Delay and reverb sounds "disconnected" from the dry tone

Megahertzz

Megahertzz

Inspired
I'm having trouble getting the "in the room" feel and sound from the reverb and delay blocks. This is especially apparent when playing through a PA in a live setting. The reverb, but especially the delay, doesn't sound like it's a natural part of the guitar tone. I would appreciate a few pointers on the general setup of both effects, cause right now I pretty much skip using the altogether.
 
I'd suggest looking at the EQ section of the blocks, and don't be afraid to be dramatic.

I cut quite hard both low and high shelving, for example no reverb below 3-500 and nothing above 2k, makes it much more part of the sound
 
Megahertzz said:
I'm having trouble getting the "in the room" feel and sound from the reverb and delay blocks. This is especially apparent when playing through a PA in a live setting. The reverb, but especially the delay, doesn't sound like it's a natural part of the guitar tone. I would appreciate a few pointers on the general setup of both effects, cause right now I pretty much skip using the altogether.
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You can lower the predelay in the reverb block to make it feel more uniform. People often use higher predelay settings to make the guitar stand out from the reverb, but since you’re going for the opposite, try lowering it.

What delay type are you using? Digital mono or stereo with high mix settings can feel sterile. Try tape or “deluxe mind guy” and play with the mix.

Have you tried the delay both before the amp and after the cab? Many people use reverb/delay/mod effects after the amp and cab because they’re the “cleanest” that way, but if you want the delay to saturate with an edge-of-breakup tone and a high mix (think the Edge), try it before the amp.

If you can’t get it to feel right with the parameters on those blocks, try using a compressor after your delay and your amp/cab, to give the wet and dry tones a big hug.
 
It might also help to see your patches' routing. Parallel and serial effects are quite different.
 
No idea what you mean. Would appreciate some audio examples or preset files so we know what you’re experiencing.
 
Megahertzz said:
I'm having trouble getting the "in the room" feel and sound from the reverb and delay blocks. This is especially apparent when playing through a PA in a live setting. The reverb, but especially the delay, doesn't sound like it's a natural part of the guitar tone. I would appreciate a few pointers on the general setup of both effects, cause right now I pretty much skip using the altogether.
Click to expand...
If you're used to the sound of a delay going into a real clean amp, try putting the delay before the amp block, I think that "glues" it to the dry signal better due to the compression of the amp.
If you're forced to put it after the amp (when you're using a distorted amp for example) you can try to replicate the same compression effect with the ducking.

Regarding the reverb I'll add another suggestion to the valid ones above: play with the stereo width parameter and make it sound narrower.
A too wide and spacious reverb makes me feel the same "disconnection" if the dry signal is mono.
 
Agree with Chris regarding posting a preset, or audio.
But in the meantime– trying to decipher the word "disconnected" that you used– are you familiar w/ the "ducking" parameter on both delay and 'verb? That parameter is INTENDED to disconnect FX from the guitar sound itself. Set to 0, if they're not already, and see what that does for you.
 
DLC86 said:
If you're used to the sound of a delay going into a real clean amp, try putting the delay before the amp block, I think that "glues" it to the dry signal better due to the compression of the amp.
If you're forced to put it after the amp (when you're using a distorted amp for example) you can try to replicate the same compression effect with the ducking.

Regarding the reverb I'll add another suggestion to the valid ones above: play with the stereo width parameter and make it sound narrower.
A too wide and spacious reverb makes me feel the same "disconnection" if the dry signal is mono.
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Delay in front of the amp block made the decay sound weird, but I tried putting it between the amp block and cab block, and that sounded a little better. Also, parallell routing and mix and gain at 100%, and using level to adjust the mix seemed to help.
 
What exactly do you mean when you say "not a part of the natural guitar tone?" That statement might make sense to you in your own head, but to anybody else, it sounds like "help me make my car feel more 'natural' to drive" meaning it kinda sounds sufficiently descriptive when you say it, but it's ultimately meaningless and provides no real direction for people looking to help you.

Like, how specifically does your reverb and delay not sound like a natural part of your guitar tone? Do you mean the EQ of the effect feels too different from the dry signal? Do you mean there's too much of a delay between the dry signal and reverb/delay trails? Does the effect sound too spacey and fantastical when you want it to sound like your guitar is in an actual, physical room or vice versa?
 
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Megahertzz said:
I'm having trouble getting the "in the room" feel and sound from the reverb and delay blocks. This is especially apparent when playing through a PA in a live setting. The reverb, but especially the delay, doesn't sound like it's a natural part of the guitar tone. I would appreciate a few pointers on the general setup of both effects, cause right now I pretty much skip using the altogether.
Click to expand...
Here are a couple things to consider.

Are you running a mono or stereo output? If you’re going mono, using delay and reverb (as an effect, not room ambience) in front of the amp will give you more natural results...and make sure you select a mono delay type. The natural decay of the delay block is pretty fast, so you may want to increase the Master Feedback for a smoother trail decay. If you’re using a stereo delay like the 2290, go to the Tone/Duck page and under the Diffusor, select None. That will make it play better with a mono signal

If you’re using a mono signal and want stereo effects, you can put your delay after the cab. It’s not as natural sounding in that it won’t respond with your amp the way it would in front of the amp. Putting it after the amp is like adding delay in post. By itself it can feel a little sterile, but it’s a nice way to get some width if you don’t overuse it.

If you want your reverb to act more like natural ambience, I like putting it at the end of my chain. Try the Recording Studio C type with decay at 0.40 sec, and mix around 8% (if you want it more felt than heard), but play with the mix to where it feels right to you.

One final piece of advice... if you want the Axe to sound like the real thing, you have to treat it like the real thing. If you up your signal chain like you would in the real world, and dial in your amp like you would in the real world, you’ll get familiar results really quickly. :)
 
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