Oct 29 • 🎚️ Community Chat
Reverb: The Least Used Effect in Church Audio (and How to Actually Use It Right)
Reverb can make a vocal sound full and powerful…or like someone’s singing in a cave.
In church sound, we tend to love reverb a little too much. So let’s talk about what it’s really for — and how to use it musically, not emotionally.
🎚️ What Reverb Actually Does
Reverb creates space. It makes a sound feel like it’s in a real room — not a dry, close-mic’d recording.The problem is, most church mixes already happen in a real room… with natural reflections bouncing off every wall. So adding reverb on top of that? That’s double-room. Instant mud.
💡 The Golden Rule
If you can hear the reverb clearly during a song, it’s already too much. Reverb should be felt, not heard. It glues the mix together quietly in the background, not up front like a fog machine.
How to Dial It In Right
1️⃣ Start Small
Add reverb until you can barely hear it… then back it off a touch.
2️⃣ Medium Decay for Vocals1.5–2.5 seconds is plenty for most worship vocals.Enough space to sound natural, not enough to drown the lyrics.
3️⃣ EQ Your Reverb Return
Cut lows below 200 Hz (they just create mud).Sometimes roll off highs above 8 kHz to keep it soft and warm.
⚡ Pro tip: Reverb isn’t a fix for a bad vocal sound — it’s the icing after the vocal already sounds good.
💬 What’s your go-to reverb setting for worship vocals — long and lush, or short and tight?
— Nate
Long verbs
Short verbs
I never use reverb lol
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Reverb: The Least Used Effect in Church Audio (and How to Actually Use It Right)
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