# Using Lexicon Reverb with Orchestral Samples



## SwedishPug (Jun 1, 2019)

Hi! I recently purchased Lexicon PCM Native (with the hopes of someday owning the hardware version) and I was wondering if anybody has advice on how best to use it with orchestral music. Anything that would save me some headaches down the line would be super helpful haha

For example, from what I understand, it is common in orchestral music to use both a more prominent short reverb and a more quiet long reverb. How are those usually set up? Any pointers?

Thank you for taking the time to help me out, I appreciate it.


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## SwedishPug (Jun 2, 2019)

Also, how loud are the reverbs in comparison to each other usually?


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## Mihkel Zilmer (Jun 2, 2019)

I'm afraid you're asking an impossible question. Orchestral music has such an incredibly wide range of applications there is no "best" use of reverb for it. 

What are you trying to achieve? Concert music? Film score? Trailer music? Hybrid or pure orchestral?

A combination of 2 reverbs is common, but by no means a rule. If you have researched this you will know why it is often being used - to bridge the gap between relatively dry recordings and a very long tail. But more is not necessarily better! You could easily go too far and make things too wet and muddy.

How dry is your source material? Some more ambient offerings are so drenched in room sound one doesn't even really need to use reverb (maybe only for a bit of cosmetic glue..)

Amazing sounding mixes have been made with many, many different approaches to reverb. Including the simplest - one reverb on everything. If you are only starting out then my suggestion is to forget about super complex reverb setups - instead learn the basics of how reverb works. One reverb on the entire mix is a great place to start. 

Once you've got that figured out then you can gradually move on to the more advanced concepts used by many mixers:
- reverbs by orchestral sections and for creating depth
- using different reverbs to blend different sources
- multiple different reverbs stacked to create a more complex & filled out sound
- less reverb on short notes, more reverb on long notes
- reverb automation 
- reverb EQ, saturation or compression
- reverb only on hall mics, not on close mics
- only using ER or tail parts of the reverb

Sorry, that turned into a bit of a rant, but I hope some of this helps and good luck!!

PS You wouldn't believe the number of times I have heard mixing engineers say "well, i just use Preset #1". Don't overthink it. Don't make it unnecessarily complex unless you understand precisely why you need to do it. And above everything else - use your ears! Find references you like, try to recreate their sound.


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## SwedishPug (Jun 2, 2019)

Mihkel Zilmer said:


> I'm afraid you're asking an impossible question. Orchestral music has such an incredibly wide range of applications there is no "best" use of reverb for it.
> 
> What are you trying to achieve? Concert music? Film score? Trailer music? Hybrid or pure orchestral?
> 
> ...


Thank you for your detailed response. That makes sense and I look forward to incorporating some of the advanced things you listed!

I guess it would help to have a better idea of where to start in regards to the two reverb technique. So if you have any insights there I'd appreciate it. For example, is the longer reverb typically set up in such a way that the pre-delays match the shorter reverb? Are the hall mics being sent to the long reverb or is the short reverb being sent to the long reverb?


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## Markus Kohlprath (Jun 2, 2019)

One thing we all thrive for I think in the beginning and also later on and which only gets better very slowly and gradually is to gain the ability to hear things with our ears and judge from there. You might end up somewhere completely far from what you want to achieve by following any rules of who ever. There are so many parameters that influence the right setting in a specific situation that it’s not really possible to say this is right or wrong.
I can understand your question very well from my own experience but I would not take any advice as “that’s how it has to be done” . It can help to hear what others do to point the thinking in certain directions and somehow it’s necessary but it will never replace the own experience. Somehow this might be true in all aspects of making music. At least as I view it.
And I also found out the hard way that there is a lot of misleadingly advice flowing around all over the internet as well. Just to judge this you have to develop your ears. That’s the advice I would have given to myself 7 years ago.
That said I would say it’s an excellent advice by Mihkel just starting simple and go from there.


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## Stanoli (Jun 2, 2019)

I would start with the Concert Hall and try the presets in there.
Adjust the hallsize with the slider until you like it.


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