Which and how much reverb for live use advice

[musicbysterling]

Hello,
I've got a live gig tomorrow evening and discovered at Monday's rehearsal that I wasn't too satisfied with my reverb settings. Currently, I'm using the White Grand XL, medium timbre, EQ setting at 3.0 for Bass, Mids - +3.5bdB at 859Hz and Treble set to +1.0. My Reverb is set to Room 1 at 1.7 mix.
I'm using a TC Electronics Hall of Fame Reverb in conjunction with the organ engine which is output to 4, then going into a miniVent 2 out to the Hall of Fame, so the internal reverb will be used soley for my piano sound.
I'd greatly appreciate any suggestions or advice from any live performers out there.
That being said, what piano samples are known to be the best for live use as well?
Thx!
Regards,
Mark

[leonardo 1]

Hi, I'm not too happy with the reverb either...on white I use stage at 1.6...it sounds better without reverb but live I use white bass-5 compressor at 1.7 and that's it

[cphollis]

I'm pretty happy with "Stage" reverb at a modest setting. I've always found the Room setting a little tubby.

[maxpiano]

For me when playing live, Reverb on acoustic piano sounds should be = 0 , just like it would be with the real thing, let the room/hall where you play give you its natural reverb.

I would use reverb only when it is a specific part of the sound, e.g. for electric pianos (if I imagine to play them through an Amp with reverb, otherwise no reverb there as well) or Organ or Synth sounds (but only where it makes sense for the specific patch/song, not in general).

[anotherscott]

Picking up from what maxpiano said, there's no "right" amount of reverb, it depends entirely on the room, unless you're specifically using the reverb for a special effect in some particular instance.

If you're playing in a very "live" space with plenty of natural reverb, using reverb generally muddies the sound. OTOH, if you're playing somewhere where everything is sounding dry (e.g. outdoors, where there are no room reflections... likewise if listening through headphones), reverb will sound nice.

[Tracii]

Agree with everything so far.

I usually save my patches with whatever reverb is the most generic setting that is going to be fine for most uses. Stage Soft at around 3.0, that is.

However, sometimes that doesn't work. Clav or Mellotron for example sound better with less reverb for me, whereas when I go full Child In Time, I turn it up a good notch. Nothing is set in stone.

[FZiegler]

I do add a little reverb on my Nord. Just the amount you'd want in a room that already has _some_ reverb on its own. As I often play open-air, there will be a little extra reverb to add from the FoH mixer.

[WannitBBBad]

Yes, all of the above. If the venues you play move between outdoor festivals to large halls, you might find it easier to duplicate programs and then tweak one set to reduce the reverb/delay you will naturally get from the room. Cheers!

[musicbysterling]

Thx for all the replies!
I wasn't getting any satisfying sound space in m IEMs with the little bit of Room 1 I had on my default piano Program. Per Leonardo 1's advice, I bumped up to Stage 1 with a value of 1.6 and was very pleased with what I heard onstage the other evening. It added the enough to inspire me to play as best that I can. I always just want to hear enough to create the sound of what you would hear in a iso booth or a room. I want FOH to provide the reverb they feel is needed to fill the space we're in.
Thx again all!