Mono vs stereo reverb on guitars

Let’s talk for a moment about when it’s good to use mono vs stereo reverb on guitars!

As mentioned previously: mono reverb is good for when you want to add depth, and stereo reverb is good for when you want to add both depth and width.

And here’s another key consideration: mono reverbs let you add dimension and a sense of space without cluttering up your mix.

For example: imagine that you have two rhythm guitars, one panned halfway left and one panned halfway right.

If you put both guitars into a stereo reverb, you’ll get reverb not just around each guitar but also kind of everywhere. That can be cool if you have a minimal arrangement and you’re using a “reverb cloud” as a sort of special sound-design effect — but in context of a denser rock mix, for example, this approach could really make a mess of your mix!

But if you put each guitar into its own mono reverb, and you pan each reverb the same as its guitar, you’ll get a sense of space and depth for each guitar that’s localized to that guitar. And the rest of the space in the mix will remain open and clean. Win/win.

Keeping it clean — jamie