The Sound That Defined the 80s: What Is Gated Reverb?
The Accidental Revolution
If you had to pick one sound that instantly screams "the 80s," what would it be? For many musicians, it's the explosive, punchy, almost cannon-like sound of a snare drum. It was everywhere, from Phil Collins to Prince to Bruce Springsteen. That iconic sound has a name: gated reverb.
What’s fascinating is that this revolutionary sound wasn't the result of some grand design; it was a happy accident. As an artist who was in the studio during this era, I was always amazed by how new technology could shape the sound of our music. Today, I want to deconstruct this iconic effect and explain how it became the heartbeat of a decade.
What Is Gated Reverb? (The Simple Explanation)
To understand gated reverb, let's break it down into two parts:
Reverb: This is the echo or "tail" you hear after a sound. Think of clapping your hands in a large, empty church. That long, sustained echo is reverb. In the studio, we can add this effect to a drum to make it sound huge and atmospheric.
The Gate: A "noise gate" is a studio tool that acts like a bouncer at a club. It only lets sounds above a certain volume pass through. Once the sound drops below that level, the gate slams shut, cutting it off instantly.
Gated Reverb is what happens when you combine the two. You put a massive, church-like reverb on a snare drum, but then you put a noise gate on it. The result? You get the huge, explosive boom of the reverb, but instead of a long, natural decay, the gate slams shut, cutting the tail off abruptly. This creates a sound that is both massive and incredibly tight and punchy. It’s a sound that doesn't exist in nature, and it’s what made 80s drums so powerful.
Hear It in Action
It can be hard to describe a sound in words. To hear a perfect demonstration of the gated reverb effect and learn more about its history, check out this excellent short video from Vox:
A Personal Example: Crafting the Sound of New Dimensions
When I was working with producer Bob Wilson of Seawind on my album New Dimensions, we were chasing that contemporary, polished 80s sound. A huge part of that was the drum production.
We used these exact techniques to give the songs a bigger, more powerful feel that could compete on the radio. A great example is the track “Paradise.” Listen to the snare drum on that song. You can hear that big, explosive reverb, but it doesn't wash everything out. It has that tight, punchy quality that was the signature of the era. It's a small detail, but it's a huge part of what gives the track its classic 80s energy.
The gated reverb drum sound is a perfect example of how studio innovation can define the sound of a generation. It was a happy accident that became an art form, and it’s a sound that will forever be linked to the bold, ambitious spirit of the 1980s.
More on the Sound of the 80s: An FAQ
1. Who invented gated reverb? The sound was discovered by accident in 1979 by engineer Hugh Padgham and producer Steve Lillywhite while working on a Peter Gabriel song. Phil Collins, who was the drummer on that session, famously used it on his solo track "In the Air Tonight," making it a global phenomenon.
2. What Phil Collins song has the famous drum sound? The most famous example of gated reverb is the iconic drum fill in Phil Collins' 1981 hit, "In the Air Tonight." That sound would go on to define his solo career and much of 80s pop music.
3. Is gated reverb still used today? While it's not as common as it was in the 80s, gated reverb is still used by modern artists, often to deliberately evoke a retro or powerful, punchy sound. It's a classic tool in a producer's toolkit.
What's a specific production trick from a song that you've always loved? I'd love to hear about it in the comments.
