Zoom-in Online

This blog was contributed by Adam Brawerman, Zoom In Online's music channel assistant.

When the Kings of Leon set out to record their new album, Only By the Night, they did so with a new mindset.  During the recording of their first album, they were between the ages of 14 and 21.  Now having grown as musicians they were ready to expand their sound.  Co-producer of Only By the Night Ethan Johns explains, "The biggest thing that's influenced the material on this album is the fact that they'd been writing a lot of it during soundchecks in arenas- big sound, the tempos are slower, things thematically bigger."  One of the ways the producers achieved a "bigger sound" was through the use of Altiverb, a convolution reverb.  On their hit track "Sex On Fire" convolution reverb was used on the drums, vocals, and guitars.  With this software you are able to create any space for your music, and affect your audience in infinite ways.

Anyone who sings while in the shower knows that reverb can do wonders when it comes to perception of sound.  Reverb occurs when a sound is projected into an enclosed area.  As the sound bounces around the room, it hits your ears (or microphone) at different times.  Sound that is reflected off things closer to you, will take less time, while reflections off distant objects will echo longer.  The sound is eventually absorbed, which is called decay.  Reverb is what gives sound a sense of size and space. 

Convolution reverb is the process of recreating real or virtual settings.  So if you are Kings of Leon, and would like the Blackbird Recording Studio to sound like a rock arena, look no further.  For that matter, they could even sound like they are playing in an airplane cockpit, oil can, or vacuum cleaning tube.  Software developers, such as Audio Ease, spend enormous amounts of time setting up microphones in different settings and recording the characteristics of each space.  Then using crazy mathematical equations you swore you would never use when you were in school, they give their findings a purpose.  In the Audio Ease software, Alitverb, you are able to make numerous modifications to each space, such as mic placement, size, reverb time, and which frequencies you would like to decay first. 

With convolution reverb, the spacial characteristics of your sound are truly endless.  Whether you would like your sound to be big and expansive like the new record by Kings of Leon, metallic and sharp, or cavernous and dripping wet,  it can be achieved with this software.  Altiverb is a powerful piece of software, but also comes with a heavy price tag.  While this would be worth it for a studio, many consumers might find it to be a bit out of their price range.  Some recording suites, such as Apple's Logic Studio, come with convolution reverb included.  A lot of other audio editing software already includes a variety of reverb plug ins as well.  Although it might not be as sophisticated as Altiverb, by playing with the presets and making a few alterations of your own to things like time, attack, release, and decay (or damping) you can mimic much of its capabilities.  Also, try experimenting with your surround settings, or if you do not have this capability, your pan settings. 

For more information about Logic Studio's convolution reverb, Space Designer, click here.  On the right hand side you can sample different spaces, and see how reverb affects sound perception.