Reverb vs Delay?

[MirrorProfiles]

I think delays are more forgiving to sound good - reverb design is complex, and the parameters exposed to the user are also generally more complicated with more scope for sounding bad.

When used with guitar it gets complicated further by the fact it’s often going through an amp and speaker.

I think analog springs are still kind of hard to quite nail the sound of with digital, although there’s a few plugins I like. Springs are gnarly with amps, lots of digital reverbs can go wonky when used in unexpected ways. Sometimes that’s cool but it’s less predictable than what tends to happen with delays.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

I think delays are more forgiving to sound good - reverb design is complex, and the parameters exposed to the user are also generally more complicated with more scope for sounding bad.

When used with guitar it gets complicated further by the fact it’s often going through an amp and speaker.

I think analog springs are still kind of hard to quite nail the sound of with digital, although there’s a few plugins I like. Springs are gnarly with amps, lots of digital reverbs can go wonky when used in unexpected ways. Sometimes that’s cool but it’s less predictable than what tends to happen with delays.

Are you running spring reverb plugin in front of analog amps or in front of amp sim plugins? What spring plugins do you like?

 

[MirrorProfiles]

Are you running spring reverb plugin in front of analog amps or in front of amp sim plugins? What spring plugins do you like?

I don’t tend to use plugins in front of real amps, if i’m using plugins then it’s an all digital chain.

My favourite is probably Arturia’s Rev Spring, but it depends loads on what kind of sound i’m going for. The arturia one is my go to though and always gives results I like.

 

[Whizzinby]

If it’s one or the other, delay all day.

And delays that have modulation or diffusion parameters even more so. A Dig set to “deep” modulation, you’re hard pressed to pick out there isn’t any reverb on.

I’d be well served to ditch reverb altogether, but that ain’t happening.

 

[metropolis_4]

I think delays are more forgiving to sound good - reverb design is complex, and the parameters exposed to the user are also generally more complicated with more scope for sounding bad.

When used with guitar it gets complicated further by the fact it’s often going through an amp and speaker.

I think analog springs are still kind of hard to quite nail the sound of with digital, although there’s a few plugins I like. Springs are gnarly with amps, lots of digital reverbs can go wonky when used in unexpected ways. Sometimes that’s cool but it’s less predictable than what tends to happen with delays.

I have yet to find a digital spring that comes anywhere close to analog spring. I always wonder if bad digital spring is the reason some guitarists find they don’t like spring

 

[MirrorProfiles]

I always wonder if bad digital spring is the reason some guitarists find they don’t like spring

certainly doesn't help. There are quite a lot of bad analog springs too, and even OK springs in bad circuits in amps that don't really do them justice.

There are also lots of good "bad" springs that are full of vibe but are only useful on a handful of things. The digital ones rarely shoot for that style as often, they tend to be quite clean and annoying by comparison.

 

[Shask]

I can never decide if I like a slight short Delay or a Reverb. I pretty much only use high gain metal sounds and just like a little bit of something behind the tone for some space. I switch back and forth between Reverb and a short Delay. If I use both, I like to run them in parallel to keep the clarity.

 

[Orvillain]

I have yet to find a digital spring that comes anywhere close to analog spring. I always wonder if bad digital spring is the reason some guitarists find they don’t like spring

For me, I mostly don't really like the boinginess of spring, I don't like how subtle it is, and I don't like the character very much. I find it one of the more unique reverbs that I'm very picky about.

The best spring reverb I ever played was the original Orange Rockerverb. That thing was completely mental; huge atmosphere from it, without the crappy "kick the amp" wobble stuff that I hate.

 

[laxu]

I have yet to find a digital spring that comes anywhere close to analog spring. I always wonder if bad digital spring is the reason some guitarists find they don’t like spring

I on the other hand have grown to hate analog spring.

They are noisy and somewhat fragile.
The single level control usually has a tiny sweet spot.
The length of the reverb is either too long or too short.

Maybe I'd like an outboard tank with better control, but I don't want some big hulking box or one of those Surfybear behemoths either.

Give me a digital version any day. Even then I'd rather go for a plate or hall every time.

 

[metropolis_4]

I on the other hand have grown to hate analog spring.

They are noisy and somewhat fragile.
The single level control usually has a tiny sweet spot.
The length of the reverb is either too long or too short.

Maybe I'd like an outboard tank with better control, but I don't want some big hulking box or one of those Surfybear behemoths either.

Give me a digital version any day. Even then I'd rather go for a plate or hall every time.

Yeah, we’re polar opposites on this one, haha.

Spring is a special effect for me. Plate and hall are completely different effects for different purposes and can’t be substituted for spring IMO. It’s like using a Klon as a substitute for an Octavia.

I’ve had two gigs this past year - one was surf music, the other was Ennio Morricone style spaghetti western music - where drippy spring was the most important/prominent effect. Plate or hall would have sounded ridiculous.

I will always find space on my board for my SurfyBear when I need that sound because it does it so much better than anything else I’ve tried.

 

[synthpenguin]

Both, but in the spirit of choosing, I voted Delay. I can cover enough of the spatial ground or noisy-in-front-of-the-amp stuff with (the right) delay, and reverb for ambience also matters less for me at louder volumes or in band / mix contexts, whereas delay is always useful.