Best Reverb for VIntage Vibey Lana Del Rey Sound

[mbfrancis]

Hey everyone--

I'm wondering which reverb you'd suggest to capture a vibe-y vintage-y heavy reverb vocal sound. So some examples:

Mazzy Star

Lana Del Rey

Lumineers

What would use for this? If the RV7000 or another RE or VST... what patch / convolution? Other than the RV7000, I currently have the TSAR-1R and two more electronic type reverbs (DR-1 and Fat Space).

*** Follow up question -- If I'm doing a simple acoustic / vocal mix, could I use this reverb on the guitar too? (Maybe add some delay to the vocal send?) ***

Thanks everyone!

[Jackjackdaw]

Vintage verbs would be Spring and Plate , they have very particular mechanical characteristics but come in a huge array of flavours. It’s really worth just experimenting. RV7000 can do loads of different stuff including loading 3rd party impulse responses for convolution verbs. My personal go to is Arturia Plate140 . I know a lot of people lean heavily on Valhalla Super Massive because it is awesome and free.

Tip, it’s always worth tweaking the eq on the reverb so it is resonating with the desired part of the sound.

Also dont be afraid to layer verbs.

[Chi-Individual]

If you have Processed Pianos, Complex-1, Umpf Retro, BV-X, or Scenic, you have a few more reverbs you can play with before buying a new one. The Spring Verbs on Complex are quite nice and the Umpf also. If you have the Legend or Obsession then you have 2 more that you know are of good quality.

With the built in FX connected to these you may able to create the sound you’re looking for if you can’t find it in a single unit.

[mbfrancis]

Thanks all, I'll check out the Valhalla. Yeah I was hoping not to have to buy a new one so I'll check out all those REs (most of which I have).

[crimsonwarlock]

You could also grab my combinator (if you are on R12) for the Bricasti Impulses. The Bricasti impulses are also free and rivals anything commercially available as a plugin. It will take a little effort to set up, but it is worth it. I've also made combi presets for all the impulses, and I'm looking to see if I can release those in a way that they will work for others.

Get the combinator here:
viewtopic.php?f=69&t=7529730

Link and instructions for the Bricasti impulses are in the topic.

[selig]

Vintage verbs would be Spring and Plate ,

…and CHAMBERS!

Some additional reading (I think it mentions spring reverbs):
https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques ... -lust-life

And some speculation Mazzy Star used Lexicon PCM-70 *(my fave) Hall algorithms.
https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... Recordings

[mbfrancis]

You could also grab my combinator (if you are on R12) for the Bricasti Impulses. The Bricasti impulses are also free and rivals anything commercially available as a plugin. It will take a little effort to set up, but it is worth it. I've also made combi presets for all the impulses, and I'm looking to see if I can release those in a way that they will work for others.

Get the combinator here:
viewtopic.php?f=69&t=7529730

Link and instructions for the Bricasti impulses are in the topic.

Wow thanks -- I'm still in R11 but I downloaded the impulses and can mess with them - what are you favorite impulses?

Vintage verbs would be Spring and Plate ,

…and CHAMBERS!

Some additional reading (I think it mentions spring reverbs):
https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques ... -lust-life

And some speculation Mazzy Star used Lexicon PCM-70 *(my fave) Hall algorithms.
https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... Recordings

Thanks as always Selig, I'll try out the chamber impulses included w the RV...

I love that someone wrote a paper "Time-based Signal Processing and Shape in Alternative Rock Recordings" that's fantastic.

Thanks both!

[crimsonwarlock]

Wow thanks -- I'm still in R11 but I downloaded the impulses and can mess with them - what are you favorite impulses?

Yep, you can load the single stereo impulses into RV7000 and that will get you pretty far. As for favorites, they are all excellent, but regarding your original question here, go for the PLATES impulses. There's one called Vocal Plate that pretty obvious to try

[selig]

Wow thanks -- I'm still in R11 but I downloaded the impulses and can mess with them - what are you favorite impulses?

Yep, you can load the single stereo impulses into RV7000 and that will get you pretty far. As for favorites, they are all excellent, but regarding your original question here, go for the PLATES impulses. There's one called Vocal Plate that pretty obvious to try

And remember to set the mode to PARALLEL if you want full stereo in/out when using IRs in RV7000.

[crimsonwarlock]

And remember to set the mode to PARALLEL if you want full stereo in/out when using IRs in RV7000.

Of course, you had to come here to say that

@nbfrancis: But... As the Bricasti impulses for single use (instead of the separate left and right ones, you definitely need two RV7000s to use those) are named "mono-to-stereo", I'm not sure parallel mode is the one to use here. The RV7000 has mono-to stereo modes (fast and slow) so you might want to try those as well, considering that you are looking for reverb for a vocal, which is mono to begin with.

[selig]

And remember to set the mode to PARALLEL if you want full stereo in/out when using IRs in RV7000.

Of course, you had to come here to say that

@nbfrancis: But... As the Bricasti impulses for single use (instead of the separate left and right ones, you definitely need two RV7000s to use those) are named "mono-to-stereo", I'm not sure parallel mode is the one to use here. The RV7000 has mono-to stereo modes (fast and slow) so you might want to try those as well, considering that you are looking for reverb for a vocal, which is mono to begin with.

More importantly, is it NOT the correct mode? If no, what is the down side, if any?

Just to be clear, there is no difference if you send ‘center panned’ sources to the RV7000 with Mono/Stereo OR parallel modes. However, if you want to send anything else to the same reverb (including other vocals) and want the panning to be reflected in the reverb you will need to use parallel mode.
Also note that reversing the inputs or outputs gives you automatic ‘opposite panning’ effects which can sound very dramatic and keep panned instruments from sounding too extreme (while still retaining the panning).

[crimsonwarlock]

Of course, you had to come here to say that

@nbfrancis: But... As the Bricasti impulses for single use (instead of the separate left and right ones, you definitely need two RV7000s to use those) are named "mono-to-stereo", I'm not sure parallel mode is the one to use here. The RV7000 has mono-to stereo modes (fast and slow) so you might want to try those as well, considering that you are looking for reverb for a vocal, which is mono to begin with.

More importantly, is it NOT the correct mode? If no, what is the down side, if any?

Just to be clear, there is no difference if you send ‘center panned’ sources to the RV7000 with Mono/Stereo OR parallel modes. However, if you want to send anything else to the same reverb (including other vocals) and want the panning to be reflected in the reverb you will need to use parallel mode.
Also note that reversing the inputs or outputs gives you automatic ‘opposite panning’ effects which can sound very dramatic and keep panned instruments from sounding too extreme (while still retaining the panning).

We're not in disagreement here

Experimentation is key in finding what works best for you. That's why I said:

... so you might want to try those as well

[mbfrancis]

This is all great, thanks again all.

In general I'm not a fan of stereo reverb (i.e. where the reverb matches the panning), I like the reverb to feel like the same space and to mitigate my LCR panning. So @Selig I'm no sure I'd like 'opposite panning' unless it was for effect, as you say.

Definitely trying the plate!

[selig]

This is all great, thanks again all.

In general I'm not a fan of stereo reverb (i.e. where the reverb matches the panning), I like the reverb to feel like the same space and to mitigate my LCR panning. So @Selig I'm no sure I'd like 'opposite panning' unless it was for effect, as you say.

Definitely trying the plate!

Interesting take - I feel differently about stereo reverb.
I typically just use basic mono/stereo reverbs, and feel that the best way to make everything "in the same space" is to use fewer reverbs overall (2-3 tops).
But for when I REALLY need to make things in the same literal space, like making an accurate orchestral sound stage, I NEED true stereo reverb.
BTW, the opposite panning trick (for delays/reverbs) is now 'ancient' and probably used on more records than we know, as when done well it's not an "effect" but a way to create a more natural and balanced sound stage without sacrificing panning. I would think it's more common to use it on more sparse productions where for example panning the only guitar to one side sounds weird.

[Mataya]

If you can't do it wit this one, there is no hope.

https://www.reasonstudios.com/shop/rack ... verb-ak11/

M

[EnochLight]

How different were the Lexicon 224 and the Lexicon 480L? I'd imagine both had similar algorithms for their time (and sound)? I know Reason's RV7000 is based on the Lexicon 480L, TC Electronic Reverb 6000 and AMS RMX-16 (and allegedly passed some blind tests back in the day).

[mbfrancis]

I typically just use basic mono/stereo reverbs, and feel that the best way to make everything "in the same space" is to use fewer reverbs overall (2-3 tops).

yeah this is what I was trying to say (poorly) ... when I record an orchestra I'll look into stereo reverb

[miscend]

On those songs it sounds to me like alot of the vibe comes from the specific recording chain, the reverb is just the icing on top.

Sound on Sound has quite a few making of articles for some of the artists you mentioned.

https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques ... -lumineers
https://www.soundonsound.com/people/rob ... videogames
https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques ... -lust-life

[mbfrancis]

On those songs it sounds to me like alot of the vibe comes from the specific recording chain, the reverb is just the icing on top.

Sound on Sound has quite a few making of articles for some of the artists you mentioned.

https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques ... -lumineers
https://www.soundonsound.com/people/rob ... videogames
https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques ... -lust-life

hey thanks for posting, these are great