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1500 questions
7
votes
7 answers
What's the origin of the word "Stem"?
I got in a bit of a discussion today about the origin of the word STEM.
I personally believe it comes from a combination of STEREO MASTER = STEreo Master = STEM.
My coworker thinks that's bunk because 5.1 Stems are still called Stems, and they're…
Utopia
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7
votes
4 answers
Name and examples for the tinnitus effect after explosions in films
Is there a common term among film sound designers for the trope in which we enter a character's audio perspective after gunshots or explosions to experience their hearing loss and tinnitus ("eeeeeeeeeee")? Saving Private Ryan is often considered the…
Mack
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7
votes
5 answers
Why is a pop filter necessary?
I'm doing recordings for YouTube videos and would like to know whether a pop filter is really necessary. I, of course, care about audio quality, but I'm on a tight budget. Do I really need one? I'll most likely just be doing commentaries, not…
Kaz Wolfe
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7
votes
6 answers
Why is my mix sounding dull and amateurish?
I've spent days trying to mix a track I've done for a local vocalist. There is EQ, panning, a little compression on the drums and some reverb and delay effects.
It's not a complicated song, yet I can't seem to get it sounding open or exciting; it…
nobosity
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7
votes
8 answers
Organizing Libraries
It is fun to get outside and record, but I often have to get super motivated to edit and catalogue a bunch of my recordings. My blog has helped me with that, but I'm curious how folks catalogue their sounds and what library tools they are using.
sepulchra
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7
votes
6 answers
How do I shout into my mic without distortion?
I have an Audiotechna AT2020 USB condenser microphone hooked up to my computer. When I'm recording sometimes I may shout or scream and my microphone goes all grainy and distorted. So I'm just wondering how I can resolve this or for anything else…
Luke
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7
votes
4 answers
Making a "Gears turning" Effect, and then grinding to a halt
What would be a way to acquire this sound without actually building or finding metal gears that turn?
The Glis Jackel
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7
votes
8 answers
Audio map of the Globe
So i was sitting at the beach the other day. It was pretty much the first day of warm weather (summer) in San Francisco. Anyways, I was thinking that all along the coastline of almost any place in the world is a bunch of wave sounds. Then I…
Chris
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7
votes
4 answers
What's the shortest sound perceptible to the human ear?
How long would the shortest perceptible sound last?
I'm guessing there'll be a frequency at which we can hear short sounds best but I don't need to find that. Admittedly this is also completely dependent on the hifi too.
(I'm working on an audio…
James
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7
votes
10 answers
Really weird DIY shotgun mic (old, yes, but I just found it again...)
Anyone ever seen one of these or played with one before? Its been floating around for quite some time now. I found it a few years ago and just stumbled upon it a few days ago. I'd imagine if you took one of these in a public area you'd probably…
Colin Hart
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7
votes
3 answers
How to convert a stereo MP3 to mono MP3
We had an MP3 created for a message greeting on our phone system. It is stereo MP3, not sure what the bit rate is, but is sampled at 44.1k.
Our sound system requires it to be in this format:
16 bit
Mono
44.100 kHz
I have Garageband and went out…
Swisher Sweet
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7
votes
1 answer
How can I detect corrupt/incomplete MP3 files?
I have 1,000 MP3. Some of them went through e-mail, FTP, USB key, etc., which means they might be corrupt or incomplete. How can I check them (without having to test them one by one manually)?
Franck Dernoncourt
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7
votes
1 answer
What's the difference between a compressor and a maximizer?
Both plugin types increase the loudness. But what's the technical difference and in which case do you use which plugin type?
Eduard Wirch
7
votes
2 answers
How do song recognition services (like Shazam) work?
Seems kinda difficult to do that, especially when I am recording songs off the radio, using different hardware for both playing and recording (for example playing from a radio in the car and recording to a phone, or playing from phone and recording…
user434
7
votes
2 answers
Meaning of Feat. | Pres. | Vs. | &
Looking at my music collection, I just wonder... what do these mean:
Author Z feat. Author W (featuring)
Author X pres. Author Y (presents)
Author Y vs. Author Q (versus)
Author A & Author B (and)
Do they mean a different type of collaboration?…
Martin Tóth