Reverb sounding metallic

Hi - I'm finding the reverb algos I've tried on the MPC very metallic.

I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations in terms of which reverb FX they use, or if they also have this kind of issue?

Thanks!

Its because the reverbs are digital and clean i think its passing the signal so well that it sounds a bit too tinny. a little low pass filter goes a long way it seems. I like to knock off sounds above 8-16 kHz depending on the sound. bit annoying but it gets rid of that brightness.

The reverbs minimize CPU and inevitably sound terrible. There's a reason why you spend hundred of dollars on a dedicated cpu reverb box.

i haven't tried these techniques out yet, which may help the Air Reverb sound better but . . . yeah, generally feel like the reverbs are the weakest link in the MPC onboard FX

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZCLZO1vglM

"Metallic" sounding reverbs = basic low rent reverb algorithms.. Like LivePsy said, there's a reason reverbs aren't cheap and I have 3 of them in my rack for the MPC (6 actually if you count my 3 Boss SE boxes) heh. There just isn't enough CPU in the MPC to go around. Anybody remember when Space Designer first came out in Logic and it would bring brand new G4's and G5s to its knees even then?

I suppose the ones on the MPC are good 'in a pinch' but they sound absolutely terrible to me. If I'm using software reverbs, I'd rather wait until I track the thing into Cubase and use Valhalla or something else instead. Logic's old 25 year old Platinum Verb plugin is a better sounding reverb than these.

Lucky you can stack these FXs. So think about what other FXs could be added to make the reverb sound better.

Not much can be done. Reverbs are cycle expensive. Well the only thing that could be done is Air to create a high quality reverb plugin that you can use only one iteration per session or sth.

Mpc's reverbs are ok only if you want to process drums or add a bit of space to your instruments. If you want to make massive reverbs and lush pads you have to go the way of an external unit or software.

I have the two of the four outs of the Live II through my interface, into the daw and back in the mpc just for that reason. To use valhalla reverbs and high quality distortion units.

One trick I like about „simple“ reverbs:
1. Use them via send (not insert, you buffoon)
2. Insert an EQ just before the reverb (or after, adjust to your liking)
3. apply low cut at 200 Hz approx
4. make a small dip at ca. 1 kHz to remove resonance or „tin“ (esp. for vocals)
5. boost high / air (from 6 or 10 or 14 or 18 kHz upwards)
6. make return level rather quiet

This won‘t help with metal sounding problems, but might shape your reverb in a manner that‘ll remove muddiness from your mix without making it sound too artificial. Works rather well with most „cheapish“ reverb plugins.

83dude wrote:One trick I like about „simple“ reverbs:
1. Use them via send (not insert, you buffoon)
2. Insert an EQ just before the reverb (or after, adjust to your liking)
3. apply low cut at 200 Hz approx
4. make a small dip at ca. 1 kHz to remove resonance or „tin“ (esp. for vocals)
5. boost high / air (from 6 or 10 or 14 or 18 kHz upwards)
6. make return level rather quiet

This won‘t help with metal sounding problems, but might shape your reverb in a manner that‘ll remove muddiness from your mix without making it sound too artificial. Works rather well with most „cheapish“ reverb plugins.

12db filter at 600Hz all the way down, 12db filter at 10k all the way down. Your reverb bus should look like a little mid hump. Takes out all the mud, and the overly washed out high end, makes it sit nice and right in the mix. Its the way Abbey Road has done it since the dawn of time. My levels for my reverb usually peak around -24db. Any louder than that and it can start to take over depending on how much you're sending to it. Unless you're trying to make everything sound like its inside a cave, the reverb should be barely noticable until you turn it off and go 'Hey wait a minute'..

or you can go extremely creative with it, exaggerate it, put a compressor after it, then a mother ducker with kicks or other percussive source ducking it. put weird modulations after it (if you don't care too much for mono compatibility the akai frequency shifter can really fsu in interesting ways).

or, use less lush reverbs, something that is less evident but sits well in a mix, like the air diffusion delay or the spring reverb. i find diffusion delay pretty cool if you set it right.

hyena wrote:or you can go extremely creative with it, exaggerate it, put a compressor after it, then a mother ducker with kicks or other percussive source ducking it. put weird modulations after it (if you don't care too much for mono compatibility the akai frequency shifter can really fsu in interesting ways).

or, use less lush reverbs, something that is less evident but sits well in a mix, like the air diffusion delay or the spring reverb. i find diffusion delay pretty cool if you set it right.

Yup, sometimes the best way to use bad FXs is very little or to the MAX - no in between

MGoolas wrote:I have the two of the four outs of the Live II through my interface, into the daw and back in the mpc just for that reason. To use valhalla reverbs and high quality distortion units.

No noticeable latency?

i mean it's night and day compared to the EB16... generally in both circumstances you are limited to using just a pinch. I get by with that reverb 2 (the akai one, not the air one)