Reverb effects

In a room, sound bounces off the walls, ceiling, and floor on the way to your ears. All these reflected sounds reach your ears so closely together that you don’t perceive them as separate echoes, but as a sonic ambience that creates an impression of space. This reflected sound is called reverberation, or reverb for short. With Adobe Audition, you can use reverb effects to simulate a variety of room environments.

The Reverb > Convolution Reverb effect reproduces rooms ranging from coat closets to concert halls. Convolution-based reverbs use impulse files to simulate acoustic spaces. The results are incredibly realistic and life-like.

Sources of impulse files include audio you’ve recorded of an ambient space, or impulse collections available online. For best results, impulse files should be uncompressed, 16- or 32-bit files matching the sample rate of the current audio file. Impulse length should be no more than 30 seconds. For sound design, try a variety of source audio to produce unique, convolution-based effects.

Specifies a file that simulates an acoustic space. Click Load to add a custom impulse file in WAV or AIFF format.

Controls the ratio of original to reverberant sound.

Specifies a percentage of the full room defined by the impulse file. The larger the percentage, the longer the reverb.

Reduces low-frequency, bass-heavy components in reverb, avoiding muddiness and producing a clearer, more articulate sound.

Reduces high-frequency, transient components in reverb, avoiding harshness and producing a warmer, lusher sound.

Determines how many milliseconds the reverb takes to build to maximum amplitude. To produce the most natural sound, specify a short pre-delay of 0–10 milliseconds. To produce interesting special effects, specify a long pre-delay of 50 milliseconds or more.

Controls the stereo spread. A setting of 0 produces a mono reverb signal.

Boosts or attenuates amplitude after processing.

Full Reverb effect

The Reverb > Full Reverb effect is convolution‑based, avoiding ringing, metallic, and other artificial sounding artifacts.

This effect offers some unique options, such as Perception, which simulates room irregularities, Left/Right Location, which places the source off‑center, and Room Size and Dimension, which help you realistically simulate rooms that you can customize. To simulate wall surfaces and resonance, you can change the reverb’s frequency absorption by using a three‑band, parametric EQ in the Coloration section.

When you change reverb settings, this effect creates a temporary impulse file, which simulates the acoustic environment you specify. This file can be several megabytes in size, requiring a few seconds to process, so you might have to wait before hearing a preview. The results, however, are incredibly realistic and easy to tailor.

Reverb Settings

Specifies how many milliseconds the reverb takes to decay 60 dB. However, depending on the Coloration parameters, certain frequencies may take longer to decay to 60 dB, while other frequencies may decay much faster. Longer values give longer reverb tails, but they also require more processing. The effective limit is about 6000 milliseconds (a 6‑second tail), but the actual tail generated is much longer to allow for decaying into the background noise level.

Specifies how many milliseconds reverb takes to build to its maximum amplitude. Generally, reverbs build up quickly, and then decay at a much slower rate. Interesting effects can be heard with extremely long pre‑delay times of 400 milliseconds or more.

Controls the rate of echo buildup. High diffusion values (above 900 milliseconds) give very smooth reverbs, without distinct echoes. Lower values produce more distinct echoes because the initial echo density is lighter, but the density builds over the life of the reverb tail.

Tip: Bouncy echo effects can be obtained by using low Diffusion values and high Perception values. With long reverb tails, using low Diffusion values and somewhat low Perception values gives the effect of a football stadium or similar arena.

Simulates irregularities in the environment (objects, walls, connecting rooms, and so on). Low values create a smoothly decaying reverb without any frills. Larger values give more distinct echoes (coming from different locations).

Tip: If a reverb is too smooth, it may not sound natural. Perception values up to about 40 give simulate typical room variations.

Sets the volume of the virtual room, as measured in cubic meters. The larger the room, the longer the reverb. Use this control to create virtual rooms of only a few square meters to giant coliseums.

Specifies the ratio between the room’s width (left to right) and depth (front to back). A sonically appropriate height is calculated and reported as Actual Room Dimensions at the bottom of the dialog box. Generally, rooms with width‑to‑depth ratios between 0.25 and 4 provide the best sounding reverbs.

Lets you place early reflections off‑center. Select Include Direct in the Output Level section to place the original signal in the same location. Very nice effects are possible with singers slightly off center, 5-10% to the left or right.

Prevents the loss of low‑frequency (100 Hz or less) sounds, such as bass or drums. These sounds can get phased out when using small rooms if the early reflections mix with the original signal. Specify a frequency above that of the sound you wish to keep. Good settings are generally between 80 Hz and 150 Hz. If the cutoff setting is too high, you may not get a realistic image of the room size.

Sets Decay and Pre‑delay times to match the specified room size, producing a more convincing reverb. If desired, you can then fine‑tune the Decay and Pre-Delay times.

Coloration options

Specifies the corner frequency for the low and high shelves or the center frequency for the middle band. For example, to increase reverb warmth, lower the high shelf frequency while also reducing its gain.

Boosts or attenuates reverb in different frequency ranges.

Tip: To subtly enhance audio, boost reverb frequencies around the natural frequency of a key sonic element. For a singer’s voice, for example, boost frequencies from 200 Hz to 800 Hz to enhance resonance in that range.

Sets the width of the middle band. Higher values affect a narrower range of frequencies, and lower values affect a wider range.

Tip: For distinct resonance, use values of 10 or higher. To boost or cut a wide range of frequencies, use lower values like 2 or 3.

Specifies how many milliseconds the reverb decays before the Coloration curve is applied. Values up to 700 work fine. For more colored reverbs, use lower settings (such as 100 to 250).

Output Level options

Controls the level of original signal included with reverb. Use a low level to create a distant sound. Use a high level (near 100%) along with low levels of reverberation and reflections to create a sense of close proximity to the source.

Controls the level of the dense layer of reverberant sound. The balance between the dry and reverberant sounds changes perception of distance.

Controls the level of the first echoes to reach the ear, giving a sense of the overall room size. Too high a value can result in an artificial sound, while too low a value can remove audible cues for the room’s size. Half the volume of the Dry signal is a good starting point.

Slightly phase‑shifts the original signal’s left and right channels to match the location of early reflections (set by Left/Right Location on the Early Reflections tab).

Combines the channels of a stereo or surround waveform before processing occurs. Select this option for faster processing, but deselect it for a fuller, richer reverb.

Reverb effect

The Reverb > Reverb effect simulates acoustic spaces with convolution-based processing. It can reproduce acoustic or ambient environments such as a coat closet, a tiled bathroom shower, a concert hall, or a grand amphitheater. The echoes can be spaced so closely together that a signal’s reverberated tail decays smoothly over time, creating a warm and natural sound. Alternatively, Pre-Delay Time can be adjusted to give a sense of room size.

Relative to the Reverb effect, the Full Reverb effect provides more options and better audio rendering. For quick adjustments, however, you may prefer the reduced options set of the Reverb effect.

Sets how many milliseconds it takes for reverb to tail off to infinity (about ‑96 dB). Use values below 400 for small rooms, values between 400 and 800 for medium-sized rooms, and values above 800 for very large rooms, such as concert halls. For example, enter 3000 milliseconds to create reverb tails for a giant amphitheater.

Tip: To simulate rooms that have both echoes and reverb, first use the Echo effect to establish the size of the room, and then use the Reverb effect to make the sound more natural. A Decay Time as little as 300 milliseconds can add perceived spaciousness to dry sound.

Specifies how many milliseconds reverb takes to build to its maximum amplitude. For a short Decay Time, the Pre-Delay Time time should also be smaller. In general, a value about 10% as long as the Decay Time sounds most realistic. However, you can create interesting effects by using a longer Pre-Delay Time with a shorter Decay Time.

Simulates natural absorption, reducing high frequencies as the reverb decays. Faster absorption times simulate rooms full of people, furniture, and carpeting, such as nightclubs and theaters. Slower times (over 1000 milliseconds) simulate empty rooms such as auditoriums, where high frequency reflections are more prevalent.

Changes the characteristics of reflections within a room. Lower values create smoother reverb without as many distinct echoes. Higher values simulate larger rooms, cause more variation in reverb amplitude, and add spaciousness by creating distinct reflections over time.

Tip: A Perception setting of 100 and a Decay Time of 2000 milliseconds or more creates interesting canyon effects.

Sets the percentage of source audio to output. In most cases, 90% works well. To add subtle spaciousness, set the Dry percentage higher; to achieve a special effect, set the Dry percentage lower.

Sets the percentage of reverb to output. To add subtle spaciousness to a track, keep the Wet percentage lower than the Dry percentage. Increase the Wet percentage to simulate greater distance from the audio source.

Combines the channels of a stereo or surround waveform before processing occurs. Select this option for faster processing, but deselect it for fuller, richer reverb.

Studio Reverb effect

Like the other reverb effects, the Reverb > Studio Reverb effect simulates acoustic spaces. It is faster and less processor‑intensive than the other reverb effects, however, because it isn’t convolution‑based. As a result, you can make real‑time changes quickly and effectively in the Multitrack Editor, without pre-rendering effects on a track.

Sets the room size.

Adjusts the amount of reverberation decay in milliseconds.

Controls the percentage of echoes that first reach the ear, giving a sense of the overall room size. Too high a value can result in an artificial sound, while too low a value can lose the audio cues for the room’s size. Half the volume of the original signal is a good starting point.

Controls the spread across the stereo channels. 0% produces a mono reverb signal; 100% produces maximum stereo separation.

Specifies the highest frequency at which reverb can occur.

Specifies the lowest frequency at which reverb can occur.

Adjusts the amount of attenuation applied to the high frequencies of the reverb signal over time. Higher percentages create more damping for a warmer reverb tone.

Simulates the absorption of the reverberated signal as it is reflected off of surfaces, such as carpeting and drapes. Lower settings create more echoes, while higher settings produce a smoother reverberation with fewer echoes.

Sets the percentage of source audio to output with the effect.

Sets the percentage of reverb to output.

Surround Reverb effect

The Reverb > Surround Reverb effect is primarily intended for 5.1 sources, but it can also provide surround ambience to mono or stereo sources. In the Waveform Editor, you can choose Edit > Convert Sample Type to convert a mono or stereo file to 5.1, and then apply Surround Reverb. In the Multitrack Editor, you can send mono or stereo tracks to a 5.1 bus or mix with Surround Reverb.

Determines the percentage of the center channel included in the processed signal.

Determines the percentage of the Low Frequency Enhancement channel used to excite reverb for other channels. (The LFE signal itself is not reverberated.)

note: The effect always inputs 100% of the Left, Right, and rear surround channels.

Specifies a file that simulates an acoustic space. Click Load to add a custom, 6- channel impulse file in WAV or AIFF format.

Specifies a percentage of the full room defined by the impulse file. The larger the percentage, the longer the reverb.

Reduces low-frequency, bass-heavy components in reverb, avoiding muddiness and producing a clearer, more articulate sound.

Reduces high-frequency, transient components in reverb, avoiding harshness and producing a warmer, lusher sound.

Determines how many milliseconds the reverb takes to build to maximum amplitude. To produce the most natural sound, specify a short pre-delay of 0–10 milliseconds. To produce interesting special effects, specify a long pre-delay of 50 milliseconds or more.

Controls the stereo spread across the front three channels.

A width setting of 0 produces a mono reverb signal.

Controls the stereo spread across the rear surround channels (Ls and Rs).

Controls the amount of reverb added to the Center channel. (Because this channel usually contains dialog, reverb should typically be lower.)

Controls left-right balance for front and rear speakers. 100 outputs reverb to only the left, -100 to only the right.

Controls front-back balance for left and right speakers. 100 outputs reverb to only the front, -100 to only the back.

Controls the ratio of original to reverberant sound. A setting of 100 outputs only reverb.

Boosts or attenuates amplitude after processing.