Pro Tools Mixing Tips: Inserts & Sends : Pro Tools Inserts: Adding Reverb Incorrectly

The wrong way to add reverb to a Pro Tools track is to add it directly to an audio track without busing it to an auxiliary track. Discover why this is the wrong way to add reverb to an audio track and what the right way is in this free video from an experienced music engineer.

Expert: R.T. Ouk
Bio: R.T. Ouk has been a music producer and audio engineer for more than ten years. He owns The Armory Recording Studios and heads New Day Productions, which has worked on soundtracks with Sony.
Filmmaker: Christian Munoz-Donoso

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• digital recording
• pro tools
• recording
• recording technology
• studio recording
• music software
• studios

[Althrash]

"affecting the original sound is not going to help add to your sound" .....

[musician1971a]

@shumo4 Ehmm... do you have a legal copy...? Because when you buy Pro Tools it comes with hardware. It can be a DIGI002, DIGI003, MBox or HD hardware. And Pro Tools only works with that hardware. With Pro Tools 9 you can use all ASIO audio cards, but then you need an iLock. So anyway you look at it, you need hardware.

[musician1971a]

To anyone saying there's no wrong way: You're right! However, if you want to use a lot of plugins then the send-method is way better because you spare a lot of cpu power for other plugins. The way it was shown here was a bit weird, because most (if not all) reverb plugins have a dry/wet setting to mix the original with the reverb signal. I never tested how that might influence the sound though. Maybe some plugins do that, I don't know.

[spacemanvector32]

There is no "wrong" way...just different ways to achieve different effects/fit the application. To preserve the original you can use the mix level of the effect...or indeed, create a buss track (as you are saying). This is the "right" way in quite a few situations, to spread room ambience across multiple tracks to give space to your mix, etc. But why not show folks actually how to create a reverb/effect buss track in protools, not hard, but sort of the point...no?

[shumo4]

hey bro... wats up? listen i need ur help plz,i just install pro tools 8.o.5 in my mac n when i try to open it,its say unable to locate avid hardware, n i dont know wats that? plz help me thanks

[Dozerbeatz]

Some reverbs have a "thru" mode, such as Waves TrueVerb. Which, if you wanted to take advantage of the "Distance" parameter functionality, you would have to put it directly on the track. Though most reverb is used in a "send" fashion, which allows you to use the same reverb on different elements of a mix, at different amounts.

[LeviathanAU]

I couldn't concentrate on the vid because of the way he pronounces his L's as W's.

[MrOllie86]

most reverbs have a 'dry level' or mix control so inserting it on a track and using this controls is in effect the same as using it on an aux, the only real disadvantages to inserting a reverb is that you can only use it on the channel on which it is inserted and you cannot eq the reverb only so easily unless it has full parametric built in to the plug-in. its good to use fx on auxes so you have precise control of the return and can subsequently eq the return to sit right in the mix.

[Welcome2DaBottom]

@sambluesguy so what is the difference between what you are saying, as opposed to adding the on each individual track.

[djmixalus]

wtf where is the demo - bottom line if it sounds good its good stay creative my friend