AUdIoCoUrSeS
Joined: 31 Oct 2002
Posts: 2014
|
| Week 8 - Questions |
 |
|
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
|
Mon Oct 17, 2005 8:26 am |
|
|
AndyBarber
Joined: 09 Sep 2005
Posts: 18
Location: North Wales |
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 6:26 pm Post subject: Week 8 - Questions
RT QUESTIONS ANDY BARBER
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. What is Mastering?
Mastering is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio to a medium for future duplication.
2. Why is mastering necessary?
Its required so that the most balanced sound is created which will play well on a wide range of audio systems.
MAIN STEPS - Arranging sequence of recorded audio
- Correct audio problems like, volume level, tonal balance and undesirable artefacts
Noise reduction (hum/hiss)
Normalizing
Equalise audio between tracks (no jumps in bass, treble, midrange, volume, pan)
Compression
Multi-band compressor ( compress only specified freq.‘s generating audio peaks)
- Transfer audio to final master format
3. What is Post Production?
It is the final stage in sound production, occurring after audio has been recorded, in other words the ‘mix’.
In TV and Film Audio Post Production is the process of creating the soundtrack for moving images.
4. Comment on “preparing your tapes”.
Its best to produce 2 copies of a mix, one for mastering the other for backup purposes. Leave fades and overall effects to the mastering producer as this will give them more flexibility to do their job.
Track listing sheet should be sent with tapes, include comments about the mixes ready to be mastered. Information on cut start and stop positions (minutes/seconds) should be included, especially if songs are faded between each other.
5. Comment on “stereo bass”.
Bass is usually kept as a mono signal in a mix, especially if it is going to be published on a vinyl format
Amount of recording time on a record is dependent of cutting level (volume) and amount of low freq information (bass uses more space than treble).
The louder and more bass you have the wider the groove on the record
6. Why is mono compatibility such an issue?
When a stereo track is played back in mono the left and right channels are summed into one. Some weakening and thinning out of central instruments in the sound may be heard. Usually created by phase effects.
7. What is meant by the term “start ID”?
A ‘start ID’ number is a marker put in the sub-code before each song on a tape/CD. This helps the mastering producer to find proper song for transfer. 1st musical track should have start ID number ‘1’.
8. What are the three types of Disc Cutting?
With regard to vinyl there are three types of disk cutting;
Lacquer
Acetate
Direct to metal
9. What information should be written on your master tapes?
Tapes of audio ready to be mastered should be labelled with;
- artist name
- album title
- song titles
- total running time of each cut
- producer
- record label (ownership rights)
10. What is meant by multi-band compression?
Compression is used to make a sound louder without increasing its peak amplitude. Perceived loudness is boosted . A multi-band compressor is a compressor can act differently on different frequency bands. Each band having its own compressor.
11. Explain the term dynamic range.
Defined as the difference or ratio of the highest and lowest possible values of a changeable quantity.
With audio it describes the ratio of the loudest possible (relatively-undistorted) sound to silence or the noise level.
Different formats have different dynamic ranges. In digital audio the maximum possible dynamic range is given by the ‘bit resolution’. Digital audio at 16-bit has theoretical range of 96 dB, however usually lower due to overhead from filters. DR for vinyl and cassettes is much lower than CDs
12. What is the formula for dynamic range?
The dynamic range (dB) is calculated by subtracting the floor (noise) level from the maximum sound level
13. What is meant by SNR?
Signal to noise ratio. Defines ratio between volume (amplitude) of a signal to amount of unwanted interference (noise) that’s mixed in with the signal. Lowest value is 0 were noise and signal levels are the same.
14. Describe gain riding.
The act of constantly monitoring and adjusting as necessary the gain of a recording process to prevent overloading the medium.
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?
The loudness race has been around for a while, the main issue being compromise between absolute loudness and sound quality. Personally I’d prefer to keep quality and favour for a less hot recording which sounds better at home.
However I think it more important to have a hot record for the radio (if necessary) as it must keep inline (no difference in absolute loudness) with other records being played.
16. What is meant by normalling?
This is a process which ensures all tracks on an album have the same relative volume. This allows the album to be played through without having to constantly change the volume by hand.
17. Explain DC offset
This is the change in input voltage required to produce a zero output voltage when no signal is applied to an amplifier. Bias is required to bring circuit into a proper working point (i.e. AC voltage working either side of the zero crossing point without clipping).
18. How can the target audience affect mastering decisions?
Commercial releases for radio play, use more compression and aggressive EQ, many radios are in mono so this must be considered. More ‘artistic’ releases in specific musical niche use more natural EQ, less compression, keeping as much dynamics as possible.
Audience also dictates what format the music is released on. Currently most dance music is released on vinyl as well as MP3s and CDs.
19. What happens to the audio signal when a aural enhancer is applied?
Generates harmonics around selected frequencies to repair, restore or replace part of the audio spectrum.
Makes signal ‘sparkle’ enhancing its overall presence and life.
Just increasing high frequencies with an EQ will also bring up noise levels in the signal causing distortion.
20. What does relative loudness mean?
Energy expanded in process of sound propagation is called ‘intensity/loudness’ (measured in energy units)
Human ear is very sensitive so to make perception of sound more manageable a compact scale is used with the ‘decibel’ (dB), Decibel is logarithmic unit measure of sound pressure. With ‘Relative Loudness’ a 10dB increase in sound level will be perceived as twice as loud as the previous level.
21. What does r.m.s. mean? (Root Mean Square)
Mathematically it is a statistical measurement of the magnitude of a varying quantity
When used in audio the amplitude is varying, the RMS value of the signal giving its perceived loudness
RMS value of an AC sine wave is 0.707 times peak value.
22. What is meant by 'entertainment quality'?
Entertainment quality is the standard by which a piece of music must be in order to be played over the media via TV or radio.
23. What happens if you leave excessive, short transients in the music?
Audio transients are seen as spikes in a signal. Excessive transients will raise the overall loudness and distortion level of the signal as well as the SNR.
24. What is The K-System?
It is a metering and monitoring standard that incorporated concepts of the past and modern psychoacoustics. Avoids metering with 0dB at top. K-System uses 0dB as a reference loudness which also determines the monitor gain.
There are 3 meter scales with 0dB either at 20, 14 or 12dB below full scale
k-20 wide dynamic range material, large theatre mixes, home theatre mixes, classical, pop in 5.1
k-14 moderately compressed hi fidelity productions for home listening
k-12 productions dedicated to broadcast

25. What are The Equal Loudness Contours? (LOUDNESS LEVEL CONTOUR)
The human ear doesn’t hear all frequencies with equal sensitivity. Most sensitive to signals between
1and 5KHz. The equal loudness contours are a graphical representation of sound pressure vs. frequency for which a listener perceives a constant loudness

26. What is MetaData?
Information that describes another set of data.
Used for audio CDs (MusicBrainz/AMG’s all music guide) and MP3s have meta tags in ID3 format
27. Explain the term Headroom.
Defined as the safe area beyond the standard operating level (SOL) point
SOL Analogue - 0 dB peak setting
SOL Digital - -20 dB (red area on a PPM meter indicates signal is in headroom region)
Clipping must be avoided, Don’t maximize the levels to zero. Keep maximum levels around -1 to -2 dB. This allows for inconsistencies in machine level meters and gives us room to work with the overall level matching and dynamics.
Hearing clipping is less obvious in digital systems
28. Explain the term Crest factor.
Crest factor of a waveform is equal to the peak amplitude divided by the RMS value. Calculation gives an analyst a quick idea of how much impacting is occurring in a waveform.

DC voltage has crest factor of 1 as RMS and peak value are the same.
29. What skills and abilities must a Mastering Engineer possess?
Part of audio philosophy which takes years of practice, study and careful listening. Its part science, craft and alchemy.
Taste level of the engineer can be a major factor in the outcome and making certain that the music tells a story that will resonate deep in the heart of the listener is paramount.
They need extensive technical knowledge that covers a vast array of audio engineering, including signal processing, tape transports, audio monitors, acoustics, amplification systems, signal routing, electronics and replication technology, etc
‘Mastering is looking at the big picture. The engineer listens to your music in a calibrated reference monitoring environment and finely tunes each song (sometimes even individual verses and choruses within a song) with precise program equalization, compression, leveling and editing’.
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/articles/gman_mastering.htm
30. What does the term “Masking” mean?
Weak sounds sometimes get ‘masked’ by other sounds so that they can’t be heard by the human ear
For every tone in the audio signal a masking threshold can be calculated. If another tone lies below this masking threshold, it will be masked by the louder tone and remain inaudible.
31. Explain the Haas Effect. (precedence effect)
‘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. It is believed that we use time delay to locate the source of a signal (the source is closer to the first ear to hear it)’ . The human ear-brain combination can assign direction to the first arrival of the same sound it hears, rather than the strongest.
32. Why is an acceleration limiter necessary in a vinyl cutting lathe?
The stylus on a record player has a small mass an is accelerated back and forth by the walls of the groove. If groove accelerates stylus quickly the vinyl material may be damaged. Groove can accelerate stylus upwards, if it loses contact with groove mistraking occurs causing distortion.
Sibilance sounds can cause rapid acceleration, so an acceleration limiter is built into a recording lathe to act as a sort of de-esser.
33. Explain, as separate paragraphs of up to 100 words, the two causes of mistracking of a vinyl record.
Mistracking can be caused if record groove is too shallow for stylus to follow. Any difference in signal between left and right channels results in a varying groove depth. Shallow groove can be created when left and right channels are identical with one channel inverted.
Mistracking also created by anything that causes the stylus to accelerate vertically. Too little stylus weight can cause it to lift out of the groove when record is worn or scratched.
34. Why is the bass on a vinyl record mixed into mono?
Heavy stereo bass can break the stylus on a vinyl lathe. It forces stylus to oscillate between extreme levels within the two walls of the record groove.
35. For maximum sound quality, what is the suggested duration of a single side of a vinyl record?
Limiting factor is the level of the audio being recorded. Record needs to be cut as high as possible to keep SNR as low as possible. The longer the music the quieter it has to be to fit onto a record.
Common format:
LP long playing records 12”, 33 1/3 rpm
EP Extended play 7”, 45 rpm
Maximum playing times 7” - 3-4min
10” - 5-6min
12” - 6-7min
36. What is a 'production master'?
The production master is the completed final copy of the music that’s being mastered. All other copies are made/pressed from the master.
37. On a CD, what should the peak level be, at some point in the recording, in dBFS?
0 dBFS should be reached on meter (anything above will ‘clip’)
Average level around 6 - 12 dBFS
38. What is the maximum recommended duration of a CD?
Most CD players will play up to 80 minutes but its recommended that a CD should not exceed 74 minutes 44 seconds.
39. Why is it possible for two recordings to differ in subjective loudness even if they peak at the same level?
Subjective loudness depends on the average amplitude of a signal not its maximum peak value. Psycho-acoustics also come into play as the human ear responds differently to different frequencies.
40. List three methods of increasing subjective loudness.
Adjust gain level
Compressor/Multi-band compressor
Master Limiters
Loudness Maximizer
41. Briefly explain the function of a multi-band compressor
It maximises/controls the subjective loudness of individual bands of frequencies
http://www.teamcombooks.com/mp3handbook/11.htmhttp://www.teamcombooks.com/mp3handbook/11.htm
http://www.record-producer.com/learn.cfm?a=52
http://www.record-producer.com/learn.cfm?a=52
http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Bit+resolution&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&linktext=bit%20resolution
http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Bit+resolution&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&linktext=bit%20resolution
http://www.soundrecordingtechnology.com/services/mastering.htm
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan00/articles/enhancer.htm
http://www.sfu.ca/sca/Manuals/ZAAPf/h/haas_effect.html
http://www.djcj.org/LAU/quicktoots/toots/Loudness/
http://www.plantstudios.com/mastering/prepare.shtml
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/articles/gman_mastering.htm
http://www.mpse.org/education/whatis.html
http://www.looperman.com/tutorials_production_post_production.php
http://eil.com/explore/guide/vinyl_making.asp |
|
Wed Oct 19, 2005 7:18 pm |
|
|
|
|
thx1138
Joined: 07 Jan 2005
Posts: 21
|
|
|
|
1. What is Mastering?
Mastering is the final process that the recorded audio goes through so that it is suitable for replication. Mastering is where each song is made to be the same loudness and have the same tonal balance so there is a consistent sound from track to track so that everything flows.
2. Why is mastering necessary?
Mastering is necessary to get the best possible sound from your recorded songs and to make sure each song shares the same loudness and tonal balance.
3. What is Post Production?
Post production is basically everything that happens, in terms of editing, to songs after they have been recorded.
4. Comment on “preparing your tapes”.
Creating a backup tape would be a good idea in case anything goes wrong. The songs on the tape should be in the desired order and there should be a few seconds between each track. There should also be around 10 seconds of lead before the start of the tape. Also make sure there is no clipping or other artefacts on the recorded tape and leave out any fades, as the mastering engineer will handle those.
The tape should also be labelled correctly such as 'tape submaster' as there is nothing worse than having a whole bunch of unmarked tapes to search through.
5. Comment on “stereo bass”.
Stereo bass can be an issue when mastering for vinyl. If there is too much stereo bass in the mix then it can mean it will be difficult to cut to vinyl and the fact that too much of it can cause vinyl to jump when it is played back. Too much stereo bass can also swamp a mix and weaken the other instruments.
6. Why is mono compatibility such an issue?
Mono compatibility can be an issue when the music is played back on mono equipment like a tape recorder or single speaker radio. All stereo effects will be lost so it is important that a track sounds just as good in mono as it does in stereo.
7. What is meant by the term “start ID”?
A start ID marks the beginning of each song. This makes skipping between tracks easier and quicker.
8. What are the three types of Disc Cutting?
The three types of disc cutting are: Direct to metal, Lacquer master and Acetate.
9. What information should be written on your master tapes?
Information written on your master tape should be: album title, contact details, start ID's, date, tape number, artist name, track titles.
10. What is meant by multi-band compression?
A multiband compressor compresses frequency bands independently from one-another. So a loud event in one frequency wont trigger compression in the other frequency bands, so a loud snare drum wont pull the whole mix down with it as with a full band compressor. With a full band compressor the entire frequency range will be compressed when ever it goes over the threshold but a multiband compressor can have different settings for each frequency band.
11. Explain the term dynamic range.
Dynamic range is the difference between the lowest and highest levels in an audio signal; it is expressed in decibels (dB).
12. What is the formula for dynamic range?
The formula for dynamic range is DR= n+ m where n is equal to noise floor level in -dB and m is equal to decibel peak level (I think!)
13. What is meant by SNR?
The SNR, S/N or signal to noise ratio is normally considered to be the number of decibels between the reference level and the noise floor of the system.
14. Describe gain riding.
Gain riding is used to manually adjust a signal when it fluctuates between being too soft or too loud such as when a singer might move toward or away from the microphone when recording or sings too softly and gets lost in a mix and then sings too loudly and saturates the mix.
Gain riding is used to control this problem by turning the volume up when the signal is too soft and down when too loud though it is hard to anticipate these changes. Basically this technique was used before there were compressors.
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, I entirely agree with this article, the loudness race isn't really doing music any favours. Loudness is what your volume control is for; at least that's what I always thought.
I think the trend for maximum loudness at all times can be blamed on modern hip hop (sorry Eminem fans!) and the only-money-is-important state of the music industry these days which seems to dictate that music should be judged on its absolute loudness. This is seemingly telling us that dynamics = bad, flat line peaks throughout = good.
The honour roll on the webpage I thought was quite good, so many good albums not at 0dB all the way through, some rather big selling albums in there too. This just goes to show that maximum absolute loudness is (hopefully) just one of those trends that people seem to need to follow and normal service will be resumed shortly.
16. What is meant by normalling?
Normalling or normalisation is the process of boosting the volume of a track to its highest point before clipping occurs.
17. Explain DC offset
DC offset is an audio editing process to remove inaudible low-frequency distortion often caused by electrical interference. DC offset can be seen in a waveform when its central point is not at the zero level.
18. How can the target audience affect mastering decisions?
If the target audience requires something then you have to keep them happy to some extent. If your entire target audience listens to music on mono equipment then the music must be mixed in mono or at least sound just as good in mono as it does in stereo. Classical music listeners want a dynamic range so use of a compressor is unwanted. If you don't cater for what your target audience wants then they possibly wont be your audience for long.
19. What happens to the audio signal when an aural enhancer is applied?
When an aural enhancer is applied to a signal its high frequency content is boosted. Basically the enhancer repairs and replaces high frequency harmonics. The enhancer can also be used on mid and low frequencies. This can add presence and sparkle to a lifeless and dull sounding track.
20. What does relative loudness mean?
Relative loudness is how loud the human ear perceives the loudness of two signals of the same dB level. It is how the ear perceives the sound pressure levels of different frequencies.
21. What does r.m.s. mean?
RMS is an abbreviation for Root Mean Square, it is a formula to describe the level of a signal. It is derived by squaring all the instantaneous voltages along a waveform, averaging the squared values and then taking the square root of that number.
22. What is meant by 'entertainment quality'?
entertainment quality basically means a suitable quality for a media broadcast such as for television or radio.
23. What happens if you leave excessive, short transients in the music?
Excessive short transients in the music will result in the loss of following signals of a lower level, the transients will overwhelm lower signals following on from them.
24. What is The K-System?
The K-system is an integrated system of metering and monitoring devised by Bob Katz. It is a proposed metering and monitoring standard for the loudness of music for film/theatre, home listening and broadcast.
25. What are The Equal Loudness Contours?
Equal loudness contours are graphs representing the sensitivity of the human ear to different frequencies at different levels.
26. What is MetaData?
Metadata is control data embedded in the digital audio stream for broadcast audio and digital media. There are two metadata control words, dialnorm and mixlev. Dialnorm, or dialogue normalisation is used in digital tv and radio to produce a consistent average loudness from program to program. At each program change the digital receiver decodes the dialnorm control word and attenuates the levels accordingly. Dialnorm can also be switched off.
Mixlev or mix level sets the listeners monitor gain to reproduce sound pressure levels used by the original producer. Dialnorm is designed for casual listeners and mixlev more for producers.
27. Explain the term Headroom.
Headroom is the difference between nominal operating level and peak clipping in an audio system. Basically the amount of room between normal signal level and the level at which clipping will start to occur.
28. Explain the term Crest factor.
The crest factor of a waveform is equal to the peak amplitude divided by the root mean square value. The peak values can be many times higher that the RMS value, the larger the transients the larger the crest factor.
29. What skills and abilities must a Mastering Engineer possess?
A mastering engineer must possess certain skills: a good ear for music is essential and patience and attention to detail. He/she must have a good knowledge and understanding of mastering equipment such as compressors, limiters, enhancers etc.. Have a good knowledge of many different styles of music and how they should sound and which instruments are the most important aspects of each style of music. Have good communication skills so that both the mastering engineer and the artist know exactly what is needed to be done to a track or album. Also have extensive knowledge of mixing and the techniques used by the mixing engineer so he/she can fix any problems or know what is needed to master a mix properly.
30. What does the term “Masking” mean?
Masking is when one sound affects the audibility of another sound with a similar frequency content. More intense sounds will mask less intense ones and the amount of masking depends on the proximity of the frequency content of the two sounds.
31. Explain the Haas Effect.
The Haas effect is also known as the precedence effect. It is when, after hearing a signal, the ears suppress any following signals such as echo or reverb for about 40 milliseconds assuming the following signals are at a lower level than the original signal.
32. Why is an acceleration limiter necessary in a vinyl cutting lathe?
While cutting a vinyl record acceleration limiter is used to prevent damage to the vinyl and to prevent damage to the stylus also. It corrects sounds that don't cut too well to vinyl from master tape.
The walls of the groove in the vinyl provide force that will accelerate the vinyl and if this is done quickly it can damage the vinyl. The groove can also cause the stylus to move in an upward direction if it is accelerated so the stylus can loose contact with the vinyl altogether causing mistracking and the possibility of damage to the groove when the stylus regains contact with the vinyl.
33. Explain, as separate paragraphs of up to 100 words, the two causes of mistracking of a vinyl record.
The conventions of disc cutting dictate that the right stereo channel is recorded in the wall of the groove closest to the edge of the record and the left channel in the wall nearest to the centre of the record. Any difference in signal between the left and right channels causes a varying groove depth and if it becomes too shallow then mistracking can occur.
Mistracking can also occur from wear on the vinyl surface where the surface of the record can be worn down by excessive playing due to the pressure of the stylus against the surface so that the stylus cannot accurately remain in the groove and mistracking can start to occur.
34. Why is the bass on a vinyl record mixed into mono?
On a vinyl record, bass is mixed into mono because the groove would have to be wider to accommodate two channels of low frequencies and could cause mistracking to occur.
35. For maximum sound quality, what is the suggested duration of a single side of a vinyl record?
I am stumped by this question.
36. What is a 'production master'?
a production master is used to produce all other copies of a musical recording, it is the mastered 'master' copy from which all other copies are duplicated.
37. On a CD, what should the peak level be, at some point in the recording, in dBFS?
On a CD, the peak level in dBFS (decibels full scale) should be at a maximum of 0 though many engineers will operate at a level beneath this. 0 dBFS is the maximum value at which a peak can be at before unwanted clipping and distortion will start to occur.
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?
The human ear perceives different frequencies as being louder than another, mid range frequencies will appear to be louder than high range frequencies. The human ear does not interpret the loudness of a signal by its peaks, loudness is judged by the average loudness of the signal.
40. List three methods of increasing subjective loudness.
Subjective loudness can be increased by adding more low and mid range frequencies or by using a multiband compressor or a loudness maximiser.
41. Briefly explain the function of a multi-band compressor
A multiband compressor uses multiple frequency bands to alter a signal. A full band compressor acts on a signal as a whole so any signals above the threshold will trigger compression on the entire signal, if it is triggered by a very loud snare hit the rest of the mix will be dragged down with it. A multiband compressor allows only specific frequency bands of the signal to be compressed independently. If the bass is too low or a singer is too quiet then a multiband compressor could be used to alter only the frequencies required to boost whatever is too low in the mix.
References:
Practical recording techniques by Bruce and Jenny Bartlett
Mastering audio by Bob Katz
http://eil.com/explore/guide/vinyl_making.asp
www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug02/articles/multiband.asp
www.bu.edu/webcentral/learning/av/glossary.html
www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan00/articles/enhancer.htm
http://mixguides.com/studiomonitors/basics/audio-glossary-basic-monitors
www.songstuff.com/glossary/h
www.prosound.com/mix_gloss1.htm~anchor-cannon-11481
www.keithyates.com/glossary
www.sfu.ca/sca/manuals/zaapf/h/haas_effect.html
www.micrographia.com/projec/projapps/viny/viny0300.html
_________________
AcousticalWeaponsDivision/Alex |
|
Sun Oct 23, 2005 2:32 pm |
|
|
Polarman
Joined: 24 Jun 2005
Posts: 55
Location: Barbados |
|
|
|
1. What is Mastering?
Audio mastering is the final step in the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio to a medium for future duplication. It is the bridge between mixing and replication. This is the last chance to enhance the sound or repair problems. The specific medium that receives the mastered audio varies, depending on the intended release format of the final product. This medium is then used as the master copy, from which all further production of the audio material will be based. Mastering engineers acts like objective instance of approval.
2. Why is mastering necessary?
Mastering is important to get the most accurate sound that sounds good on different types of sound systems, like home studio, car, small speakers, big speakers etc. The mastering process can also detect flaws and other problems that were not detected during the mixing process. Mastering can also help to increase the subjective level of the track and make the track fit better in terms of level and EQ with other tracks on the disc. Normally there is a huge difference between an unmastered and mastered work.
3. What is Post Production?
Post Production involves everything after recording studio and before manufacturing. Editing, adding effects, adding fades, putting the tracks in the right order etc. This is the last creative process. The post production process starts with the master tapes from the studio
4. Comment on “preparing your tapes”.
It can be said that the post-production process is all about preparing the tapes for mastering. In post-production different devices can be used to enhance or change the sound of the studio master. The devices that can be used are equalisation, compression or limiting.
5. Comment on “stereo bass”.
To much stereo bass can be a problem when the end product is a vinyl. The movement of the stylus is that it moves to the left and the right on mono parts (sounds in the middle) and up and down for the stereo parts (sounds outside centre). If the bass is in stereo there it is resulting in large up and down movement of the stylus which can result in that the groove is being cut to deep, breaking the cutting stylus or too shallow which risk the record to jump. In extreme cases the stylus can even lift from the record.
A professional cutting room has an EE – Elliptical equaliser, VBC – Vertical Bass Cut and VAL - Vertical Acceleration Limiter to combat these problems. In conclusion it is safer to mix the bass in the centre which also results in a louder feel.
6. Why is mono compatibility such an issue?
Mono compatibility is an issue because radio stations still broadcasts in mono. There are also sound players that still uses mono. A mix can sound great in stereo but a disaster in mono. The reasons for this is possible phase errors and cancellations. Always check the mix in mono before making a master.
7. What is meant by the term “start ID”?
Start ID’s indicate a start point and are recorded in the sub-code. Every time the record button is pressed a start ID is placed.
8. What are the three types of Disc Cutting?
Lacquer Master
Aluminium disc that has a lacquer coating. The disc is always bigger then the finished record. For example a 12 inch would be cut on a 14 inch. This disc is the master and should not be played or touched.
Acetate
The same as Lacquer but has the same size as the finished record. The purpose for this is that it can be played and checked before manufacturing.
You can test the acetate against a test pressing to check the results. The acetate will get damaged exactly like the laquer when played.
DMM (Direct Metal Master)
Made of copper and it is 14 inch. With DMM you can jump over some of the metal work process this results in a less noiser record. The advantage of the DMM is that it is better for the high end and with sibilance. DMM is not good for music with a heavy groove because of the that bigger cuts in the copper results in more noise.
9. What information should be written on your master tapes?
a. Name and number
b. All the tracks on the tape with correct programme number, mark the ones to be used
c. Track times
d. Any comments or odd things (anything that the engineer could take as a fault, like track in mono, strange effects, moments of silence etc.
e. Add comments if there are any problems that has not been fixed on the studio master that you want help to fix.
f. Wright tape speed, tape eq, noise reduction
g. Test tones 1 KHz, 10 KHz,
10. What is meant by multi-band compression?
In short it means doing compression on different frequency bands without interfering them with each other. The multi band processor splits the information into two or three or more different frequency bands so that compression can be made in one band without affecting the others. One have to be very careful when using multiband compressor not to overuse it.
11. Explain the term dynamic range.
Dynamic range is defined as the ratio between the highest and the softest passage of the music. It’s not an absolute level it only measures differences. In popular music it can normally range from 6 to 10 dB.
12. What is the formula for dynamic range?
The formula for dynamic range is:
N= 20 log (V2/V1)
N=dynamic range in dB
V1 = minimum voltage
V2 = maximum voltage
13. What is meant by SNR?
SNR stands for Signal to Noise Ratio. The specifications of dynamic range doesn’t take the background noise into account. Even if equipment can have a wide dynamic range it can have a bad SNR. One good way to explain what SNR is, is to use the human ear as an example. The human ear has 120dB dynamic range but if you take the the background noise into account, for example 30 dB the signal to noise ratio will be only 90dB. 30 dB is an example of a typical background noise in a professional studio. If you have a home recording studio with frogs and crickets in the garden the background noise is much higher.
14. Describe gain riding.
Gain riding is to manually move the faders so the equipment can cope with the dynamic range. This is sometimes necessary to anticipate high and low levels in the music and move the faders accordingly to prevent clipping or that passages is getting to low.
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 it is always sad to see when humanity acts like a bunch of cowards. To me there are different dimensions in music, like the structure of the notes, silence, effects (the room for each instruments), the colours (eq) etc. and here dynamics.
Its fine with me if the artist or the producer make a hot CD with no dynamics because they like it. It is a matter of taste but that’s not the case here. To be really honest I think a lot of today´s pop music sounds really dead it doesnt appeal to me and it would probably sound worse if it wasn’t loud. I would never pay a cent for much of today´s music, where they’ve used a couple of plugins, put a random template on and then try to sell it. No wonder why people a downloading music...
It seems that the music business is where you can say “Easy come, easy go”. To practice an instrument is a life investment you do and I think with that the outcome is better music. I am not saying that I am against technology but there are too many people who doesn’t have an idea of what struggle playing music, recording, mixing really is they want quick bucks and especially copy somebody who “made it”.
I agree to some extent with Sir Millard Mulch (http://www.sirmillardmulch.com/endindiemusic.php) where he blames the independent industry causing a mess with lot of “underproduced, low-fi dronings burned on CDR's”. I think it is an important discussion how to get out of the big recording companies monopoly and at the same time get away from poorly produced and recorded music.
What I want to do is to become a professional myself and try to stand up for what I do and put music first! I would never take part of the loudness war. I am not interested. What I also would like to do is to open a place where young people can listen to nicely recorded and mastered music. Like a movie theatre without the movie. Most of today´s younger generation haven’t heard anything else but really “hot” music so they are lacking (at least) one dimension of what music is all about.
If I have taken a job in a studio where they make top ten albums, then of course there is a problem if they go with all this mentioned in the article. Working as a engineer I see myself as the right hand to the producer and the artist. What I would do as an engineer and have done in the few projects I have taken part of so far is to try to get the producers confidence and then let him have my view. It has been appreciated so far…
I saw a new interview with Neil Young on Swedish Television the other day. He was asked about his different styles and if he didn’t think that his audience had difficulty to follow him all the time. He said that you can´t always give people what they want, they would get bored. They need to be challenged and to him when he does music the importance of the audience may be come in second or even third hand. I think we need more of that thinking…
16. What is meant by normalling?
Normalling routes signals automatically between sockets on a jackfield, unless a plug is inserted to replace the 'normalled' signal with another. Patchbays are usually configured to allow a studio to operate with no plugs inserted on the jackfield at all sources would be routed automatically to their default console channels, desk outputs routed to the recorder inputs, and the relevant mixer monitoring outputs connected to the loudspeaker amplifiers. What the patchbay really provides is the flexibility to alter the normal signal path. There is half-, single- and double-normalling.
17. Explain DC offset
DC offset occurs when the average/mean of the signal is a value other than 0 which means an average DC current flows through a circuit. The signal will clip earlier on one side (top or bottom) and your maximum signal strength before clipping occurs is smaller. To get rid of DC offset the average of the signal is subtracted form every sample of the signal.
18. How can the target audience affect mastering decisions?
Of course it can have and it has an affect and as I said before it shouldn’t.
The younger generation who listen to pop music want it loud. If it is a radio mix one have to watch out for and think of the extra added compression. When mastering classical recording one have to watch out for the purist and so on….but for me it’s up to the artist to decide how it should sound. Of course you can record Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring with close up mics and add different processing and effects on each instrument but then who would buy it?
19. What happens to the audio signal when a aural enhancer is applied?
With modern recording techniques and equipment, recordings can tend to become a little dull and lifeless or lack of presence and sparkle. Enhancers are designed to repair, restore or replace parts of the audio spectrum, recovering the clarity and detail which was previously perceived to have been lost.
20. What does relative loudness mean?
Relative loudness relates to the human ear and its perception of loudness. The human ear is a non-linear organ which means that it perceives different loudness levels with different frequencies. The frequency response of the human ear also varies with different sound pressure. The human ear tend to have trouble to hear low and high frequencies at low listening levels . The “Loudness” switch on hifi preamps are there to compensate for this.
21. What does r.m.s. mean?
RMS, or Root Mean Square, is the measurement used for any time varying signal's effective value. RMS is not an "Average" value and its mathematical relationship to peak voltage varies depends on the type of waveform. By definition, RMS Value is equivalent to a DC voltage that would provide the same amount of heat generation in a resistor as the AC voltage would if applied to that same resistor.
22. What is meant by 'entertainment quality'?
I had trouble finding a definition for this...seems there are different views on what it means.
Entertainment quality is a broad concept. It deals with subjective and objective views on a video, audio, performance etc. It is the over all quality summary of a manufactured piece. It can be anything from how well the lip-sync is done to a subconscious feeling about a performance.
23. What happens if you leave excessive, short transients in the music?
Fast transients can pass through a system before your compressor is able to react, and this can result in clipping. With analogue tape, this doesn´t matter so much, as short periods of analogue overload tends to be inaudible, but digital systems can't cope with any clipping at all.
In order to control signal peaks without affecting a sound's subjective level, some digital limiters may be programmed to allow a certain number of samples to clip before the level is reduced. If frequent clipping is expected, then the maximum length of clipped signal should be reduced to below 10 samples, as research indicates that repeated clipping within a short space of time is more audible than widely spaced instances of clipping. Some limiters emulate analogue soft clipping, where the top few dBs of any peaks are rounded off rather than clipped. Soft clipping can also help preserve the impression of loudness, though the effect can be audibly unpleasant if the signal is forced into limiting for more than very brief periods of time.
24. What is The K-System?
The K.System is a way out of the loudness war proposed by Bob Katz.
The K System defines the reference level for playback. This system utilizes a signal that is played while being monitored at the mix/listening position which registers 83dB 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?
Since the K-system involves standardisation of monitor gain and mixing engineers is used to work on different SPLs. Bob Katz recommends that mixing enginners easily can return to the standardised value for the mix. The reson for this is that the mix otherwise will sound different in another studio or venue and could result in to low bass at a lower or normal level.
26. What is MetaData?
Metadata is data within data. This data could be used to vary the playback of the medium for example the decoder of a TV broadcast could read the metadata and vary the playback level accordingly. In this way its possible to get rid of all squashed waves that we hear on a broadcast. This setting is called "dialnorm". Another stting norm is the "mixlev" which is designed for audiophiles or producers. This setting will set the listeners gain to reproduce the the SPL used by the original music producer. In this way listener don´t have to adjust the monitor gain for different kind of music.
27. Explain the term Headroom.
Headroom is the difference between the maximum level that can be handled without distortion and the average operation level. The 3% distortion level of analogue tape is 8dB above 0VU. In digital media the guidelines are not precise and it depends on the bit rate. The optimal recording level for 44.1 KHz/16 bit is around -12dB when recording with bigger word length the average level could be reduced by 10dB or more.
28. Explain the term Crest factor.
The Crest Factor is equal to the peak amplitude of a waveform divided by the RMS value. The purpose of the crest factor calculation is to give an analyst a quick idea of how much impacting is occurring in a waveform. In a perfect sine wave, with an amplitude of “1”, the RMS value is equal to .707, and the crest factor is then equal to 1.41. A perfect sine wave contains no impacting and therefore crest factors with a value higher than 1.41 imply that there is some degree of impacting.
29. What skills and abilities must a Mastering Engineer possess?
The position of a mastering engineer requires an excellent sense of hearing and uncompromised equipment. A mastering enginner must be able to identify what instruments have to be emphasized or set more into the background, be able to quickly determine the overall balance of levels and timbres, before listening fatigue sets in. Above he/she must demonstrate a sustained attention over time.
30. What does the term “Masking” mean?
Frequency masking
Our brains do not treat the audio spectrum as a continuum the human hearing we perceive sound through around 25 distinct critical bands of varying bandwidths (at 100Hz the critical band is about 160Hz wide, but at 10kHz it is 2500Hz wide). You can say that humans listen through a 25 band EQ. Quieter sounds will be masked away from louder signals in the same band. This phenomenon is called frequency masking. Although our hearing is incredibly perceptive of simple signals in isolation, in the presence of complex sounds it effectively runs out of 'hearing resources' and so can only perceive the most dominant parts at any particular moment in time.
The hum from a bass guitar amplifier is inaudible while the guitar is playing, although quite evident on its own. Tape hiss is inaudible in the presence of full-range music, but obvious between tracks.
Time masking
A loud sound affects our perception of quieter signals both before and after it sounds. A quiet signal that occurs 10-20 milliseconds before a louder signal, for example, may be masked by the louder signal, this is called backwards masking. The squeak of a kick-drum pedal might be plainly audible on its own, but can be masked by the presence of a much louder bass drum thump which happens a few milliseconds later. The hearing mechanism also takes time to recover from a loud sound, and this creates a masking effect which extends up to 100-200 milliseconds after the masking signal has ceased -- this is called forward masking. The length of the masking is related to the amplitude of the masking signal.
31. Explain the Hass Effect.
Haas Effect also called the precedence effect, describes the human psychoacoustic phenomena of correctly identifying the direction of a sound source heard in both ears but arriving at different times. Due to the head's geometry (two ears spaced apart, separated by a barrier) the direct sound from any source first enters the ear closest to the source, then the ear farthest away. The Haas Effect tells us that humans localize a sound source based upon the first arriving sound, if the subsequent arrivals are within 25-35 milliseconds. If the later arrivals are longer than this, then two distinct sounds are heard. The Haas Effect is true even when the second arrival is louder than the first (even by as much as 10 dB.). The Haas Effect describes how full stereophonic reproduction from only two loudspeakers is possible.
32. Why is an acceleration limiter necessary in a vinyl cutting lathe?
The stylus of a vinyl record player has a certain mass. The walls of the groove provids a force that accelerates the stylus. If the groove attempts to accelerate the stylus very quickly, the vinyl material may be damaged. Although the groove can accelerate the stylus in an upward direction 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.
Control of the acceleration is provided by an acceleration limiter. The purpose is to protect the stylus and the vinyl. When using an acceleration limiter a some of the hifi sound can be lost.
33. Explain, as separate paragraphs of up to 100 words, the two causes of mistracking of a vinyl record.
Mistracking can occur if the groove of the record becomes too shallow. In an old-fashioned mono record, the groove simply moves from side-to-side to encode the signal. Stereo records use a V-shaped groove in which one wall carries the left signal, the other wall carries the right. They are modulated independently. In the extreme, the depth of the groove could be reduced to zero. When there is no groove, the stylus has nothing to track and will slide into the adjacent groove.
Normal wear and tear is another cause of mistracking a record. The stylus has to be exchanged periodically and be kept clean from dust. The vinyl also have to be kept clean.
34. Why is the bass on a vinyl record mixed into mono?
To much stereo bass can be a problem when the end product is a vinyl. The movement of the stylus is that it moves to the left and the right on mono parts (sounds in the middle) and up and down for the stereo parts (sounds outside centre). If the bass is in stereo there it is resulting in large up and down movement of the stylus which can result in that the groove is being cut to deep, breaking the cutting stylus or too shallow which risk the record to jump. In extreme cases the stylus can even lift from the record.
A professional cutting room has an EE – Elliptical equaliser, VBC – Vertical Bass Cut and VAL - Vertical Acceleration Limiter to combat these problems. In conclusion it is safer to mix the bass in the centre which also results in a louder feel.
35. For maximum sound quality, what is the suggested duration of a single side of a vinyl record?
The limiting factor of the duration of a vinyl is the level of the audio. For maximum sound quality on a single side vinyl record twenty minutes is about the maximum duration.
36. What is a 'production master'?
Material is checked for technical faults (overloads, distortion, clicks, drop-outs, etc.) and then a Production Master is created which is suitable for the format required. In a CD production master the material is PQ coded and then transferred onto one of four formats; DDPi files on a DVD-R, DDP Exabyte, 1610/1630, or CDR.
37. On a CD, what should the peak level be, at some point in the recording, in dBFS?
The Peak Level of a CD should reach -0.2 dBFS at some point in the recording. I don’t understand why its important that the peak level should have a value. Isnt mastering about the subjective loudness?
38. What is the maximum recommended duration of a CD?
Philips recommends that the playing time of a Compact Disc should not exceed 74 minutes 44 seconds.
39. Why is it possible for two recordings to differ in subjective loudness even if they peak at the same level?
Loudness has nothing to do with digital peak level. The ear responds to average levels not peak levels when judging loudness.
40. List three methods of increasing subjective loudness.
Compression
Clipping (analogue soft clipping)
Multi-band compression
41. Briefly explain the function of a multi-band compressor
In short it means doing compression on different frequency bands without letting the bands interfering with each other. The multi band processor splits the information into two or three or more different frequency bands so that compression can be made in one band without affecting the others. One has to be very careful when using multiband compressor not to overuse it.
_______________________________________________________________________
SOURCES:
Audiocourses. (no year).
After the Studio - How to make CD´s and Records
. Audiocourses.
Hambly, C. (2002).
Compression What The F*** is it?
. Audiocourses.
Katz, B. (2002).
Mastering Audio: the art and the science
. Focal Press:Burlington.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_mastering
http://www.sirmillardmulch.com/endindiemusic.php
http://www.desmastering.com/trends.html
http://www.mcdl.net/sound-engineering/index.cfm?id=105
www.deluxemedia.com/images/CSS01_cd.pdf
http://www.low-life.fsnet.co.uk/pressing/glossary.htm
http://www.record-producer.com/learn.cfm?a=52
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec99/articles/patchbay.htm
http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/eac11.html
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan00/articles/enhancer.htm
http://www.physics.mcgill.ca/~guymoore/ph224/notes/lecture9.pdf
http://www.tpi-thevalueleader.com/rms.html
http://www.rane.com/par-h.html
http://www.dliengineering.com/downloads/crest%20factor.pdf |
|
Sun Oct 23, 2005 4:28 pm |
|
|
|
|
AUdIoCoUrSeS
Joined: 31 Oct 2002
Posts: 2014
|
| question 15 |
|
|
Good stuff, particularly liked question 15, started to get some of you coming through there really well.
I'm sure everyone appreciates how mastering is such a large subject field now, if you hadn't already!
_________________
It's all in the ears. - Learn the concepts not the software.
Audio Courses is a way into the music business for you
|
|
Sun Oct 30, 2005 2:15 pm |
|
|
K
Joined: 12 Apr 2005
Posts: 10
|
|
|
|
1. What is Mastering?
ANSWER: mastering is the finally touches to a mix to make it of broadcast and dublication quility . the extra use of eq , compressors and limiters can be used to boost the mix, make sure that everything sitts correctly
2. Why is mastering necessary?
ANSWER: master is necessary because some mixs might be of lower volume . all the songs need to be of uniform level so the album is comhesive . mastering is allso necessary to take out frequences that have not have been noticed
3. What is Post Production?
ANSWER: post production is working on a mix after it has been recorded and mixed , to add in a filter or a flange on a breakdown , or to add reverb to give a certain ambeance
4. Comment on “preparing your tapes”.
ANSWER: when your mix is finished , it is a good idea to create a back up tape , like a main tape that u have in a safe place , the tape should be labbeled correctly , the tape few have a free 10 seconds before the music starts and there should be a few seconds between each track
5. Comment on “stereo bass”.
ANSWER: the bass line in any song needs to be down the certain of the track from 180db and bellow . when your cutting vinal records , if the bass is in sterio its too much for the niddel to read , this could lead to jumping and skiping
6. Why is mono compatibility such an issue?
ANSWER: mono compatibility is important because if a sterio mix is played in a mono machine such as a transister radio some sounds that are panned hard left or hard right maybe missing , this will effect the rest of the mix
7. What is meant by the term “start ID”?
ANSWER: start id is and id number placed at the start of each track for disk cutting purposes
8. What are the three types of Disc Cutting?
ANSWER: variable pitch recording , half speed cutting , direct metal mastering
9. What information should be written on your master tapes?
ANSWER: the artist , name of the songs , durration , the producer , type of disk cutting
10. What is meant by multi-band compression?
ANSWER: multi band compression means that a compressor can compress an diffrent levels and specified frequences . it can allso compress diffrent ranges and bands
11. Explain the term dynamic range.
ANSWER: dynamic range is the range within which volume fluctuates , how load or quite a track gets
12. What is the formula for dynamic range?
ANSWER: SNR[r.m.s]db = 6n + 1.8 .
n= amount of bits (ie. 16 or 24) . example : SNR[r.m.s.]db = 6(16) + 1.8 = 97.8
13. What is meant by SNR?
ANSWER: singnl to noise ratio . this has got to do with the amount of noise there is in a track between the signal level and noise level . if the SNR is high in a track that is not good beacuse if the volume of the track is turned up the noise level will rise to , and will danagrad the sound
14. Describe gain riding.
ANSWER: gain riding is ajusting the gain while recording and listening , while watching the meter
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?
ANSWER:
16. What is meant by normalling?
ANSWER: normalising is a gain related process that can minimise a digital systems dinamic range , by finguring out how much gain would be required to increase the highest amplicfied signal of a track to the systems full scale volume
17. Explain DC offset
ANSWER: DC offset is a missmatch between the electrical system and the sound card , this adds a DC curent to the wave causing it to not be centered around the base lind causing glitches
18. How can the target audience affect mastering decisions?
ANSWER: a target audience can affect master decisions because diffrent types of music need to have diffrent types of finishing . ie , dance music would need a need a lot of bass
19. What happens to the audio signal when a aural enhancer is applied?
ANSWER: makes the frequence chossen sound brighter
20. What does relative loudness mean?
ANSWER: relative loudness is the volume of one arual sound in relation to another
21. What does r.m.s. mean?
ANSWER: r.m.s - ruth mean square gives volume of a peak to peak ampiltide values a way of messuring wave form amplutude
22. What is meant by 'entertainment quality'?
ANSWER:entertainment quility is on a cd 16 bit (44.1khz) as good as a home entertainment system
23. What happens if you leave excessive, short transients in the music?
ANSWER:excessive short tansients will result in the loass of lower signals. some transients can pass through a compressor so fast that the compressor does not have the time to react , this will result in clipping
24. What is The K-System?
ANSWER:the k system is an intagrated sytem for mastering and monitering created by bob katz . it is mastering and monitering standerd . there are 3 diffrent dinamic levels of this system , k-20 : for large theathers , k-14 : for home music and pop music , and k-12 : for broadcast
25. What are The Equal Loudness Contours?
ANSWER:things sound at the same volume but theey are attualy louder or quiter in db terms , so a bass might seem loud but it might only be a fraction of the db volume of a snare drum which might be as loud
26. What is MetaData?
ANSWER:metadata is the controll of data in a data signal , there are 2 metadata control words,dialnorm (dialogue normalisation) which is used in digital tv and radio,its used to produce a consistent loudness from program to program. and there's mixlev (mix level) which sets the listeners monitor gain to reproduce the sound pressure levels used by the original producer
27. Explain the term Headroom.
ANSWER: headroom is the amount a tape or cd can take before it peaks or clips
28. Explain the term Crest factor.
ANSWER :Crest factor of a waveform is equal to the peak amplitude divided by the RMS value. Calculation gives an analyst a quick idea of how much impacting is occurring in a waveform. DC voltage has crest factor of 1 as RMS and peak value are the same.
29. What skills and abilities must a Mastering Engineer possess?
ANSWER: a mastering engineer must be experienced at understanting frequences and mastering equiptment . he/she should be able to process a project to minamise problems
30. What does the term “Masking” mean?
ANSWER: masking is the phonomaonon by which loud sounds provent the ear frrom hearing softer sounds
31. Explain the Hass Effect.
ANSWER: the hass effect is an effect concerned with the aperent location of the sourse of the sound when the same sound as heard from 2 or more areas . eg . in a public address system(PA)
32. Why is an acceleration limiter necessary in a vinyl cutting lathe?
ANSWER: when cutting a vinyl , an acceleration limiter is necessay to prevent damage to the vynal and to the styles. . the walls of the grovees in the vinyl provide accelaration when the vinyl is being played this could damage the vinyl ,the goove can also make the syles move up off the vynal causing misstracking and maybe damage to the vinyl when the styles lands back on it
33. Explain, as separate paragraphs of up to 100 words, the two causes of mistracking of a vinyl record
ANSWER:The conventions of disc cutting dictate that the right stereo channel is recorded in the wall of the groove closest to the edge of the record and the left channel in the wall nearest to the centre of the record. Any difference in signal between the left and right channels causes a varying groove depth and if it becomes too shallow then mistracking can occur.
Mistracking can also occur from wear on the vinyl surface where the surface of the record can be worn down by excessive playing due to the pressure of the stylus against the surface so that the stylus cannot accurately remain in the groove and mistracking can start to occur.
34. Why is the bass on a vinyl record mixed into mono?
ANSWER: the bass line in any song needs to be down the certain of the track from 180db and bellow . when your cutting vinal records , if the bass is in sterio its too much for the niddel to read , this could lead to jumping and skiping
35. For maximum sound quality, what is the suggested duration of a single side of a vinyl record?
ANSWER: 26 minutes
36. What is a 'production master'?
ANSWER: a production master is the final master before it goes to dubbliction
37. On a CD, what should the peak level be, at some point in the recording, in dBFS?
ANSWER: -0.1
38. What is the maximum recommended duration of a CD?
ANSWER: 74 minutes (700 megabites) some go to 80
39. Why is it possible for two recordings to differ in subjective loudness even if they peak at the same level?
ANSWER: they might have been compressed diffrently so the over all track would seem louder
40. List three methods of increasing subjective loudness.
ANSWER: limiters , compressors and eq at certain frequnces
41. Briefly explain the function of a multi-band compressor
ANSWER: a multi band compressor anilises a certain frequnce range and just compresses that range , then you can move on a se it to anilies another frequnces range and compress that |
|
Tue Nov 01, 2005 2:59 pm |
|
|
|
|
|
|
All times are GMT. The time now is Fri May 16, 2008 3:44 pm
|
|
|
|
| |
