To pan or not to pan, that is the question...

[emos28]

Hi,

 

i was wondering what people thought about reverb and how to use it. i have a mix with two electric guitars panned left and right in the classic way with the bass, drums and vocals in and around the center. i cant judge how to add reverb to the guitars; whether to add a mono reverb to each, panned to the same position as the guitars themselves, or to add one stereo reverb (no panning) applied to both guitars. i assume this might clutter the mix but i cant test anything out right now as my monitoring speakers are trashed and all i have are headphones. i dont know if this is a totally subjective question or whether there is a "rule of thumb" that applies which i have never heard of. all opinions welcome, please.

 

thanks

[Justin-Ch]

I would use a separate reverb for each guitar on two separate busses, & have them panned to match the guitar positions.

[shivermetimbers]

I would start at the final output and work my way back. Do your mix dry with everything that can be unprocessed left that way. If you need compression and things along that line on guitars, drums, and vocals add them individually.

 

At the final stereo out, add just the amount of reverb that sounds good to you. Now go back and see if anything else needs a specific amount of reverb. You may find a little delay worked better instead. It's bad enough getting the guitar to stand out in a mix without it getting muddle up with reverb.

 

This isn't a hard fixed rule by any means. It all depends upon your creativity and what you are trying to acheive.