Truth be told, I’m a huge reverb fan. I’ve been using my trusty TC Electronic Hall of Fame for a few years now, and it has never let me down. But that said, I only dial in enough reverb to help grease the wheels and smooth out potential harshness. And I always use a relatively short decay because I don’t want the reverb effect to take over my sound. Like I said, just enough to grease the wheels.
But I’ve played with other folks who slather on the reverb; to the point that there’s so much reverb in their signal that the only way they can be heard in the mix is if they turn up their volume. In some cases their tone is okay, but most of the time their tone is muffled and muddy and ick! When I hear that, I stop the music and tell them to dial back their reverb because they sound horrible. I don’t mince words. Too much reverb has the equivalent effect on me of nails scratching a blackboard.
Admittedly, I used to be the same way. Reverb adds a bit of a sustaining effect, and it can help hide your mistakes. Back in the days when I was just beginning, reverb helped me cover up a lot of the shit. But that’s really the problem. Whether or not you’re conscious of it, reverb can become a serious crutch.
I think that part of the issue for people using too much reverb is that they use the same setup live that they use at home. To their ears and without the context of other instruments, it probably sounds just fine. But when you play live, it’s a different story. There are other instruments with which to contend. There’s also the room in which you’re playing.
Another thing, and probably more important than setup is that those players who use too much reverb don’t fully trust their fingers. Decades ago, when I realized that 99% of my expressiveness comes from my fingers, I stopped dialing in so much reverb. I had all the sustain I needed in my fingers. The reverb was added to provide some smoothness. That’s it.
Trust your fingers. They’ll give you all the sustain you need.
I’ve pretty much gotten to the point where reverb is just for jamming by myself, or recording direct. Even then, it’s just to give the illusion of playing in a more ambient space. Playing live, it just muttles everything, unless that’s the effect you’re aiming for.
Totally agree. I use so little when playing live that it’s almost negligible. When I’m recording, I only add reverb in production. All my guitar signals are recorded dry. Gives me a lot more control over the track.
Same thing with distortion! I’ve played with guitarists that use WAY too much. Probably sounds great in the bedroom but in a band mix, it sounds harsh, brittle and doesn’t “cut through” at all. IMHO, and I’m not an electric guitarists, guitars should use overdrive far more often and distortion only sparingly and occasionally.
It has more to do with gain that creates more distortion which in turn gets way too compressed. For instance, on Sunday when we played, I turned down the gain on my overdrive to open it up. I realized that I had the gain too high and it was compressing – a lot – when I turned up my guitar volume. Just a little dirt will go a long way. 🙂
I have always played with the on-board reverb through (back in the day) a Fender Twin Reverb, or these days through a Blues Jr. Just enough to thicken the sound a little bit, not too much. But totally dry sounds crappy, at least to my ears. I have a HOF Reverb pedal too, and it sits in the closet gathering dust.
The Fender spring reverb is the gold standard in spring reverb. As long as you use it sparingly, it can add so much depth. I love it through a Twin! I agree, you really need it for a Blues, Jr. 🙂