Reverberation.

[Benjamin Strange]

General recording/mixing question here: Is it best to use a single reverb type for every track, or should track specific reverb types be used?

For instance, should an acoustic guitar have a gated reverb while a piano have a long plate verb, or does this create problems with blending the two together in a final mix?

 

[anderbass]

It seems to me, that nearly every song gives you different opportunity's for
reverbs, and I always seem to try lots of different things before deciding.

Using just one verb for multiple parts does seem to act more as a glue
to make the parts blend better, (ambient songs) but sometimes
multiple types of verbs on different parts are much better for the song.

Theres no set rules and you just gotta keep trying different things
till you get the sound your after.

I usually burn several mixes, trying different things (including reverbs)
and leave the final decision till I see how they stand up to fresh ears
and repeated listening's on different playback systems.


PS.
Try EQing the highs (somewhat) down on your reverbs,
And blend with a dry signal EQed to taste.

Don't overlook trying subtle digital delays instead of reverb.

And while I don't trust headphones for for all phases of mixing,
I do think there very helpful in reverb selection, settings and levels.

 

[csholtmeier]

I envy your processing power if you can run a seperate reverb on every track.

Common practice is to have a couple of different reverbs (0% dry, 100% wet)set up on aux tracks. Any tracks needing reverb are then bussed over to that aux track. The aux track fader is your blend control.

it is perfectly fine to use a couple different reverbs, a common setup for drums is a plate on the snare and a room verb on the rest of the kit.

 

[SuperDuck]

I am all for experimenting, depending on what kind of interesting sounds one is going for.

My general rule of thumb is this, however: the purpose of reverb as an effect is to take something that is not in a room and make it sound like it is in a room. Therefore, one might want each musician to sound like they are in the same room. Too much reverb can lead to a muddy (and crappy) mix in a hurry, but mixing in varying amounts of the same type of reverb usually works well for me.

anderbass made some great points. Ultimately, though, do what works for the song!