Research Hurts Bert!

I am learning new things today!

By defining and researching the following production and engineering terms, I will be exponetially increasing my knowledge of all things well and good in the world we live in! HOORAY! In all seriousness, I will be using this post specifically to reference any future questions I have pertaining to my adventures in the sonic world. If all goes according to plan, this will be the most helpful tool I have created all year. Cross ya finguhs.

AKG 414: A really famous microphone from the equally well-known audio technology company AKG that led its competitors during the era of the switch from tube to solid state technology...or something like that

Frankly, this is all confusing me already...maybe by the end of this post I will understand more (hopefully)

polar patterns: a graph showing how the sensitivity of a microphone varies with the angle of the sound source, at a particular frequency. Here's a picture of one you dumbass:

tranducer/capsule: a device that converts one form of energy to another. A microphone transducer converts acoustical energy (sound) into electrical energy (audio signal).

frequency response: a graph showing how a microphone responds to various sound frequencies; it is a plot of electrical output vs. frequency. More graphs? Yes.



Focusrite Scarlett 2i2: an absolutely beautiful audio interface (if it were a girl, I'd date it) that is used mostly by musicians "on-the-go" or simply by those who wish to record a quick demo or an idea for a song. It has two preamp inputs and is compatible with Mac OSX Moutain Lion. It is also only $150.

XY/coincident pair: a stereo micing technique in where you put the diagphragms of two microphones on top of eachother, each facing the opposite direction at a 90 degree angle. Here's a helpful diagram that will easily explain this concept:

                                                      

spaced pair: another stereo micing technique. This time, all you would do is place two identical mics equidistant from each other and point them at the same angle in the same direction at the same general target. Picturez:

                                                      

ORFT: a weird micing technique where you kind of space two identical (or at least similar) mics about 17-20cm apart from each other each angled at opposite sides of a recording room. This is supposed to create a potentially more appealing sound as the audio should theoretically arrive at each microphone at seperate times. I'm not quite sure I understand this one yet but I found a diagram that makes things slightly less confusing.

                                                      

blumlein pair: a recording technique that can potentially recreate the spacial experience that the sound would be recorded in. This is achieved by placing the transducers of two similar or identical bidirectional microphones as close as possible to each other while pointing each mic 90 degrees from the other (similar to the XY technique). If done correctly, this technique could produce near-lifelike stereo and spacial audio quality. Here is a sketch of what it should look like:

                                                      

-Peter

Fourth Qatar

Middle East jokes eh?

Last quarter in STAC was a pretty good experience for me; I had learned many new things that I surely would not have had I chosen a different route. Alas, same as the arms of a carousel must continually swap and rotate as it moves about, the fourth and final quarter of the school year approaches me quickly, leaving the third behind in its glass case of remembrance.

This quarter my wishes and creative pursuits remain, for the most part, the same--with music, that is; I will continue to educate myself (with adequate amounts of support) on various topics in music theory, songwriting, audio production, etceteras.

However, I have always had an acute interest in films, moving picture shows, if you will. I have had some brief experience directing and producing a handful of short movies and commercials at the beginning of the scholar year. Not only would I enjoy minoring in film production, but I would also love to explore my acting abilities, albeit if any exist! In today's class improv, I felt myself rekindling the catalytic spark of interest that I had with acting. It would be a pleasure to be featured in any of the STACies' films this quarter, especially after viewing a couple of their more recent works they developed over the course of third quarter.

As far as my indulgences in music and production go, I figure that this biography about Dave Grohl would be an interesting read --> http://www.amazon.com/This-Is-Call-Times-Grohl/dp/0306821427/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

First off, anything that ever come's out of the man's mouth is automatically riveting; about a month ago I found myself glued to listening to his 45-minute keynote speech at the South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas. Secondly, he is just meagerly obscure enough to be able to read an interesting, yet unbiased biography on (he's still not quite as famous as David Bowie). If this gets approved, I will be extremely happy with reading this long, paperback, 388-page novel (I sound sarcastic but I'm really not!)

-Peter

EP Updæte

It will be finished...eventually.

For a while I have been away from my studio, the aforementioned term used very lightly, and I have not been recording music as much as I have been during the past year or so. I have been writing, don't get me wrong, and, as always, I am always using my guitar or piano to play and try and stumble upon that sweet groove that I have been so long awaiting. Despite this, however, I have not mustered up enough confidence to take the time to record. That factor, when coupled with a long drought of legitimate inspiration, makes for a bad case of disengagement.

THINGS WILL CHANGE

The past week has been a nice reboot for my music and I. Just recently I have been exposed to the wonderful wide world that is the iPad GarageBand app. I do not think I will be using this particular software to record any of my songs for the upcoming album, but it is, simply put, an absolute gem for the creative mind. After one week of working and toying with it, I have been able to produce a couple of "songs" (incorrectly placed quotation marks)that I am very happy with.

Expect A OK things somewhat soon!


-Peter