Category Archives for "Acoustics"
- in Acoustics , Gear by Bobby Owsinski
The Reason Why Stradivarius Violins Are Worth Millions
I think most of us that play a stringed instrument love instruments of all types, but given a choice, will always pick a vintage instrument over a new one. While it’s true that new instruments are generally better in build quality than old ones in terms of consistency thanks to new computer controlled routing machines, […]
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There’s Never Been Anything Like It – The Grateful Dead’s Wall Of Sound PA
Concert sound systems have grown in scope over the years and are truly marvels in analog and digital electronics and acoustics. They’ve never been more powerful and more controllable, and our understanding of their use has never been better. That said, even the most sophisticated sound system of today still has a ways to go […]
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Seeing Ghosts With Infrasound
Everything has a resonant frequency, even the human body. In fact, strange things happen when the the resonant point of a particular body organ occurs. All of these resonant frequencies are in the infrasonic range, meaning they’re below the point of natural hearing under 20Hz and appear more as clicks rather than a steady tone. […]
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Yes, We’d All Love To Record At The Sanctuary In The Bahamas
For many up-and-coming artists, just getting to record in a real high-end commercial studio is a dream come true, but once you’re successful, that might not be enough. Many artists thrive on isolation away from record labels, management and the public, so an out of the way residential studio is the perfect place for creating. […]
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New Potential Treatment For Hearing Loss Brings Hope To Millions
There comes a point in time when most people working in the content end of the music business get serious about their hearing. When you first start, the only thing better than loud is louder, but after a while, we begin to realize that hearing is a resource that, when damaged, doesn’t heal like other […]
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Orchestral Musician Wins Court Ruling Over Lost Hearing
If you’ve ever played in a band you know that it gets loud when you play whether you like it or not. Regardless of if you’re on stage or in rehearsal, drums and amps are sometimes blaring with the sound bouncing all over the room, and if you don’t wear ear protection it’s common to […]
Continue reading- in Acoustics , Engineering by Bobby Owsinski
Traditional Car Speakers May Soon Go The Way Of The 8 Track
Let’s face it, we do so much listening in our cars that we know the sound probably better than in our studios. In fact, the automobile is still the main reference point for many mixers. Forget the expensive studio monitors, if it sounds right in our car then the mix is right with the world. […]
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How Would You Like To Record On A Ship?
I’m very fond of cruising and will take every chance I can to get back on the ocean. It’s a great place to work (although the internet connection can be a bit slow) and I find I get a lot done in a very relaxed manner. That’s why the idea of a recording studio on […]
Continue reading- in Acoustics by Bobby Owsinski
How Sound Works In A Room
We’ve all been in studios where the owner spent a ton of money on the speakers yet it still doesn’t sound that good. That’s because they’ve neglected to treat the room, and as a result, aren’t hearing what’s accurately going on. I’ve written a lot about this in the past (including a book with Dennis […]
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Here’s A Physical Way To See Harmonics And Wavelength
I’ve posted some interesting ways to actually physically see sound waves in the past, but here’s more scientific way done in a lab. The following videos are from the Naval Postgraduate Physics Department’s YouTube channel, which is dedicated to showing physics experiments. That’s cool enough by itself, but what’s even better is that a large number […]
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Cymatics: Music That You Can See
We all know that music is a series of vibrations, but we hear those effects and generally don’t see them. What if we could see them though? That’s what the science of Cymatics is all about. It allows us to see those audio vibrations, and the results are surprisingly orderly and beautiful. In this excellent […]
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How To Build The Cheapest Acoustic Panels Of All
One of the easiest things to do to upgrade your playback space is to add acoustic panels around your listening area to create a Reflection Free Zone. You can buy these panels from any number of vendors, or if you feel like swinging a staple gun, build your own for $150 or so by following […]
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LEAF Is The Loudest Sound System In The World
How many times have you gone to a concert and returned with your ears ringing thinking, “That must have been the loudest sound system in the world”? It turns out that regardless how loud we think a particular sound system is (even in a car audio competition), the winner is the Large European Acoustic Facility (LEAF) in […]
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Meet Space Crate: A Studio In A Shipping Container
One of the problems with building a studio in your house or garage is that when you move it can’t go with you. You’ve spent a lot of dough on something that mostly likely the next owner won’t appreciate, and you’ll have to do it all over again in your next house. A way around […]
Continue reading- in Acoustics , Book Excerpt , Production , Studios by Bobby Owsinski
The Most Forgotten Items When Building A Studio
It’s inevitable. No matter how many times you’ve built a studio, you have that “Oops, I forgot,” moment at the end. If you’re lucky, it’s something that isn’t major, but a lot of people have been known to do things they’re sorry for later like close up walls before installing the electrical or the mic […]
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