Reverb types that are not an obvious “type” listed in the Wiki

[Jesse]

So the Wiki lists a number of well known reverb types (room, plate, hall, etc) and many of the presets you see are obvious variations of those. But what about the non obvious ones? What is a cathedral considered? What about things like the Ice Castle or Opera House?

I assumed initially that any reverb could be turned into any other by matching the settings but did some reading and that is not true. Trying to make a reverb by tweaking an existing one and want to understand better what I’m starting from. Basically trying to make a somewhat ambient reverb but not a cloud. Something that sits in the gap between say an Ice Castle and one of the cloud reverbs.

 

[tysonlt]

I would focus on choosing the verb that sounds closest to what you want, and just start experimenting with the parameters. Reverb theory is not my thing, I don’t understand the technical differences either, but the beauty is I don’t need to. For example I find that the time parameter does 90% of what I want to tweak any given reverb.

 

[Jesse]

Yes that's basically what I've been doing. I'd say that the low and high frequency decay times are a huge factor as well. Trying to combine elements you like from different reverbs is a challenge if the underlying type/algorithm is hidden.

 

[H3O2]

OT: sort of... Personally, for cabs and all things, I'm able to use my ears AND my eyes and it would be cool to be able to toggle an ear/eyes option like that. I'm a visual type. Course that may unleash the minority that will argue, "that doesn't sound like 'X'". But I have no time for the picayune. And, considering with this company you get more than what you paid for already. Just my 2¢

 

[Johnny Rigs]

Trying to combine elements you like from different reverbs is a challenge if the underlying type/algorithm is hidden.

I love learning about effects algorithms, and this is the one thing that has kept me from jumping into the Axe-FX pool still. I have outboard Lexicon and Eventide processors, and the ability to get into the nitty gritty of algorithms (with some units even allowing modularization) is something I wonder if I’d find limiting inside the Axe.

Reading a Lexicon manual is a great way to deep dive into reverb concepts. I personally like the 480L manual. But basically, it’s about how quickly the reflections build up, how many there are, how long they last, and which frequencies they absorb/reflect. So a cathedral would probably start as a type of Hall reverb - slow buildup with long decay. Ice and cloud reverbs would have an element of pitch shifting, so that’s something to consider as well.