S HIFTING GEAR
RICH ECKHARDT
Recording With Reverb… The Big No-No!
If reverb was actually worth something, for recording. Unless you were doing a slightest bit of digital reverb live, but only
you would have to pay for it and not have really monumental project, you would pay because with ear monitors you’re creating
it come free with your amp! Unless you’re high bucks to a local studio to have them an environment that is pumped directly into
Dick Dale or the Ventures, the idea of totally kill your much-loved tone… and tell your ears with the surrounding room sound
using reverb when you track your guitar is you that’s the way it’s supposed to sound blocked out. It’s virtually inaudible with the
a crime worthy of punishment by death! if you want it to be good. Thus the phrase rest of the band playing. I won’t use it on
So many of the “big” sounding records “We’ll fix it in the mix” was born! Even any of my harder drive tones because it
throughout recording history have been then, it was taboo to dial in your amp does wash out the “whack” that you want
tracked dry in the deadest of dead rooms - when you kick into full throttle electric gui-
with effects added in the mix later, or a mitted reverb to tape there’s no removing tar mayhem. Instead, I’ll add a little delay
room was carefully picked for its ambient it. It also makes a clean punch-in virtually to wet the signal a bit. A perfect example
quality—like U2 did choosing Slane Castle impossible—the punch spot will always be of how to use delay to liven your sound
to track The Unforgettable Fire album. In given away by the overhang of the ‘verb. can be found on Joe Satriani’s Live From
either case, the guitar is still tracked dry San Francisco CD. I don’t think anyone
and often a room mic is added to pick up uses delay better live than he does. You
the sound of the space. can pretty much pick any cut on that CD to
hear delay perfection, but a couple of my
It’s so easy these days with most music
being referenced through iPods and ear-bud headphones to really delve in and
analyze the room sounds on most any
given recording. When you do, it becomes
obvious that most of the biggest sounding guitar tones have a relatively small
ambient room sound mixed into the background. It really makes sense when you
think about it. If you put your amp into a
gigantic cave and play, it’ll sound distant
and washed out, much like it does when
adding reverb. If you take that same rig
and put it in the guest bathroom under the
stairs at your mom’s house without touching a knob, that amp will sound huge and
loud. And if you can capture the sound of
that room with a separate mic, you’ve got
yourself a big sounding guitar!
Once you have
committed reverb to
tape there’s no removing
it. It also makes a
clean punch-in virtually
impossible—the punch
spot will always
be given away by the
overhang of the reverb.
Most studios I’ve worked in will add reverb
that doesn’t commit to track; it gives you
a sense of space that helps you track with
confidence. So the next time you’re called
in to do an important session, show them
what a pro you are. Have your gear ready
and working right, show up with an assortment of guitars for different tones and
styles, have fresh strings on those axes—
and kill the reverb from your effects loop!
Keep Jammin’!
Although the trend has moved toward
capturing a livelier room, there was a time
when the deader the room, the better it
was to record in (the idea being that you
can always add a room sound electronically but you can never remove an existing
room sound once it’s been tracked). While
tracking back in the seventies, painstaking
efforts were made to create the ultimate
“dead” room to record drums and guitar,
with the intent to add the room sound
desired later. It was an interesting time
Don’t get me wrong; reverb can be a cool
tool, too. Along with the Fender Telecaster
and Fender Showman amp, it was the
basis for the surf sound in the sixties. No
one found a better use for reverb than the
however, unless I’m playing surf music, I’ve
always found that adding reverb pulls your
direct signal back and impairs the attack
and punch of you guitar sound. I will use the
Rich Eckhardt
Rich Eckhardt is one of the most sought after guitarists
in Nashville. His ability to cover multiple styles has put
him on stage with singers ranging from Steven Tyler
of Aerosmith to Shania Twain. Rich is currently playing
lead guitar with Toby Keith. His album Soundcheck is
available now, with another due this summer.
richeckhardt.com
