m00n Posted August 26, 2004 Share Posted August 26, 2004 This site is geared more towards recording studios, however, there are lots of good acoustic information. Enjoy. http://www.saecollege.de/reference_material/index.html I'm enjoying getting back into this after my months and months of absence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted August 26, 2004 Share Posted August 26, 2004 wow, i thought about going to that school...im so glad i didn't: ---------------- The important thing about mixing is apparent loudness, or relative loudness. If I whisper into a mike and then I shout into a mike the shout will appear louder because I know that shouting is loud. It's the same with mixing. You create an illusion of loudness, everything is relative. You can't get bigger if you are already at your maximum. If I mix a soft acoustic guitar and vocal and peak to zero then bring in a full kit and grunge guitar also peaking to zero it will apparently get louder because I know that drums and guitar are loud. Mixing is the art of making signals that all peak to zero sound as if there is a dynamic range. Nowadays with the excellent compression systems we have most recordings are heavily compressed. I was told of a producer who hired a mixing engineer to mix an album. The guy turned up with racks and racks of compressors and set about compressing every track. He had one compressor for this and another for that etc. In the end the whole mix was pumping away and almost mixed itself. That album went on to sell millions of copies world wide. Those of you who have played with Waves Ultramaximiser will know what compression can do for a mix. If you watch most modern pop recordings on a VU meter the needle is almost static varying only a few db yet the tracks go from quiet intros to full on chorus and solo sections yet still there is only a small variation in level. So setting compression (and limiting) levels is important. I will always have a compressor across the output of my mixes as it helps control the peaks and brings up the loudness of the track but I may use individual compressors on separate channels. ---------------- A whole fricken school dedicated to training new recording "engineers" and they suggest crazy insane compression! i could care less if one stupid album sold millions... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted August 28, 2004 Share Posted August 28, 2004 As far as their acoustical advice (which was the original intent of this thread), I'd be weary trying to apply all of it to a home listening room. The kind of room they're advocating is one that sounds extremely flat, dull and boring (which in some few cases is good for recording). Helmholtz resonators are good for dealing with specific frequencies, but they're not a broadband approach which means they have to be used very carefully. I would however recommend building a room with those odd shaped walls...and of course some tweaking would be needed for those with khorns. But instead of the 60 degree front listening angle, I might suggest something more along 90 degrees. In the Dope from Hope, PWK talks about some studies that show that speakers 45 degrees from the listening position sound better (aka, 90 degrees between speakers). Notice that the main goal of the odd angles in that room is to reduce early reflections. However, instead of using absorbtion at the first reflection points, I would use some good diffusion...leaving the absorbtion for the back wall. And don't forget to angle your cieling as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted August 31, 2004 Share Posted August 31, 2004 Hey Dr. Who, I've been reading your 'signature' for some time and just had to comment... "It's territorial with a soundboard...like if you're mixing and some dude you know that sucks at it comes up and just starts pushing buttons and twisting nobs...you're like "get off my board before i smack you!" Say you're painting something and someone comes over and starts painting on your picture without your permission, they aren't making it look better, though they probably think they are...you just wanna shove your brush up their nose and throw the soundboard out the window!" Being an ex-mix jock myself, we always had our mix stools ready to clobber any bum who would come near the rack or desk with a sloppy drink or bad attitude. I remember an early lesson was that when an ego-centric guitarist or vocalist would keep pushing you for more effects or monitors, to just give it to em hard. Turn em waaaay down in the main mix, then just deafen the dude with tons of slap-back, doubler, whatever and lots of monitor volume. He'd be happy and the audience could just enjoy the nice normal house mix. It's like when I'm photographing an event like a wedding and all these other blokes come swarming around with their little digital point-n-shoots. I just pretend to hand em my $10,000 Hasselblad and ask nonchalently "will ya take one with my camera?" YYYEEEOOOOWWW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted August 31, 2004 Share Posted August 31, 2004 uugggh, those SAE folks must be terribly British or wannabes. Here's some examples Equalisation, analogue, centre channel, etc. etc, etc. Yer right, the advice is pretty simpleton. This is a University level course??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted August 31, 2004 Share Posted August 31, 2004 ---------------- On 8/31/2004 5:04:52 PM colterphoto1 wrote: This is a University level course??? ---------------- That's what I thought! And SAE is one of the more recognized schools too Sorry to hijack your thread moon, lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myhamish Posted August 31, 2004 Share Posted August 31, 2004 Interesting information, Thanks, Moon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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