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Re: R: Re: OT: Space



Sorry, on Reverb nation, its Rigster without the 1.

--------------------------------------------
On Wed, 3/30/16, Massimo Liverani <mas.liv@libero.it> wrote:

 Subject: R: Re: OT: Space
 To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
 Date: Wednesday, March 30, 2016, 2:29 AM
 
 Yes great post Rick! you
 are proving to have a considerable competence in sound
 field, on the same theme we could also mention the famous
 psicoacustic effect called "party effect" for
 which our ear is always able to perceive a conversation
 between two people even in the chaos of other conversations
 simply by focusing on it. I think that the masking effect
 can therefore in certain cases also be overcome by this
 possibility that our brain that is able to do amazing
 things in the acoustic field, also in the eye, but the
 sound is generally less known and underestimated.
 Congratulations again!Massimo
 
  ----Messaggio originale----
 
 Da: Rick Walker <looppool@cruzio.com>
 
 Data: 25/03/2016 4.36
 
 A: <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com>,
 <Loopers-Delight-d@loopers-delight.com>
 
 Ogg: Re: OT: Space
 
 
 
 
   
   
     To amplify
 what everyone is telling you
       about avoiding mud:
 
       
 
       Human beings have a phenomenon called
 'masking'  or 'timbral
       masking' where if we here something in the exact
 same frequency
       spectrum we will actually only 
 
       really 'hear' the loudest of the two
 sounds.       This phenomenon
       most notably  in two
 spectra:     bass and lo mid (which
 includes
       basses, bass drums, dark ambient pads, etc.)
     
 
       and in the intelligibity ranges (the ranges that
 perceive  the
       consonants in human speech which includes.
 
       
 
       Here's an effective way to teach yourself how this
 works on a
       visceral level.    Whisper something
 that is barely but definitely
       audible to another person in a room 
 
       and then, while talking,  play a pair of hi hats
 quietly so that
       they 'mush' together to make a noise
 source.     Make sure the hi
       hats are slightly louder in volume than your
 listening.
 
       The person listening to you, will probably still be
 able to tell
       that you are speaking (because there are deeper
 frequencies in the
       human voice than just the intelligibility frequencies
 
 
       of the consonants) but they will be completely unable
 to hear what
       you are saying.     I love showing
 my drumming students this
       effect and 
 
       make it humorous by just saying truly absurd things
 when they are
       unable to hear because of the 'masking'
 frequencies of the hi hats
       and then repeating to them what I just 
 
       have said while their brains were unable to hear what
 I was
       saying.    Amazingly,  we
 don't even get what's being said
       subliminally, despite the claims of many subliminal 
 
       weight loss recordings that are out there.
 
       
 
       These "masking' problems cause distinctly
 different kinds of
       problems in recording and mixing.
 
       
 
       In the bass and lo midranges the sine waves of the
 fundamental
       pitch of your sounds are so large that we don't
 perceive them in
       stereo (are ears are just too close together 
 
       to delineate the deep waves.  
 Consequently,  'masking' in the
       bass and low bass is particularly difficult because
 you can't use
       stereoscopic positioning to eliminate the problem.
 
       
 
       Back in the analog days of recording we used to use a
 trick called
       'Zipper EQ' (as taught to me by Sandy Stone
 who engineered
       Hendrix) 
 
       when encountering bass 'mud' in a mix,  
 where we would put a bass
       guitar or bass synth 
 
       sound through one channel (mono) of a stereo graphic
 equalizer and
       the 'masked'  bass drum into the other
 channel (mono).
 
       Then we would boost the frequencies like this up to
 about 500 hz.
 
       
 
       30hz       60hz 
    120hz    
 250hz    
      
 500hz                      
 BASS GUITAR/SYNTH
 
       +3db      -3db  
    +3db     
 -3db        +3db
 
       
 
       and set the other side of the graphic to the exact
 opposite:
 
       
 
       30hz       60hz 
    120hz    
 250hz    
      
 500hz                      
 BASS DRUM
 
       -3db       +3db  
   - 3db      
 +3db        -3db
 
       
 
       When you looked at the EQ  it looked like a
 zipper.
 
       
 
       Interestingly,  if you solo-ed the
 channels,   each one would
       sound weird and rather wimpy,  but if you summed
 them in MONO 
 
       they sounded really full and you could hear each one
 really
       distinctly.    It's cool because
 it's entirely a psycho-acoustic
       effect.
 
       No other creature would hear it this way.
 
       
 
       With midrange frequencies which are highly directional
 and,
       hence,  wonderful for putting into a very strong
 stereo effect, 
 
       You can merely pan two offending tracks widely in the
 stereo field
       and be able to hear both simultaneously.
 
       
 
       Now, of course this phenomenon of Masking can exist in
 both
       Dynamics,  Rhythm, Melody and Harmony 
 
       so you have to be careful that your tracks are not
 only not
       masking each other in the sonic spectrum but in these
 other ways
       as well.
 
       
 
       I've found that a really good rule of thumb is to
 use only one, or
       perhaps two, levels of complexity in a
 mix:    Timbral complexity,
       Rhythmic complexity,
 
       Dynamic complexity, Melodic and Harmonic complexity.
 
       
 
       The simplicity of all the other categories will
 effectively
       'frame' the complexity that you want people to
 pay attention to.
 
       
 
       In this way, you call the listeners' attention to
 the parts of
       your piece that you really want them to listen to.
 
       
 
       Anyway,  I hope this helps.
 
       
 
       Rick Walker
 
       
 
       
 
       
 
       
 
       
 
       
 
       
 
     
     Kevin Cheli-Colando <billowhead@gmail.com>
       wrote:
       
 
         
           
             
               I was wondering if anyone had any tips on
 how to get
                 more air/space in recordings happening in
 the computer. 
                 I use headphone to play most times and the
 resultant
                 recordings always sound claustrophobic and
 way too
                 dense.  I've tried playing with EQ
 for each track and
                 filters seem to help (though I can't
 spend that much
                 time dialing those in while playing guitar)
 so I figured
                 I'd ask if anyone had any tips or tricks
 to open things
                 up.