Frequency/Spectrum Display?

[djdarwin]

Perfect

Chess, Glen and Benny you guys are on point.

 

[SonicAlbert]

As far as the idea of using the RTA to determine the composition or arrangement of the song, I'm not even sure where to begin on that, that just seems so wrong to me 9 ways to Sunday.

So wrong on Monday through Saturday as well.

Take composition or arranging lessons to fix problems in those areas. It would be an almost total misuse of an RTA to use it for those purposes.

I see an RTA as an audio tool. Great for learning and troubleshooting, very handy when used appropriately. I've found them useful for studying aspects of a mix that I like, which I can then attempt to duplicate. On an RTA you can sometimes see what the mixer or mastering engineer has done. Great for soloing tracks, seeing frequencies that are poking out.

Yes, you can sweep an eq to find the same frequency, but an RTA provides a quick visual reference that is useful. As your ears get better perhaps you need it less, but it is still a good thing to have around in my opinion.

 

[masteringhouse]

Finally @ Tom: Hey you, if my being on the case means you are around here less, than take me off the case, I'm doing this board more harm than good. Don't make me come out there and force you to eat a cheesesteak made with mozzerella cheese instead of cheese whiz just because you disappeared on me .

G.

Glen,

This thread is a great example of your contribution. Even when contradicted you don't back down but reply with a man of many years of audio wisdom. I was away sweeping up the remnants of the acoustician's mess in my new studio today and came back to check out this thread. Your response is exactly what I would have said, though I'm less prone to explain it in as much detail. Things are getting pretty busy on my end lately, so I don't have as much time to dedicate to forums as I used to. I trust that you will continue to do a premier job of audio education. You should really look into a teaching position at some point. I'll be around when I can, got your back G.

To others, sorry if this sounds I'm like ass-kissing Glen, I have nothing to gain from it. My advice is listen to this man, respect him, and treat him well.

BTW funny you should mention cheesteaks. My wife just went out for dinner and I ordered a pizza steak, with mozzarella.

Best,
Tom

 

[chessrock]

Your response is exactly what I would have said, though I'm less prone to explain it in as much detail.

I think Leo Tolstoy was prone to using less words and detail (than Southside Glen) when he wrote the novel "War and Peace."

.

 

[kylen]

I think Leo Tolstoy was prone to using less words and detail (than Southside Glen) when he wrote the novel "War and Peace."

Yep - the job ain't over till all the "i's" are dotted and the "t's" are crossed and the cheese steaks are eaten...

 

[BigRay]

I think the guys who are just starting out are better off just using their ears and learning all of the EQ bands/being able to identify them by hearing alone..(I forced myself to learn frequencies, and can pick out many by ear now) and once they have that skillset well developed, to start using analyzers. Those two things on the side of your head that the Good Lord put there are pretty good at picking out weirdness once you have them trained . What did the guys do before these sort of plugins were invented??Use your ears, and you will never be let down. Use those analyzers without fully understanding frequency ranges and other rudimentary concepts, and you just might.

 

[travelin travis]

As you can see in my signature space, I'm actually working on a notebook on critical listening, but it won't be ready until this fall. In the meantime a few quick ideas in short:

- first of all, try that technique given to you in the other thread using an equalizer to mess around around with a full mix and *CAREFULLY LISTEN* to just what each center frequency band on the EQ sounds like when that single band is boosted and cut. I used capital letters there because really listening and paying attention to the actual character of the sound of each band is the key. Do that for a half hour a day for a couple of weeks. Then get a friend to do it for you randomly, making you guess which band she's* moving and in which direction and, eventually, by how much. Before you know it, you'll have a great idea of just what each general band's character sounds like which will be a huge start.

- listen to a few quality commercial mixes (one at a time) with the following bullet list in you hand: instrument location, soundstage panning layout, reverb use and character, frequence content and spectral balance (using the skills you got above), song structure, instrument arrangement, and lyrical content. Put the song on and listen the first time concentrating on just instrument location for each individual instrument (including vocals) and how it is used throughout the song. Then play the song over and concentrate on the overall soundstage layout (all the instruments together) and concentrate on how they relate to eachother and integrate (or don't integrate) together. The do it over again concentrating only onthe next item on your list, and so on. Then the next time try it again, but listen to more than one list characteristic at once. As you go along, you're memorizing the list itself. Before that long, you'll be finding yourself auotmatically making these analysies to any song your hear more or less at the same time and more or less as second nature.

There are lots of other tricks and exercises that involve stuff like critically listening to live performances in person, critically comparing speakers and monitors in retail showrooms, etc. but those above should get you started for now. The rest I'll be typing out in detail over this summer.

*I say "she" because you can kill two birds with one stone. Get your gal to help you by having her play back tracks from Barry White, Gato Barbieri, or Etta James. As you impress her with your aural sensitivity, you'll be getting her in the mood for some oral sensitivity

G.

that's good stuff man. if i were'nt so lazy, i'd actually try those exercises.

 

[kylen]

that's good stuff man. if i were'nt so lazy, i'd actually try those exercises.

Well start with the exercies in fine print and work backwards then!

Here's another RTA use not related to the original posters question. I'm about to do a VHS tape master (lucky) transfer to digital thru the Myteks and I stuck a coupla GT Bricks in there for ye ole poor-mans-preamp just to hear what it might sound like. The RTA tells me one of the Bricks has a nice little hum at -92db along with a 3rd harmonic...so it helps a little to check signal paths and stuff without having to crank the monitor up to hear a hum down that low...many other test equipment/calibration type uses also obviously.