Reverb

input file : source soundfile

output file : destination soundfile (when marked)
or result.wav (for unregistered files)

processing mode : global

The Reverb tool can be used to simulate the acoustics of different environments. Music generated in an inert studio does not sound natural compared to the music performed in a room, such as a concert hall. In the latter case, the sound waves propagate in all directions and reach the listener from various directions and at various times depending on the room size and geometry. In addition to the direct sound (sometimes termed “dry”), the listener can hear a few closely spaced echoes, called early reflections followed by numerous densely packed echoes referred to as reverberation (“wet” sound). The sum of all three components is called the room response.

DART allows you to control the process of room simulation in several different ways. The gain sliders (original signal gain, reverberated signal gain) allow you to set the desired proportion between the “dry” and “wet” components of the generated sound. The overall gain slider (total signal gain) can be used to change the volume of the output signal.

The reverberation delay can be used to set the delay of the reverberated sound with respect to the direct sound and the reverberation decay time – to set its effective length. Reverberation decay times smaller than 400 ms can be used to simulate small room environments. To simulate medium sized rooms, use reverberation decay times in the range of 400 ms and 800 ms and to simulate concert halls – decay times greater than 800 ms.

Frequency-dependent absorption characteristics of the materials encountered in a typical acoustic environment are responsible for frequency shaping of the reverberated sound – the high-frequency components of the signal decay faster than its low-frequency components. Use the high frequency attenuation box to control this effect.

For long decay times generation of the reverberated signal may be very time consuming. The Buffer size box allows you to trade off the speed of processing and the quality of the synthesized room response. The best results can be obtained for the large buffer size. However, if your computer is too slow to carry on computations in real time try using the medium or small buffer size.

Reverb presets

To save Reverb settings as a preset press the Add button situated in the Presets dialog. The Add presets dialog will appear on the screen allowing you to save the current settings under the name of your choice. To update an existing preset or remove it, use the Save and Remove buttons, respectively.

For your convenience a set of nine standard (predefined) presets are provided. Predefined presets (displayed with an 'asterisk' mark next to them) are write protected, i.e. you will not be allowed to save the user-defined presets under the names listed above.

NOTICE

The equalization presets are stored in the configuration file dartwin.rev. All settings will be lost if this file is deleted or corrupted outside of DART XP Pro.

Setting audition controls

Audition controls allow you listen to the results of DART Reverb while you change the Reverb controls. You can compare the results of Reverb to the original recording by switching between Play Result and Play Source.

Press the Play Result button to hear the results of the Reverb digital audio processing. You can modify the Reverb parameters while playing results.The green Ready light indicates the Reverb parameters you set have been processed and are ready to play. When you change parameters, the light goes off until your new settings have been processed.

Press the Play Source button to hear the original soundfile. All Reverb filtering is bypassed.

Use the Overview Bar to set the position of the cursor. The Overview Bar is the unlabelled gray rectangle at the very top of the DART Reverb panel. A yellow vertical line in the box represents the cursor position.

Selections in the range box allow you to choose the start and end points of the soundfile you are auditioning (from cursor, entire file, local, block). With all choices, Reverb plays in a loop, jumping to the start point you choose when the end point is reached. Please note: setting parameters modifies the complete soundfile not just the portion you audition.