Loops and Reverb

[mmuser]

Hi,
Could someone give me an idea of how we treat loops concerning the reverb? Do we add the same reverb as it is in the main file, from where it has been cut, or the correct is to leave the loops dry and the user (supervisor…) add his own reverb after gluing the loops? Probably it is a very basic-“obvious” knowledge because i didn’t find any reference about this in mlr.

[Art Munson]

I would do whatever it takes to make the loop sound natural on it’s own. Best test is to loop it yourself and see how it feels. I wouldn’t rely on someone to “fix” it.

[mmuser]

Thanx a lot Art!
This dilemma (wet/dry) arose when i had to make loops that came from a track with a big amount of reverb and it was difficult to make natural cuts for the loops (due to big tails). So i wondered if in these cases, it would be more effective if the supervisor add the reverb later.

[Per Boysen]

Here’s a method to make smooth loops:

1. Cut away audio after the loop point.
2. Play the file and record the reverb tail following the abrupt end at the loop point.
3. Move this recording, of the reverb tail, to the start point (= beginning of loop file).
4. Set up a natural sounding mix between the two files and sum them into one final loop file.

Now, when the loop spins, there will be no loss of reverb tail; smooth looping.

[mmuser]

Thank you PerBoysen!
I could never think this way.. i think i need some practice though, to see if I can make it work

[Mark_Petrie]

PerBoysen’s method is solid, but I’d first recommend trying this faster way if you’re in Logic:

Select “Bounce 2nd Cycle Pass” and do not check “Include Audio Tail.” You also need to be in “Realtime” Mode as opposed to “Offline”.

[MichaelL]

While we’re on the subject of editing technique…

I have some tracks, originally recorded for listening / radio, that have fade out endings. They were recorded some time ago. I don’t have stems or the original samplers and synths.

If I can find a nice cadence and sustained tonic, is there a way to cut the track and end it smoothly?

Thanks.

[Michael Nickolas]

Hi Michael, that’s going to be a tricky edit to make sound natural I’ll bet. Maybe not impossible, depending on the material. The tonic may not need to be sustained, if it’s a hit you can mix in a crash cymbal and let that decay. Or add reverb to a hit and let that decay. You’ll probably end up mixing in a cymbal even on a sustained tonic, just to give it a sense of finality.

[MichaelL]

Thanks, Michael!

[mmuser]

Hi,
I posted this thread a year ago, asking how we treat loops with big reverb tails in order to have a natural transition. I use now the method that PerBoysen suggested in his answer above (if you read it, thank you very much PerBoysen for your help). It helped me to create smooth and natural loops, but there is something that troubles me in this method. Although the transition of the loops sounds supernatural, when you listen to the beginning point of the FIRST loop, you listen an unexpected reverb tail which make the first second of the loop to sound totally wrong (this happens of course only in the first loop and probably it is inevitable). Wouldn’t that be a problem for the user of the loop and how that could be treated? This leads me to a second question, about what ways the loops are used by the buyers (for which it would be better to make a separate thread)

The only way i found to diminish (but not to eliminate) the above problem(?) is to reduce the volume of the tail a few db.

Here is the method, that Per Boysen suggested:
1. Cut away audio after the loop point.
2. Play the file and record the reverb tail following the abrupt end at the loop point.
3. Move this recording, of the reverb tail, to the start point (= beginning of loop file).
4. Set up a natural sounding mix between the two files and sum them into one final loop file.

[Author]

Posts