verb hurt.

[Dreadpoet]

A facilities I'm in is quite dead when it comes to reverb...in a pinch I asked my small town local supplier to just order me a reverb unit with little discussion on what I really wanted; He ordered TC electronics M350 and I am not currently happy with it. When running vocals through it the sound of a bee in a bottle comes to mind. Whether bypass is engaged or not a canned sound is produced. I can't seem to work it out in the mix and am very frustrated...am I doing something wrong to create this sound, or is this the product of cheap reverb? I haven't messed much with reverb in past as most facilities I've been in had enough as is. The only reason I am posting on this topic rather than throwing the unit to the great storage closet in the sky is that I haven't heard much similar complaints on the internet or this forum for that matter.

 

[cpf]

Does the bypass button make any difference? Sounds like you've got a faulty unit...

 

[Dreadpoet]

I only mentioned the bypass so that you would know that I am not just hearing bizarre reverb....When I unplug the unit from the insert the sound then feels full so it is definitely the reverb unit. I didn't see any filtering on the reverb that would account for this dramatic change in sound.

 

[Aman121]

It sounds like an issue with the unit, unless these things really are complete crap, which they don't appear to be, their should be no coloration when bipassed and they should actually add reverb instead of noise. Sounds a bit like a bad gain pot or op amp. Before you send it back though, try it in other channels of the console and with different input devices to rule out a seperate issue.

 

[derekleffew]

And here I was getting ready to move this thread into http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/new-member-board/8599-cb-technical-forum-english-class.html . So many verbs; so little time--circumvent, circumscribe, circumcise, circumnavigate.

EDIT: Oh, the thread title is "verb huRt."; I thought it said "verb huNt.". Kidz today with their groovy lingo... Words like "swell," and "so's your old man."

...When I unplug the unit from the insert the sound then feels full so it is definitely the reverb unit. ...

Dreadpoet, before giving up on the unit (which does sound like it has a issue, or perhaps that's the best a $199 can do. In my (analog) day, Lexicon effects processors were preferred.), rather than inserting the unit into a channel or group, use a post-fade AUX to send to the unit, and return it into a channel. This will allow you to vary the ratio of "dry" vs. "wet" signal.

If the "bypass" switch doesn't remove the effect from the signal path, it's either the unit or your insert cable is faulty.
.

 

[Dreadpoet]

These are all good suggestions and I will check them out. That being said, the reverb unit itself has a dry/wet option on it and I heard little change in the sound quality other than the obvious change in how much reverb was applied to the overall mix. I will switch out the insert cable and switch to post-fade AUX and give it a go just the same.

 

[TimmyP1955]

These are decent sounding units. Either it is defective, or there's an operator problem.

Make sure the mix is 100%. If you are not hearing much difference, either there's a defect, or you don't have things hooked up rightly.

Sounds like you may be overdriving the input of the reverb, or overdriving the return.

 

[museav]

It might help to know how it is wired, whether it is set for dual input or serial routing, whether you are running reverb only or reverb and effects, the reverb algorithm being used, the input LED indicator status (not lit/green/yellow/red) and so on.

Also keep in mind that you may be adding reverb, however you are only addressing the signal content and not directionality. You may hear emulations of upstage wall, side wall, rear wall and ceiling reflections but they are probably all going to be coming from the same source and not from in front, the sides, behind and above as they would with natural acoustics. And if you have a mono send and mono return and/or a mono system you are also going to be missing interaural differences in the reverb, i.e. the differences between the signals at the left and right ears. Thus the effects may not be as dramatic as you envisioned.

 

[philwantspro6]

Bypassing doesnt necessarily turn off the unit. And all a/d provides anywhere between .5 and 4ms of delay. So if you are running the reverb unit in parallel, you will be combining the original signal with a delayed version of the same signal, thus creating a phase discorrelation. That is probably what you are hearing. Just a hunch.