How do I create reverb without paying $100?

Does anyone know about a cheap reverb for vocals? I need something like this, but $100 is a bit much right now. Anyone?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/289897-REG/DigiTech_XDV_DIGIVERB_DigiVerb_Foot_Pedal.html

Speaker, microphone, bathroom, done.

Look for an old used Alesis reverb if you must have a reverb unit.

+1

I see used Midiverbs and Microverbs going for $30-$40 at places like Music-Go-Round. Decent little digital reverbs that are a bit old, but still work for demo and live work.

I've heard of Alesis Quadraverbs going for $50-75, which is a pretty great bargain. It actually sounds good and usable, if not necessarily "realistic".

A buddy of mine had one of those small Alesis Reverb units. Don't remember exactly which one but it sounded pretty good. And just my opinion but if I were to buy something for Vocal reverb it wouldn't be a guitar pedal. Not that you couldn't make it work. I just prefer to use a hammer to drive a nail instead of pliers.

The bathroom/distant mic is a good one, been there. Get long headphone leads!

Maybe use amp reverb if you have one - or borrow an FX pedal off a friendly guitarist? I love using the RV3 reverb pedal our guitarist has, and I have a Boss RRV10(?) mini rack thing I used to use for guitar that has some interesting if perhaps a bit dated sounds.

I know a place you can kayak to. It's a rock ledge. You pull up, get on the ledge, and everything you sing or yell echos about 3 times. It costs less than $100.

sing into a vacuum cleaner hose with the mic at the other end

Wild ideas like the 60's? Wish I knew someone named Amp, I know Mikes. But who had AC in the old days. Heating ducts yes. Thank you Phil for your forum and your knowledge and service,

double post

Get a piece of 6" PVC piping and another slightly smaller that will just fit inside. Mount a 6" speaker on the one end, a mic on the other, then slide the two in an out like a trombone till you get the resonance you want. You can call it The Tubes. Hook a motor up Drive it in and out and you'll have a flanger. (or a kinkey sex machine)

I tend to be a hardware guy when it comes to reverb, as there are a lot of old boxes out there that (to my ears) sound better than most plug-ins and can be had for a steal. If you have a way of patching hardware into your system that's the way to go. Here are some good ebay finds that I'm aware of in the sub-$100 range:

Alesis Quadraverb - Ken was right, they can be had for $75 and are very usable. Some cool gritty 80's tails if you're into that (I am )

Alesis Wedge - Generally a more powerful and modern unit than the original Quadraverbs, better sounding, and no one knows about them. They can be had for around $75 if you hunt. Remote-like tabletop format makes it fun to tweak vs. digging through layers of submenus. It actually has some very cool plate and room sounds, although it won't stack up to a high-end Lexicon... but most things in this price range won't.

Behringer V-Verb - This one unfortunately has become rarer and moved into the $150-plus catergory, thanks to a long running thread on gearslutz where some very accomplished mixers have sung its praises. Still, a really powerful box and scary good sounding for the price. Very smooth, modern tails. Discontinued, more than likely due to the all-too-common Behringer lawsuit issue.

Lexicon Reflex - unbalanced i/o but still a cool box that retains something of what I'd consider the "Lexicon Sound".

Lexicon LXP-1 - cute little half rack unit. A predecessor to the Reflex but better sounding IMHO. Algorithms are taken from the amazing 480L. Front panel controls are very limited but for $50 more you can score a cool little midi remote for deeper editing. The LXP system was like a budget option before there was a budget market - it's got a level of pro functionality that nothing they've made in that price range comes close to yet.

I wish I could make your life a little easier and reccomend a VST plugin, but many in the $500+ price range still can't touch some of the boxes I mentioned. Go figure.

TapeOp has an article about making your own plate reverb with contact mics and a piece of metal or a spring reverb out of a Slinkie and a contact mic in the current issue.

Like, OMG. I've been contemplating doing just that, recently... and the new Tape Op came in the mail the other day, but haven't had a chance to open it yet.

I shall wank.

But...but... how do you keep the fart sounds out of the track?

I once was recording a guitar amp in the bathroom, the signal sent through a wild series of delays. The singer's girlfriend went to use the bathroom, and when we returned to the control room, we heard every detail of her visit in glorious detail...with tons of delay repeats. We were literally clutching our stomachs in laughter.

And no, I don't have a recording of this.

But...but... how do you keep the fart sounds out of the track?

I suppose if you wanted your music to be all clean and sterile....

-Dan.

But...but... how do you keep the fart sounds out of the track?

I could easily notch filter a fart sound out. There is no equally effective filter for smell, however.

Riiiight. How about one of those farts that starts really high-pitched and descends into the realm of something in between gurgling oatmeal and steam-powered beef stew?