4. The space of the whole mix
How to put the whole band in one place: how many reverbs to use, what each instrument gets and how to create depth without muddying.
Each track was recorded in a different place, or in none: a DI has no room, and the drums bring their own. The job here is for them to sound like a band in the same place, with some elements closer and others further away.
Few spaces, shared
A different reverb on each track sounds like several rooms at once. Two or three effects channels are enough for the whole song.
The common place. A little on drums, guitars and bass brings them closer together without a reverb being noticeable. With Room Reverb, without much tail.
The sheen and size of the vocal and solos. The pre-delay keeps the word up front and the tail behind.
Space without pushing back. It's heard in the gaps between phrases, which is why it pays off so well in dense mixes.
On each effects channel, a Pro EQstock after the effect: high-pass at 200–300 Hz and low-pass at 6–8 kHz. A reverb with no extreme lows or highs gives space without muddying.
Near and far
Depth is built with three things: level, brightness and reverb.
What brings closer and what pushes away
- Close: louder, more highs, dry or with pre-delay.
- Far: quieter, fewer highs, more reverb and no pre-delay.
In rock and metal, almost everything is up front, so depth is reserved for harmonies, detail guitars and ambiences. Kick, snare, bass and lead vocal stay at the front.
What each instrument gets
- Drums: first the Superior Drummer 3 room, which is already a real room. Only if needed, a little of the short room on snare and toms. The kick, almost nothing.
- Bass: dry. Reverb on lows gets muddy right away.
- Rhythm guitars: very little or none. Doubling already gives them width.
- Clean guitars and solos: here there is room for reverb and delay.
- Vocal: see space on the vocal.
OpenAIRstock and Room Reverb are enough for all of this. The choice of reverb matters quite a bit less than how much you send and how you filter it.
Space adds the finish, but it doesn't fix a balance. It gets set when everything else works, and it's best not to spend too long choosing reverbs.
Compare it
Turn off all the effects channels for a moment. If the mix suddenly collapses, there’s probably too much. If it only feels a bit drier and more separate, you’re close. And compare with your reference: in a home mix the most common thing is too much reverb.
Common mistakes
What NOT to chase yet
Quick path: space
Quick path
- Three effects channels: short room, long reverb and delay in tempo.
- EQ on each: high-pass at 200–300 Hz and low-pass at 6–8 kHz.
- SD3 room for the drums, before any reverb.
- Bass and rhythm guitars, almost dry.
- Vocal and solos with long reverb and delay.
- Turn off the effects for a moment to check.
Expected result
Expected result
A band that sounds in the same place, with the vocal and pulse up front, no mud and no reverb calling attention to itself. So far the mix is static, and a song isn’t. What’s missing is automation.