Effects Flashcards
On an effect, what does the wet/dry control do?
Controls the balance between the altered (wet) and unaltered (dry) signals
On an effect, what does the bypass do?
Switches the unit or plug-in on/off so you can compare the signal to its unaffected version
When does natural reverb occur?
When a sound reflects off its surrounding surfaces, creating a wash of overlapping echoes
What is reverberation?
A naturally occurring phenomenon that gives our brains lots of information about the space we are in
What helps to reduce most, but not all of the sound of a room?
Close miking
In regards to reverb, what is pre-delay time?
The gap between the sound and the onset of the early reflections and reverb tail
In regards to reverb, what does the pre-delay time help our brains to understand?
The size of the space
In regards to reverb, what is reverb time?
The amount of time taken for the reverb to decay to the point that we can no longer hear it
In regards to reverb, what are early reflections?
The first reflections that occur after the direct sound but before the reverb tail
In regards to reverb, what is the reverb tail?
The general wash of sound that occurs after the direct sound and early reflections
In regards to reverb, what does HF damping do?
Increases the perceived warmth of the space by absorbing more high frequencies
What is a live room?
A room that is chosen to act as a recording room because of its acoustic properties
How is plate reverb achieved?
By feeding an audio signal through a thin metal plate suspended in a frame
How can you adjust the reverb time of plate reverb?
By damping the vibrations using felt pads
In what decades was plate reverb used in many recordings?
1960s and 1970s
What was plate reverb most commonly used on?
Vocals and drum sounds
What is the difference between spring reverb and plate reverb?
Spring reverb uses a spring rather than a plate
Where is spring reverb still frequently used?
In guitar amps
In what decade was digital reverb first seen?
1980s
How does digital reverb model reverb?
By using lots of delays, which are mathematically calculated
What did digital reverbs enable users and manufacturers to do?
Store lots of presets
What happened in regards to digital reverbs as computer processors got faster in the 1990s?
Digital reverb was incorporated as software plug-ins
What does convolution reverb do?
Reproduces a real reverb from a real space
What can you do to reverb on percussion sounds to prevent it from making a mix muddy?
Feed the reverb through a noise gate, to abruptly cut the tail off
In regards to delay, what is the delay time?
The gap between each repeat
In regards to delay, what does feedback do?
Feeds part of the delayed signal back into the input of the delay, increasing the number of repeats
In regards to delay, what does pan do?
Changes the stereo position of the delayed signal
In regards to delay, what does filter/EQ do?
Changes the frequency content of the delayed signal
What do digital delays make easy?
Synchronising the delay to the main tempo of a DAW
What does multi-tap delay allow the user to do?
Set several different delay times in one effect
What does a stereo or ‘ping pong’ delay do?
Gives you the option to pan the delayed sound
What can delay be heard as if the delay time is set somewhere around 40-50ms or more?
A discrete echo
If a delay is set at about 40ms or less, what effect does it have on the sound?
A doubling effect
How can delay be used to create a wider stereo image?
If one of the stereo channels is delayed by a short delay time, the part or instrument can seem wider
What are the benefits of delay plug-ins?
- Easy to automate and control with MIDI
- Possible to sync delay time to DAW global tempo
- Accurate control of delay time in milliseconds.
- Possible to store, share and download presets
- No issues with maintenance
What do modulated delay effects rely on?
The periodic modulation of delay time
With regards to modulated delay effects, what is used to control how much the wet signal is delayed by?
An LFO
With regards to modulated delay effects, what is the rate?
The speed at which the modulation takes place
With regards to modulated delay effects, what is the depth?
How wide the range of values for the delay time is
With regards to modulated delay effects, what does feedback do?
Adds a percentage of the output back into the input
How did the effect, chorus, originally get its name?
From the way it made one voice/instrument sound like a chorus of voices/intruments
How does the chorus effect work?
It delays a copy of the original signal, playing the delayed version alongside the clean signal to give the effect of more than one instrument playing the same time
For a subtle chorus effect, what is generally set quite low?
The depth
If the depth and rate values of a chorus effect are set quite high, what is produced?
A dramatic ‘bubbling’ and ‘underwater’ effect
On what tracks is the chorus effect often used?
Clean electric guitar, fretless bass and synth pad
What effect does a flanger give?
A ‘swirling’ or ‘whooshing’ sound
How can a flanger be used to create a subtle ‘shimmering’ effect?
By applying it to just the reverb or delay of an effected signal
When is comb filtering created?
When a slight delayed version of a signal combines with the direct sound, causing destructive interference
What can comb filtering result in?
An audibly thin sound
What can comb filtering be used creatively for?
Creating a flange effect
Describe the effect of a phaser?
Similar to flanging, but more subtle
What can a phaser be used for?
Adding movement to distorted guitar parts
What does ring modulation do?
Adds and subtracts two frequencies to produce two new frequencies
What is ring modulation used for?
Creating ringing, metallic, or bell-like sounds as it’s very dissonant
At subtler settings, what other effect is hard to distinguish ring modulation from?
Tremolo
