The Steel Guitar Forum

Maybe I'm nuts but I really don't like reverb. I used to use it all the time, maybe too much. I started using a great little sivertone 1482 tube amp for practice because it sounds great at lower volumes but has no reverb. I've been using this amp for a long time for that and at first I almost couldn't play without reverb but now I can't stand to use it. I feel like my playing has improved in some ways because of it. Things just pop out better and I feel like I'm in control of the sound more. I don't use it on gigs either.
Am I crazy?
Am I the only one?
Is there some disadvantage to this?
Just curious

Ben Edmonds wrote:Am I crazy?

I am not qualified to answer that question.

Ben Edmonds wrote:Am I the only one?

One more in the "no" category.

Ben Edmonds wrote:Is there some disadvantage to this?

One advantage I think I see is that I can hear my boo-boos much better.
I helps me clean up my techniques a bit.
Reverb seems to hide my picking and bar noises, at least to me.

Anything can be overdone to the point of revulsion. (Popcorn springs to mind.) The one time I have to have reverb is when I practise on headphones. Without it the steel feels jammed inside my skull, and a little tasteful stereo reverb creates a non-distressing environment.

i felt the same way the first time I had to do a session and was asked to play dry, I almost couldn't do it. It was a nerve wracking experience and I realized this may happen again (which it has) and I figured I better be ready for that next time. Same thing happened when I was a kid on guitar when I tried to play without distortion! That was a happy experience in the end because it forced me to listen to clean guitar players which led me to country and jazz which I became obsessed with and ultimately became much more well rounded player and musician. I'm not opposed to any of it I just have my preference.
It has cleaned up my playing almost as much as putting down the booze!!

I purposely played a gig without it a while back. After that I used it again but dropped the mix back on all my settings.
There are some lively, reflective rooms where reverb only clouds things up for sure.

Guess I'm the odd man out here.

My first amp when I was a kid on the lap steel was a Harmony piece of junk with no reverb. It sounded flatter than a pancake. My dad bought a reverb pedal and I never looked back.

I have toned down the amount that I use, but to my ears, I need to hear a little reverb "presence" or it sounds too flat for my tastes. I too, had to play a recording session dry once and it was a bit uncomfortable for me.

I purchased a CD from a well known steeler years ago and the whole thing was recorded flat. I ran it through Goldwave and added a little reverb to brighten things up a bit. Just my tastes...

Without some space, it sounds empty and flat to me.

I use very little reverb, especially if the room I am playing in has a natural ambience. For example: Our church has a very high ceiling and the natural reverb is wonderful.

In a smaller carpeted room, I like to have a little more reverb to enhance the sound.

Dom

I like a little reverb, usually on 3. I don't use any other effects! My older friend used to point out how easy it is to sound good with reverb, he didn't have that luxury in the forties! That said, I hate the over-processed sound that a lot of players lean on that makes the notes indistinguishable.

As an ex- recording engineer I fully understand the desire for dry tracks and how hard some players find it to do.

I'm going to take the hint and practice that way just in case!

Don't know if he still does, but Al Perkins used to always play without reverb...thru Risson amps.

I've never played with reverb. I feel like I need the clarity when I'm on stage with a full band. I've also always been nervous about what the sound man is doing out front. If I'm running reverb on stage and the sound man is adding to it out front, well now you've got mud. In the studio the engineer is going to add whatever he wants so why not keep it clean.

Recording dry to "tape" is generally a good idea, but a competent recording engineer should be able to provide you with ambience (reverb and/or delay) for monitoring purposes if you ask for it. Personally, I think a sound with zero ambience (if even just a decent room sound) is very uninspiring to play with.

Mark Dershaw wrote:I've never played with reverb. I feel like I need the clarity when I'm on stage with a full band. I've also always been nervous about what the sound man is doing out front. If I'm running reverb on stage and the sound man is adding to it out front, well now you've got mud. In the studio the engineer is going to add whatever he wants so why not keep it clean.

I would rather give the engineer what _I_ want to sound like. If they don't like the way I sound, they shouldn't have hired me. Or ask me to give them the sound they want. And I'm with Mike, and I love his wording: I find zero ambience uninspiring.

I would be forced to agree that plugging direct into a board is totally flat and uninspiring, and the session I was talking about was just that! I am pretty sure the engineer could have added some to the mix but that did not happen.
I think that maybe the fact that where I practice has wood floors and just a small rug and little furniture may be the key, along with a tube amp which adds some depth to my ears over SS. Any live situation with the exception of outdoors has plenty of reverb for me.
I think reverb has its place, it is just that I've grown accustomed to having none and I've grown to prefer it.
At first it did seem dull and lifeless, now it seems just the opposite

Mark Dershaw wrote:I've never played with reverb. I feel like I need the clarity when I'm on stage with a full band. I've also always been nervous about what the sound man is doing out front. If I'm running reverb on stage and the sound man is adding to it out front, well now you've got mud. In the studio the engineer is going to add whatever he wants so why not keep it clean.

Good point - The band I'm in now mic's the amps. I'll check with the sound guy next gig. I'd rather not have to add reverb on my amp - it's a spring and we all know how thunderous they can get

We ask our sound man to add no effects except what we already use - in my case, my Nashville 112's spring reverb set at 3.

I think reverb is a really useful tool to have in the bucket, but is not essential. I like to practice without reverb for the same reason voiced by others here. But try adding just a touch of it after practicing without. The sound comes alive!

With that in mind, I aim to deliver the best sound I can for the audience. I wouldn't want to rub them the wrong way with dry steel as a matter of principle.

A couple of things I like about reverb in particular: the sound of the trail when muting strings, and the real and apparent sustain.

That said, I never leave home without it.

The same could be said about using a volume pedal. Is it necessary? no. Does it make you a better player to practice without it? yes. Isn't it a pretty indispensable tool? I think so.

I've said this elsewhere, but I think the volume pedal is misnamed - the overall playing volume is set on the amp and the pedal is really there to assist the natural sustain of the instrument, so it would be better called a sustain pedal. If it's used properly it should not draw attention.

I don't know anyone personally who plays without 'verb on steel, but I'm sure there are plenty that do so. I don't know if Chalker used it or not, but in one era, at least, the sound was quite dry. Still Curly, still fabulous just lean on the echo.

I've tried it, even played a set or two without it due to failures etc., but I didn't like it a bit.

I guess one could get used to anything though. A gradual change would make the loss more palatable for sure.

Jazzers on their big boxes sound great without it. I love that sound, though when I do it, I don't sound like them. Just got to have a little shimmer, but there's a lesson to be learned from those masters.

I'm often accused of using too much reverb but I can't play without it and I don't know why. I would love to be able to be content without it and admire those that can sound great without it.

One time I did a gig and used the other bands' Fender amp and accidentally stepped on the reverb switch and turned it off and played the entire song without realizing it....and I actually liked it but haven't been able get any satisfaction without reverb when I try to do it! Maybe I liked it because we were playing in a big boomy sounding hall.

The only time reverb sounds funny to me is when there's no reverb anywhere on the song. I once mentioned to Tom Petty about adding reverb to my steel (just for monitoring). His smiling response..."Reverb? We don't use reverb". He graciously had the engineer hook up a reverb. Once I played the first few notes, I realized that it wouldn't work with the track. Dry was perfect!

I believe Sarah Jory plays without reverb, thinks it muddies sound, and just goes with delay.

I only play lap steel and if things seem too "dry", just a smidge of delay takes care of things.