adding reverb or delay to track through sends isn't working very well - SOLVED

[greg54]

When I have a vocal or guitar track and want to add reverb or delay, I make a reverb or delay bus, and then add it to the track through sends.  Then I could adjust the amount I wanted for that particular track.

But lately when I do that, there is hardly any reverb or delay on the track.   And by that I mean, even though I turn the sends knob up, there is barely any reverb or delay on the track.  So I added the reverb directly onto the guitar track, and there was a ton of reverb.  But when I put it back onto the reverb bus and add it to the track through sends, there is hardly any reverb, even though I maxed out the reverb on the reverb bus.

Solutions?

Edited October 18, 2023 by greg54

[OutrageProductions]

Does the reverb PI itself have a MIX control? if put on a send bus insert, it should be *normally* set to maximum.

[greg54]

The reverb itself is maxed out.  When I put it on the track like that, it's way too much.  When I add it maxed out on the reverb bus, hardly any reverb goes through to the track.

[Glenn Stanton]

presumably you are trying:

track -> master buss (or equiv)

track -> send to reverb buss or aux track -> reverb 100% wet / 0% dry -> output to master buss

?

a few things to check:

1) is the reverb getting a signal from the track?

2) is the reverb output set to the same output as the tracks?

3) is the mix (wet/dry) settings on the reverb set to 100% wet and 0% dry? (otherwise you're just getting more dry signal)

4) is the reverb powered on / enabled / not controlled by an envelope which could be turning off the sends or the buss itself?

Edited October 17, 2023 by Glenn Stanton

[greg54]

40 minutes ago, Glenn Stanton said:

presumably you are trying:

track -> master buss (or equiv)

track -> send to reverb buss or aux track -> reverb 100% wet / 0% dry -> output to master buss

Yes.  Track > reverb bus >master bus.   Reverb plugin is on 100% wet and 0% dry.

41 minutes ago, Glenn Stanton said:

1) is the reverb getting a signal from the track?

Not sure what you mean.   "Very little" reverb is getting through to the track via sends

 

43 minutes ago, Glenn Stanton said:

2) is the reverb output set to the same output as the tracks?

Again, not sure what you mean.  

 

45 minutes ago, Glenn Stanton said:

4) is the reverb powered on / enabled / not controlled by an envelope which could be turning off the sends or the buss itself?

The reverb is powered on.  No envelope to control it.  

[greg54]

Next to the send knob there is a button that's always orange (on).

Never paid attention to it.  I turned it off, and now it's fine.  Makes one feel really stupid.

Edited October 17, 2023 by greg54

[OutrageProductions]

17 minutes ago, greg54 said:

Next to the send knob there is a button that's always orange (on).

Sends always default to post fader so that as you pull down the level on the track channel, it also reduces the send level to the reverb bus.

Evidently you either have the fader pretty far down or the track itself is relatively quiet.

Beware: in Pre-fader (button off), if you mute the track or fade out the signal, the level of reverb will remain fixed.

Edited October 17, 2023 by OutrageProductions

[greg54]

No, the levels are normal.  And so turning it off isn't good?  Well I guess I'll have to keep searching for the problem.  Thanks.

[greg54]

And when the button is on, there is no reverb on the track.

[gustabo]

1 hour ago, greg54 said:

And when the button is on, there is no reverb on the track.

The button switches between pre and post fader, the fader doesn’t affect the send if it is pre-fader, the fader does affect it if it is post-fader.

[greg54]

I dont know.  I still need a solution.

[mettelus]

For reverbs especially and time-based FX in general, you want them post-fader (the default) unless you are looking for something unique. The reason is that you want the FX to be proportional to the actual track signal so it sounds natural (those FX should never be stronger than the source in real life). If shutting post-fader off "solved" the problem, check the routing on that track to understand what is going on. Post-fader send to a reverb bus is expected for typical use, and there is very little between a pre- and post-fader send (maybe a panning mismatch? or the fader has a hefty gain increase on the track).

Edited October 18, 2023 by mettelus

[Glenn Stanton]

try something like this to check everything is working as expected, then adjust levels:

 

Edited October 18, 2023 by Glenn Stanton

[greg54]

Thanks for going through the trouble of posting this.  I appreciate it.  But that's is exactly how mine is set up.  So I don't understand what the problem is.

[Glenn Stanton]

so if you start a blank project and set this up, it still doesn't work?

[John Vere]

Some thoughts.

What do you hear if you solo the reverb bus? 

Did you try using a different reverb? 

Did you try deleting the send and re-adding it? 

What is the peak level of the vocal track when you set the track fader at unity? 

What is the peak level of the reverb bus at unity? 
 

Do you have a vocal sub bus? Try adding the send there. 
 

Edited October 18, 2023 by John Vere

[JonD]

1 hour ago, Glenn Stanton said:

so if you start a blank project and set this up, it still doesn't work?

This.   Need to rule out project corruption.

[lapasoa]

Let's be clear. On the track you set send to reverb bus. And the output track you must set also to reverb bus.

[gustabo]

1 hour ago, lapasoa said:

Let's be clear. On the track you set send to reverb bus. And the output track you must set also to reverb bus.

No you don't

[greg54]

3 hours ago, Glenn Stanton said:

so if you start a blank project and set this up, it still doesn't work?

Correct.  This is a new project I'm working on.