How to make slowed and reverb songs online (free)

The steps at a glance

1. Load the song. Import an MP3 or WAV file. R&B, pop and rap tracks give the best results.
2. Slow it to 0.90×. Set speed on its own first, with no effects, and listen. This is the setting everything else adapts to.
3. Add reverb. Raise it gradually to 12–18 %. Stop as soon as the lyrics get hard to follow.
4. Replace the low end. Add 8 to 15 % bass boost to restore the foundation slowing took away.
5. Check on a phone speaker. That is how most people will hear the result. If it collapses there, pull the bass back.
6. Export. MP3 320 kbps to publish, WAV if the file gets reworked afterwards.

The short answer

Slowed and reverb combines two treatments: slowing the track by 8 to 12 %, and adding reverb that creates a sense of space. The starting values that almost always work:

• Speed: 0.90×
• Reverb: 15 %
• Bass boost: 12 %

Start there, listen, then adjust. These three numbers give a clean result on the vast majority of tracks.

The order matters more than the values

This is what separates a clean result from a muddy one. Always work in this sequence.

1. Speed first, with no effects at all. It is the most structural parameter — everything else adapts to it. Find the point where the track has changed character while keeping its intent. If you add reverb before fixing the speed, you will misjudge both.

2. Reverb next, raised gradually. Increase until the lyrics start becoming hard to follow, then come back down 3 to 5 points. That is your useful maximum.

3. Bass boost last, in small increments. Listen specifically to the choruses, where energy peaks. If the low end "puffs" or saturates, back off.

Settings by genre

Tracks do not respond equally. An open mix takes plenty of reverb; a dense one saturates immediately.

R&B responds best, and that is no accident — it is where the whole aesthetic comes from. Rock and metal are hardest, because slowed cymbals take on an unpleasant metallic colour.

Why your result sounds muddy

Three causes come up over and over.

Too much reverb. The number one mistake. Past 25 %, consonants disappear and the bass smears. A track already produced with a lot of space — a ballad, atmospheric R&B — saturates as early as 20 %.

Not enough bass. Slowing pushes low-end energy downward. Without compensation the track sounds hollow, especially on a phone. It is counterintuitive: the problem is not missing volume, it is a shift in frequency.

An unsuitable source track. No setting will turn a heavily compressed metal track into convincing slowed and reverb. Choosing the right song matters more than the settings.

Should the voice drop too?

Both schools exist. Keeping the pitch leaves the vocal natural and recognisable — the most common choice today. Dropping it 1 to 2 semitones leans into the "screwed" character, closer to the genre's Houston origins. Try both on the same track: the difference is bigger than you would expect.

Going further

If you want to understand where this aesthetic comes from and why it lands emotionally, our article on the history and culture of slowed + reverb covers the psychoacoustics. For settings genre by genre, see optimal audio settings for every music genre.

One reminder worth keeping: a slowed version of an existing recording is still a derivative work. Private use is fine. To publish, work with tracks you own the rights to, or get the artist's permission.

Frequently asked questions