Fundamentals of Digital Audio Podcast

Direct Link to the mp3.

I. Welcome. Peet Sneakes is back as our co-host.
Compression - sound loud (but not harsh) and soft at the same time
II. News and Notes
A. Amadeus Pro - great inexpensive audio editor on the Mac.
B. Applescript for radio-style programming on the iPod or iTunes
C. Free spectral analysis au and VST pulgins
1. Roger Nichols Inspector (AU)
2. Spectrafier (VST)
III. Field Recording

• So welcome on metrostation overamstel
  
• So lets start with why I started with field recording ... Story about Simon, he's a Camera man for various dutch projects
• He took me outside and recorded something
• It sounded immerse.
  
• Let's just review what options you have to do some outdoor recording, and why.
  
• Recorders:
  
• Cheap: memo-recorders (10 dollars)
• iRiver MP3 recorders 799 series. (around 50-100 dollars)
• iPod (video 4th and 4th gen with a Universal microphone adapter )
  
• Less Cheap and digital: sony MD recorders (100 to 200 dollars) ... especially when you're using Windows
• Make sure you get a recorder with an amplified microphone jack.
  
• Semi professional (around 350 dollars) (I don't have any experience with any of them but the M-Audio):
• M-Audio Microtrack (slow, build in batteries, but everything else is fine!)
  
• Zoom H4 (Samson Technologies) (quite big, includes a fixed bulky microphone setup, interchangeable batteries, many applications)
  
• Edirol R9 (Roland, Edirol)
• Professional (500 dollars and above):
• Marantz PMD660 (bulky, but sturdy)
• Microphones (applications)
• If you want quality, don't be cheap, you'll regret it
• Lavier microphones (sony, Sennheiser, Rode)
• noisy, windy, reporter application:
• Sennheiser MD 42 (omnidirectional, sturdy, no handling noises, mono, mash) (cardioid pickup = MD 46 )
  
• Ambient or stereo recordings:
  
• Soundman OKM Binaural
• Audio Technica Pro 24
• Car or passing recordings: headsets
• Senheiser PC 160
• Plantronic DSP 500
• Plop screens (reduce sounds)
• Headphones: closed system
• I'm a Sennheiser freak, so I use only small Closed Sennheisers, just try them on and check if you can bare to wear them for a while.
  
• Post production: filtering of wind noise.
• Microphone handling (use the headphones).

IV. Rick Pepper on speech processing (part II)
A. Rick Pepper's audio tutorial for speech processing
B. See last week's screen shots for au and vst plugins settings Rick used to process his voice.
He suggests uses them in this order (graphic eq (or hi pass filter, multiband compressor, mda bandisto plugin (exciter), and au dynamics processor (compressor and gate)
c. MDA VST multiband compressor (and otehr au and vst plugins)

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