How To Use Reverb in Pro Tools

If you’re into recording, mixing and editing songs, one of the essential tools that you may be using is Pro Tools. Pro Tools is a digital workstation for audio data available in both Windows and Mac. In Pro Tools, one of the major options you can do to audio is to add reverb. In simplest terms, reverb adds depth and intensity to an audio track. Through reverb, you can make audio sound as if it was recorded in a small room (no echoes) or in a large stadium (powerful echoes). Here are some essential guidelines for using Reverb in Pro Tools:

* Open the session file. You could also begin to record audio track into your Pro Tools program by pressing record in the Transport window and then hitting stop once you want to stop recording. After doing this, you will have created a new audio track you could work with.
* Create an auxiliary (aux) track. This is where your remixes and sound editing will be saved. Simply select “New Track” from the File menu.
* Know the different windows that you could open. Working with Pro Tools, you will find that you will basically work with four different windows: the Edit window (where most of the work is done); the Transport window (where you can play back and record the tracks); the Session set-up window (where most of the parameters of the session are inputted); and the Mix window, which has mixer-like controls.
* Set up a bus system. Send the individual file to the bus, or the channel, where you can start to manipulate it. Click on the send button found in your track, and set the bus where you would like it to be: you could always start with busses 1-2.
* Insert reverb onto your aux track. Select the aux track and then click on “Insert”. A pop-up box will appear: select the option “D-Verb” from among the choices.
* Control the amount of reverb that you want to input. Use the Mix window to control the reverb per track. Do notice that the reverb begins at 100%; listen to it at playback to see if this is the kind of sound that you are aiming for. If not (which is usually the case, since you probably wouldn’t want 100% reverb on your track), adjust the levels according to the sound quality that you want. You could adjust the percentage of wetness/ dryness of the reverb, the length, the type, etc. Feel free to experiment with the controls until you get the sound you like.
* Know some important parameters. You could control the following factors, all of which have something to do with reverb: the decay time (or the length of time before the sound disappears); the predelay (or the length of time before the reverb is heard); the rate (or the speed of modulation); and the depth (the amount of pitch variation). Apart from these, you could also control the type of reverb you could incorporate: echo, flange, and chorus, among others.

How you control these parameters will greatly affect the perception of the listener as to where the audio track was recorded. For example, if you put in a lot of reverb with a long decay time, the perceived environment of the track would be a large area, such as a large cathedral or a concert hall. If you put a lot of reverb with a short decay time, the perceived environment tends to be a tiled bathroom or an office.

* Use the transport window to playback the track after you’ve done some changes. This will let you assess in real-time whether you would like to keep the particular adjustment you’ve done.


There you have it! These are some of the basic guidelines for using Reverb in Pro Tools. Take a day to experiment with the controls so you would know how to maximize this powerful program and come up with audio mixes that you could truly be proud of. Good luck!