The second song was at a more stately tempo of 66 BPM—an old-school MOR ballad the producer wanted “big boy” reverb cake on the drums and most everything else.
I started with the Large Hall preset in the Large Halls Category in the Hall Reverb plug-in. I set Predelay to 16th-note and Reverb Time to 1.9801 seconds. Tail Width was at 99 degrees but check this in mono—you may not like what you hear and return it to normal stereo.
Reverb Out Frequency was 6,500 Hz but RT Hi Cut was at 6,250 Hz (default) and I also kept the default size to 32 meters, as shown in the Barry’s EXAMPLE 2 graphic below.
This sound, including the 16th note predelay, was perfect for this song. This Hall preset sounded huge with super clean tails that faded into the mix’s noise floor (what little there was).
I subsequently added another stereo reverb to fill in the 16th note predelay gap and the phasey tail out of the first reverb. I wish reverbs had a blend control where you could “leak” around the predelay section for filling in that space.
In both of these two brief examples, I got the reverb sounds very quickly – but, in fact, there are so many excellent preset choices with so many ways to “dial them in,” making decisions takes more time than actually getting a sound.
It’s easy to go very surreal with a lush, wonderful and huge reverb as in the case of the ballad, or more realistic with a tougher and harder sound I developed for the faster rock song.
I found it super important to learn the exact nature of the seven reverb plug-ins – the Categories.
For me it was like learning the categories in the Lexicon 480L or 960L reverbs: once I developed a sonic familiarity of each, I usually “nailed” my initial choices first time rarely starting over by changing categories.
I have no other reverb, plug-in or hardware, with this much versatility – but then I don’t own any Lexicon reverbs except this one! If I were allowed only one reverb bundle, this would be the one for me!
I am anxious to get into my next mix project where I can start fresh and run several Lexicon Native PCM reverb plug-ins working together.
Lexicon Native PCM sells for $1,899.95 MSRP. Lexicon will start shipments of the plug-in to authorized dealers the first week in December. Purchase and download of the plug-in directly from www.lexiconpro.com will occur in January 2010.
For more information, go here, and also be sure to check out videos here.
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Barry Rudolph is a veteran L.A.-based recording engineer as well as a noted writer on recording topics. Visit his website at www.barryrudolph.com
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More Reviews & Articles By Barry Rudolph On PSW:
A Wide Variety Of Microphone Techniques For Recording Drums
The Tale Of A Project-Saving Monitoring Technique
Test Driving The Focusrite Saffire PRO 40 Firewire Audio/MIDI Interface
Rhythm Section Tracking In The Studio
Does The WAVES Hybrid Line Of Plug-Ins Enhance The Creative Process?
Creative Uses For Loudspeakers To Enhance Your Recordings
The Shure 55 Microphone Has Deep Roots, But How Does It Hold Up Today?
Thumbs Up Or Down For The Marshall MXL V89 Studio Condenser Microphone?
Inside The Peluso P12 Tube Condenser Microphone
Barry’s DAW Toolkit: Review Of The Novation Nocturn With Automap 3 Pro
Barry’s Recording Tips: Figure Of Eight Royer For Electric Guitars
Review Of The X-Tempo Pok DAW Wireless Footswitch Controller
Barry’s Toolkit Of Handy DAW Products
Recording Gear Hits At The 2009 Winter NAMM Show
Working At Recording Success: Taking Elemental Steps Can Make All The Difference
Recording Tip: Successfully Dealing With A Dead Room