Reverse reverb and delay throws on vocals

Delay throws

A throw is a delay or reverb on a single word — usually the last one in a line. The rest stays dry and upfront. Put a 100% wet delay on a send and automate the send level: −∞ for the line, −6 to 0 dB on the chosen word, back down after.

Work out the time from tempo: 60,000 ÷ BPM is a quarter note in ms. At 140 BPM a quarter is 429 ms, an eighth 214 ms, a dotted eighth 321 ms.

• Feedback 25–40% — three to five repeats, then gone.
• Filter the return: low cut 200–400 Hz, high cut 4–6 kHz.
• Ping-pong for width, ducking so the echoes only fill the gaps.

Echo has tape and ping-pong modes, tempo sync with dotted and triplet values, filters in the loop and ducking.

Reverb throws

Same idea with a 3–4 s hall or plate and 30–60 ms pre-delay. Hall also has Freeze: catch the last word before the hook, freeze it and let go when the beat drops.

Reverse reverb

The classic way:

1. 01Copy the phrase to a new track.
2. 02Reverse it.
3. 03Add a long, 100% wet reverb and render it with the tail.
4. 04Reverse the render back.
5. 05Line it up so the swell ends exactly on the word.

At 140 BPM one bar is about 1.7 s, and a half or full bar swell works best. Swell does it in real time, in tempo-synced windows from 1/8 to 2 bars, so you don't re-render after every edit.

Where to use them

Both effects work best at section edges: the last word of a verse before the hook, the end of every 4- or 8-bar phrase, a gap where the beat drops out. In drill, with busier drums, shorter feedback (15–25%) and stronger ducking work better than long trap-style throws.

Don't overdo it

• One throw per line, not per word.
• Keep the reverse swell 8–12 dB under the dry vocal.
• Check everything in mono.