Drum Samples And Reverb Effects | Lifestyle

by JohnGellei

Reverb, when applied to drum samples, is grossly underused in popular music. At the same time, though, a lot of the people who make use of the effect for their drum parts abuse it and degrade the drum samples to the point of annoyance.

When using the reverb on just one of the drum samples, think about the effect you're trying to achieve. Is the sound a constant sound? Could it drive your listener crazy after repeat visits? Or is it something that colors the other samples, so to say? Once you can figure out the role for that particular drum sample, you'll be a few steps ahead and closer to your goal!

The length of the reverb on any particular cannot really be determined on a global scale, but needs to be adjusted on a project-by-project basis for maximum effect and precision. Some people say that you can use a longer tail on the reverb for samples in a slow-tempo song, and if you're particularly aiming at one of the drum samples, it will relieve the others from needing to perform for the sake of performing. In a slow tempo song, you can either have many samples triggering all the time, back-and-forth collaboration, or strategic placements with reverb, which fills space effectively.

Having a consistent reverb - one that spans all drum samples and each of their channels - can help in toning the song to your liking. You can easily imply locations like the Sydney Opera House, the Grand Canyon and more, as unlikely as it sounds, just by using different reverb settings across the whole range of drum samples currently loaded. If going for one of these locations, you may want to apply a bit of the reverb to your instruments as well for the most realistic sound experience.

Having said all of the above, however, you can certainly test and note the results. Whatever sounds good is what you should go with. Don't worry about semantics - as long as it works for your audience that is all that matters in music.

If you experiment and see what works for you, you'll be well off to a natural instinct for applying effects like reverb to your drum samples in a way that is unobtrusive and even adds character to your tracks. Start by testing out the effects of it on single sample tracks and then to the drums as a unit, before moving on to the whole song in varying degrees of application. Also make sure to try different types, like plate and room reverb, then hall and open spaces. You'll find that each adds something else and once you know when to use a specific type of patch, you'll be ready for any beat making situation.

DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice.

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