How do I get my strings to sound more realistic?!

[joematzzie]

Thank you, Len. So what you're calling algorithmic reverb is just everything that's not convolution reverb? I've been told by certain film composers in the past that convolution gave a better sound, but it sounds like unless I know which parameter to tweek it's best to stick with the reverb where every parameter is controllable.

Joe

[Len911]

Thank you, Len. So what you're calling algorithmic reverb is just everything that's not convolution reverb? I've been told by certain film composers in the past that convolution gave a better sound, but it sounds like unless I know which parameter to tweek it's best to stick with the reverb where every parameter is controllable.

Joe

YW! Yes essentially. Algorithmic is computer program, so how well the reverb is programmed is how well that reverb would be, generally. Sure, in the past a convolution reverb probably did give a more natural space sound than a poorly programmed algorithmic reverb, but it was only one-dimensional, though with modern convolution reverb like Vienna's MIR, would even be more realistic as it is multi-dimensional, because they "sampled" more than one position in a space. Of course budget restraints might not allow one to purchase something like MIR. You will always tweak parameters by ear, if you know what the parameter is and does, then you will get where you are going more quickly.

That's kinda my take on realistic, however there are a few legendary reverbs like Lexicon, EMT plates like the 140 or 250, that may or may not be as realistic, but are "natural" sounding because they have been used on countless recordings, and we are used to the sound.

Then there's the whole concept of realistic. You could make a case that realism sounds like crap,lol! Have you ever noticed how good(acoustically) a live performance in a famous hall sounds if a singer is singing into a mic, and the mic output is used in the recording versus a recording from someone in the audience? ~or the case where I remember a post on this forum, where someone in peer-to-peer used a real violin in the recording and someone said it sounded too midi!

So, I would conclude that reverb type or brand is really a personal preference and whatever gives you goosebumps would be the best, whether or not it sounds real, whatever that may mean.

[mojobone]

You can think of algorithmic reverbs as modeled and convolution as sampled spaces. Nether is really 'better', but either might be best for a given application. For instance, Wallender's WIVI instruments are modeled brass in a modeled room; (or hall, if you prefer) you can position your brass player or players pretty precisely within the space, but the space itself may not be quite as detailed as a real space. Compare that with convolution, where you're taking a snapshot of the reverberations in an actual space, but you only have as many perspectives as you have microphones. In practice that might not matter so much, because most of your listeners will have two or fewer ears.

[mojobone]

So what you're calling algorithmic reverb is just everything that's not convolution reverb?

Not everything; there's also chamber reverb, where you set up a mike and a speaker in some other room or chamber and bus your sounds out to the speaker, bringing them back via the microphone, bathed in the very real reflections from the chamber, or stairwell or grain silo. Really, you can use anything that's handy, even a fuel oil tank, if you're not afraid to get the gear and cables dirty.