Reverb pedal when recording or put in reverb afterwards with plugin etc? Opinions?

Denalihighway

Hi folks,
I'll be starting some serious recording soon and wanted some opinions on recording reverb specifically. The amp I'll be using to record is a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Solo Head, with a 4x12 cab. Great amp and I'm thankful to be able to use it cuz its not mine. It doesn't have reverb on it (my only possible complaint) so in the meantime I'm gonna start using it in rehearsals and get myself a nice reverb pedal to start modelling the exact sound I want for each song so I know what I when at mixdown etc (I'm looking at a Holy Grail at this stage or the Boss dig reverb). Up to now I've been using a Marshall MG, which has been fine but isnt up to the job at hand...but it has reverb

My question is, in your wealth of experiences what have been your best approaches/results to recording reverb?

Use pedal and record reverb?
Use amp and record reverb?
Use plugin etc afterwards? I'm most tempted to do this given the versatility and the scope for change etc afterwards. Although not very romantic, some of the plugin reverbs are very good from what I can gather and it could save a lot of f*cking around with very limited studio time.

thanks in advance you filthy studio animals!

LaVidaLoca

For one thing, on some guitar sounds , the sound of a guitar type (spring) reverb is an integral part of the instruments sound, and so you'd probably want to play with the amps reverb on: If you were recording surf guitar type sound for example.

Secondly, recording with reverb on, allows you to commit to a sound there and then in the studio , which can be a good thing, in this day and age of endless mixing, remixing and arsing around with plugins.

That said, if you're not confident that a reverbed out sound is what you want, record dry. Or record with reverb, but back off a little: You can add more reverb later (using Amplitube or Guitar Rig) but you cant take it off once it's there.

11811

you could always do two takes of the guitar part one with and one without the reverb, incase plugins don't quite get the sound you're looking for. but always keep in mind what was said above once its recorded with an effect it cant be taken off...
or else you could use the reverb pedal as in insert perhaps.

Denalihighway

yeah I think I'd be mad not to record dry to be honest, if I had loadsa time I could feck around with different sounds/settings and even mess around with room sound etc but it would seem foolish to record 'wet' ...for want of a better expression. I think I just hate not being in control like most musicians. I'll be making sure we do plenty o pre-pro and I'll be dragging our producer into plenty of rehearsals to make sure we're on the same page, probably the best way to go

Denalihighway

Cuddleworthy wrote: »

you could always do two takes of the guitar part one with and one without the reverb, incase plugins don't quite get the sound you're looking for. but always keep in mind what was said above once its recorded with an effect it cant be taken off...
or else you could use the reverb pedal as in insert perhaps.

yeah defo a good idea to do plenty o tracks with and without...I guess that would make sense

cornbb

You could consider recording dry and then adding the reverb later with your preferred pedal/ourboard unit via an auxiliary send/return. That way you have the benefit of being able to keep the recording clean and being able to use the hardware unit of your choice. You won't have to get all the knobs/paramaters on the pedal right first time either.

studiorat

You'll find it difficult to get the same reverb quality putting it on afterwards, remember the reverb is going through the amp so it's being distorted by the amp and speaker.

If the reverb is a feature of the sound, ie a kind of surf vibe or something like that, I'd record with the reverb on. Make the decision there and then and move on. If the reverb is just there as a mix thing, to make the guitar sit in the mix etc. then leave it to later.

You really should be building the mix as you are recording rather than leaveing all your decisions till the end.

Niall - Dahlia

cornbb wrote: »

You could consider recording dry and then adding the reverb later with your preferred pedal/ourboard unit via an auxiliary send/return. That way you have the benefit of being able to keep the recording clean and being able to use the hardware unit of your choice. You won't have to get all the knobs/paramaters on the pedal right first time either.

That sounds like the best compromise to me if a guitarist really wanted to use a certain reverb pedal. At least then you can compare to the sound of plugins/other outboard verbs.

I always record guitar dry and add reverb (if any is even necessary) afterwards.

squibs

Couldn't you split the signal from the guitar and send one to amp and one direct? You have the option to re-amp the direct signal or model it in software - likewise with the reverb.

cornbb

studiorat wrote: »

You'll find it difficult to get the same reverb quality putting it on afterwards, remember the reverb is going through the amp so it's being distorted by the amp and speaker.

Yes, you're right of course. I usually cheap out and use Guitar Rig so that didn't even occur to me.

PaulBrewer

LaVidaLoca wrote: »

For one thing, on some guitar sounds , the sound of a guitar type (spring) reverb is an integral part of the instruments sound, and so you'd probably want to play with the amps reverb on: If you were recording surf guitar type sound for example.

Secondly, recording with reverb on, allows you to commit to a sound there and then in the studio , which can be a good thing, in this day and age of endless mixing, remixing and arsing around with plugins.

That said, if you're not confident that a reverbed out sound is what you want, record dry. Or record with reverb, but back off a little: You can add more reverb later (using Amplitube or Guitar Rig) but you cant take it off once it's there.

In a Nutshell ! Thread finished I'd say!