In this article Julian Rodgers uses three videos to illustrate the importance of modulation in reverb and shows how many opportunities there are for introducing modulation into convolution reverbs using Reverberate 3.
Reverb effects were originally intended as an artificial alternative or supplement to the real reverberance of the spaces in which recordings were captured. Chambers, plates and springs didn’t sound exactly like the rooms and halls they were intended to sound like but they were the only practical solution available and the time and they sounded a lot more like a room or a hall than a tape slap. They were the best thing we had at the time.
Whatever the intention, like so many things we grew to appreciate their unique characters, so much so that they sometimes became preferable to “real” reverbs. Reverb has in many cases been similar to, but not necessarily an authentic reproduction of, the reverberance of a performance space for about as long as records have been being made.
When convolution reverbs became widely available, the authenticity of their reproduction of the sound of specific spaces was striking, even remarkable, but some thought something was missing. That missing element was modulation.
Why Do Reverbs Include Modulation?
The first generation of digital reverbs marked a sea-change in artificial reverberation. They were that significant. Just listen to listen to some of the music from the early 80s to hear what happened when digital reverb became widely available. Not all of those choices have aged well…
However, creating convincing reverbs pushed this early hardware to its limits and as a way to avoid the unpleasant side effects of ringing and resonance created by trying to get too much out of too few resources, clever programmers used modulation. Changing aspects of the reverb over time to reduce these unpleasant effects.
The modulation these reverbs introduced to the sound, though created to mask deficiencies, added a subtle richness to some of these early, now classic, reverbs. The sound of a modulated Lexicon reverb has become a recognisable part of the sound of records and convolution reverb, because of how it works, doesn’t modulate. Many people missed that sound and as a result convolution has been seen by many as an excellent way to recreate realistic spaces, but for an arbitrary reverb effect designed to sound good rather than realistic, many have looked elsewhere.
Reverberate 3 Does Modulation
Reverberate 3 is different from the many of the other convolution reverbs available in lots of ways but the aspect being concentrated on here is the extensive modulation capabilities offered. We counted 8 places in Reverberate 3 where you could introduce modulation to the sound. That’s a lot! Rather than list them, here are a series of 3 videos in which these modulation options are demonstrated.
Firstly here is an explanation about the different types of Impulse Response which can be used in Reverberate 3. This is important and relates specifically to modulation because different types of modulation are available for different IR types. For example Fusion IR already includes modulation captured from the original unit being captured by the IR. Not sure wha a Fusion IR is? This video will help.
Modulation options are everywhere in Reverberate 3. Even if you’re already using Reverberate 3 the chances are you’ve missed some. Check out our 2 part guide to modulation in Reverberate 3.
To really get to grips with everything Reveberate 3 has to offer, try it for yourself.