Thursday, November 29, 2012

The History of Reverse Reverb

Reverse reverb is a setting that can be used when recording audio to create an effect. This is also called reverse echo and reverse regeneration. It is when the original audio is flipped and then played backwards with the original recording, and causes an echo, making the vocalist sound stronger. Reverse reverb has been used in television production and film making for decades. Reverse reverb is heavily used in horror movies.

Jimmy Page claims that he invented reverse reverb. He says he created the effect when he was recording with The Yardbirds in 1967. Led Zeppelin tracks “You Shook Me” and “Whole Lotta Love” also have this reverb effect in the songs.

Jimmy explains that he came up with the idea because the track he was working on with The Yard Birds was so horrible he needed something to make it sound better, so he played the tape backwards and decided that the echo would sound great at the end of “Ten little Indians”. Since Jimmy was the producer the engineer Glyn Johns had to do what he said and they tried it. The track ended up turning out a lot better sounding after they had an argument about playing the two recordings at the same time.

After the first time Jimmy Page used reverse reverb in the audio tracks, he started to use it a lot more often to make an echo sound more powerful. It was used heavily on some of Led Zeppelin’s albums. Of course, it was then picked up by more artists looking to get an exciting new sound.

If you are looking for ways to make your audio sound more powerful, reverse reverb might be a technique you can utilize. There are many websites where you can get explanation on how to use the reverse reverb technique. Some of the things you can use reverse reverb on include snare drums, staccato guitar, and kick drums.

People say that reverse reverb made the Led Zepplin songs that use it sound a lot better than they would without the effect. Even if you use reverse reverb in your audio tracks, you need to make sure you are using it the right way to make a hit. If you just whack on reverb everywhere in the audio track, the audio will sound horrible. It is the same for every effect you use, especially powerful ones like these. They need to be used in moderation.