Reverb Problem

Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 12:15 am

Hi Guys,

I have received my Master CD proof two days ago from this Mastering Studio in NJ.
I have to admit that it really IS beneficial to use “fresh pair of ears”, and if you can afford it, let somebody else do the mastering for you (if you have previously spent many hours of recording and mixing your own material).

However, I have encountered an unusual reverb phenomenon, if I can call it like that.
My CD is in instrumental Progressive Rock genre, with lead guitars as the main melody instrument (instead of a voice as usual).

In some of the songs, this lead guitar seems to be “soaked” into reverb.
-When I use headphones, and my studio monitors, the mix appears to be fine. I doesn’t sound like I applied too much of a reverb.
-When I used live PA to test this CD, and bigger (and more expen$ive) studio monitors at my friend’s studio, and listened to it on a much higher volume, lead guitar sounds 3-5 dB quieter, and almost completely “drowned” by reverb.
It seems that this mix is OK for iPod users, and it sounds cool in my car, but if I want to play this CD on a live gig (during the break time), it is not so effective.

Here is some info about the lead track and gear I used:

-recorded stereo from GT-8 via digital connection (clean signal, great S to N ratio, all effects bypassed, no buzzing noise) straight to the sound card and SONAR 7
-panned in the center
-have used only EQ and stereo reverb FX, both as inserts on the same channel in SONAR (no buses)

The only possible diagnosis that I can think of is: use of stereo instead of mono reverb, or it's the mastering compression unit's fault.

Did anybody encounter the similar thing, or does someone have a theory about this?
I have to fix my mix ASAP and send it back to this Mastering Studio, but not sure how to proceed. Any help is sincerely appreciated.

Thx

DDD

Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:02 am

Hi, check your stereo reverb return (100% wet signal) with correlation meter. I guess your reverb may have too much uncorrelated ("difference", A-B) signal. It usually sounds good on headphones and in the car but is unbearable on big speakers when overdone. If it is the case, the easiest (not the best) way to solve that problem is to make your pan pot less than 100% L and R, and than adjust overall reverb level to taste. My diagnosis may be wrong though... Wink

Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 8:59 am

This may be a silly question but at what dBA level did you mix the tracks at?

From what i've learned at college, when mixing a track for commercial use it's best to do it at around 90dBA as your ears have a more flat frequency response when listening at these levels.

Reading your post it appears you have mixed these tracks at home so i'm guessing that maybe during the mixdown process your levels weren't as load as you intend the tracks to be played at, even though they sounded fine, and this is where the fault may be.

If it's possible you could maybe mix the track on the system your friend has then send it away for mastering again and see if this solves the problem.

I'm just learning the whole world of recording so take my suggestion with a pinch of salt! lol

No doubt there will be will be more knowledgable replies to your post so take them into consideration first.

Hope this helps;)

Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:37 am

Something easy you may try...just to confirm or rule out.

Is it possible that the phase of one track was reversed somehow through the process? Does the bass and kick still sound the same? If it got flipped on a channel, is it possible that the center collapsed somewhat, leaving more reverb, since the main meat was in the center, and the reverbs might have been panned, thus cancelling the main and leaving the rest?

Take one or more of the offending tracks and rip it your audio editor. Separate them as two tracks, then invert one of them. Does the guitar come back to life with less reverb?

Maybe not, but an easy thing to try...just in case.

Just a thought.

Kapt.Krunch

Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:57 am

Also, did you check your pre-mastered mix on these systems that you are hearing the problem on?

Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 10:12 am

Can you give someone a link to have a listen to the original track?

This may help.

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