Reverb effect

There are two distinct purposes for busses to group tracks and to route tracks to hardware devices. Within the context of tracks, bus FX would most commonly be used to group tracks and apply the same effect to all of them with identical settings. Perhaps one example would be to apply equalization to a group of tracks to bring them out of the mix as a unit. This is also a more appropriate location for a Reverb effect, where the grouping of the tracks ensures the instruments sound like they are in the same virtual space. 

The last effects in a chain are best used at the project level as Master bus FX. A Reverb effect is often the last effect used in a chain. Reverb is also a delay-type effect and adds space to a mix, simulating various room types and environments. Use caution when applying reverb at the track level, so that various tracks don t sound like they were recorded in different rooms (although reverb is commonly used on drums and vocals to bring these parts out of a mix). EQ fdters can also be used at the project level to polish a mix in the final stages, although it is better to take the time and use EQ more precisely at the track level to highlight individual parts and instruments. 

The Room size slider essentially adjusts the delay time and has a similar effect as the Pre-delay slider in the XFX Reverb effect. 

The Liveliness slider controls how quickly the reverb fades out and is the same as the Decay time slider in the XFX Reverb effect. 

Track FX are generally simpler versions of some of the other effects available from Sonic Foundry, such as the XFX series of plug-ins. Some types of effects work better on a project level, such as using Reverb to create a room atmosphere for an entire song. Some effects are best used at the track level, such as using a Noise Gate to remove the hum of a camera motor in the soundtrack of a video clip. Track FX are optimized for ease of use on tracks but can be used at the bus and project level as well. Likewise, there is no reason not to use ExpressFX or XFX on the track level either. 

More than one effect can be used at a time on a single track, bus, or project. FX are applied in a particular order in an FX Chain. The order of plug-ins can be important in the final sound. Some FX belong very late in the chain (such as EQ and Reverb) and some earlier (Compression). Others shonld be used in a particular order. Track FX plug-ins are usually applied in this order Compression, Noise Gate, and, finally, EQ. This is not a hard and fast mle, and there may be creative reasons why you d want to alter this sequence. FX chains and ordering are discnssed in more detail in the next chapter. 

Reverb is a delay-type effect and is similar in many ways to the Simple Delay and Multi-Tap Delay FX. You can immediately see from the plug-in window that Reverb has many more controls to subtly adjust the delay and potentially make it sound more natural. On the track level. Reverb can be used to bring a part out of the mix, although it should be used cautiously and with restraint. Here is how Reverb works ... 

The Dry out/Eteverb out fader controls the mix of the original signal with the processed signal. Reverb out is the main part of the effect and is heard as a delay or echo. 

Decay time is how quickly the reverb fades out. It affects only the reverb and not the Early reflection and can produce a sort of sustain effect on notes that simulates the characteristics of the room. 

While you probably want to use reverb on the Master bus at the end of a project to keep all of the tracks in the same space, you may want to solo one of the primary tracks and adjust the reverb while listening to it alone. Reverb is more clearly beard in solo instrument and voice parts. Of course, before you settle on a final effect setting, you will need to fine tune the reverb for the whole project. 

This effect has fewer controls than the XFX Reverb plug-in but still produces a very bigb-quality and satisfying reverb. Tbe different controls with their less technical names make this plug-in easier to use in many cases. 

The Preset list and Room type lists work together to set the overall operation of the effect. Select a Preset first and then a Room type to modify it. As with the XFX Reverb plug-in, tbe Room type sets internal parameters that cannot be adjusted by the user. 

The Processes category includes a number of modules to modify specific attributes of a given sound. Processes are by their very nature required to have at least one input and an output, with the exception of the Output module, which is always the last component of an instrument. This category adds all the capabilities of a powerful sound editor and sampling system to the synthesis facilities of the system. Indeed, it embraces a number of signal processors and effect units, including a powerful reverb module with the ability to model the characteristics of various room acoustics, such as the dimensions of the room and absorption properties of the wall materials (Figure 8.29). 

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