Sound Design Stack Exchange
Sound Design Stack Exchange

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1500 questions
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votes
4 answers

When should I trust my ears over the phase/vector/lissajous scope?

Let's say I have a sound I like. I start mixing down, and I see that it is all over the place on the phase-scope; that is, the signal looks like it has some significant out-of-phase components. I've been told this is a Bad Thing, especially if you…
Daniel Quinlan
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6
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7 answers

What are good alternatives to studio foam for a home studio?

I have built a vocal booth for my own studio and plan to line it with acoustic studio foam (a.k.a., "egg-crate foam"). However, acoustic foam is very expensive…
mcranston18
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6
votes
2 answers

In what ways does mp4 improve on mp3?

I know mp4 is supposed to have 'higher sound quality at a lower file size', but: how does it do this? How does it compress more information into a smaller space? How much of mp3 is still used? Was mp4 completely designed from the ground up, or does…
Gordon Gustafson
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6
votes
2 answers

Ableton Live Instruments and Effects Have Disappeared From The Library...How to get them back?

I opened Ableton Live (6 LE - Mac Version) last night and none of the instruments or effect presets were in the Library pane. The instrument and effect unit names were there, but when I click on the arrow to expand the tree view...nothing appears. …
kevtrout
6
votes
1 answer

Headphone cables: Coiled v.s Straight

What's the difference between the two? Is it just the convenience of one over the other or does it affect sound quality?
에이바
6
votes
5 answers

How can I reduce noise with many cables?

I have a home studio with 10 microphones cabled up. These cables all connect from the audio interface to the microphones, and follow generally the same path. I have heard that parallel cables add noise to each other. Is this really a problem? How…
user135
6
votes
2 answers

Strip Right channel in GarageBand

I have recorded some tracks in GarageBand using a stereo setting, but only actually recorded onto the left channel. The right channel, due to some normalisation I did, is full of white noise. I currently have these tracks panned hard left. However,…
Bill Cheatham
6
votes
2 answers

Is it worth supporting VST3?

I'm writing a specialized plugin host which currently supports VST2.4 plugins only. When I have a bit of time, I will also include support for AudioUnits on the Mac and LADSPA on Linux. As one of the purposes of this host is to facilitate in plugin…
Nik Reiman
6
votes
2 answers

Useful reviews or "best" iPad remote automation controller for Pro Tools?

The iPad seems to have quite a few remote automation controllers for DAWs, and it's hard to know which one is any good -- they are all fairly pricey (even by iPad app standards). Anyone have experience using these and/or a link to some honest…
davetron5000
6
votes
3 answers

How to avoid clipping when explicitly adding audio tracks?

When two or more audio tracks are simply "added" together, they may peak at the same time, causing the resulting "sum" track to be clipped. I am looking for an algorithm or technique to bring the "sum" track back within limits, without causing too…
Koen Van Damme
6
votes
1 answer

In Ableton, how come cropped samples aren't cropped as much when imported later?

I've been trying to archive my samples for later use. Assume I have a sample cropped perfectly in drum rack and I've verified that the sample is how I want it. I've then stored the .wav for the sample along with the .asd in my archive. When I later…
Carter
6
votes
4 answers

A mathematical formula describing Mains Hum

Is there any mathematical formula which gives a better or worse approximation of Mains Hum? The idea is to programatically generate the sound.
Maurycy
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6
votes
3 answers

Stereo imaging with headphones

I've read that recordings with proper stereo imaging cannot appropriately be heard with headphones. (This was a side note listed on this article...) Is this true? If so, what is the reasoning? I was under the impression that headphones would be…
Brad
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6
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1 answer

Sound system for home theater and band

My father is building a home theater system in his new home. Since it will be sound proof he wants to use the room for playing music and dancing as well. So now I am tasked to find a sound system suitable for watching movies, listening to music, as…
rabbid
6
votes
2 answers

Will a magnetically shielded studio monitor mess up my hard drive?

This may be a noob question and if it is, bear with me. :) I've got a pair of M-Audio Studiophile AV-40s that I'm wanting to put on my desk. The product description on Musician's Friend says... Unchecked, all speakers emit electromagnetic waves…
Galen Gidman
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