SES WEEK 11 - COMPRESSORS AND GATES

Ah, gates explained (at last) and compressors explained (yet again). Which is OK. I feel I understand the concepts behind these two standards of audio equipment quite well yet whenever I actually apply one during the course of my mixing adventures, the results are... well, you know. So I have looked further for explanations to assist with my application of these tools (given that I had to leave this week’s session early and no doubt missed something important). I found yet another cool place to go for audio tutorials namely, Doctor ProAudio, which appears to be a site dedicated to the world-wide Spanish-speaking audiophile community but fear not, this page is en Inglés:

Doctor ProAudio compressors/limiters tutorial with link to gates tutorial

These tutes feature an excellent explanation of the (to me) mystifying concepts of side-chain and “knee”, which was a profound relief, lemme tell ya, as well as clear graphics (which actually help for a change). Armed with this new cache of e-knowledge and in conjunction with my D-learning (Dave), I shall no doubt be able now to produce mixes of the very highest quality. We can only wait and see.

References:

D. Grice, Lecture, Sound Engineering Studio, 27/05/08

http://www.doctorproaudio.com/english/
Doctor ProAudio, viewed 31/05/08

MTF - WEEK 11 - LOCAL RECORDINGS

Listening to a variety of recordings that Dave G provided, we attempted to determine which ones had been recorded in Adelaide studios. Personally, I found the task impossible although Dave maintained that he could tell an Adelaide recording, particularly from certain studios. I find this a bit sad; the implication that a given set of equipment, personnel and space will result in a given sound or possibly flavour to the production. I think the lesson was supposed to demonstrate to us that it is possible to produce quality audio product in SA and the question was raised that, in these circumstances, why don’t more musicians come here to give birth to their sonic babies? I reckon it comes down to vibe; you’ve slaved over these songs, cried over them and they mean everything to you, surely you want to get all hyped up about giving them to the world. Perhaps for most people this means going somewhere that the air fairly pulsates with the vibrancy of overpopulation, I dunno. Later we listened to Adelaide engineering examples in the form of remixes from Lauren, Kristie and Shane – well done, guys! You have set the standard...

Here is an example of an Adelaide recording - guess who?

References

D. Grice, Lecture, Music Technology Forum, 27/05/08
D. Lokan, Lecture, Music Technology Forum, 27/05/08

CONCEPTS OF MUSIC AURAL - WEEK 10 - INTENSITY AND LOUDNESS

I’ll try not to boringly whine on about the maths-heavy handout which we received this week, allegedly in order to facilitate our understanding of sound pressure level and the decibel measurement of sound intensity. It is obvious to me that I shall never be ein Tonmeister. Yes, I matriculated in maths but that was 24 years ago and I can honestly say my application of higher maths functions during my adult life has been, nil, nada, zero and zip. Oh, that’s not a whinge, by the way, I’m just nonplussed by the possible necessity of arithmetic function in my chosen future career. Am I padding my blog with BS? Um, yep sorry. However, it would be interesting to investigate exactly how many of the reasonably (and sometimes very) successful engineers and producers that we have been studying in Music Technology Forum have any grasp whatsoever (and if any, to what degree) of the maths tied to their jobs. One could probably maintain a perfectly respectable sound engineering life without this mathematical knowledge, however, the real issue is: can one pass this component of the Diploma without it? I may have to read it after all. Damn.

References:
S.Whittington, Lecture, Concepts of Music (Aural), 22/05/08

SES - WEEK 10 - MIXING DOWN

At last, some real help with the mix down process, which I so desperately wanted. I love the idea of taking a “reference CD’ to the studio and referring to it regularly; to gauge the frequency response of the room, to give your ears a “control”, to give yourself pause from the constant focus on noise. I find this very tiring; to concentrate for long periods on sounds and try to read nuances into them while attempting to determine the effects of infinitesimal parameter changes. The “compare” function in the PT plug-ins window is of great use when confronted with this issue. Dave is right when he says “mix quietly”. I have to battle the temptation to mix at louder volumes because frankly, everything sounds better when you turn it up – there seems to be more bottom end which is so soul-satisfying… until you get it home and it blows your crappy stereo speakers or shakes your little earphones to pieces. The technique Dave showed us of starting with drums seemed logical to me but I had not thought to mix the kick drum in comparison with the bass instrument as a starting point. Good idea.

References:

D. Grice, Sound Engineering Studio Lecture, 20/05/08

MTF - WEEK 10 - CD MANUFACTURE

As I sit here drinking a damn’ fine wine, I ponder on what it takes to get one’s music noticed in this musically super-saturated world. Obviously, I have had (up until now) no bloody idea ‘cos no-one’s ever taken a blind bit of notice of mine… actually, we did chart well locally, I suppose. Perhaps if I had wrapped my CD’s in balloons and launched them at A& R executives they may have attracted some notice. Given my feelings towards the commercial music industry, however, it may have been more appropriate possibly for me to nail my CD’s to bricks and launch them at A & R execs’ heads, oh tut. Anyway, I have investigated further the intricacies of the CD production process and, as a consequence, here is this week’s handy-dandy link so that you can share in my findings (should you be so inclined):

MANUFACTURING PROCESS FOR DATA CD ROM AND AUDIO CD
WRITTEN BY: TERRY MCLEAN; ARTICLE PUBLISHED: YEAR 2006, MONTH 12;

It’s all about fathers, apparently – Freud would have a field day. Really, very interesting and yes, I was one of those who had laboured under the misconception that CD’s were all laser burned, live and learn.

References:

D.Grice, Music Technology Forum Lecture, 20/05/08

T. McLean, e-Tutorial, Manufacturing Process for Data CD Rom and Audio CD,
http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Manufacturing-process-for-data-CD-ROM-and-audio-CD/, viewed 24/05/08

Multishape CD-Rom, viewed 24/05/08
http://www.multishapecdrom.com/cd_showcase/?case=irr_01

CONCEPTS OF MUSIC WEEK 9 LOUDNESS

I know you all think I’m mad because I reckon foetuses can perceive ultrasound when being bombarded with such – perhaps my un-researched reasoning is wrong (I believe that the smaller the ear canal, the higher the detectable frequencies), but I’ve seen the little unborn ones reacting to the ultrasound procedure with my own eyes… co-incidence, conspiracy?

Check this link if you’re interested:

Is this relevant to our discussion this week? Yes, as we investigate the nature of intensity and relative loudness, infrasound and ultrasound, heterodyning (which has meaning beyond the scope of audio). Once more Stephen has juxtaposed the physical and psycho-physical aspects of sound. This increased knowledge of the nature of sound is having an effect on the way I listen when I’m recording and mixing down, although the conditions at the EMU are relatively sterile (“relative” to my usual musical environment which often involves beer-fuelled chaos and countless uncontrollable noises). To put it in a nutshell, I am trying soooo hard to listen with my brain, balancing the pure auditory input with the new knowledge about the way sound (mis)behaves and the way I perceive it (mis)behaving.

References:

S. Whittington, Lecture, Concepts of Music (Aural), 15/05/08

Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal-loudness_contour
viewed 19/05/08

Chicago Tribune Online Edition
http://nie.chicagotribune.com/activities_082905.htmhttp://www.hhs.gov/
viewed 19/05/08

AUDIO STUDIES WEEK 9 PT SEQUENCING CONTD

So we continue our journey in and around Planet Pro Tools. I’m chuffed to discover that all plug-in parameters can be automated and further that they can be controlled with external controllers; the Novation keyboard in the audio lab and presumably the mixing desk in Studio 1. I’ve found the plug in information that we are covering very useful at the moment as I have been working on a demo for a band that I somewhat impetuously began a while back, before realising that I would be flat out doing assignments and have no time to indulge myself with free studio time, sigh. Strangely, the more I use the plug-ins in all their saveable, copy-and-pasteable glory, the more my mix sounds like crap! I am going to adopt the attitude of a female, fin-de-siecle, photographer (whose name eludes me at the mo’) to the effect that for her, the photograph ended at the negative; cropping, exposure compensation and other post-negative manipulation were just so much toss. Adapt this to the recording studio and it becomes; the band must sound perfect before it is even worth beginning, the vibe must be right and the music wonderful. Plug-ins are cake-icing.

GLAMVILLE

References:
C. Haines, Lecture, Audio Studies, 14/05/08