Preset

Dry Preset

Dry preset resets the editor to 1.00x, 0% reverb, flat bass and tone, 1.0 width. Use it for A/B checks, custom presets and saved browser presets.

Open the free editor: upload MP3, WAV, AAC, OGG or FLAC, adjust speed, reverb, bass, tone, width and space, then export MP3 or a ZIP of many tracks. Everything runs in your browser.

Dry is the preset that does nothing. Speed 1.00x, Reverb 0%, Bass 0 dB, Tone 0 dB, Width 1.0, Preserve pitch off. Load it and the editor plays your file exactly as it was decoded. It would be easy to dismiss as a blank slate, but in practice Dry is the preset experienced users click most often, because it is the reference every other setting, from Haze Chamber to Lift, gets judged against. This page explains how to use it in the slowed reverb editor for A/B comparison, as the foundation for custom presets, and why having a true reset matters more than it first appears.

The one value that is not literally zero is Space at 2.4 s. That is the slider's default, and because the reverb mix is 0% it has no effect on the sound. It is simply where the decay slider starts when you begin to add reverb from Dry.

What "dry" means in the signal chain

The editor processes audio in a fixed order: playback speed, then the bass low shelf at 180 Hz, then the tone high shelf at 2600 Hz, then a split into a dry path and a convolution reverb path that are mixed back together, then the stereo width stage. With Dry loaded, every stage is at its neutral setting. The shelves pass audio unchanged at 0 dB, the reverb path has zero gain, and the width stage at 1.0 leaves left and right as they were. What comes out is what went in.

That matters for one practical reason. In a live preview the chain is always running, so there is no separate "bypass" button. Dry is the bypass. It is how you hear the source without any processing while using the same player, the same volume and the same position in the song.

Using Dry for A/B comparison

The most reliable way to judge a slowed + reverb edit is to flip between the processed version and the original while the song is playing. Your ears adapt to a sound within seconds, so a 54% reverb mix that felt heavy when you set it will feel normal after a minute. Switching to Dry resets your reference.

A workflow that works:

1. Load your track and dial in a sound, or pick Haze Chamber or Wave Drift.
2. Start playback at the chorus, where the mix is densest.
3. Click Dry. Listen for four bars. Notice how much clearer the lyrics are and how much tighter the kick is.
4. Click your preset again. Ask three questions: did I lose words, did the low end become a thud, and is the tail ringing into the next phrase.
5. Adjust one control. Repeat.

Note that switching to Dry also returns the speed to 1.00x, so the original will sound faster and higher than your edit. That is expected. If you want to compare reverb settings alone at the same speed, save two custom presets at your chosen speed, one with reverb at 0% and one with your mix, and flip between those instead.

Why a reset preset matters when building custom presets

Every custom preset starts from somewhere. If you start from Haze Chamber, you inherit +12 dB of bass and -10 dB of tone whether you meant to or not, and you end up fighting those choices. Starting from Dry means every value in your preset is a decision you made.

A clean method for building a preset from Dry:

• Set Speed first. Everything downstream depends on it. A 2.4 s reverb tail feels different at 0.80x than at 0.90x because the beats are further apart. Choose the speed, then leave it alone.
• Add Reverb in 10% steps. Stop at the first value where the vocal starts to recede. Back off 5%.
• Set Space. Longer for sparse material, shorter for busy. The 2.4 s default is a fair middle.
• Then Bass, then Tone. Slowing shifts energy down, so you will usually want some bass and some darkening. Add them last so you can hear what the reverb alone did.
• Width last. Small moves only. Check mono.
• Save. Click Create preset, give it a name you will recognise later.

The reverse of that workflow is also useful. If a built-in preset is close but not right, note its values, load Dry, and rebuild it by hand. By the time you have re-entered six numbers you understand exactly what each one contributes.

How custom presets are stored

When you click Create preset, the editor stores the current six slider values plus the Preserve pitch state under the name you give it. The data goes into your browser's local storage for slowandreverb.com. There is no account and nothing is sent to a server, which has a few consequences worth knowing:

• Presets persist between visits as long as you use the same browser on the same device.
• They do not sync between devices. A preset made on your laptop will not appear on your phone.
• Clearing site data or cookies for the site removes them. Private or incognito windows discard them when the window closes.
• A different browser on the same machine has its own separate set.

If you have presets you rely on, write the values down somewhere. Six numbers and a toggle are easy to recreate. The built-in presets, including Dry, are part of the app itself and are always available.

Dry as a diagnostic tool

Beyond comparison, Dry answers questions about your source file.

• Is the mud in my edit or in the source? Load Dry. If the original already sounds congested, no preset will fix it. Find a better file.
• Is the distortion mine? A +12 dB bass boost on a loud master can clip. Switch to Dry; if the crackle disappears, pull Bass down.
• Is the file actually stereo? Load Dry, set Width to 0, and compare. If nothing changes, the source is mono and widening it will have little effect.
• Does the encoder change the sound? Export a Dry version. Comparing the 96 kbps, 32 kHz MP3 against the original shows you what the export format costs before any effect is applied. That is useful for setting expectations, since the editor exports MP3 only and does not produce WAV.

Reference values when leaving Dry

These are the first moves most people make from the reset point, grouped by goal. Treat them as the first draft of a custom preset.

The "slowed only" and "reverb only" rows isolate the two halves of the style. Playing each against Dry teaches you more about what slowed + reverb actually does than any description can. The guide to settings for clear vocals picks up from the minimal row.

Dry in a multi-track session

When several tracks are loaded, selecting them and clicking Dry resets all of them at once. That is the quickest way to undo an experiment across a whole batch. It is also how you give a subset of tracks the untouched treatment, for example when you want to include an original alongside slowed versions in the same ZIP download. Select the original, click Dry, deselect it, select the rest, apply your preset, then Download All.

Every exported file, Dry or not, is an MP3 at 96 kbps and 32 kHz encoded in a web worker in your browser. For an unprocessed copy of your song at full quality, keep the original file; a Dry export is a convenience, not a lossless duplicate.