Reverb, on the other hand, is made up by the early reflections and diffusion of the original sound source in a three-dimensional space. Go into a cathedral, and you’ll immediately hear how the echo time is increased proportional to the room’s overall cubic dimension.
The smaller the room, the closer together the original sound and its echo or echoes will be. The classic example of delay is often also referred to as “echo.” Go into a large rectangular room (gym, garage, church hall, apartment building foyer) and clap your hands loudly and listen to see if there is a discrete echo. While both of these effects are time and space-related, they are most easily differentiated by the discrete time that elapses between the original sound and its delayed reflection. We’ll consider the aesthetic use of each, and recommend a few classic tracks worth checking out that make excellent use of these time and space effects. Simply put, the use of reverb and echo effects can create the perception of music being performed in a small concert hall or a 20,000 seat arena, or anywhere in between. If you’re recording and mixing your own tracks, you may have already begun experimenting with reverb and delay, two time-based effects that offer the opportunity to change the perceived time and space coefficient of an individual instrument, voice, or an entire mix.
