A big issue for beginner audio engineers is getting a strong sound from their recordings. Guitar solos sound weak, vocals thin, and the bass is almost nonexistent, we’ve all been there. Of course, most of us know that adding reverb is a great way to thicken the sound, but if you are new to reverb, you’ll most likely end up with a very muddy mix.
The simplest trick that is often overlooked when thickening tracks is delay. A lot of musicians think delay is only for spacey, psychedelic rock. Some people just think it is so simple that it is pointless to use. Well if you are one of those people, it’s time for me to change your mind.
Adding a touch of delay can help you add sustain to your mix, and really warm up your mix. This is great because it will give you a much more professional quality sound. Delay is an effect used by all of the masters.
Adding a touch of delay, about 50 to 100 MS delay time will boost the energy of your mix without taking up a lot of the stereo field space that a reverb effect would. Your mix will sound very clear because of this, and it has an advantage in modern music because modern mixes are often more dry than wet.
For blending your mix, you will want to forget the mono delay, and focus more on the stereo delay. Mono is more for the space rock super delays that I was talking about earlier, and stereo delay is more of a subtle warming of the selected tracks.
Forget about reverb, until you get more experienced. Take it step by step, first you must master the delay. I cannot stress how important the delay effect is, and how often beginners pass it up. Just like you, I was a beginner too. I’ve made these mistakes so you don’t have to. Learn the delay effect.
If you have a question, ask it. If you have comment, leave it.