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Music vocabulary · Recording and Production

Reverb

Meaning in music, with examples

/ˈriːvɜːrb/nounCommon term

In music, reverb means: The many quick reflections of sound in a space that make it sound roomy, or an effect that copies this, such as a hall, room or plate reverb.

In Turkish: reverb, yankılanma

How it is used

Short for reverberation. Engineers add, send to or 'dial back' reverb; a vocal can be 'too dry' (no reverb) or 'too wet' (too much). Guitar amps often have a spring reverb. Musicians also describe concert halls by their natural reverb.

Example sentences

  1. Add a short room reverb to the snare so it doesn't sound so dry.

  2. The church has a long natural reverb, so fast passages can get blurry.

Common collocations

  • add reverb
  • hall reverb
  • plate reverb
  • reverb tail
  • dry and wet
  • mixTo balance and combine all the recorded tracks of a song into a final stereo version, adjusting volume, panning, EQ, effects and dynamics.
  • EQShort for equalisation or equaliser: adjusting the balance of low, mid and high frequencies in a sound, or the tool that does this.
  • masteringThe final stage of audio production, in which finished mixes are polished, made consistent in loudness and tone, and prepared for streaming, CD or vinyl.
  • microphoneA device that turns sound into an electrical signal so that it can be amplified or recorded. Dynamic and condenser microphones are the most common types.
  • trackA single song on an album or release. In a studio or DAW, it also means one separate recorded part, such as the drum track or the vocal track.

More terms: Recording and Production

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