When was reverberation invented

EMT the same company that created the first plate reverb introduced the first commercial digital reverb system in The EMT Electronic Reverberator Unit not only contained a highly adjustable reverb processor, but also the capabilities to apply effects like chorus, phasing, and delay.

Invented by Dr. Barry Blesser who also helped launch Lexicon, another industry titan in early digital reverb technology , the EMT is still regarded as one of the best-sounding digital reverb units of all time. Considering its early introduction into the audio technology sphere, its longevity and sound are especially impressive. In , Lexicon introduced the Lexicon The development of digital reverb also saw the introduction of convolution reverb into the music production realm. Sony released the first real-time convolution unit with the DRE-S in , allowing for more organic results than purely algorithmic units.

For more information on convolution and convolution reverb, check out our article on the topic. Digital reverb units did not entirely replace mechanical reverb technologies like plate and spring reverb , but instead added a further tool for engineers to use. However, with the general trend moving from analog audio to digital audio, coinciding with the development of more sophisticated digital reverb systems, digital reverb continued increasing in popularity through the introduction of software-based reverb.

Natural reverb and echo rooms obviously posed a construction obstacle, while most mechanical and digital units were large and awkward floor-standing digital units like the EMT even weighed around lbs. The movement to digital audio helped to solve these problems, as software-based reverb plug-ins slowly became the new norm. Like their digital hardware counterparts, software reverbs are either algorithmic or convolution-based, and implement many of the same processes.

With the ever-accelerating development of audio technology, reverb plug-ins have become powerful and sophisticated enough to rival even the results of natural reverb. This is where people like Michael Carns, founder of Exponential Audio, really shine. Explore Exponential Audio's nearly dozen software reverb plug-in options. Over the course of music production history, artificial reverb has become a cornerstone of the production process.

Each iteration of artificial reverb introduced new processes and sonic possibilities for producers, ultimately shaping the music that people have loved for decades. Technological advancements will continue and engineers will continue to create amazing work using them. Reverb is a helpful tool, but can potentially cause mix issues.

This list of ten common delay mistakes mixing engineers make is meant to educate, not reprimand. Digital reverb is a game-changer. In this article, we discuss how digital reverb works and considerations when using it. Get top stories of the week and special discount offers right in your inbox.

You can unsubscribe at any time. Reverb reading and resources The basics: What is Reverb? Add realistic ambience to any track or scene:.

Exponential Audio Reverbs. Learn More. Powerful surround reverbs for music and post production:. Surround Reverb Bundle. Powerful stereo reverbs for music production:. Stereo Reverb Bundle. Shop Deals. Never Miss an Article! Echo rooms and chamber reverb The biggest issue posed by natural reverb is that the reverb signal is inextricably tied to the recording. Mechanical reverb systems Unfortunately, the characteristics of reverb signal i.

Digital reverb systems With the introduction of digital audio, reverb technology continued to develop. Conclusion Over the course of music production history, artificial reverb has become a cornerstone of the production process. Learn more about reverb in music production:. Read More. Of course, reverb's spiritual associations go back much further.

Some archaeoacoustics researchers believe prehistoric shamans communicated with animal spirits in parts of caves that produced the richest echoes.

Recent research suggests that Stonehenge derived some of its mystery from the distinct reverberation patterns that the structure produced. The first result of this formula was his work on the Boston Symphony Hall, now considered one of the high watermarks of concert hall acoustics. But recorded music's rise in popularity brought with it the question of how to recreate the sound of physical space. Countless methods emerged, some ingenious. That ghostly sound of Robert Johnson's recordings?

He sang and played guitar while sitting in a chair facing a corner of the room the technique is called "corner loading" Guitarist Duane Eddy used a 2,gallon water tank from a scrap yard, placing a speaker on end of the tank and a microphone on the other.

Capitol Records built its concrete echo chambers 30 feet beneath its studio. None of those solutions are particularly portable, which in itself presents a problem that various contraptions sought to correct.

Tape delay devices such as the Echoplex and the Roland Space Echo derived from the "slapback" echo technique made famous by Sam Phillips at his Sun Studio. Essentially a tape machine with two playback heads, one that repeats milliseconds after the first, it defined the sound s rock and roll. Along with Chet Atkins, it was Elvis's guitarist, Scotty Moore who brought artificial reverb out of the studio and onto the stage with the EchoSonic, an amp with built-in reverb designed by Illinois music store owner Ray Butts.

Spring reverb, which gets its very distinct sound from a set of springs, was the sound of the s. This technology originates from Bell Labs, and was first musically employed by the Hammond company after church organists complained of the flat sound of earlier models.

To modern ears, spring reverb sounds nothing like a cathedral, but this was no problem for Dick Dale and other surf guitarists, who used the effect to create splashy sounds evoking SoCal waves. King Tubby and other dub pioneers used their spring reverb units as if they were instruments themselves, tinkering with them to coax out ever stranger sounds, sometimes throwing them to the floor to create thunderous echoes.

So much effort for a sound effect. Why bother? I asked Sean Costello, who describes himself as a "creator and historian of reverb algorithms. Costello, who thinks about reverb a lot, believes an evolutionary adaptation is at work.

A lion roar without reverb suggests that the lion is probably far too close. Whether in the jungle or not, a lack of echo can discomfit. The plate reverb is made up of a large 2 x 3m , thin piece of sheet metal suspended from a steel frame by spring tensioners at each corner. An electrical transducer mounted to the center of the suspended plate induces plate movement, which creates the effect.

One or two mono or stereo pickups are mounted to the plate as well, for the reverb return. A damping plate controlled by a servo motor, allowed adjustment of the reverb time. All of these simple elements were built into a heavy wooden enclosure.

Typically the engineer set the decay with the damper control, and runs the reverb return through additional EQ at the board for greater tone shaping capabilities.

Although the EMT 's legend was growing, many engineers and producers were not crazy about the original electronics, so many s were retrofitted with updated circuits.

In , EMT hit another first by adding a stereo return, and by the '70s, they were manufactured as solid-state instead of the original tube circuit.

Further improvements were made, and EMT made many other plate systems, but the EMT is still considered the final word in plate reverb. EMT released a primitive digital reverb in , the rack mount , but its capabilities were limited, and very few survive.

A floor-standing unit that looked like equipment from a '70's sci-fi movie set, the EMT 's feature set was impressive, with pre-delay controls and high and low frequency decay times. But the was more than a reverb — it was also the first multi-effects unit, featuring modulation effects like chorus and phase, as well as echo and delay. The controls were simple — large lollipop-shaped levers and a few pushbuttons.

There were only EMT 's made, but the unit was soon updated to the , which was a similar design with an LCD display and a larger feature set. The offered extended frequency response, additional parameter controls and more programs. These early digital units are considered some of the best sounding artificial reverb units ever made-quite a legacy for anything considered early digital technology.

Learn how SOHN aka TophTaylor , uses UAD plug-ins and his Apollo x8p interface for his ultra-textured laptop symphonies and how he learned to embrace the "human element" in his recordings.