Turning down the reverb on my guitar recording was a game changer

I used to pile on effects, thinking it made my music sound pro. Accidentally muting the reverb showed me the raw take had way more feeling. Now I keep things simple and only add what the song really needs.

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3 Comments

the_alice6mo ago

Remember reading a forum post from a studio engineer who called reverb 'the beginner's blanket'. He said it's used to hide mistakes instead of enhancing good parts. Like, listen to some blues records, the guitar is right up front with maybe a hint of room sound. That directness makes it feel live and urgent. My home recordings started sounding less muddy when I adopted that approach.

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ward.jamie6mo ago

Cutting reverb on my vocals made them way clearer too.

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charlesg296mo ago

Totally get what you and ward.jamie mean about clarity. I went overboard with reverb on my last demo, trying to make it sound "big", and just ended up with a washed-out mess.

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