Reverberation or Reverb, and Delay sound effect are two different sound twisting methods that closely relates to each other. But the question will be which is better between the two? So right now let us talk about the delay vs reverb.

Differences between delay and reverb

Reverb is the effect in which you can hear many sounds of one instrument after playing. It is just like playing a guitar inside a large closed room while the sound is bouncing back and forth in the walls, the ceiling and the floor, creating a much richer sound than the sound of the instrument alone. These reverb effects often take place in reverb rooms and reverb halls, depending on the place you are in. You can also execute these effects through the effect in the amplifier or mixer.

After knowing the meaning of the reverb, let us know the meaning of Delay. By the word itself, you can already know this effect. Delay means hearing the sound a little later than the time it played. Sometimes called as an echo because you can hear it again after hearing the original sound produced which can be confusing sometimes because a delay and an echo is different to each other.

These two sound effects relate to each other in the sense that they are both manifested through echoing sounds but much different to each other. The reverb effect can take place as the echo multiplies after bouncing all over the room. While you can hear the delay sound after hearing the original sound played.

We can distinguish the relation between the two through a simple test. Go to a large room with almost a little to sound to escape. Then after that, you can clap or yell. The sound that you will first hear will be the original sound that you have created. The next sound that you will hear is the delayed echo sound. The sound then bounces to the walls and then to the ceiling and to the floor thus creating a reverberating sound which is the reverb sound.

How can we use these two effects?

After knowing the difference between these two sound effects, we can already distinguish what uses are these to the sounds that we produce. When can we use the reverb? And when can we use the delay effect?

The reverb effect easily gets along with vocals, guitars and any sound instruments that you want to emphasize in a concert or a gig. It is even greater to use reverb inside a closed concert hall or room. But using just the mixer’s effect can sound realistic. And you can use the reverb to the fullest inside a large coliseum.

Just remember that the sound may also vary from the walls used. For example, if the wall of the coliseum or concert hall is concrete, then it may sound very differently from a room that is plywood and light materials. But its uses are not limited to indoor and closed door concert. It can be also very effective in an open area if you want to create a better sounding singing or instrument.

The delay effect, on the other hand, is mostly used with the speaker and guitar effects, and commonly used to expand sounds for a larger crowd to hear. You can use the delay for the speakers and amplifiers to amplify the sound to a much greater crowd mostly for an open area concert or gigs that have little to no surrounding walls for the sound to bounce back. But don’t get this wrong because performers can also use the delay effect indoor, for example, in a concert hall or a dome. It is an effect that you can use in many different sources of sounds in any place of the concert. But its uses are limited to creating a denser quality to the performance.

So which one is better?

After all these explanations on the differences of these two, it is now time to choose whether we are going to use the reverb or the delay effect. The better effect to use still depends on the type of performance you want to do. Other performers would choose the reverb because of its studio-like sound while doing a large performance. But to others, they would prefer the delay effect because of the techno or sometimes ethereal vibe that it creates.

But of course, we also want to share our perspective on which of these two sound effects is better. The reverb type of sound effect is the better choice when it comes to a more majestic type of singing or performance. It can create a chill to the listeners when used is an operatic type of concert. It can also create a funky type of sound when used with a fast beat tempo. The reverb sounds effect’s uses are wider than that of the delay type of sound effect.

Performers can use the reverb in any instrument to make the ‘concerto’ better without affecting the other instruments. For example, a snare drum can have a reverb effect while the other drums don’t. But still, the snare cannot affect those other drums with reverb effect because the reverb effect occurs at the same time as the original sound.

It is unlike the delay effect. If the snare drum has the delay effect, it may cause a chaotic sound with other drums if a fill occurs. While the delay effect is also good, you can only use it to limited types of performances.

Conclusion

We still have to settle the answer to which is better between the two even though both are awesome in their own unique ways. If the wide range of uses will be our basis to which one is better, the reverb or the delay, the Reverb sound effect is the most advisable method to use.

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