Wet/dry

The relationship between the unprocessed signal and the effect's output, usually expressed as a mix control or as separate wet and dry level controls.

A reverb or delay set fully wet produces only the processed signal, which is useful on a send or in parallel setups but unusable in a simple chain; fully dry is the same as switching the effect off. Most pedals offer a continuous mix, while more elaborate units provide separate wet and dry levels, which allows the effect to be added at a low level without altering the dry tone. The terms apply to any effect that mixes processed and unprocessed signal.

Example: a delay with the wet level low enough to be barely noticed still changes how a phrase is heard at the end of a line.

Wet/dry

See also