Vocal Mixing Tips Part 4 - Reverb & Delay

Welcome back to our blog series on vocal mixing. In the previous posts in this series, we’ve covered compression (Part 2) and EQ(Part 3). Today, we’ll be diving into reverb and delay, why they are important and share some of the best plugins for vocals to help you achieve incredible results.

Reverb and Delay: Why Are They Important?

Reverb and delay are time-based effects that simulate space and ambience:

Reverb - Reverb mimics the natural reflections of sound in a physical space, like a room, hall, or cathedral. It helps create a sense of depth around the vocal, and makes the voice sound like it is reflecting within a real acoustic environment.

Delay - Delay repeats the vocal signal over time, creating echoes that can range from subtle to dramatic. Using delay adds dimension to vocals and can enhance the sound through adding interesting rhythmic textures.

Together, these effects can transform a flat, dry vocal into a rich and captivating sound.

Key Reverb Parameters to Understand

Decay Time

The decay time refers to how long it takes for the reverb to fade away. We recommend using shorter decay times (1–2 seconds) for tight, modern vocals and longer times (3–5 seconds) for atmospheric, ballad-style tracks.

Pre-Delay

The reverb pre-delay is the time between the original vocal and the start of the reverb. The longer the pre-delay, the more separated the vocal will feel from the reverb, which can be useful for keeping your vocals sounding tight and present within your mix. 

Reverb Type

There are several common types of reverb to choose from when mixing your vocals. These include plate reverb, which has a bright and smooth character and is perfect for pop vocals, hall reverbs, which are lush and expansive and ideal for ballads, and room reverbs, which have a tighter and more natural sound that are a great fit for intimate acoustic genres such as folk or jazz. To help you mix your vocals more seamlessly we suggest matching your type of reverb to the genre of the song. 

Techniques for Using Reverb on Vocals

Subtle Ambience

For modern pop or hip-hop vocals, keep reverb subtle to avoid muddying the mix. Use a room or plate reverb with a short decay and low wet/dry ratio (10–20%).

Lush and Dreamy Vocals

For ballads or ambient tracks, go for a hall reverb with a longer decay (3–5 seconds). Add a touch of pre-delay to maintain vocal clarity while creating a sense of space.

EQ Your Reverb

Always EQ the wet signal of your reverb. Roll off the low end (below 200 Hz) to avoid muddiness and tame harsh frequencies around 2–5 kHz.

Key Delay Parameters to Understand

Delay Time

The delay time is the time between each echo, and often synced to the song’s tempo. The shorter the delay time, the more quickly each echo of the delay effect will repeat.

Feedback

Delay feedback dictates how many repeats the delay creates, with a feedback of 10-30% being used for subtle echoes, and higher values of 50-70% being used for more wild and atmospheric effects.

Wet/Dry Mix

The wet and dry controls of a delay plugin determines how much of the delay effect is blended with the original vocal. 

Techniques for Using Delay on Vocals

Slapback Delay

A slapback delay is a classic delay effect and has its origins in the days of vintage recording and analog tape. Slapback is perfect for adding a sense of energy and immediacy, slapback and works well in genres such as rock and indie. To achieve a slapback delay sound you can set the delay time to 80–150 ms with a low amount of feedback.

Rhythmic Delays

A rhythmic delay effect can be achieved by syncing the delay to the song’s tempo, and choosing a delay time that complements the vibe of your song. A rhythmic delay effect most commonly uses quarter-note or dotted-eighth-note delays, although sometimes longer delay times can be used in genres such as reggae and dub. 

Creative Delays

Automate the delay wet/dry mix to emphasize specific words or phrases in the vocal. This technique works especially well for transition sections, as well as vocal hooks, or ad-libs.

Best Plugins for Vocals: Reverb & Delay

Here are some of the top reverb and delay plugins that can take your vocal mixing to the next level:

Reverb Plugins

Valhalla VintageVerb: A versatile reverb plugin with lush, classic tones and modern presets.

FabFilter Pro-R: Highly customizable and great for transparent, natural reverb.

Waves Abbey Road Plates: Perfect for vintage-sounding plate reverb.

Delay Plugins

EchoBoy by Soundtoys: A creative delay plugin with a wide range of styles and tones.

FabFilter Timeless 3: Offers advanced modulation options for intricate delay effects.

Waves H-Delay: A versatile, easy-to-use delay plugin suitable for subtle and creative uses alike.

Stock Plugins

Don’t overlook the reverb and delay plugins that come with your DAW! Logic Pro X’s Space Designer and Tape Delay are both fantastic tools for vocal mixing.

Thanks for checking out this post! In Part 5, we’ll explore creative vocal effects to add movement and personality to your vocal tracks. Stay tuned!