Reverb is created by sound waves reflecting off surfaces in a space, gradually decreasing in intensity until they fade away and are absorbed into other materials. This effect situates sound in space, and contributes to how we describe the character of a sound.
There are lots of digital reverbs out there, but they’re mainly split into two groups: algorithmic and convolution. The algorithmic approach involves using a series of calculations that simulate reverb, either by imitating real spaces or designing new sonic environments.
Convolution reverb, on the other hand, uses actual recordings of physical spaces and hardware units to generate a reverb profile.
Using these two methods, reverbs can be conjured in a variety of styles, with each possessing its own distinct character. There are reverbs that emulate physical spaces, like room and hall types, which in the past would have had to be captured in actual rooms and halls. As well as this, there are reverbs that imitate mechanical techniques from the pre-digital era that used hardware, like spring and plate. You’ll hear more about these classic reverbs later in this feature. The first commercial digital reverb – the EMT 250 – was created in 1976, and EMT, alongside Lexicon continued to push the envelope, albeit with extremely limited computing power compared to today’s standards. Nowadays, we have the resources to do things that simply couldn’t be done during the golden age of studio reverbs, with shimmer, reverse, granular and more
