[linux-audio-user] Re: Decent reverb

[davidrclark at earthlink.net]

Hi again, Steve:

> Reverb is largly a matter of taste I think.

Here is an example of a reverb that sounds hilarious to me:  In a large 
concert hall type of room, a vocalist may be singing or saying something
at a very low volume, but very close by.  There shouldn't be much reverb
if there  is any absorption in the room by clothing, carpeting, etc.
However, some models, because the amplitude is high, will go ahead and
produce a resounding reverb because the model is not actually physically
based.  In order to fix this, one has to go in and tweak all the parameters
and create yet another preset for "concert hall."  Even though you're
in one hall, you may need half a dozen different custom presets to make
everything sound OK.  Even then, you have to just guess at the parameters.  
Now the echo may be wrong, so you have to go fix that.  It becomes a cycle 
until you finally just decide it's good enough and quit.

I think that what has happened is that we have all become accustomed to
hearing badly modelled rooms and we are just used to it.  I have found
that listening to good models (OK, better models!) is a lot less tiring.
Not only do things sound better, but they are easier to listen to.

Best regards,
Dave.