How the Amazing Drum Effect of Gated Reverb Came About by a New Recording Console Accident

In a rhythmic episode of “Vox Pop“, host Estelle Caswell explained the concept of gated reverb, its incredible soaring popularity in the 1980s, its recent comeback and how it all came about as an accident. During a recording session for Peter Gabriel‘s (“Melting Face”) third album, engineer Hugh Padgham used a new console and found that the talk button was still on when Phil Collins was playing the drums and it created a distinct, likable sound.

..here’s where something magical happened. So, according to their engineer Hugh Padgham, their engineer, they had a brand new recording console with some cool features that included a mic hanging in the studio to talk to the band.That mic accidentally picked up Phil’s drum and the result was a thick punchy reverb that disappeared in an instant. The reason? The mic had a heavy compressor on it.