Which reverb on vocals? Plate, room, pre-delay and amount
2 min read · Updated
A vocal without reverb can sound dry and detached from the music; too much reverb, and the lyrics get blurry. It all comes down to a few settings: the type of space, the pre-delay, the length and the filtering. Here are concrete starting points, to adjust by ear.
In short
- Put the reverb on an aux (send) track, at 100% mix.
- Choose the space: plate for a lead vocal, room for a close sound.
- Set 10 to 40 ms of pre-delay to keep the vocal up front.
- Cut the reverb's low end (200 to 400 Hz) and soften its highs.
- Raise the send until you feel the space without hearing the tail.
On a send rather than an insert
Put the reverb on an aux track and send the vocal to it. You set the amount of space with the send level, you can process the reverb on its own (EQ, compression), and several vocals share the same space, which makes the mix cohesive. As an insert, keep the mix low, around 15 to 35%.
Choose the space
The plate is the vocal classic: dense and bright, it wraps the voice without suggesting a real room. A short room gives a close, natural vocal, useful in rap or folk. A hall gives ballads a sense of scale. A very short ambience adds air with no audible tail.
Lontana Reverb offers these five characters (Room, Hall, Plate, Ambience and Massive) and presets sorted by use, including a Vocals category and “(Send)” versions already set to 100% mix for a send.
Pre-delay and decay
Pre-delay delays the start of the reverb: 10 to 40 ms let the attack of each syllable through before the space, and the lyrics stay intelligible. At a fast tempo, keep a short decay (0.8 to 1.5 s); on a ballad, 2 to 3 s work well.
A tip: set the decay so the tail dies out before the next phrase. If it spills over, shorten it rather than lowering the level.
Filter to keep the mix clean
Low end in a reverb makes the mix muddy: raise the reverb's low cut to around 200 to 400 Hz. Reverberated highs exaggerate the “s” sounds: lower the high-frequency damping, or put a de-esser before the send. In Lontana Reverb, these are the Low Cut, Damping HF and Damping LF settings.
Going further: delay and vocals
Many modern vocals use less reverb and more delay: echoes add depth without blurring the words. A short slapback or dotted-eighth echoes, blended with a subtle plate, are a good starting point (see the guide to delay on vocals).
Frequently asked questions
- What reverb should I use on vocals?
- A plate for a lead vocal that needs to shine, a short room for a close, natural vocal. Set 10 to 40 ms of pre-delay and cut the reverb's low end.
- How much pre-delay on vocals?
- Between 10 and 40 ms: the attack of the words comes through before the reverb and the lyrics stay intelligible.
- Why are my vocals drowning in reverb?
- Usually too much level, too long a decay or not enough pre-delay. Shorten the decay, add pre-delay and filter the reverb's low end.
- Should reverb go before or after compression?
- On a send, the reverb receives the vocal already compressed and processed: that is the most common order.
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