Typically less for the singer, since they are closer or in the theoretical ‘front’ of your sound stage. Etc. By adjusting the send levels, you create the illusion of the voices being different distances from the front of the sound stage.
You now use panning to place them around that sound stage.
EQ and compression, on the other hand, are usually inserts, since you are trying to adjust and make just that specific track unique in the mix with respect to its timbre/ tone.
Realise that when using an FX track, the inserted reverb should have it’s mix set to 100% (only wet). The balance between dry and wet is created by adjusting the fader on the dry tracks and their send levels.
I hate it when these questions pop into my mind! Anyway … any difference between 1 and 2?
Dry send to FX Track or Group Channel post-fader at 0.0 dB with Reverb at 100% wet and adjust fader of FX Track or Group Channel for wet/ dry balance.
Dry send to FX Track or Group Channel post-fader, leave fader of FX Track or Group Channel at unity/ 0.0 dB with Reverb at 100% wet and vary send level for wet/ dry balance.
In any case … whether there is no difference between 1 and 2, or one is preferred, to keep from getting dazzed and confused with what you are doing, it seems to me you should practice adjusting either the send level or the fader in the FX Track or Group Channel, not both.
(EDIT) As soon as I posted this, I realized the ‘right way’ must be 2. That would be the only way that you could send from different dry tracks and place various amounts of reverb on different tracks to vary their distance in the sound stage. I suppose in 2 there might be times you wanted to move the FX Track/ Group Channel fader for an effect … but not for normal use of reverb for sound stage placement of your instruments/ voices.
yes, you are correct. I meant to say that you can make the balance by adjusting the fx send (prefader!) on the dry track and the dry track’s own fader. If it’s postfader it obviously makes no difference for the dry/wet balance.
I don’t think there is a “right” answer, but I use pre-fader for FX sends. I don’t want the change in db on a given track to change the balance of all tracks going to the fx.
Group tracks is different. I do exactly the opposite and use post-fader as I’m typically summing at the group and I DO want the change in db to change the balance.
I don’t think either way is right, and you can accomplish the same tweaks using different knobs/faders regardless of the choice and end up at the same mix. It’s a matter of what clicks for you. What do you naturally feel yourself trying to grab to solve the balance issue? Same question with the FX … what do you reach for? You might as well configure your routings so that they respond the way your brain works.
Hm. While on the one hand I too generally use pre-fader sends for any effects where I will at times want to hear just the effect and not the untreated signal, I’ve always used post-fader sends for reverb, because, if I increase/decrease the fader level in the mix, I want the reverb to change in the same way. In particular, if I pull the fader right down in order to silence the track’s contribution to the mix, I don’t want to hear a reverb “ghost” of the track still playing.
It makes no difference as long as the track is not being routed through a buss and you don’t use the fader of that bus to adjust a sub-mix buss/ group in the mix.
Let’s say you have individual tracks for your kick, snare, etc. going into a common drum buss. If you try to use that drum buss fader to adjust the level of drums in the mix, you will have problems with either pre-fader or post-fader sends. That’s because adjusting the buss fader only changes the level of the dry tracks, not the send levels. In either case the send level stays constant and the dry tracks change … or more precisely the level of the dry tracks in the mix changes via the buss fader.
If everything is routed directly to the master buss, then obviously this isn’t an issue. The ‘solution’ is to use post-fader sends and be able to group/link your tracks within the buss once you have their relative levels and send levels adjusted. If you then always leave the drum bus at unity and change the levels of the dry tracks within the buss in a linked fashion, all the relationships between the individual drum tracks sends level will be preserved.
That’s the basis of my feature request above. You really should take the 10 minutes to see the video, it’s an eye opener.
If the idea of using sub-mix busses doesn’t appeal to you, then none of this is useful.
Anyway … any difference between 1 and 2?