AUdIoCoUrSeS
Joined: 31 Oct 2002
Posts: 2014
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| Week 8 - Mastering Questions |
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1. What is Mastering?
2. Why is mastering necessary?
3. What is Post Production?
4. Comment on “preparing your tapes”.
5. Comment on “stereo bass”.
6. Why is mono compatibility such an issue?
7. What is meant by the term “start ID”?
8. What are the three types of Disc Cutting?
9. What information should be written on your master tapes?
10. What is meant by multi-band compression?
11. Explain the term dynamic range.
12. What is the formula for dynamic range?
13. What is meant by SNR?
14. Describe gain riding.
15. Comment on this article:
http://www.digido.com/index/pmodule_id=11/pmdmode=fullscreen/pageadder_page_id=93/
Pay particular attention to what you feel about the subject. Essentially it is about where YOU stand on the subject within the big picture. For example are you joining the race or are you sitting on the fence? What would you do given the reins to a potential top ten album?
16. What is meant by normalling?
17. Explain DC offset
18. How can the target audience affect mastering decisions?
19. What happens to the audio signal when a aural enhancer is applied?
20. What does relative loudness mean?
21. What does r.m.s. mean?
22. What is meant by 'entertainment quality'?
23. What happens if you leave excessive, short transients in the music?
24. What is The K-System?
25. What are The Equal Loudness Contours?
26. What is MetaData?
27. Explain the term Headroom.
28. Explain the term Crest factor.
29. What skills and abilities must a Mastering Engineer possess?
30. What does the term “Masking” mean?
31. Explain the Hass Effect.
32. Why is an acceleration limiter necessary in a vinyl cutting lathe?
33. Explain, as separate paragraphs of up to 100 words, the two causes of mistracking of a vinyl record.
34. Why is the bass on a vinyl record mixed into mono?
35. For maximum sound quality, what is the suggested duration of a single side of a vinyl record?
36. What is a 'production master'?
37. On a CD, what should the peak level be, at some point in the recording, in dBFS?
38. What is the maximum recommended duration of a CD?
39. Why is it possible for two recordings to differ in subjective loudness even if they peak at the same level?
40. List three methods of increasing subjective loudness.
41. Briefly explain the function of a multi-band compressor
_________________
It's all in the ears. - Learn the concepts not the software.
Audio Courses is a way into the music business for you
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Mon Apr 25, 2005 8:38 am |
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chemira
Joined: 03 Jan 2005
Posts: 50
Location: Nova Scotia Canada Eh! |
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Week 8
1. What is Mastering?
Mastering is the final process that prepares the mixed audio to a format suitable for replication. This Final “Master” is processed by altering the spectral content so that the instruments in the mix have a better chance of being heard clearly on a wider range of playback systems. The dynamic range may also be compressed or limited and in some cases delay based effects like reverb may be added to the final stereo tracks. Mastering also creates clean start and end fades, noise reduction or other digital encoding.
2. Why is mastering necessary?
Mastering is necessary to get the most balanced sound reproduction from the audio over the widest range of audio systems. Mastering houses are equipped with very transparent monitoring environments that can detect and reduce flaws in the audio mix that cannot be detected in the mix environment. Mastering engineers are very familiar with their monitoring environment and know how the final master will translate in the home, car or small speaker environments.
3. What is Post Production?
Post production is a term that describes everything that is done editing wise to the tracks after they have been recorded. All of the editing processes that occur to edit prepare or alter the tracks and create a final mastered mix on a playback medium.
4. Comment on “preparing your tapes”.
Always prepare two copies retaining one as a safety. Place 10 seconds of lead before the start of the Tape, Don’t create hard fade ins or any fade outs leave them for the mastering engineer. Label each track regarding side and song name with descriptive version. Utilize phases like vocals up 6dB or bass boosted, heavy compression. Do not use just the song title and a number. Use the highest bit ratio the medium can handle ensure there is no peaking and use NO COMPRESSION or LIMITING on the two track final mix.
5. Comment on “stereo bass”.
6. Why is mono compatibility such an issue?
As a stereo mix is played back in mono the left and right channels will be summed into one channel. As these two channels are combined several negative things may happen. One thing that may occur is a collapse of or reduction in all of the centre field instruments. Or The common signals will add together boosting them to a higher level. A Stereo signal that is mastered well for stereo and mono will present well on a Stereo system or a Mono system.
7. What is meant by the term “start ID”?
Start ID’s indicate a start point and are recorded in the sub-code for about 9 seconds. Every time the record button is pressed a start ID is placed.
8. What are the three types of Disc Cutting?
Lacquer Acetate Direct to metal are the three types of Disc Cutting methods.
9. What information should be written on your master tapes?
Clearly print the bands name, Contact name tracks in order Producer company or other ownership rights required.
10. What is meant by multi-band compression?
Multi band compression is a term used to describe a technique where frequency bands are sent to and dynamically enhanced by separate compressors. The use of high slope EQ cut off frequencies at the input of the compressor is used to separate the individual Bands.
11. Explain the term dynamic range.
The term Dynamic range is used to describe the level between the highest and lowest signals a piece of equipment can handle without distorting (high) or without being lost in the noise floor(low).
12. What is the formula for dynamic range?
The dynamic range is the usable signal strength from the lowest usable signal above the noise floor to the highest signal below clipping that a circuit can withstand.
Rated in dB the noise floor is Max dB subtract the noise floor.
13. What is meant by SNR?
Signal to Noise ratio is an expression of the signal strength over the background noise.
14. Describe gain riding.
Gain riding is a manual control of a fader to reduce the peak level at times when it would be to high for the output to handle. This in itself is a manual form of a compressor.
15. Comment on this article:
http://www.digido.com/index/pmodule_id=11/pmdmode=fullscreen/pageadder_page_id=93/
Pay particular attention to what you feel about the subject. Essentially it is about where YOU stand on the subject within the big picture. For example are you joining the race or are you sitting on the fence? What would you do given the reins to a potential top ten album?
Well after reading that article I must go back and redo all of the Pretend mastering that I have done to several songs. Keeping away from the ultra-maximizer on the final mix. As I read through the who’s who if Mixing and Mastering Engineers it is clear that these people are deliberate in their craft from the transfers of vinyl to newer mixes. I have tried my hand at Mastering my own songs but have felt the louder debate has always won in my dynamic tastes. This may prove why the final mix (master) sound is lacking in musicality and high end clarity and shimmer. Loud is a trend that I hope gets reversed to create more dynamic albums once again. This is where I must attmpt to get the sound I want with a reasonable amount of volume and dynamics.
16. What is meant by normalling?
Normalling is a process where all of the tracks on an album will have the same relative volume with regards to the content of the track. A ballad will still have sufficient volume compared to high energy tracks without the listener having to adjust the volume.
17. Explain DC offset
DC Offset is when the centre point of a wave is not exactly equal to the 0 point of the zero crossing line. DC Offset can be caused by an applied voltage that moves the phase amplitude above or below the zero crossing. Poor power conditioning in amplifiers or DA converters may instill a DC offset during recording.
18. How can the target audience affect mastering decisions?
If the target audience will be listening to audio on a MONO sound system then the mastering engineer must ensure that the MONO mix sounds very good. If the master will likely be for Television then the mix requires High and low pass filters limiting the frequency range ant it must also be Mono compatible.
19. What happens to the audio signal when an aural enhancer is applied?
Aural enhancers or Psychoacoustic enhancers utilize EQ, band separation,delay, false harmonics phase alignment and other processes that add to the punch and clarity of a mix. Most exciters use one or a combination of these processes to add better definition to the final mix by adding these acoustic spectral cues that the ear expects to hear which leads to better recognition or clarity.
20. What does relative loudness mean?
Relative loudness refers to the relationship of how the ear hears the SPL of different frequencies.
Relative loudness is compared in a measurement of dB.
21. What does r.m.s. mean?
Root Mean Square is a formula to describe the level of a signal. The formula is derived by averaging the square roots of instantaneous signals alo0ng a waveform. This formula will be very close to the average power of the signal.
22. What is meant by 'entertainment quality'?
Entertainment quality is of a suitable standard for media broadcast for Television or radio.
23. What happens if you leave excessive, short transients in the music?
If excessive short transients are left in the music the dynamic range will be reduced resulting in some perceived loss of signals of a lower level. The transient will overwhelm the signal leaving the signal following the transient unperceivable.
24. What is The K-System?
The K System is a proposal by Bob Katz for defining the reference level for playback. This system utilizes a signal that is played while being monitored at the mix/listening position which registers 83 dB per side and 86dB while played together on a SPL Meter. There are three different dynamic levels of this system K-20 for large theatres, K-14 for Home theatre and Pop music and K-12 for broadcast.
25. What are The Equal Loudness Contours?
Equal loudness contour refers to the difference in SPL required at difference frequency ranges that are required to make all of the frequencies sound the same relative loudness.
26. What is MetaData?
Metadata is a term defining the data that describes Data. This Metadata will have information on the quality content or other characteristics of the data.
27. Explain the term Headroom.
Headroom is the signal level in relation to the maximum signal level that a circuit can withstand before clipping or distortion occurs.
28. Explain the term Crest factor.
The term crest factor refers to the ratio between peak voltage and RMS voltage of an alternating current.
29. What skills and abilities must a Mastering Engineer possess?
A mastering engineer has intimate relationship with the sound of their monitoring environment and how the sounds heard there will translate outside that environment. They will be familiar with frequencies, dynamics and how to improve them. They are educated on the technologies available to enhance the final master using EQ, Compression, Limiting and reverb to create balanced full sounding mixes that do not overload on smaller systems or have mono compatibility problems.
Great hearing with accurate assessment of problems within the audio.
30. What does the term “Masking” mean?
Masking in audio is a term describing one instrument hiding another instrument or when certain frequencies dominate others so they are not readily audible.
31. Explain the Hass Effect.
Haas effect is also known as the precedence effects. This is how humans localize sound to determine where the sound is coming from by the first sound heard. Even if the second sound is received between 25-35 milliseconds then the second sound is not heard.
32. Why is an acceleration limiter necessary in a vinyl cutting lathe?
An acceleration limiter is used while cutting vinyl to prevent damage to the vinyl while cutting or the stylus while tracking will not be able to closely follow the grove for fast downward acceleration since the stylus is forced down only by gravity. This acceleration limiter by slowing down the movement will assist in keeping the stylus in the grove.
33. Explain, as separate paragraphs of up to 100 words, the two causes of mistracking of a vinyl record.
One cause of mis-tracking is that of cutting too shallow a grove for the stylus to follow. This shallow grove can occur if the left and right channels are identical and one channel is inverted. This will effectively cancel out both signals netting no or very low signal content leaving the cutter head very close to or at the zero point of the records face. This will not produce sufficient cutting head depth leaving the stylus at the or above the zero point of the groove allowing the stylus to mistrack.
Another form of mis-tracking is anything that will allow the stylus to accelerate vertically too quickly. In the event of a scratch or the album being worn, too little stylus weight will allow the stylus to be lifted out of the groove. If the album is pressed off centre is may accelerate the stylus sufficiently outwards and up from the groove. Finally if the transients are such that the stylus vertically accelerates upwards it may rise above the groove and mis-track.
34. Why is the bass on a vinyl record mixed into mono?
Bass on vinyl is mixed in mono due to the fact that a groove for the low frequencies would be very wide to accommodate the left and right channels of a stereo signal.
35. For maximum sound quality, what is the suggested duration of a single side of a vinyl record?
36. What is a 'production master'?
A production master is the final mastered mix of a compilation of music that has been equalized for the intended distribution that all copies will be made from.
37. On a CD, what should the peak level be, at some point in the recording, in dBFS?
The peak level should be somewhere under 0dBFS meaning zero decibel full scale. Any signal over this will cause clipping.
38. What is the maximum recommended duration of a CD?
Maximum playing time in red book standard is 78 minutes with pauses.
39. Why is it possible for two recordings to differ in subjective loudness even if they peak at the same level?
The Spectral content between the two recordings can be very dissimilar. If the piece has more easily perceived midrange the ear will hear more than if the music has more high frequency content at the same given volume. Since the ear picks up the mid frequencies more readily the perception is more subjective loudness.
40. List three methods of increasing subjective loudness.
By adding more low mid frequency content the subjective loudness will increase giving a fuller sound.
41. Briefly explain the function of a multi-band compressor
The function of a multi-band compressor is to divide by frequency and separately compress the signal. This can aid in clarity of the low end that has excessive peaks and if the low end of a stereo mix is causing too much attenuation of the high end because of a loud kick drum these frequency bands can be separated so they will not affect each other.
http://www.rane.com/par-m.html
http://www.digido.com/portal/pmodule_id=11/pmdmode=fullscreen/pageadder_page_id=38
http://www.eetimes.com/reshaping/wireless/OEG20020912S0034
http://lp2cd.com/audio_terms/g/gain_riding.html
http://www.freqdev.com/guide/Glossary_of_terms.html
http://www.aphex.com/pdf/papers/APHEX_AES_reprint_Chalupper.pdf
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan00/articles/enhancer.htm
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?tocId=9029698
http://mixguides.com/studiomonitors/Basics/audio-glossary-basic-monitors/
http://www.xs4all.nl/~vm/K-System/
http://www.digido.com/
http://www.acousticalsurfaces.com/acoustic_IOI/101_3.htm
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun01/articles/pcmusician0601.asp
http://www.rane.com/par-h.html
http://www.record-producer.com/learn.cfm?a=52
http://www.record-producer.com/learn.cfm?a=54
http://eil.com/explore/guide/vinyl_making.asp |
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Sat Apr 30, 2005 11:49 am |
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JohnA
Joined: 20 Jan 2005
Posts: 28
Location: Mid Glamorgan, UK |
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Audio Course
AURT03
Week 8
MASTERING
JohnA (mixindown)
1. What is Mastering?
Mastering is the third and final phase in the recording process and is the process of preparing audio for playback on a wide range of playback devices. The process entails critical listening to the music in a properly tuned room. The necessary adjustments are then made to improve, rebalance, correct flaws, edit, and improve the overall sonic quality of the complete sound. The mastering engineer should use the best analog & digital equalizers, compressors, and processing gear available to them. Most of this gear is specifically designed for this purpose.
2. Why is mastering necessary?
Mastering is necessary because a track that has not been mastered would not fit the criteria that are necessary to release music on a wide scale. For this to be done, the music has to be able to be played on a wide variety of systems, from pub and club systems to car and personal stereos (and all the systems in between). The job of mastering is to achieve this.
3. What is Post Production?
Post-Production is any production activity that occurs after the production (recording stage) but before the completion of a project.
4. Comment on “preparing your tapes”.
Before sending a tape to be mastered, first make a copy, then take the tape you intend to send for mastering and label it correctly. It is important to be aware that this tape is not a master, so it should not be labeled as one. Define what your tape is first; Submaster, Work Tape, Mix, Final Mix, Session Tape, Edited-Mix, Compiled-mix, or Equalized Mix etc. then labels it as such. If this tape needs to be revised in the future, this labeling will avoid confusion when looking through the tape library for the real master. Hand label your tape with the following information:
Albums Title, artist(s), contact name(s) and phone number(s), date, and tape number (mix tape 1 or mix disc 1 of 3 etc.). Leaders should be put between songs (except for live performances). Indicate tape speed and whether mono or stereo. Include alignment tones.
5. Comment on “stereo bass”.
With mastering for vinyl in mind, if the bass is mixed into stereo (or if there is too much stereo bass), the mix can be difficult to cut to vinyl. Also, too much stereo bass can cause the vinyl recording to jump on playback. A song with many instruments and too much low frequency can suffer in the headroom department. Too much bass (especially stereo bass) can weaken everything else in the mix including lead vocals. It can also make adding compression to the final mix difficult, requiring the use of multi-band compression or sidechain EQ in order to avoid any modulation effects (pumping and overbalanced bass).
6. Why is mono compatibility such an issue?
Mono compatibility is such a big issue because mass-produced music will often be listened to in mono (such as on a mono tape / radio player). There is a big difference between the sounds of a mono and a stereo mix. If a mix is to be successful, it has to be able to sound equally good in both mono and stereo.
7. What is meant by the term “start ID”
The start ID is the “marker”on a tape. This identifies the start of each track and makes it easy for the engineer working with multi-track tape to quickly go from track to track.
8. What are the three types of Disc Cutting?
The three types of disc cutting are:
Lacquer Master: this is an aluminium-based disk that is covered with a plastic material. An engineer cuts this from a master tape. It is the medium by which the music is transferred to disc to produce metal disc which is used to produce the records.
Acetate: this is the same as a lacquer disc but is the same size as the actual vinyl record. This allows it to be checked before the recording is allowed to go on to the next phase, which is to make the metal, stamping plates.
Direct To Metal: This is a metal disc that is cut directly on the lathe and is used the to stamp the vinyl recordings.
9. What information should be written on your master tapes?
Information that should be written on your master tape are album title, artists name, contact details (address and telephone number), date, start ID’s and tape number.
10. What is meant by multi-band compression?
Multi-band compression takes the audio signal and splits in up into as many as five separate bands of frequencies. Each of these bands of frequencies can then be compressed separately. The main advantage of using multi-band compression is that, when using mulit-band compression, a loud event in one frequency band won't trigger gain reduction in the other bands (as happens with full band compression). So, for example, if a loud kick drum comes along in the mix, instead of it pulling down the whole mix as done with full-band compression, only the low frequency sounds will be compressed, leaving the other frequencies unaffected by the compressor.
11. Explain the term dynamic range.
Dynamic range is the difference between the loudest and the quietest parts of a recording and measured in decibels (dB). In digital audio recording, the maximum possible dynamic range is defined by the bit resolution. Each bit equals roughly 6dB in the dynamic range so a 16-bit recording has a dynamic range of roughly 96dB.
12. What is the formula for dynamic range?
The formula for dynamic range is DR = n + m. In this formula, n = noise floor level in -dB and m = the peak level of decibels
13. What is meant by SNR?
SNR (signal-to-noise-ratio) is the level difference between the signal level and the noise floor measured in decibels (dB). The signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR or S/N) measures the clarity of the signal in a circuit. The greater the SNR evidenced by a larger number, the less noise and the more easily it can be filtered out. The lowest number is an SNR of 0, which means that noise and signal levels are the same.
14. Describe gain riding.
Gain riding is where you constantly monitor an audio signal and manually adjust the volume with the faders on a mixing desk so that the signal does not overload and distort. Gain riding also gives you control to avoid noise problems at low volume. Gain Riding was how they got around stopping distortion in the days before compressors were around.
15. Comment on this article:
http://www.digido.com/index/pmodule_id=11/pmdmode=fullscreen/pageadder_page_id=93/
Pay particular attention to what you feel about the subject. Essentially it is about where YOU stand on the subject within the big picture. For example are you joining the race or are you sitting on the fence? What would you do given the reins to a potential top ten album?
My heading for this would be MASTERING THE DYNAMICS OUT OF MUSIC.
Firstly, I think that the “Honor Roll” in the article was a great idea to back up what was being expressed by the author. I’m not sure I can accept the record companies “reasoning” behind wanting to produce louder and louder recordings. However, if the record companies what louder masters, there are going to be Mastering Engineers who will make them for them. We all need to make a living! Again, it is down to money. Money isn’t everything, but I tell ya, you can’t do much without it! I stand on the side of the author of the article (and Bob Katz).
I always thought that the volume control on the stereo was there to allow you to choose how loud you wanted to listen to music. I think that what I’d term as “mastering the dynamics out of music” is a crime. If this continues, we will, in the end, become desensitized into actually “liking” music that has very little dynamic range. This would be a pity as in the long run, the skills of many musicians and producers, engineers and ME’s will be called into question. Who would want to be at a recording session to witness a producer shouting to the musician “hey, just hit it, doesn’t matter about dynamics!”.
If I were given the opportunity to master a potential top ten album. Mmm? I would leave the “loudness” war behind and show the business that a well recorded and captured performance, along with an excellently mixed album, will, in the long run, sell far more copies than a high level mastered quick buck loud album. The only way to do this is to work with skilled people to prove that this is correct, and in the long term interests (financially) of the record companies and all concerned.
16. What is meant by normalling?
Normalling or normalizing is the process of raising the volume of a track to its highest point without clipping – this is done by scanning the waveform of a track for it’s loudest point and then raising the volume of the rest of the track in proportion to this point.
17. Explain DC offset
DC offset is an audio editing process to remove inaudible low-frequency distortion that is often caused by electrical interference.
18. How can the target audience affect mastering decisions?
When mastering music, the genre of the music is important. If the music is classical music, then the target audience will be a classical audience who would expect the recording to have a very large dynamic range. Dance music; rock music etc. all have different mastering criteria.
19. What happens to the audio signal when an aural enhancer is applied?
When an aural enhancer is applied to the audio signal, it can give a sparkle and shine to the upper frequencies of a mix by recreating missing higher-level harmonics. Ultimately, this bringing brightness, clarity, presence and intelligibility to the audio.
An aural enhancer can also be used in mid and low frequencies of a mix to add a boost or presence. Used on a full mix, an aural enhancer can add a kind of overall polished sound, restoring life to an otherwise flat sound by adding more “air” to the mix.
20. What does relative loudness mean?
Relative loudness is concerned with how loud we perceive the volume to be of two sounds that have the same dB levels. Human hearing sensitivity varies with frequency. It is most sensitive in the middle range (between 400~4000 Hz), but much less sensitive in the low frequencies, and less sensitive again in the high frequencies. So a sound at 70dB SPL and 3Khz will appear to be louder than a sound at 70dB SPL and 300Hz.
21. What does r.m.s? Mean?
RMS (Root Mean Squared) is a measure of an amp's ability to supply clean power over a continuous period. This rating is important because it is used to indicate the realistic power handling capability of a speaker. Ideally, the RMS ratings for the amp speaker should be similar. Amplifier output is typically measured in watts per channel, with a normal stereo system having two channels, left and right. It is the average voltage level of electrical signals. The VU (Volume Unit) meter is amongst the simplest of meter designs and was designed to display an approximation to the RMS voltage level of electrical signals. For a sine-wave tone, a VU meter does give a true reading of RMS voltage level, but with complex signals, such as most audio, this approximation is less accurate, and the VU meter will usually read slightly lower than the true RMS value. However, it still provides a useful tool for most practical recording tasks.
22. What is meant by 'entertainment quality'?
Entertainment quality (broadcast quality) is the quality of the end production. This is a necessary standard for playing on TV and radio.
23. What happens if you leave excessive, short transients in the music?
Transients don’t affect the loudness of the sound but are very important to the clarity of the sound. Lots of short transients will make the music sound punchier.
24. What is The K-System?
An increasing quantity of commercially release music is being mixed and mastered too ever increasing perceived loudness levels. The “K-System Metering” is a system proposed by mastering engineer Bob Katz. It offers a standard approach to monitoring, leveling practices, metering and metadata, in order to bring objectivity back into the perception of loudness. All mixing and mastering processes are “standardized” through the K-System by aligning monitor calibrations with metering calibrations.
There are three different K-System meter scales, with 0 dB at 20, 14, or 12 dB below full scale, for typical headroom and SNR requirements. The dual-characteristic meter has a bar representing the average level and a moving line or dot above the bar representing the most recent highest instantaneous (1 sample) peak level.
25. What are The Equal Loudness Contours?
The Equal Loudness contours are a series of graphs of sensitivity (of the ear) Vs, frequency at various loudness levels. Fletcher and Munson using headphones first measured equal-loudness contours. In their study, listeners were presented with pure tones at various frequencies and over 10 dB increments in stimulus intensity. For each frequency and intensity, the listener was also presented with a reference tone at 1000 Hz. The reference tone was adjusted until it was perceived to be of the same loudness as the test tone. Loudness, being a psychological quantity, is difficult to measure, so Fletcher and Munson averaged their results over many test subjects to derive reasonable averages. Headphones change the acoustics of the ear, however (particularly attenuating low frequencies), and more recent studies have been measured in anechoic chambers and these refined loudness curves are now standardized by ISO
Quick Summary not found for this subject In the Equal Loudness Contours Graphs, the lowest equal loudness contour represents the quietest audible tone and is also known as the absolute threshold of hearing. The highest contour is the about: threshold of pain
26. What is MetaData?
Data about data. Metadata describes how and when and by whom a particular set of data was collected, and how the data is formatted. Metadata is essential for understanding information stored in data warehouses and has become increasingly important in XML-based Web applications. Audio MetaData is “data about the audio data”. This would contain such information as how properly set metadata would allow 5.1 channel program to be reproduced correctly by mono, stereo, and 5.1 channel decoders, dynamic range control of programs so that it fits the listening environment. Metadata must be set correctly for all of this to work the way it was intended.
.27. Explain the term Headroom.
Headroom (measured in dB) is the difference between the peak of a signal and the highest level that a piece of equipment can handle. As an example, if a signal has a nominal level of +4dBu and the mixing desk that it is going into has a maximum output level of +22dBu, then the headroom would be +18dBu (the difference between +4dBu and +22dBu.
28. Explain the term Crest factor.
The dynamics of a signal are expressed in the form of the crest factor. This is determined by the ratio of the peaks (crests) to the average level of the signal. A graph which shows a signal with a 6dB-crest factor, is showing a signal that has peaks (crests) which are 6dB louder than the average level. This is equivalent to a 2:1 ratio between the peak and RMS voltages, which corresponds to a 4:1 ratio between peak and average ("RMS") power, since power calculations are based on voltage squared. These dynamics are commonly specified by international standards.
29. What skills and abilities must a Mastering Engineer possess?
A mastering engineer should possess the following skills and abilities:
a. An excellent sense of hearing
b. An intimate knowledge of the workings and uses of the equipment needed to accomplish his tasks
c. Uncompromising equipment
d. Excellent knowledge of the musical styles he masters in
e. Excellent knowledge of the musical mixes he masters in
f. The ability to communicate and perceive ideas to and from the client
g. Good sound engineering skills
30. What does the term “Masking” mean?
When two signals are close or at the same frequency, the louder of the two will “mask” the quieter one and so the quieter one will not be heard. This is masking.
31. Explain the Haas Effect.
Also known as the “Precedence Effect”, the Haas Effect describes our ability to perceive the location of a sound source based on the relative level and arrival time of the sound in each ear (as in a public address system). After hearing a signal, the ears will suppress any subsequent signals (such as an echo or reverberation) for about 40 milliseconds; assuming that these later signals are quieter than the original signal.
32. Why is an acceleration limiter necessary in a vinyl-cutting lathe?
The purpose of the acceleration limiter is to protect your stylus and your vinyl by correcting certain sounds that do not cut easily onto vinyl from a master tape.
The stylus of a vinyl record player is a chunk of diamond, which, although very small, has a certain mass. The walls of the groove on a vinyl record provide the force that accelerates the stylus. There are two problems that can occur when playing a vinyl record:
a. If the groove attempts to accelerate the stylus very quickly, the vinyl material of which it is composed may be damaged
b. Although the groove can accelerate the stylus in an upward direction (actually +/- 45 degrees for the two walls of the groove of a stereo record), only gravity can bring it back down again. If the stylus loses contact with the groove, mistracking occurs causing distortion, and the groove will probably be damaged when the stylus lands.
When the master of the vinyl is being cut, an acceleration limiter (invented by Neumann) provides control of acceleration in the cutting lathe, which obviously affects the audio signal. The audible effect of the acceleration limiter is similar to that of a de-esser, though where the de-esser would be fine-tuned to vocal sibilance, the acceleration limiter is more of a brute force tool.
33. Explain, as separate paragraphs of up to 100 words, the two causes of mistracking of a vinyl record.
Stereo vinyl records are cut with a 90˚ “V” angled groove into the vinyl surface. Each wall of the groove forms a 45˚ angle with the vertical. The left channel signals are cut into the inner groove and the right channel signals into the outer groove walls. Undulations of the inner and outer groove walls produce output on both L&R channels. As a consequence of stereo L&R separation, any difference in signal between L&R channels results in varying groove depth, due to the phase difference between channels. Mistracking can occur if the groove of the record becomes too shallow.
Mistracking can also occur by everyday wear and tear of a vinyl record. Pressure exerted into the grooves by a stylus can easily be 340 pounds per square inch. The transient pressures exerted by a stylus tracing a heavily modulated groove during playback will be much greater. Eventually a point is reached where the worn surfaces are so broad that the stylus can no longer accurately trace the higher frequencies or more extreme modulations of the recorded groove, especially those towards the center of the disc. As this condition is approached, mistracking becomes audible, and the stylus must be replaced.
34. Why is the bass on a vinyl record mixed into mono?
The bass on a vinyl record has to be mixed into mono because bass waveforms have a very wide excursion. With stereo, if the left and right channels are even slightly out of phase, the stylus can 'jump the track' as it tries in vain to follow different curves for the right and left channels.
35. For maximum sound quality, what is the suggested duration of a single side of a vinyl record?
The answer to this question is dependent on certain criteria. The more bass that gets recorded onto the vinyl grooves, and the louder the recording, the larger the groove distance necessary.
On a 12” record, a low volume, low bass, shallow groove recording would last a maximum of 30 minutes.
Again, on a 12” record, a high volume, high bass, deep groove recording would only last approximately 4 minutes.
36. What is a 'production master'?
A production master is an equalized or otherwise modified copy of the original master for production purposes. This is the final copy where no other processes will be added to the artistic or mastered work. From the Production Master, all other copies will be made.
37. On a CD, what should the peak level be, at some point in the recording, in dBFS?
On a CD, the peak level should reach 0dBFS (decibels full scale) at some point in the recording. Some mastering engineers will keep it a little lower than this.
38. What is the maximum recommended duration of a CD?
The maximum recommended duration of a CD is 79 minutes 38 seconds for an 80-minute CD and 74 minutes 30 seconds for a 74-minute CD.
39. Why is it possible for two recordings to differ in subjective loudness even if they peak at the same level?
Both the frequency and timbre of a sound influence our perception of loudness; it is not simply defined by the intensity of the sound. The ear's response to increasing sound intensity is a "power of ten" or logarithmic relationship. This is one of the motivations for using the decibel scale to measure sound intensity. A general "rule of thumb" for loudness is that the power must be increased by about a factor of ten to sound twice as loud. A common way of stating it is that it takes 10 violins to sound twice as loud as one violin. So human hearing does not interpret the loudness of a sound according to the peaks in the signal. We judge the loudness of a sound by the “average” level of the signal. So the average level of a signal can appear to sound louder even if the peak levels are the same.
40. List three methods of increasing subjective loudness.
Three methods of increasing subjective loudness include using:
a. A loudness maximizer.
b. A multiband compressor
c. A peak limiter
41. Briefly explain the function of a multi-band compressor
The function of a multi-band compressor is to give the user control over the compression of different frequencies in the audio spectrum.
When used correctly, multi-band compression eliminates spectral gain intermodulation. This occurs in a wideband compressor or limiter when a voice or instrument in one frequency range dominates the spectral energy, thus determining the amount of gain reduction. One of the main advantages of a multi-band compressor is that a loud event in one frequency (such as a kick drum) will not trigger gain reduction in the other frequency bands. In this kick drum example, when the kick drum sounds, instead of pulling the whole mix down with it when the compression starts, only the low frequencies will be compressed. This same principle will work in other frequencies, hence multi-band compression. With a multi-band compressor, you can also use different compression settings in each band.
JohnA
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/Aug02/articles/multiband.asp
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec04/articles/leader.htm
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1995_articles/aug95/postpro.html
http://www.drtmastering.com/faq2.htm#whatis
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun00/articles/metring.htm
http://www.digido.com/portal/pmodule_id=11/pmdmode=fullscreen/pageadder_page_id=38/
http://www.physics.mcgill.ca/~burkes/102B/accircuit.html#rms
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/m/metadata.html
http://www.micrographia.com/projec/projapps/viny/viny0300.htm
http://www.webace.com.au/~electron/tubes/how.html
http://www.netassoc.net/dougspage/DennisDrakeFeb2005.htm |
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Sun May 01, 2005 10:05 am |
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rachelh
Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 35
Location: Trinidad WI |
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Week 8 - Mastering Questions
Submitted by Rachel
1. What is Mastering?
Mastering is the process that supersedes the mixing process – it is the final step often associated with a recorded medium. Mastering itself is the process where recorded material is taken from a "master tape" and prepared for duplication in the format of the final release media.
2. Why is mastering necessary?
The process of Mastering is necessary due to firstly the need to put out material that is sonically balanced – with the best of the recording highlighted also, the process allows for final tweaking to occur… so that the kinks could be ironed out. Mastering is an extension of the recording process, the job does not merely end at the mixing table, it can’t, you still need to go in to make sure that the recording is sonically balanced and meets industry, artist and consumer standards.
3. What is Post Production?
Post Production refers to the last stages of music production, which is conducted after the song in its raw form has been completed. Postproduction includes editing- adding audio effects, mixing, and mastering.
4. Comment on “preparing your tapes”.
Preparing your tapes for the mastering process would be to provide the mastering engineer with all information pertaining to the song at hand. That is, track name, artist name, duration, effects used, track list, ……..??
5. Comment on “stereo bass”.
6. Why is mono compatibility such an issue?
7. What is meant by the term “start ID”?
The start ID is a locator, which is used to represent the start of a track on tape.
8. What are the three types of Disc Cutting?
Three types of disc cutting would be:
I. Direct Cut
II. Acetate
III. Lacquer
9. What information should be written on your master tapes?
Information that should be written on master tapes should be
I. Album title [where applicable]
II. Song title
III. Artist
IV. Duration
V. Effects utilised – compression, limiting, reverb
VI. Medium to which disc was cut
10. What is meant by multi-band compression?
Multiband compression refers to the use of a compressor type that looks out for pre-defined frequency / frequencies of audio and acts on it/ them independently. A multi-band compressor can be used as a mastering tool to aid in adjusting the overall spectral balance of a recording. A multi-band only acts on specific frequency ranges whereas a side chain compressor acts on the entire signal. Misuse of a multi-band compressor can result in skewed tonality. If you compress the high frequencies of a signal going to cassette tape (because you want to print more overall level to tape) to the point where the material ends up sounding dull you have defeated the purpose. [1]
11. Explain the term dynamic range.
The dynamic range of a particular sound is the range of volume that the sound is capable of creating- this will range from the softest to the loudest possible sound that can be generated.
12. What is the formula for dynamic range?
The formula used for dynamic range is dB SPL= 20log SPL/ SPL[ref]
Where SPL abbreviates for Sound Pressure Level, and SPL [ref] = 0.0002dyne/cm 2 [cm squared] – the threshold of hearing.
13. What is meant by SNR?
SNR refers to the signal to noise ratio, which is a measurement of a given noise level in a device as compared to the level of the signal. In technical terms it is the ratio of signal power at a reference point in a circuit to the noise power that would exist if the signal were removed that is – its noise floor. This ratio is how much absolute noise it has compared to the highest signal voltage it can pass without distortion. Higher numbers signify a greater difference, which is better. The maximum signal to noise ratio which in many schools of thought is equivalent to the dynamic range of a given piece of equipment can be an important thing to know. [1]
14. Describe gain riding.
Gain riding is the process by which volume changes are anticipated during the mix and the faders are adjusted accordingly to combat this.
15. Comment on this article:
http://www.digido.com/index/pmodule_id=11/pmdmode=fullscreen/pageadder_page_id=93/
Pay particular attention to what you feel about the subject. Essentially it is about where YOU stand on the subject within the big picture. For example are you joining the race or are you sitting on the fence? What would you do given the reins to a potential top ten album?
In overview, the article describes a list of well-mastered pop CD’s in ascending order of ‘absolute loudness’. What I have gathered is that in the Popular music genre, the mastered product outputted lacks in tonal quality due to the compression race. Most record companies tend to want to compress due to the fact that they want recordings to stand out- they want their artists to be noticed, but, this often depredates the sound produced. After reading the article, my opinion is the same as I had before – over compression is not the way to go, I prefer to achieve these effects naturally, the full dynamic range of every instrument needs to be highlighted. After all, what is the sense of going through all the trouble of recording a vast number of instruments, arranging them and making sure they sound perfect then to turn around during the mastering process and essentially undo what you have worked so hard to achieve in the first place? From my experience especially listening to the Oasis –“what’s the story morning glory” LP compression to that extent is not needed- it just gives me a headache, I often wonder what the CD would have sounded like without all that compression- no doubt that I would love the songs anyway. In answering the second question posed using the said Oasis CD as my top 10 album, I would definitely use less compression and let the timbre of the instruments shine through and aim for a less manufactured sound, the acoustic tracks on this CD are way too compressed – acoustic tracks and portion of tracks should sound natural and bring forth a sense of vulnerability – after all that’s the point of being unplugged.
16. What is meant by normalling?
Normalling or namely Normalisation is the process by which the gain of an audio file is increased until its loudest point that is, its maximum level. The benefits of normalisation are that the overall signal level is now higher, which makes subsequent gear in the audio chain perform better and secondly, the signal is now taking advantage of the full resolution of the D/A converters; which minimises quantization noise in some cases.
17. Explain DC offset
DC offset is an imbalance that occurs in analogue to digital converters. This happens because direct current is of the non-alternating or periodic variety and thus has no constructive purpose as part of an audio signal – it merely is a voltage level that eats up headroom and causes clicks and pops within the editing period. When working with audio is it desirable to have only the audio program material passed through the signal path. Almost by definition audio, being a periodic waveform, is an AC (Alternating Current) signal. [1]
18. How can the target audience affect mastering decisions?
The target audience definitely affects mastering decisions for example Classical Music fans unanimously object to the use of compression in the mastering process, as they want to hear the full dynamic range of every instrument thus, in classical music mastering, compression is a no –no, contradictory to this, is in the popular music genre, record companies usually want the music of their artist to stand out thus, they insist on using compression. Generally, the choices made during the mastering process should in fact help to accentuate the sound – to what the writer, artist, arranger, producer or even label thinks the final output should be, but it is always kept in mind the target audience as it is a business and they are the source of income.
19. What happens to the audio signal when an aural enhancer is applied?
When an aural enhancer is applied to an audio signal, it livens up the sound; technically it enhances the dynamic range of the sound at the area applied.
20. What does relative loudness mean?
Relative loudness is the comparison of one level to another with respect to loudness???/
21. What does r.m.s. mean?
RMS refers to the root mean square, which is the average amplitude level of a signal. It is found by multiplying the maximum amplitude level by .707. The r.m.s. value approximates to the level of a waveform that is perceived by our ears.
22. What is meant by 'entertainment quality'?
Entertainment quality refers to a standard that would be approvable by listening audiences??
23. What happens if you leave excessive, short transients in the music?
The sounds would not flow properly, it would sound like the song is clipping or more namely the sound produced would be distorted. ??
24. What is The K-System?
The K system is a method of metering which sets a precedent for metering, which relates to specific listening audiences.
25. What are The Equal Loudness Contours?
Equal to loudness contours or namely the Fletcher Munson Equal Loudness Contour Curves indicate the ear’s average sensitivity to different frequencies at various levels. These horizontal curves indicate the sound pressure levels that are required for or ears to hear them as being equal in level to a 1000-Hz reference level. It is from these curves that it has been deciphered that 85dB is the best average sound level to monitor level. [2]
26. What is MetaData?
MetaData is a relatively new digital practice that is supposed to combat the over reliance of compression which is necessary to allow television and radio audio so that they will have widespread reception. This
Allows the user to define the sonic composition of the signal received.
27. Explain the term Headroom.
Headroom refers to the difference between the normal operating level of a device, and the maximum level that device can pass without distortion. Without enough headroom present digital clipping will occur. In general the more headroom the better especially when mixing signals together. [1]
28. Explain the term Crest factor.
The term Crest Factor refers to the ratio of the peak amplitude to the average amplitude or root mean square value. The peak voltage is 1.414 times the rms voltage, whilst the rms voltage is .707 times the peak voltage. For a sine wave, the crest factor is 1.414 whilst for a square wave it is 1.
Comparing peak voltage levels to average ones, i.e. The Crest factor is essential in mastering as it allows the engineer to monitor levels more efficiently. [1] [2]
29. What skills and abilities must a Mastering Engineer possess?
A mastering engineer should be experienced, have a ‘good ear’, must possess a keen knowledge of the psychoacoustics of hearing, and must be fluent in signal processing, effects devices – they must be suitably educated in this field and must have an idea of industry accepted procedures in terms of loudness and other factors.
30. What does the term “Masking” mean?
Masking refers to the phenomenon by which soft signals are ‘covered up’ due to the presence of loud signals, which are occurring at the same time. The greatest masking occurs when the frequency of the sound and the frequency of the masking noise are close to each other. Masking can be also be caused by harmonics of the masking tone. Equalisation might be required to make the instruments sound different enough to overcome any masking effects. [2]
31. Explain the Hass Effect.
The Hass Effect is the psychoacoustic phenomenon of sound source localization…
“If a sound source is presented to our ears at the same level, but one arrives just a few milliseconds later, our hearing mechanism will judge the sound to be coming from the side of the head where the earliest sound arrived. How far to one side or the other depends on the difference in time between the sound arriving at each ear. This is true for arriving sounds up to about 25 milliseconds of delay, after which it will begin to sound like two distinct sounds. This phenomenon is used in all kinds of audio production techniques to help position various instruments around the stereo (or three-dimensional) soundfield without creating imbalances in the levels of the left versus right signals. The effect is also called the precedence effect and means that if there are two sources of sound, as is often the case with PA systems or studio monitoring systems, the sound will be localized to the speaker that provides the earliest sound. The other speaker will not be heard at all it some cases.” [1]
32. Why is an acceleration limiter necessary in a vinyl-cutting lathe?
33. Explain, as separate paragraphs of up to 100 words, the two causes of mistracking of a vinyl record.
34. Why is the bass on a vinyl record mixed into mono?
35. For maximum sound quality, what is the suggested duration of a single side of a vinyl record?
36. What is a 'production master'?
A production master is the single mastered form of a recording that is used to produce all other replicas in the factory or chosen duplication centre.
37. On a CD, what should the peak level be, at some point in the recording, in dBFS?
On a CD the peak level should be Full Scale, which refers to the maximum voltage level before digital clipping or digital overload of the data converter. But in general, the peak level should be within the range of hearing that precedes the threshold of pain.
38. What is the maximum recommended duration of a CD?
The maximum recommended duration of a CD is 60 to 74 minutes??
39. Why is it possible for two recordings to differ in subjective loudness even if they peak at the same level?
It is possible for two recordings to differ in subjective loudness even if they peak at the same level because the ear interprets the loudness of a signal from its r.m.s. value not its peak value. [2]
40. List three methods of increasing subjective loudness.
Compressing, Amplifying-adjusting the fader and doubling the signal?
41. Briefly explain the function of a multi-band compressor
Multiband compression refers to the use of a compressor type that looks out for pre-defined frequency / frequencies of audio and acts on it/ them independently. A multi-band compressor can be used as a mastering tool to aid in adjusting the overall spectral balance of a recording. A multi-band only acts on specific frequency ranges whereas a side chain compressor acts on the entire signal. Misuse of a multi-band compressor can result in skewed tonality. If you compress the high frequencies of a signal going to cassette tape (because you want to print more overall level to tape) to the point where the material ends up sounding dull you have defeated the purpose. [1]
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Reference:
[1] www.sweetwater.com
[2] Modern Recording Techniques – DM Huber, R Runstein
[3] http://www.drtmastering.com/biz/drt/faq2.htm#whatis |
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Sun May 01, 2005 10:51 am |
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hoaxwagon
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Posts: 27
Location: Boulder Creek, CA USA |
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Week 8 RT hoaxwagon
1. What is Mastering? .
Mastering is the final process in all professional recordings. Mastering is to take a song and make it reach its greatest potential.
2. Why is mastering necessary?
consistent volumes between songs, make songs louder, employ consistent equalization, smooth transitions between songs. Often times, songs are too bright or bass heavy before mastering. The talent of a mastering engineer lies in knowing what is called for in a particular situation. The creativity lies in adding warmth, depth, widening the stereo image of a recording, and using EQ to bring out the best in a song. Mastering is the process that brings together all of the different mixes into a cohesive-sounding album. A great mix left un-mastered and directly transferred to CD will generally sound thin.
3. What is Post Production?
Post production is a term referring to the phase of the recording session that follows the actual recording. In other words, once the recording is done the finishing touches can be added. Mastering is post production.
4. Comment on “preparing your tapes”.
Put a space at the beginning of the tape, 2 minutes. Leave enough head room for the mastering
5. Comment on “stereo bass”.
On most pop tracks, the bass is best in mono and placed in the center.
The MClass Stereo Imager splits the incoming audio into low and high frequency bands, and lets you adjust each independently. Increasing the width for the high band while making the low band slightly more mono gives you wide, open sounding mixes with a tight low end. Too much stereo on bass can make your mix hard to cut onto vinyl. it is still the case that too much stereo bass can cause a vinyl record to jump on playback.
6. Why is mono compatibility such an issue?
These days, mono replay is no longer an important consideration -- when was the last time you saw a mono CD or cassette player?
7. What is meant by the term “start ID”?
Start ID can be written at the beginning of songs to allow for quicker access to the start of each song on the tape.
8. What are the three types of Disc Cutting?
waxing, shellac, vinyl
9. What information should be written on your master tapes?
The name of the recording session, the band name, the date,
The tape box should be properly labeled including tape speed, format, alignment tones, type of noise reduction (if any) along with titles in proper sequence and times of selections
10. What is meant by multi-band compression?
Using multiband compression works on specific frequency bands so that a kick drum can activate the compressor and only affect the frequencies associated with that drum.
11. Explain the term dynamic range.
The difference in level between the loudest sound recordable on a tape, and the noise floor of the recording
12. What is the formula for dynamic range?
13. What is meant by SNR?
Signal to noise ratio is the difference between the output level of a device and the noise that is inherent within a that device.
14. Describe gain riding.
Gain riding is the use of your ( pick a body part) to move a fader up and down to regulate the level. Much like a compressor is used. Gain riding can be used with automation on most sequencers.
15. Comment on this article:Pushing the absolute level at the expense of quality and dynamics is losing the integrity of the original recording. Not cool
16. What is meant by normalling?
Normalling is what a patch bay does with a signal. Normalling is creating default circuit through the bay to connect equipment together in the arrangement you normally use. Three popular schemes are full normal, half normal and de-normal.
17. Explain DC offset
Some sound cards introduce DC currant to a wave form which can mis-align the zero crossing.
18. How can the target audience affect mastering decisions?
Different markets use different players. If a song is meant for discriminating listeners than more care should be taken to ensure that the song sounds good on hi-end audio equipment. If the song is pop oriented and meant for the radio or mp3 player than attention needs to be given to the way the song will sound on a car radio or mp3 format.
19. What happens to the audio signal when a aural enhancer is applied?
The fundamental frequencies become more pronounced without the masking effect associated with tone control knobs.
20. What does relative loudness mean?
Relative loudness is the average level of different songs relation to one another
21. What does r.m.s. mean?
Root mean square
22. What is meant by 'entertainment quality'?
This is a standard quality for the entertainment business. Mastering achieves this quality.
23. What happens if you leave excessive, short transients in the music?
The transients eat up the available head room .
24. What is The K-System?
The K- system is a proposed monitoring and metering standard which music for film, home or broadcast can be dealt with accordingly. K-20, K-14 and K-12 are the 3 different meters.
25. What are The Equal Loudness Contours?
They are the graphs that show the ears perception of sound at certain frequencies and different
sound pressure levels.
26. What is MetaData?
Meta Data is written on a web page in HTML and is found at the beginning of the page. MetaData is not seen but used by search engines to locate a web sight that matches a search
27. Explain the term Headroom.
Headroom is the amount of available room for increasing the level on a recording before
distortion becomes evident.
28. Explain the term Crest factor.
Crest factor is the peak-to-rms voltage ratio of an alternating current (ac)
29. What skills and abilities must a Mastering Engineer possess?
They should be familiar with the different replication styles and understand the difference
between genre’s of music, have the ability to implement ideas from the artist and producer and
have more than just a general knowledge of the equipment needed for the process.
30. What does the term “Masking” mean?
When a louder sound is played with a softer sound causing the softer sound not to be heard.
31. Explain the Hass Effect.
Also known as the precedence effect, this effect describes our ability to perceive the location of a
sound source based on the relative level and arrival time of the sound in each ear. This
phenomenon was first discovered by Helmut Hass.
32. Why is an acceleration limiter necessary in a vinyl cutting lathe?
The purpose of the acceleration limiter is to protect your stylus and your vinyl,
33. Explain, as separate paragraphs of up to 100 words, the two causes of mistracking of a vinyl record.
You can never really eliminate mistracking one can only minimize it. For a given cartridge in a given arm, the only way of reducing it at its source is by increasing groove-contact force—upping the tracking force.
Another cause of mistracking is a worn out record.
34. Why is the bass on a vinyl record mixed into mono?
Stereo bass can cause mistracking
35. For maximum sound quality, what is the suggested duration of a single side of a vinyl record?
33rpm 10 -13 min., 12 16 min. 45 rpm 10 - 10 min., 12 12 min. 78 rpm 10 -5 ˝ min., 12 - 7 min.
36. What is a 'production master'?
A Master created specifically for the production process. For cassettes and vinyl there are two types of masters:
Analog Masters and Digital Masters
37. On a CD, what should the peak level be, at some point in the recording, in dBFS? -12
38. What is the maximum recommended duration of a CD?
74 minutes
39. Why is it possible for two recordings to differ in subjective loudness even if they peak at the same
level?
Subjective loudness is the perceived loudness of a song which changes according to how loud the music is
turned up. The low end will sound quiet when listening at a low level(Fletcher Munson). The peaks have
little to do with this perception.
40. List three methods of increasing subjective loudness. Equalizing, multi-band compression and
tightening up of the stereo field
41. Briefly explain the function of a multi-band compressor
Briefly, the multiband compressor initialy acts upon the signal like an active crossover and
divides the signal into specific bands of frequencies to processed. Then the bands can be
compressed separately. |
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Fri May 06, 2005 10:51 am |
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