A Guide to Reverb in Ableton

Ableton Live is one of the most user-friendly programs for those wanting to make music. There’s a wide variety of tools to choose from, but one of the more effective tools in Ableton’s suite is its built-in reverb effect.

Why Use Reverb?

Reverb is a fundamental tool in music production; it helps flesh out your mix by adding depth, creating a more immersive and engaging sonic experience. It allows you to add a sense of realism and immersion to your tracks by simulating the reflections and decay of sound in a particular space.

The Steps

1. To create a reverb send, right-click the right side of the screen where the tracks are listed. Click the “Insert Return Track” option. An empty track labelled “Return Track” will now appear. Click on it, search the effects tab for reverb, and drag it into the return track.
2. Set your reverb track’s “Dry/Wet” level to 100%. On your instrument track, you’ll see a wheel labelled “A, B, C, etc.” this is your send level. The higher you turn it up, the more of the assigned return track you’ll hear underneath the instrument. The more reverb an instrument has, the further away it will sound. The Kick Drum and Bass Guitar should typically remain 100% dry, while snares and toms can have more reverb.
3. Under the “Input Processing” window, roll off the frequencies around 600 Hz to remove the low-end mud. Then do a high cut to take out frequencies above 10kHz. Additionally, you can throw an EQ on your return track before the reverb instead for more accurate results.
4. The size, decay time, and pre-delay should all work together. A smaller-sized room will have a shorter pre-delay and a faster decay time, and vice versa with a larger room. First, adjust your room size, followed by the pre-delay and decay time. Be cautious when setting high decay times; too long of a decay time will overlap, making things too loud and muddying up your mix. An excellent resource for calculating these parameters is Another Producer.
5. Use the high/low cuts under the “Diffusion Network” window to tweak the reverb’s tail. Any frequencies that stand out as distracting or are competing with other frequencies can be brought down.
6. Finally, throw a simple EQ on your return track after the reverb. This will help you fine-tune and take out any additional undesirable frequencies.

Conclusion

Considering these tips, the important thing to remember is to experiment and have fun when making music. Even if the reverb you’re creating isn’t “realistic,” experimenting with these parameters can create some unique sounds. If you’re looking for inspiration, listen to our wide selection of music on NR92.

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