In this article, Ufuk Onen shows how to create an effects trick that begins as a wide reverb, then gradually narrows and eventually turns into mono as it fades away.

Works With Any Reverb Plugin In Any DAW

To show how it is done I have used Pro Tools and the stock D-Verb plugin that comes with Pro Tools, but can use any DAW and reverb plugin.

Before we delve into the trick, let's take a snare track and send it to a stereo 5.3 seconds reverb. Listen to the audio file below to hear how it sounds. There is nothing special about it, but we are going to use it for comparison later on.

Now, on to the narrowing reverb effect.

I created a stereo Aux track and inserted D-Verb, and sent the snare track to it. As you can see, I set the decay time of the reverb to 2.6 seconds.

I created another aux track, this time mono, inserted D-Verb, and sent the snare track to it. The settings on this mono D-Verb are identical to the stereo one except for the decay time. For the mono one, I set the decay time to 5.3 seconds. See below…

To recap, I have two reverb effects, and the snare track is being sent to both of them simultaneously:

1. Stereo reverb, 2.6 decay time

2. Mono reverb, 5.3 decay time

We're all set! The narrowing reverb is ready! Listen to the file below and pay attention to how the snare's effect begins as a wide reverb, narrows gradually, and ultimately turns into mono as it fades away.

Now compare it to the standard stereo 5.3 seconds reverb that I shared at the beginning of this article. There is a noticeable difference between these two.

How It Works

Because the Mono Reverb has a decay twice as long as the stereo reverb, as the stereo reverbs, decays away and you are left with the mono reverb.

Not For Everything

This narrowing reverb trick is not for every song or instrument, but it works very well, especially with percussive instruments in songs with slower tempos and sparse arrangements.