Acoustics

The next time someone asks you if you know all of your scales, ask them if they know the Hungarian minor or the double harmonic.

This is a directional microphone and when I point it away from my face You might expect it to be quieter than this But the thing is when you hear me, you’re not just hearing me in one place You’re hearing me and you’re hearing the sound as it bounces around the room and that might surprise you Because even this shoddy Designed to reject as much of the environment as possible still picks up a lot of sound off-axis Where it might feel more like 60/40 rather than 80/20 I like to think of any microphone as if it has two signals and not one There’s the room sound which never really changes and a direct signal where you do have some control and what you should Understand from this is that maybe more important than this mic or this one or this one is the room You’re in and which way are you facing?

Diffusion and density.

You have a choice when it comes to engaging a filter.

If you max out your signal and pan it to one side, you’re probably gonna clip your output.

Tricking yourself is just not a good long-term strategy.

Speakers are kind of like a pair of new shoes.

Level isn’t the most important element in your mix.

This is a Helmholtz resonator, and you’ll see them in studios.

Stand by, this is going to be take three and rolling.

(beep) - What’s happening here might not be exactly what you think.

There are vocalists out there that will never ever give you a good performance in headphones, but even seasoned vocalists sometimes have a hard time matching the vibe and the performance of a relaxed studio environment with the monitors on.

Sometimes stereo is like an added byproduct of what you get when you use multiple microphones.

They say monsters aren’t real, but I’m not so sure.

This is a story about perfection.

This might be the easiest complicated chord progression you’ll ever learn.

Stop singing. There’s nothing in your vocal chain that will substitute for a good performance. I can fix your pitch, I can fix your timing, but if the vocal doesn’t…

If you’ve played Fallout, you recognize this immediately.

Your instruments and really anything organic, in other words wood, cloth, leather, they like the same conditions you do.

"Pre-delay is about more than just the time between the original sound and the onset of reverb, as you may have heard." Most people assume that reverb time is the factor that tells you how large a space you’re simulating, but actually there’s a lot more going on.

If you’ve already trained your ear to identify the sonic footprint of a room, a sharp clap can be a great way to do a quick evaluation.

If you are using the term "gained staging" as a verb, you might be overthinking it.

Before we begin to discuss delay, echo, and reverb, let’s take a second to talk about the Haas effect.

When two signals run out of phase, they cancel.

The EQ in your DAW may have an edge over even some of the most coveted recording discs, but only if you know how to take advantage of it.

Today we’re going to look at microphone polar patterns.

The goal of the upcoming musician basics elective is to get you to recognize that you can stack a bunch of notes together and create a chord.

Do you need room acoustics and sound treatment?

I want you to meet Rich Crocenti.

When dialing in an equalizer, it’s helpful to think of the workflow is happening in two stages a targeting step and an adjustment step.

Before you mix in earbuds, I want you to try this.

We all do it. Part of studio culture seems to be fetishizing gear, but let’s level set for a second. Because aside from you and your instruments, the only thing…

You might be surprised to learn that the big studio sound you like isn’t just a byproduct of a big studio.

If you need to soundproof, do one of three things.

With great power comes great responsibility.

I don’t know you, but your room is really bad for mixing, and I can say that because pretty much every room is really bad for mixing.

Hey teachers, when you ask your class any questions, it’s a little bit like saying, "Does everyone understand?" If you don’t hear anything, it doesn’t mean it’s time to move on.

Reverb. I am brimming with things that I want to say about reverb. There’s no way I can put this into 60 seconds, but effects mixing and synthesis starts next…

The topics in this 10-minute video include the harmonic series and the physical nature of sound.

You want to get better at mixing?

Complete guide to recording upright pianos: microphone placement techniques, removing panels for better access, dealing with player noise, and miking from behind the instrument.

It’s easy to take air for granted because it’s invisible, but from an audio perspective, that’s a mistake.

Hey, Producers! You need to know a little music theory. I’m going to be hosting a free Zoom workshop on the intersection of harmony and acoustics. It’s specifically for producers…

What’s your first upgrade or purchase once you’ve set up the bare bones minimum for your studio?