sunnuntai 23. heinäkuuta 2017 10.53.32 UTC+3 Brian Gaff kirjoitti:

Most rock engineers like a forward mid to treble as they are deaf. Then
they get the balance right for the rest of us.

Top posted for Brian

So you think most rock engineers are deaf ? LOL.

May I continue with your hypothesis? A classical work by Anton Bruckner (a symphony orchestra with double brass, French horns and woods, with a choir of 120 may well be just as loud as any rock title, and will almost certainly have a greater dynamic. Classical recordings are not normally compressed and so for the producer and engineer to hear the passage where the string basses play arco piano-pianissimo (ppp) - very softly, the monitoring level will need to be fairly “robust” It is not common practice either to alter the monitoring level either, so that when the full orchestra plays sfffz this will be impressively loud. Does that mean that most classical engineers (such as myself) are deaf also?

Come to think of it, a jazz orchestra, (big band) with five trumpets, four trombones, tuba, five saxophones, four rhythm and percussion can also be impressively loud. In a multi-mic recording you have thirty mics each placed within 10 cms of a their own 100dB sound source. Does that mean that most jazz engineers (such as myself) are deaf also?

Who does that leave? Maybe the young lady who records the shipping forecast:-)

I have always been interested in audio perception - what people can and cannot hear. One of the most interesting experiments with which I have been involved is the black box three-band parametric equaliser, which has two rows each with three rotary controls, and a bypass switch. The controls are not marked, but people soon realise that the top row of three controls are cut and boost for the three frequencies selected by the three controls below the second row. People are asked to start by listening with the bypass switched in, and the to switch it out, and adjust the controls to their personal taste. Children, who you would expect to have the best hearing of any age group, often add a mid lift, say 3dB at 3 to 8kHz, just as the rock'n'roll engineer does, because so much critical information is contained in this band. Interesting too is the fact that a small group of people whose choice of music often coincides with the the type of music they are listening too, decide after a few minutes twiddling that they can add no improvement.


Iain