Quick combined flash cards
What is an equalizer?
Adjusts the volume of your instruments tone, allows you to turn up the good stuff, and turn down the bad stuff
Where is the sub bass on the frequency spectrum?
20-60Hz
What is the bass on the frequency spectrum?
60-200 Hz
Where are the low mids on the frequency spectrum?
200-600Hz
Where are the mids on the frequency spectrum?
600Hz-3KHz
Where are the upper mids on the frequency spectrum?
3-8KHz
Where are the highs on the frequency spectrum?
8-20KHz
What is an analog EQ?
- hardware and actual physical outboard gear that you route your sound through and move actual physical knobs to change the sound
- analog gear is primarily known for giving sounds a certain colour
What is digital EQ?
- Digital EQ’s provide more accuracy than analog EQ but is colourless in the contrast
- won’t affect the tone of the mix with any saturation
What is a parametric EQ?
- you have full control where you put the band
- what frequency you set the band at
- how wide and narrow you set the band at
- how loud the band is set
- (typically a digital EQ)
What is a semi parametric EQ?
- gives you control of the frequency
- does not give you control of the width
( Usually analog EQ’s on a mix board )
What is a graphic EQ?
- gives you no control of the frequency
- gives you no control of the width
- you get lots of frequency bands that you can choose to boost or cut from
- has its own tone different from parametric and semi parametric EQ
- often used by live sound engineers and loved for how well they deal with top end material
What is minimum phase EQ?
- All EQ’s are minimum phase EQ except for linear phase EQ
What is linear phase EQ?
- anytime you use an EQ there is some phase manipulation that happens, as well as boosting and cutting certain frequencies, you are also adding a little bit of warblyness into the sound
- Linear EQ add none of that phase manipulation, they are completely clean as far as phasing goes
- they add a ton of latency to your session and they also add “pre-run going” which is a delay that happens before the sound
What is Mid/side EQ?
- Mid/side means that it’s processing the mono signal and the sides
- mid/side allows you to clean up certain sounds perhaps in the middle with the mono sound like your kick, snare, bass, vocal
- Mid/side is more of an advanced tool
What is a static EQ?
- 99% of EQ’s
- any band that you boost or cut that stays in that position is known as a static EQ
What is a dynamic EQ?
- work similar with compression where you set the threshold and the band will move itself accordingly if frequencies become too loud and move about the threshold
What is a smart EQ?
- based on new technology coming onto the scene just a few years ago
- the way a smart EQ works really depends on which smart EQ you are using
- smart EQ’s are just trying to balance the sound
- you would put a smart EQ plugin on a particular sound and it would analyse it in some way and then would spit out a new EQ curve for it automatically - so essentially AI for EQ rather than manually boosting and then cutting
What is a compressor?
- a smart volume fader
- a tool to control the dynamic range of an instrument
What are the 4 goals of compression?
- balance
- enhance
- glue
- fix
What are macro dynamics:
- the performance of an instrument in one section
- for example, a guitar part from the start to the end of a chorus
What are micro dynamics?
- the range of volume between the loudest moment and the quietest moment in every single note of an instrument
What is an example of the threshold, ratio, attack and release in place with an attack time of 10 milliseconds?
- the way the compressor would work is slowly turn the ratio up over the course of those 10 milliseconds
- so by the time 10 milliseconds has passed, and your volume has breached the threshold, your ratio will reach the full amount you set it, e.g. 4:1
- so at 5 milliseconds you ratio would be 2:1
- the attack time is just a straight line slope to the highest point of the ratio, slowly turning the compressor on
- the exact same process goes with you release as it’s also a slope for easing off compression
How do you turn your ratio into a percentage for clearer understanding?
- e.g. a ratio of 4:1
- flip the numbers and make a fraction 1/4
- 1-1/4 = 3/4 = 75%
- so 75% of the gain that goes above the threshold is getting turned down by the compressor
What are the parameters for making consistency compression?
- has a high threshold
- slow release - set in time with your song
- fast attack to grab the peaks
- slowly turn up the ratio to mix it in
What are the parameters for creating thickness style compression?
- set the threshold to be initially to be catching the peaks since those are the only things we want to turn down
- ensure you have a fast attack to grab peaks as quickly as you can
- ensure you have a fast release
- you want to have a fast attack and release so none of the valleys are being compressed
- by doing thick you would’ve levelled out the waveform as well as using makeup gain to get a huge sound
What are the parameters for creating punchy style compression?
- a slow attack means you will be leaving the peaks unharmed
- a slow release enables you to capture everything after the peaks with gain reduction
- set a low threshold (slower return to 0 than a spike)
- targeting both peaks and valleys
- set the ratio so not too aggressive
- set the make up gain to match the initial loudness (you want the valleys to be the same before and after you compress it)
(Be cautious of adding too much due to head room)
What are the parameters for groove style compression?
- slow attack
- fast release
- low threshold
What styles of compression are used to balance?
- consistency
- depth (father)
- depth (closer)
What styles of compression are used to enhance?
- punchy compression
- thickness compression
- groove compression
What styles of compression are used to glue?
- consistency compression
- depth (farther)
- groove
What styles of compression are used to fix?
- create headroom
- turn down room sound
What is a fast attack time?
1-1000 micro seconds
What is a medium attack time?
1-10 milliseconds
What is a slow attack time?
10-100 milliseconds
What is a fast release time?
0-100 milliseconds
What is a medium release time?
100-500 milliseconds
What is a slow release time?
500 milliseconds - 20 seconds
What is serial compression?
- stacking multiple compressors in a row to get a compressed sound that is not too aggressive
- this can be effective on particularly dynamic instruments that may need significant gain reduction
What is parallel compression?
- instead of compressing a track directly, it’s putting a compressor on a ‘send’
- this is a copy of the original track and then mixing that into that track subtly
- because you have the original file still in place, it makes the compression sounds natural than fake
What is side chain compression?
Internal source:
- the compressor listening to the channel that the plugin is on
- if the compressor is on a drum set, the internal source is the drum set
External source:
- when the compressor listens to a different instrument and acts as if it was compressing that instrument instead
-.e.g. you may have a compressor on the bass guitar, but you may tell your compressor to listen to the kick drum so that the bass turns down every single time the kick comes in
What are the goals of reverb?
- to create space
- to create style
What is reverb?
- the sound of a room
- a tone imprinted on top of your instruments tone
- reverb is sound waves bouncing around the room thousands of times that have come from your instrument
- we hear those small delays as reverb / sound of the room
What are the 3 stages of sound?
- the direct sound
- early reflections
- late reflections
What is the direct sound?
- The sound wave that travels in a straight line into your ears
- in a mix, this is your instrument before reverb processing
What are the early reflections?
- the sound waves that bounce off one or two walls and go into your ears
- these are the first little echoes that reach your ears
- can be used to determine how big the room is, how far away the sound and in what direction the sound is coming from
What are the late reflections?
- the echoes that bounce off of dosens of surfaces dosens of times
- thousands of tiny little echoes that might take a second or two to reach your ears
- where your reverb really comes from
- we can determine from these the shape / tone of the room
What is the cave analogy with the 3 stages of sound?
- direct sound: your friend clapping
- early reflections: tell you the distance how far away they are, the direction on where they are in respect to you, generally how big the room is
Late reflections: gives you the colour of the room, without the late reflections, you wouldn’t know you’re in a cave
What are the reverb settings for creating space?
- room size
- distance
- pre - delay
What is the room size parameter?
- the size of the room whether big or small
- the room size is essentially just a fader
- it is changing the length of the early reflections - changing the length of the spacing between each individual echo
- the more you increase it, the more spaced out the echoes of the early reflections are going to be
- this is why big rooms sound so huge to our ears as each of the early reflections are much more spaced out that in contrast to a smaller room
What is the distance parameter?
- a setting that controls how far away a sound feels to the listener
- if you have a very small distance, then the sound is going to feel very close
- if you have a large distance, the sound is going to feel far away
- small distances decrease the volume of the late reflections and a greater distance will increase them
- you can create a sense of depth with room size
What is pre-delay?
A delay between the direct sound and the reverb
Why do we use pre-delay?
- to make the room sound bigger
- to make an instrument sound closer
- to separate the instrument from the reverb
What is early pre- delay?
A delay between the direct sound and the early and late reflections
What is late pre-delay?
A delay between the early reflections and the late reflections
What is the natural early pre-delay sound?
1-50ms, anything outside this bracket out ear will hear a literal delay
What are the reverb settings for changing the tone of your room?
- decay
- damping
- density
What are the options sound waves have when bouncing off of walls?
- reflection
- absorption
- diffusion
How do we recreate reflection with reverb?
- emulated by decay time
- decay time is a measurement of how many reflective surfaces there are in the room
- the more a sound wave reflects, the more the decay time is going to last
How do we recreate absorption with our reverb?
- top end gets absorbed much faster than low end
- damping emulates absorption
- more people in the room creates absorption which people may emulate for arena rock
- less.people in a room creates less absorption which people may emulate to create a more intimate feel
How do we recreate diffusion with reverb?
- when a sound wave hits a surface that is really sharp, jagged or random, instead of bouncing off at the same angle, it is going to bounce off completely random and sometimes even split into multiple different sound waves
- this means sound waves are now bouncing in random directions all throughout the room and you’re getting a much more even sound, whereas if you had low diffusion, you’d be getting more obvious delays in the sound of your reverb
- diffusion is essentially spreading the energy evenly around the room
- diffusion is emulated by density
- a higher density creates a much more even wash of reverb
- a lower density is going to have a lot more of the original sound that’s delaying throughout the reverb time
- yet again, picture the room you want to be in
What are doubles with vocals?
- Involve recording the same part twice
- recording a second identical take of the vocal, known as a traditional double
- altering certain parameters in the second take, known as a modified double
What are harmonies with vocals?
- harmonies introduce additional notes that compliment the main melody
- layering harmonies involves careful consideration of each notes role in the chord
What are gang vocals?
- gang vocals involve recording a group of singers simultaneously
- this technique is used widely across genres to add energy, intensity and a sense of camaradite to a vocal section
- arranging gang vocals involves carefully planning harmonies, dynamics and the number of singers should you choose to work with multiple
What are choirs?
- choir-like arrangements involves creating a rich and harmonically complex vocal ensemble
- choir aim for a nuanced and intricate blend of voices
- arranging choirs requires meticulous attention to voicing, dynamics and the overall harmonic structure
What is pitch / formant shifting?
- pitch shifting changes the note
- formant shifting alters the throat length, changing the colour or tonality
What is a flanger?
- slight delay creates a sweeping jet-like sound
What is a phaser?
- produces a swirling, spacey effect and when applied to vocals, it provides a sense of movement
What is a chorus?
- introduces a rich, lush quality to the vocals, it’s like creating a vocal ensemble, making the voice sound larger than life
- works by duplicating the original audio signal then slightly delaying each duplicate and then modulating the pitch of each duplicate slightly
What genres use optical compressors?
- well suited in genres where a vintage, classic sound is required such as jazz, soul, or R&B
What genres use FET compressors?
- well suited in genres where an aggressive / punchy sound is desired like rock, pop and hip-hop
What genres use VCA compressors?
Suited for a wide range of vocals styles being very versatile and offer clean and precise compression
What genres use tube compressors?
Suited in genres where a rich, harmonic, saturated sound is desired such as blues, rock or folk
What emotion does a hall reverb perceive?
Feelings of awe, majesty and reverence
What emotion does room reverb create?
Creates a cosy and exciting atmosphere
What emotion does plate reverb create?
Nostalgia, romance and glamour
What emotions does a chamber reverb create?
Classical, choral, jazz
What emotions does spring reverb create?
Vintage rock, lo-fi
What is a transducer?
A device that converts one form of energy into another, for example, a microphone converts sound energy into electrical signals, while a speaker converts electric signals back into sound energy
How does a moving coil dynamic mic work?
Diaphragm:
- thin membrane
- vibrates when sound waves hit it converting sound pressure into mechanical motion
Voice coil:
- a small coil of wire attached to the diaphragm
- suspended in a magnetic field
- moves with the diaphragm, including an electrical current based on sound vibrations (this is electromagnet induction)
Magnet:
- provides the stable magnetic field necessary for electromagnetic induction
Electromagnetic induction:
- as sound causes the diaphragm and voice coil to move, the coil moves within the magnetic field
- this movement generated a small electrical signal that corresponds to the sound wave
Signal output:
- the electrical signal is then sent to the microphones output and to an amplifier or recording device.
How does a ribbon mic work?
- the core element is the thin, corrugated metal ribbon, typically made of aluminum
- the ribbon is extremely light and delicate, about 2 microns thick (thinner than a human hair)
- positioned between 2 magnetic poles which create the magnetic field around the ribbon
- sound waves enter the mic and hit the ribbon
- when sound waves reach the ribbon, they cause it to vibrate. The ribbon moves in response to the velocity of air particles
- the ribbon responds to how fast the air particles are moving (their velocity) rather than the force exerted on the ribbon by sound pressure (unlike most microphones)
- this makes ribbon mics particularly sensitive to the directional flow of sound
- when sound waves hit the ribbon, this generates a small voltage via electromagnetic induction
- As the ribbon moves back and fourth (due to sound wave vibration) the ribbon cuts through the magnetic field lines created by the magnets
- the movement of the conductive ribbon through the magnetic field generates a small electrical current
- the faster or stronger the sound wave, the more the ribbon moves, and thus the stronger the electrical signal produced
- the transformer then steps up the small voltage generated by the ribbon to a usable level
How do condenser mics work?
Diaphragm:
- inside the microphone, there’s a tiny, lightweight part called the diaphragm that moves when sound hits it
- this diaphragm is really thin and can move quickly, making it perfect for capturing small sound details, especially in high pitched sounds
- ( small diaphragm condensers typically can move faster and create even more clarity and intensity on the top end )
The back plate:
- right behind the diaphragm there is a backplate
- the diaphragm and back plate work together like two parts of a battery (called a capacitor) storing electrical energy
How sound is captured:
- when sound waves hit the diaphragm, they make it move back and fourth
- this movement changes the distance between the diaphragm and the back plate, which also changes the amount of electricity stored between them
Creating an electrical signal:
- these small changes in electrical energy create a signal that matches the sound
- however the signal is really weak at first
Amplification:
- the microphone has a tiny amplifier inside it to boost the signal and make it strong enough to send to your recording equipment or speakers
Power source:
- unlike other types of microphones, condenser mics need phantom power (usually 48V), to make the electronics work
- as the diaphragm and the plate work like a capacitor, the microphone needs a constant charge for it to generate signal
- this power usually comes from your mixer or audio interface
