THE ART OF CREATING

DEPTH IN A MIX

“THE ART OF MIXING” SERIES – BOOK 4

A UTHOR : T HOMAS J UTH

E DITOR AND P ROOFREADER : F REDRIK J UTH

COPYRIGHT - © - 2016 Thomas Juth Publishing

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 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I have been working as a Mix and Recording Engineer

for the past 14 years. I started my career at Mayfair
Studios (London), and later became the in-house Mix
Engineer at Kensaltown Studios (the home of producer
Martin Terefe). During seven years I mixed most of
Martin’s records and literally lived in that mix-room, in
front of a beautiful old API console. I had the honour to
work with artists such as Cat Stevens, Elton John, Jamie
Cullum, Jason Mraz, Leslie Clio, A-ha, and the Latin
duo Jesse & Joy (which would eventually win me two
Grammys).

After the Kensaltown years I ran my own studio,

Elephant Lane Studios, a place that I set up together
with producer and songwriter Michael Bianco. Since
2015 I am based in Berlin, Germany, where I am
continuing to mix records on a freelance basis.

The idea of this short book is to share some of the

knowledge and experience that I have gathered over the
years, and to hopefully inspire aspiring engineers. I will
be sharing lots of useful tips, as well as some of my
personal views on ambience, and creating depth.

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Feel free to get in touch, and to share your opinions and
thoughts. Hope you will find this book fruitful and
enjoyable.

Thomas Juth – March 2016, Berlin

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 PREFACE – “THE ART OF MIXING’
SERIES
This eBook is a part of a series of eBooks, called “The
Art of Mixing Series”. The series contains five eBooks:

1. The Philosophy of Mixing

2. The Art of Compression
3. The Art of Equalization
4. The Art of Creating Depth in a Mix
5. The Art of Mixing Vocals (out in December 2018!)

The reason for publishing five shorter eBooks (instead

of one long eBook) is to give you the possibility to
choose how many parts you want to read. This is also
more economical for those who only want to learn
about one specific subject.

However, if you want a more complete perspective and

understanding of mixing I highly recommend that you
read all the five parts together.

I hope you will enjoy the eBooks and find them both
useful and inspiring. If you have any suggestions or
feedback, feel free to email me on:
thomasjuth@gmail.com. I really value your opinion.

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 INTRODUCTION

In this eBook I will take a closer look at another of my

favourite subjects: working with ambience and the art of
creating depth in a mix. The concept of depth is very
important when trying to create mixes which have a 3-
dimensional feel (rather than flat mixes, which are just
taking place between left and right).

This relates to moving sounds back and forward in the

sound field and gives you the sensation that some
sounds are further away, while others are closer to the
listener. By achieving a great depth, you will therefore
also create mixes that sound bigger, more exciting and
more expensive.

When talking about creating depth, the first words that

come to mind are probably “reverb” or “ambience”.
However, as you will see in this book, there are many
other ways of achieving similar results. Even when
trying to create a dry and very intimate mix, it is
important to make sure that it has some level of depth
and spaciousness (even though this can be very subtle).

For the next seven chapters I will be discussing

some of the techniques I use daily, in order to create
depth and more 3-dimensional sounding mixes.

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 CHAPTER 1
THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTRASTS

Before moving on to more specific tips, I think it’s

important to underline that achieving good depth in a
mix is all about creating contrasts.

Many mix engineers try to make every element in a mix

as clear and bright as possible, and always “in your
face”. But by doing that, everything will be competing
for attention at the front of the mix, and the result will
be a very 2-dimensional sounding track. One can
compare this to photography, where one of the most
important aspects of a good picture is playing with
focus. The best photographs often have a great balance
between objects that are in focus and objects that are out
of focus. This creates a 3-dimensional feel and a sense
of depth.

The most important thing to remember when mixing is

to always aim to create contrast, by allowing some
sounds to be less bright, less wet or dry, and less loud.
At the end of the day, it is the contrast between bright
and dark, wet and dry that creates the sense of depth and
size. In the same way, one sound has to be quiet in order
for another sound to be perceived as loud.

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Some of my favorite mixes of all time are the ones that
are completely dry (completely free from reverb), but
with one or two elements in there which are extremely
wet and placed at the back of the mix. So, when they do
enter the mix the listener gets a sense of relief from the
otherwise dry atmosphere. So, it makes both a very
interesting mix creatively, as well as a very clear sense
of space.

The same thing applies to EQ, and when adding a very

bright element into an otherwise very dark mix.
Therefore, an EQ can be jus/t as useful as a reverb,
when trying to achieve a sense of depth and space. As a
rule, the less bright a sound is, the further back in the
mix it will appear. Rolling off some low-end can move
it even further back in the mix. I often do this with
backing vocals when trying to make them appear as if
the backing singers are behind the lead singer.

Keep this advice in mind the next time you are working
on a mix, and you will start to see all the possibilities
there are.

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 CHAPTER 2
HAVING A VISION AND PLACING THE
SOUNDS INTO AN ACOUSTIC SPACE

Just as I mentioned in my first book, “The Art of

Compression”, before reaching for any piece of
equipment or plugin one must always have a clear
vision in mind. What is it you are trying to achieve?
And (in relation to the subject of this book) in what kind
of acoustic space should this song take place?

When working with live instruments, and especially if

the whole band were recorded together in a great space,
this is a lot more straightforward. For example, listen to
any early Beatles record, and you will hear a lot of
(Abbey Road) Studio 2 in there. One could almost argue
that without that room sound, those recordings would
not have sounded as exciting or energetic. When mixing
songs that were recorded this way there will already be
a lot of natural ambience in the recording, and I often
simply try to reinforce what is already in there. In this
case it might be a question of how much of the original
room acoustics should be featured in the mix. I will talk
more about how to achieve this later in this eBook.

However, there are situations when one is given a

song to mix that is supposed to sound atmospheric, but

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that was recorded in a very dry space. In those cases, as
a mix engineer, one must design the space from scratch.
The same relates to electronic/programmed music,
which has no natural ambience to begin with.

There are other cases when the producer wants a song to

sound very dry and intimate, but still have some depth
and sense of space. In these situations, one needs to be
more inventive, and to look for ways to create a subtler
and “invisible” ambience. This is a situation when it’s
useful to know alternative methods of how to create
depth and space, to push sounds backwards and create a
sense of spaciousness. I will talk more about this in
chapter 5.

When mixing, I always try to figure out what the song,

recording and production is about, and what kind of
environment it should take place in (unless it’s already
obvious from the recording). I always try to carefully
place the song and its elements into a chosen space, one
that suits and benefits the song. I might start by asking
myself questions such as:

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 1. Should this song take place in a big or small
room?
2. Is it a warm or a cold room?
3. Should the mix be wet or is it calling for a dry
sound?
4. Does the song require a natural sound or a more
artificial or surreal ambience?
5. Which elements of the song should be at the back
of the mix, and which do I want to be closer to the
listener?

I then take notes of this and keep it in mind for the rest
of the mix. It’s always important to be consistent, and
not confuse the listener with too many different reverbs
or approaches.

I also believe that ambience or depth is not just about

placing the music into a specific space. The things I am
discussing in this book are also important for adding
excitement to a mix, and to glue all the elements
together. “Glue” can be described as a sensation of
electricity flowing into the gaps between each
instrument, creating excitement and a sense of space.
When you remove this “glue” or “hidden ambience”,
the whole mix suddenly sounds lifeless and small. This
brings us back to the example of The Beatles, where the
natural ambience of Abbey Road Studio 2 (which

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naturally ended up getting into the microphones) helped
to add extra “glue” to those recordings. Analogue tape
had a similar effect on recordings and mixes, which is
why digital recordings often sound flatter and more
lifeless. Often, when mixing in ProTools, I end up
adding tape noise or distortion to tracks just to bring
them back to life. Just as we add filters to photos before
uploading them to social media, to make the colours
look deeper and livelier.

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 CHAPTER 3
WORKING WITH ARTIFICIAL
REVERBS AND ROOMS

Using artificial reverbs or room simulations is probably

the most obvious and common method for creating
ambience and adding depth when mixing (from now on
I’m only going to refer to both as ‘reverbs’).

A common mistake is to use too many different reverbs

and placing each instrument in its own (and often
random) space. This will result in a mix that sounds
fragmented and confusing. Just as with any other piece
of gear, it is important to have a clear vision of what
you are trying to achieve, before reaching for any
reverb, being hardware or plugin. I normally have two
chosen reverbs set up for each mix, using auxiliary
sends (though sometimes one reverb can consist of five
different reverbs blended together).

Among my favourite reverbs are the EMT 140

(analogue plate) and EMT 250 (digital plate), as well as
many old spring reverbs. I especially love the AKG
BX15 spring reverb, though most of them sound cool in
their own way. All of these exist in plugin form today,
and I strongly recommend trying them out. Another
favourite of mine is the Waves Abbey Road Echo

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Chamber plugin, which actually allows you to add more
than just reverb to sound. It also features very cool and
useful saturation and echo effects. By combining these
together, it makes it a very creative and unique plugin
with almost endless combinations of sounds.

3.1 PROCESSING THE SIGNAL BEFORE REACHING THE

REVERB

When using reverbs, as a rule, I never send the full

frequency spectrum into the reverb. This is something I
learned years ago when reading about how the
engineers at Abbey Road achieved their reverbs in the
1960’s. Before sending the sound into their Echo
Chamber (which was the main source of reverb in those
days) they would always filter the signal. They would
basically stop anything below 200Hz and above 10kHz
from getting into the chamber. By doing this, the reverb
sounds much cleaner and more controlled, and it blends
into the mix much easier. Also, by filtering out the high
and low frequencies before going into the reverb, the
reverb will also sound more distant and further back in
the mix. As I mentioned before all these things can be
perfectly emulated in the Waves plugin.

Very bright reverbs will usually tend to sit closer to the

front of the sound field, which puts more focus on them

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(this might be desirable when working on 80’s sounding
mixes for example). But most often, allowing very high
frequencies to enter into a reverb, this just leads to a
very unclear and messy sound. Low frequencies, on the
other hand will result in a mix which sounds very
muddy and bass heavy, but in the wrong way.

Of course, “EQ:ing” the reverb is very common these

days too, and many reverb plugins even offer “EQ
controls”. However, I have noticed that a lot of people
add EQ to the reverb return, rather than the signal going
into the reverb (like I described above). Even though
this will give you similar effects, it is never as effective
filtering the sound before it hits the reverb. If you think
about it, it makes a huge difference if you allow
unwanted frequencies into a reverb, and then filter the
reverb, compared to if you never allow them to enter in
the first place.

In addition to filtering the signal before entering the

reverb, I also apply very drastic subtractive EQ to it.
(For more information about Subtractive EQ, see my
other eBook in the same series – The Art of
Equalization.) This is a way to make sure that the reverb
doesn’t receive any unwanted frequencies or harmonics.
For example, I might sweep around with a very high Q
setting, while feeding the sound into the reverb. When I
find a frequency that makes the reverb overload or
feedback, I cut that frequency by 3dB. And by doing

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this, the reverb will sound a lot cleaner and more
balanced, and the overall mix will sound a lot clearer.
People often only look for EQ problems only in the dry
tracks themselves and forget that the reverbs contribute
just as much to the sound of a mix.

3.2 THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING THE CORRECT PRE-

DELAYS TIMES

Another important aspect of working with reverbs is

choosing the correct ‘pre-delay time’. In fact, I believe
that the length of the ‘pre-delay’ is just as important as
the length of the actual reverb. If the reverb sits too
close to the sound source you risk ending up with a
“bathroomy” type of reverb. So, a longer ‘pre-delay
time’ will create a larger depth in your mix, giving the
illusion that it was performed in a larger room. The
reverb will also melt in better with the rest of the track.
When mixing lead vocals, I normally use a delay-time
of around 70-100ms, especially for lead vocals.

Another cool thing to try is to treat the ‘reverb send’

(the signal going into the reverb) in even more extreme
ways. I sometimes distort the signal on the way in or
add chorus to it. This can create weird and interesting
reverb effects. I will talk more about unique and
creative ways of treating reverbs in chapter 7.

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 3.4 WORKING WITH LAYERS

Something that I often do when mixing is layering

many reverbs or echoes together, by using several
parallel auxiliaries. This is a great way to create unique
and personal sounding reverbs and ambience, and to be
creative. I often send the same signal into four different
reverbs (a mixture of long/short and dark/bright
reverbs), and I then blend them together. I then blend
them together and create a stereo bounce of the reverbs
as soon as possible, in order to commit and move
forward. Recently I have used the UAD EMT250, along
with a Waves EMT140 and a Valhalla Reverb (Room
setting), and I really love the combination. The key here
is of course to find the perfect blend of the three, both
volume-wise and EQ wise, so that the combined sound
sounds balanced and right in the mix. As always, be
creative!

As I will talk more about in my upcoming eBook “The

Philosophy of Mixing” (which will be released on
Amazon on November 1st, 2018), making bounces
while mixing can be a great way to improve your mix-
flow. It also reduces the size of your sessions and
teaches you how to take decisions and quickly move
forward. So, when working with reverbs I always try to
be as creative, bold and brave as possible. Once I find a

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reverb that I like for a specific mix, I try to stick with it
and commit to it.

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 CHAPTER 4
MAKING USE OF NATURAL
AMBIENCE

4.1 A PASSION FOR NATURAL AMBIENCE

I have always been a big fan of natural ambience and

room acoustics. This is a passion I developed whilst
working at Kensaltown Studios. The main live room at
Kensaltown is a large wooden room, with a beautiful
natural ambience, which naturally adds a nice “air” and
space around the sounds. For example, have a listen to
Jason Mraz’s song “I’m Yours”. This song was
recorded in this specific room, and you can really hear
that natural room ambience on his vocal.

I believe that a big part of any sound is due to the

reflections coming from the walls of the room, rather
than just the instrument itself. Put a guitar amp in a
completely dead room and it will sound very different
from if you recorded the same guitar and amp in a
beautiful old wooden room. So, when mixing, one
should try to make use of already existing ambience, by
simply reinforcing it and making it more audible. One

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of the albums that inspired me to start mixing in the first
place was Radiohead’s album “Ok Computer”. There is
a really interesting article online (Interview with the
Producer Nigel Godrich) that talks about how they
recorded most of the album in an old castle in England.
Most reverbs and ambience on that record is actually
the real and natural ambience from the rooms inside the
castle. Reading about this kind of stuff really inspires
me and makes me want to do the same, and always
makes me think of new ways to spice up my mixes. I
have even mixed electronic dance tracks in the past,
where I added natural reverbs from staircases or empty
corridors. So, this is something I really recommend
trying.

4.2 USING NATURAL AMBIENCE AS “GLUE” IN A MIX

When recording in a great sounding room, and when

soloing the individual microphones, one may not hear
much difference (unless the microphones are very far
away from the sound-source). But once you start adding
the sounds together one will notice a massive difference
in size, clarity and depth, of the overall sound. I
especially love vocals recorded in bigger rooms, such as
the Jason Mraz song I mentioned before. Without
having to add too much processing they sound much
richer and bigger and more “airy” than vocals recorded

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in vocal booths. Having said that, if your studio sounds
bad and causes lots of nasty reflections, you may not
have a choice but to record in a “booth”. If I receive a
recording which was recorded in a smaller room, but
which needs a bit more size, excitement and ambience,
there are always ways to artificially “increase” the room
size. When working with drums, for example, I would
start off by looking at the ‘room mics’ and the
‘overhead’ (or ‘overheads’, if you are using two of
them). It’s incredible how much you can change the
size of the drums by simply compressing or distorting
these in the right way. As I will talk about later in this
book, distortion and saturation are great tools for
creating an illusion of a bigger space. A distorted room
microphone will also offer a large amount of the “glue
factor” and make the drums sound more “together” and
deep.

4.3 THE TRANSIENT DESIGNER (SPL)

Another great tool for playing with natural ambience

and for reinforcing it is the SPL Transient Designer.
The Transient Designer was originally a hardware unit
designed by a company called SPL, but these days there
are a few different plugins that emulate it. I use the
UAD Transient Designer plugin in almost every mix I
do, for different purposes. It’s a great tool for adding or

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removing attack or playing with the “sustain” of a
sound. Add some sustain to handclaps (for example),
and you’ll be surprised how much bigger they will
appear. Check out UAD’s simulation of this tool, which
I think sounds very similar to “the real thing”. As I’ve
mentioned in “The Art of Compression”, the TG1
compressor is another amazing tool for this purpose as
well. Put it across a sound that already contains some
ambience, and it will automatically reinforce it in a very
pleasing way.

4.4 MAKING USE OF NATURAL SPACES WHILE MIXING

As I mentioned before, another great and fun way to

make use of natural ambience (for all types of music) is
by making use of natural spaces around you. If you
have access to a nice corridor, hall or stairway, try
sending elements of your mix into that space, and then
picking the sound up with a microphone. All you need
is a speaker, some long cables and a microphone (which
should be placed so that it faces away from the
speaker).

One can also make use of natural ambience, by simply

placing the singer or musician directly into the desired
acoustic space. When combined with location

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recording, this can open up a whole new world of
possibilities.

This is something my brother Fredrik and I have been

experimenting with for our own musical project, JUTH.
We once tried recording vocals inside of an echoic
room, while recording it with an iPad (using its internal
microphone). There was no other option at that moment,
and sometimes one needs to make use of what is
available. To our surprise, it ended up sounding great,
and the “reverb” sounded truly unique. So, one can have
a lot of fun with natural spaces and location recording.

I also worked a lot with natural ambience while mixing

an album for the German artist Leslie Clio (Album:
Gladys). While mixing it I had access to the Funkhaus
in Berlin, which is an old deserted building where
studios now are moving in. When walking through one
of the empty corridors there I immediately knew that
the reverb would be the perfect for her vocal. So, keep
your ears open from now on, and you might find cool
ways to spice up your own music or mixes.

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 CHAPTER 5
CREATING “INVISIBLE” AMBIENCE

When mixing a song that aims to sound very dry, but

where one still wants to create a sensation of depth
(without using a traditional reverb), here are three great
tips:

5.1 CHORUS

One of my favourite ways of treating keyboard pads, or

other instruments that are designed to sit behind
everything else, is by using Chorus. However, not all
chorus units or plugins will do the job, and you need to
look for an effect that doesn’t sound too obvious.

One of my favourites for this purpose is the Roland

Dimension D (the UAD plugin sounds great). The
Dimension D creates a unique type of chorus-like
spatial diffusion and is also very easy to use. When
using chorus on lead vocals, I usually duplicate the
track and then create a stereo version of the sound (try
using the Waves doubler plugin), and then add chorus to
this wide parallel track. It’s amazing how wide and rich

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the lead vocal sounds, and how much more extra depth
it adds to the mix.

Tip: If you need to use chorus on a sound that's

supposed to be at the front of the mix, as is sometimes
the case with guitars, keeping the part sounding bright
and free from excessive reverb usually does the trick.

5.2 PING-PONG ECHOES

Just as with natural ambience or distortion, using longer

“ping-pong echoes” can provide a great “glue factor”
and “hidden ambience” to a mix.

I rarely use echoes this way to achieve an audible affect,

and the aim is always to make them appear “invisible”
to the listener. I often tend to use a lot of different
echoes in a mix, especially for lead and backing vocals.
I normally make sure the echoes are quieter in the
verses, and then bring them up a few dBs during the
choruses. This gives you the sensation that the vocals
suddenly got wider and bigger, without using a
traditional reverb.

A great plugin for this is the Soundtoys “Echo Boy”

(which I’m sure most people are familiar with) or
Waves H-Delay. They have great pre-sets for “ping-
pong echoes” which I sometimes use as my starting

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point. The trick is to time both sides of the echo with
the BPM of the song, so that you have both 8ths and
4ths, which then “dance around” in the stereo field.

A great trick to make them appear even more

“invisible” is to filter them, by sending only midrange
frequencies into the echo. In addition, try sending the
echoes into a chorus effect, or even a light room
simulation. This will diffuse the repeats even further.

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 5.3 DISTORTION

Most people know that harmonics (or overtones) are

very important to music and sound. However, not
everyone might know how useful distortion/saturation
can be for adding space, ambience and “glue” to a
sound (or a group of sounds). When you saturate a
sound it automatically becomes less defined, and it’s
almost as if the contours of the sound get blurred out.
This helps giving the listener the sensation of depth and
spaciousness. For example, try distorting a snare drum
slightly, and notice how much bigger the room around it
appears to be.

Whenever I’m working on a mix, I often make

duplicates of sounds, and then send them through
different types of saturation/distortion. This was also
discussed in more depth in “The Art of Compression”. I
always make sure I have different types of distortion
boxes/plugins at hand, each one with a different
purpose. For example, by having a darker and grittier
distortion, in combination with a brighter and crisper
one, it allows you to create different types of textures
and dimensions. When working with a live drum-kit
(for example) making a copy of the overhead and
treating it with both types of distortion (the bright and
the dark one), one will suddenly have two new
dimensions to add to the drums. The bright distortion

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will add excitement and top-end to the drums (it will act
like an EQ), while the darker one will provide more size
and grit to the sound. You can do the same thing with
vocals (a great way to give them depth and edge at the
same time), bass or even a piano. However, the trick is
to add very little of both and to not over-do it (unless
you are going for a super trashy sound.)

There are many different ways to achieve distortion or

saturation. Some of my favorite methods include:

1. Tape saturation
2. A distortion box (either guitar pedals, more
expensive studio alternatives, or a saturation
plugin)
3. Overloading the input of random pieces of
equipment
4. Playing with different ‘bit depths’ and ‘sample
rates‘ (think the crushed sound of 8-bit
Nintendo)

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 CHAPTER 6
WORKING WITH AUDIBLE ECHOES

When talking about “audible echoes” I am referring to

any kind of echo that is supposed to be heard in the mix
(contrary to “invisible” echoes/ambience). Audible
echoes can add a lot of character to a mix, as well as
lots of depth and size, depending on how you use them.

However, echoes (at least some types of echoes) might

also draw a lot more attention to a sound, compared to
reverbs. And, of course, this might not always be what
you are going for.

The only rule I have when working with echoes is to

always make sure that the “wet” signal sounds different
from the “dry” (original) signal. This puts the echo
slightly behind the singer, and thus creates more depth.
This can be achieved by simply filtering the echo, and
by adding a slight chorus or pitch effect to the echo
itself.

The types of audible echoes that I use the most can be

divided into two categories:

1. Slap-back echoes
2. Feedback echoes

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 6.1 SLAP-BACK ECHOES

A slap-back echo is a simple repeat, with a fairly fast

delay time. It’s probably one of the most classic types
of echoes, which can be heard on most old 50’s/60’s
rock records (Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, etc).

Slap-back echoes tend to give lead vocals extra urgency

and nerve (which is why they are so good for rock
vocals), and they also draw a lot of attention to the
singer. However, when used very subtly (with almost all
high frequencies rolled off) a slap-back echo can act
more like a subtle shadow behind the singer, adding
great amounts of depth. It gives you the same effect as
when you add a shadow behind a word or a letter, or
any object. It all depends on how present the echo is,
how loud you mix it, and the length of the delay time. In
general, the closer the echo (delay time) is to the singer
the more obvious it will be.

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 6.2 FEEDBACK ECHOES

A feedback echo is an echo with several repeats (rather

than just one or two). Feedback echoes are great for
creating more euphoric type of sounds, and often bring
my thoughts to Coldplay (guitar sound), or even some
elements from electronic dance music. It puts the sound
source into a landscape of echoes. I often use these
types of echoes if I am mixing a song that asks for a
“larger than life” and euphoric sound. Feedback echoes
sound great on vocals, synth-leads or guitars, and even
pianos. It’s a great way to add extra emotion, or dreamy
vibe to an already dreamy song.

To create a “feedback echo”, simply add an echo plugin

and then play with the “feedback” or “repeat” knob. It’s
important that you add a high and low-pass filter to the
echo itself, to move it backwards in the mix. Apart from
the “Echoboy” plugin (by Soundtoys), I also love the
echoes one can get from Waves J37 tape plugin. It’s a
tape machine simulation, which also offers an echo
section. Both the slap-back and the feedback echoes
sound amazing and give you very authentic tape-echo
vibe.

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 6.3 BEING CREATIVE WITH ECHOES

Just as with any other mixing tool or effect, I always tell

my students to be creative and to not only use them in
“the normal way”. And this is probably one of my main
philosophies when mixing, to always be creative and
always think outside the box. It doesn’t only make you
stand out from the crowd, but it also makes the job so
much more fun and exciting.

Try to think of ways that you can use echoes (for

example) and echo plugins, and how you can combine
them with other processors. You will be amazed about
all the unique sounds and effects that you can create if
you just think outside the box and challenge yourself.
Of course, one doesn’t always have to aim to be unique,
and a very simply echo/delay can is often be perfect for
the song you are miixng. But there are also times when
a mix might ask for something more special and
creative. I have for example tried feeding echoes into
flanger, distortion boxes, compressors with side-chain,
pitch shifters, and all kinds of crazy things. And once in
a while you will find that magic sound that can really
take a mix to a whole new level. That is the power of
reverbs and echoes (and other ways of achieving depth).
Once you get it right, it can be that detail that puts you
aside from other Mix Engineers. In the next chapter I

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will take a closer look at some other creative things you
can try when trying to achieve depth in a mix.

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 CHAPTER 7
FOUR CREATIVE TIPS FOR WORKING
WITH REVERBS/AMBIENCE

7.1 AUTOMATING THE AMBIENCE

A static depth or ambience (one which stays the same

all through the song) can suit some songs. But a very
powerful tool when mixing can sometimes be to
automate the reverbs or ambience. This is a very
effective way to underline a certain part of a song, to
reinforce the production, or to momentarily get the
listeners attention.

This can be done by suddenly bringing a sound (which

previously was in the back of the mix) to the front, or
vice versa. Or having a very wet vocal, which suddenly
becomes dry for a section. This will catch the listener’s
attention and be a very effective way to underline an
emotional change in the song.

To hear an example of this, go back and listen to The

Beatles “A Day in The Life”, a song recorded and
mixed by the late Geoff Emerick. This is a great
example of when automating the vocal echo can help to
reinforce the emotion of the song. For the biggest part

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of this song the lead vocal is very “echoey” and dreamy,
which fits the mood perfectly. However, when it
reaches the ‘middle eight’ the vocal suddenly becomes
totally dry and a bit muffled. This engineering choice
goes really well with the lyrics of the song, which (at
that point) are about the sleepy feeling of waking up.
After the line: “Somebody spoke, and I went into a
dream”, and the song goes into the dreamy section, the
echo suddenly comes back in. This is a way to, once
again, change the mood of the song, and to take the
listener into a dream.

So, as you can see, automating your reverbs, echoes (or

other effects) can have a huge impact on how the
listener perceives a song, and reacts to it emotionally.
Automation can also be used to simply bring a very
quiet sound to the front of the mix, just for a second,
and then back again. Sometimes shocking or surprising
the listener can help telling the story of the song and be
used to grab someone’s attention.

When mixing, I often use two different reverbs and two

different echoes, all coming in at different times, and
being at different levels at different points in the song.
For example, for the beginning of the song I might use a
smaller reverb and no echoes, and then gradually make
the song bigger and wetter. If the last chorus has to be
“larger than life” and euphoric, I might suddenly add
both reverbs, together with lots of echo. In this way, the

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ambience of the song becomes like another instrument,
which can help telling the story of the song. Sometimes,
it is these little details that get you a gig, or that make
people go “wow, that’s a great mix”.

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 7.2 PITCH SHIFTING A REVERB

When working with more experimental music, try pitch

shifting the signal that you are sending into the reverb,
an octave up (for example). When combining this
reverb with the normal dry vocal, you can get really
interesting textures. I used to play a lot with these sorts
of effects when working with the band Apparatjik,
where the vocals always called for more surreal
treatments. One can even take it one step further and
create a reverb which is fed by both a pitched up and a
pitched down signal, though it’s important to filter out
the lows from the vocals before reaching the reverb.

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 7.3 PANNING REVERBS

Something that I often do when working with guitars

and pianos, and when panning them left or right, is to
put a reverb on the opposite side. So, for example, if
you have an acoustic guitar on the right side, try adding
a subtle reverb to the other side. This will make the
guitar bigger, but also more balanced in the mix.

However, something even more creative (and one of my

favorite effects) is to dynamically pan the reverb. By
this I mean sending a sound to a reverb, and then let the
reverb slowly move around from left to right.

This is a great way of creating an invisible movement in

the mix. The listener might feel that something is
happening in the sound field but might not know
exactly what it is. For this I strongly recommend
“Panman”, a great plugin by Soundtoys. It allows you to
automatically pan a sound around, at different speeds
and with different patterns.

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 7.4 DUCKING A REVERB WITH A SIDE-CHAIN

It’s very common to side-chain sounds when mixing,

especially when mixing electronic music. But adding
side-chain to your reverbs can be equally as effective
and cool. For example, when working with percussive
sounds, which have a lot of reverb, try putting a
compressor across the reverb track. Then send the
percussive sound into the side-chain of this compressor.
Every time the sound appears the reverb will duck
momentarily, making the original track appear dryer
and adding an additional rhythmic element to it. It’s
important, though, to make sure the tail of the reverb
only lasts until the next hit. This can create a pumping
and rhythmic sensation to your mix, but also be good
for creating space.

As much as working with effects in this way can make a

track move and groove better, it can also make a song
appear messy and kill the groove.

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