Sound Engineering the Guitar - Revision history

Vjmanzo at 15:14, 8 July 2020

2020-07-08T15:14:06Z

Bbunnag at 13:43, 8 July 2020

2020-07-08T13:43:47Z

Bbunnag at 13:36, 8 July 2020

2020-07-08T13:36:54Z

Bbunnag at 19:48, 5 July 2020

2020-07-05T19:48:16Z

Bbunnag at 19:38, 5 July 2020

2020-07-05T19:38:53Z

Bbunnag at 19:36, 5 July 2020

2020-07-05T19:36:47Z

Bbunnag at 19:25, 5 July 2020

2020-07-05T19:25:54Z

Bbunnag at 19:23, 5 July 2020

2020-07-05T19:23:55Z

Bbunnag at 19:23, 5 July 2020

2020-07-05T19:23:17Z

Bbunnag at 19:02, 5 July 2020

2020-07-05T19:02:02Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:14, 8 July 2020
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	[[Category:Sound Design]]		[[Category:Sound Design]]
	[[Category: Advisor:Manzo]]		[[Category: Advisor:Manzo]]
		+	[[Category: Featured]]

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 === Mr. Crowley ===
 For the first Randy Rhoads' song to cover I went with ''Mr. Crowley''. A feature that stands out is Rhoads' is the use of chorus, which gives the guitar depth, as if multiple guitars are playing.
-<mediaplayer>https://vjmedia.wpi.edu/File:Mrcrowley.wav</mediaplayer>
+<mp3player>https://vjmedia.wpi.edu/images/d/d4/Mrcrowley.mp3</mp3player>
 === Crazy Train ===
 Having achieved a reasonably similar sound to Rhoads, I moved on to a cover of ''Crazy Train''. However, because the solo features a lot of tapping, hammer ons, and pull offs, it was vital that the signal chain provide the necessary power to get a whole and powerful sound.

@@ Line 77: / Line 77: @@
 === Mr. Crowley ===
 For the first Randy Rhoads' song to cover I went with ''Mr. Crowley''. A feature that stands out is Rhoads' is the use of chorus, which gives the guitar depth, as if multiple guitars are playing.
-[[Media:Mrcrowley.wav]]
+<mediaplayer>https://vjmedia.wpi.edu/File:Mrcrowley.wav</mediaplayer>
 === Crazy Train ===
 Having achieved a reasonably similar sound to Rhoads, I moved on to a cover of ''Crazy Train''. However, because the solo features a lot of tapping, hammer ons, and pull offs, it was vital that the signal chain provide the necessary power to get a whole and powerful sound.

@@ Line 80: / Line 80: @@
 === Crazy Train ===
 Having achieved a reasonably similar sound to Rhoads, I moved on to a cover of ''Crazy Train''. However, because the solo features a lot of tapping, hammer ons, and pull offs, it was vital that the signal chain provide the necessary power to get a whole and powerful sound.
 <youtube>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM47VdlBEAg</youtube>

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:38, 5 July 2020
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−	As a guitarist trying to launch a [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdAdqyG9p4HugSnUudW-J0A Youtube] channel, the endeavor of this E'20 term inquiry seminar was to explore the world of guitar recording and achieve a better sound presentation. I have a strong focus on rock music, and so EQ, Compression, and Distortion were very present topics of discussion. Throughout the course, the main tool of choice for ~~both~~ me ~~and Prof. Manzo~~ has been the [https://www.ableton.com/en/ Ableton] for the DAW, and [https://www.positivegrid.com/ PostivieGrid's ] ''BiasFX'' and ''BiasAmp'' VST's.	+	As a guitarist trying to launch a [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdAdqyG9p4HugSnUudW-J0A Youtube] channel, the endeavor of this E'20 term inquiry seminar was to explore the world of guitar recording and achieve a better sound presentation. I have a strong focus on rock music, and so EQ, Compression, and Distortion were very present topics of discussion. Throughout the course, the main tool of choice for me has been the [https://www.ableton.com/en/ Ableton] for the DAW, and [https://www.positivegrid.com/ PostivieGrid's ] ''BiasFX'' and ''BiasAmp'' VST's.
		+	<youtube>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX0Od-mVSDg</youtube>

	==Background==		==Background==

@@ Line 62: / Line 62: @@
 ===Recreating the Tone: Highway Star===
-For the first guitar cover assignment I performed a cover of Deep Purple's ''Highway Star''. I would describe Ritchie Blackmore's tone as whiney, powerful, and raw, which was something I tried to capture using only ''BiasAmp''. I paired the SLO 100 amp with the Jazz Clean cabinet to produce my sound.
+For the first guitar cover assignment, I performed a cover of Deep Purple's ''Highway Star''. I would describe Ritchie Blackmore's tone as 'whiney', 'powerful', and 'raw', which was something I tried to capture using ''BiasAmp''. I paired the SLO 100 amp with the Jazz Clean cabinet to produce my sound.
 <youtube>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEkIWRpn8L8</youtube>
 ==Recreating the Rhoads Sound==
-For the second cover, I worked on recreating Randy Rhoads' signature sound in ''The Blizzard of Ozz''. A guitar tone haracterized by its raw distortion paired with the chorus effects to create a very tight and aggressive sound. Where as in ''Highway Star'' I had to try to mimic the tone completely by ear, Randy Rhoads' rig rundown was available on the [https://www.guitareuromedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/859599598ab4d06f3baf602a686bf263.jpg internet], and the ''Bias Amp'' and the ''BiasFx'' VST's offered the tools needed to make a complete duplicate.
+For the part of the course, I worked on recreating Randy Rhoads' signature sound in ''The Blizzard of Ozz''. A guitar tone characterized by its raw distortion paired with the chorus effects to create a very tight and aggressive sound. Where as in ''Highway Star'' I had to try to mimic the tone completely by ear, Randy Rhoads' rig rundown was available on the [https://www.guitareuromedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/859599598ab4d06f3baf602a686bf263.jpg internet], and the ''Bias Amp'' and the ''BiasFx'' VST's offered the necessary tools to recreate the signal chain.
 ===The Rig Rundown===
-As seen in '''FigureX''', Rhoads' rig consists of a series of MXR pedals which provides various effects, namely distortion, wah, EQ, and chorus. This was achieved by setting up a similar pedal chain in ''BiasFX''.
+As seen in [https://www.guitareuromedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/859599598ab4d06f3baf602a686bf263.jpg this image], Rhoads' rig consists of a series of MXR pedals which provides various effects, namely distortion, wah, EQ, and chorus. This was achieved by setting up a similar pedal chain in ''BiasFX''. Then, the chain is connected to two parallel Marshall Lead 100 Amps, which once again can be recreated in ''BiasAmp'' through a parallel rack of the '69 Leads amp.
 === Mr. Crowley ===
@@ Line 79: / Line 79: @@
 === Crazy Train ===
 Having achieved a reasonably similar sound to Rhoads, I moved on to a cover of ''Crazy Train''. However, because the solo features a lot of tapping, hammer ons, and pull offs, it was vital that the signal chain provide the necessary power to get a whole and powerful sound.
 ==Compression==
 As explained earlier, compression is a major part of sound engineering. Compression, or dynamic range compression, is the process of leveling the dynamic range of audio through amplifying quiet sounds and/or reducing loud sounds. There are four main types of compression:

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:23, 5 July 2020
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−	As a guitarist trying to launch a [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdAdqyG9p4HugSnUudW-J0A Youtube] channel, the endeavor of this E'20 term inquiry seminar was to explore the world of guitar recording and achieve a better sound presentation. I have a strong focus on rock music, and so EQ, Compression, and Distortion were very present topics of discussion. Throughout the course, the main tool of choice for both me and Prof. Manzo has been the [https://www.ableton.com/en/ Ableton] for the DAW, and [https://www.positivegrid.com/ PostivieGrid's ] ''BiasFX'' and ''BiasAmp'' VST's.	+
		+	As a guitarist trying to launch a [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdAdqyG9p4HugSnUudW-J0A Youtube] channel, the endeavor of this E'20 term inquiry seminar was to explore the world of guitar recording and achieve a better sound presentation. I have a strong focus on rock music, and so EQ, Compression, and Distortion were very present topics of discussion. Throughout the course, the main tool of choice for both me and Prof. Manzo has been the [https://www.ableton.com/en/ Ableton] for the DAW, and [https://www.positivegrid.com/ PostivieGrid's ] ''BiasFX'' and ''BiasAmp'' VST's.

	==Background==		==Background==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[Category:Sound Design]]
+ As a guitarist trying to launch a [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdAdqyG9p4HugSnUudW-J0A Youtube] channel, the endeavor of this E'20 term inquiry seminar was to explore the world of guitar recording and achieve a better sound presentation. I have a strong focus on rock music, and so EQ, Compression, and Distortion were very present topics of discussion. Throughout the course, the main tool of choice for both me and Prof. Manzo has been the [https://www.ableton.com/en/ Ableton] for the DAW, and [https://www.positivegrid.com/ PostivieGrid's ] ''BiasFX'' and ''BiasAmp'' VST's.
 ==Background==
 ===Previous Background with Music===
-I started playing in 6th grade and developed a taste for heavy metal and guitar focused songs. This includes Canon Rock by Jerry C, Cliffs of Dover by Eric Johnson, Jordan by Buckethead, and Scarified by Paul Gilbert. Unfortunately, by the time 9th grade came along I would have stopped playing guitar.
+I started playing the guitar in 6th grade after developing a taste for heavy metal and guitar focused songs. This includes Canon Rock by Jerry C, Cliffs of Dover by Eric Johnson, Jordan by Buckethead, and Scarified by Paul Gilbert. Unfortunately, by the time 9th grade came along I would have stopped playing guitar.
-I would re-find the spark in my 3rd year at WPI. I finally got myself a decent digital analog to digital converter. I found myself interested in 90’s and 00’s alternative rock, as well as a lot of Japanese rock music. From then on, I have been making song covers occasionally and uploading to YouTube. As such, I took the opportunity to explore Music through WPI's music catalog.
+I would re-find the spark in my 3rd year at WPI. I found myself interested in 90’s and 00’s alternative rock and Japanese rock music. After finally getting a digital analog to digital converter, I have been making song covers and uploading to YouTube. This also made me interested in WPI's music catalog, which can perhaps further my understanding and knowledge of music to improve my covers.
-In D-term of 2020, when COVID-19 terrorized the world, I found myself taking two WPI music classes: MU2300 (Foundations of Music Technology) and MU3615 (Topics In Digital Sound). I was introduced to Ableton, and I finally found a replacement for Audacity for sound engineering. This perhaps was a huge turning point in my career, as I was about to level up the sound quality of my guitar covers.
+In D-term of 2020, when COVID-19 terrorized the world, I took two WPI music classes: MU2300 (Foundations of Music Technology) and MU3615 (Topics In Digital Sound). I was introduced to Ableton, which finally replaced Audacity for sound engineering. This perhaps was a huge turning point in my career, as I was about to level up the sound quality of my guitar covers.
 ===Motivation===
@@ Line 26: / Line 23: @@
 ==Getting the Right Tone==
 ===Understanding Amps===
-For the first part of the inquiry seminar, I explored briefly into some general principles of an amplifier
+For the first part of the inquiry seminar, I explored briefly into some general principles of the amplifier
 ====Tube Amps vs Solid State Amps====
 Tube amps and solid state amps differ in their methods of amplification. While tube amps are voltage driven, solid state amps are current driven. The general result is that tube amps amplifies greater texture, whereas solid state amps amplifies greater power and detail. From listening to a few examples, the tube amp complements nicely with bluesy styles due to its richer texture and dynamic range, while solid state amps are more suitable for rock or metal.
@@ Line 35: / Line 32: @@
 ===Recreating the Tone: Separate Ways===
-As an introduction to sound engineering, I worked on recreating the sound of the synthesizer from the intro of Journey's ''Separate Ways'' in Ableton. I used two sawtooth oscillators in sub-oscillator mode, and I de-tuned the second oscillator to achieve a slight phase effect. Then the signal chain follows through to the Equalizer and the Reverb. For the equalizer, I did recognize the need to control lower frequencies, but failed to recognize the same for higher frequencies. This led to issues with the tone that will be fixed later on.
+As an introduction to sound engineering, I worked on recreating the sound of the synthesizer from the intro of Journey's ''Separate Ways'' in Ableton. I used two sawtooth oscillators in sub-oscillator mode, and I de-tuned the second oscillator to achieve a slight phaser effect. Then the signal chain follows through to the Equalizer and the Reverb. For the equalizer, I did recognize the need to control lower frequencies, but failed to do the same for higher frequencies. This led to issues with the tone that will be fixed later on.
-==Into getting a great Guitar Tone==
+==Getting a Great Guitar Tone==
 ===General Guidelines===
-A common trait seen in teenage guitarists is their affinity to crank up the distortion to the max and rock out with no sense for tone. Of course, I am guilty of this as well in my middle school years. Of course, good sound comes from more than just distortion. Normalization, equalization, and compression are also very big ideas that need to be taken into account. A few guide lines that I learned were
+Teenage guitarists have the affinity to crank up the distortion to the max and rock out with no sense for tone. Of course, I am guilty of this as well in my middle school years. Good sound comes from more than just distortion; normalization, equalization, and compression are also very important processes that need to be taken into account. A few guide lines that I learned were
 * Normalization is required to make sure the volume is never unintentionally clipped
 * Compression should be applied at the mastering stage, after maxing out the volume
@@ Line 47: / Line 44: @@
 [[File:Headphones.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The DT770 BeyerDynamics Headphone]]
 ===Headphones===
-One key problem earlier describe was my difficulty in differentiating between good EQ engineering and poor EQ engineering. It turns out that I have been using a cheap pair of headphones with low resolution, and acquiring a professional grade pair of headphones was in order. Some key factors that I found were
+One key problem earlier describe was my difficulty in differentiating between good EQ engineering and poor EQ engineering. I have been using a cheap pair of headphones with low resolution, which as a result blurred the EQ quality. Acquiring a professional grade pair of headphones was in order. Some key factors that I found were
 * Choosing headphones that are 'Open' or 'Closed'. Open headphones give a more accurate sound of how live speakers should sound like, but closed headphones keeps the sound contained.
-* Finding a balance between treble and bass
+* Finding a balance between treble and bass.
-* Impedance level. Higher impedance headphones offer greater resolution at the expense of greater power requirements. Lower impedance headphones require less power, but the resolution is lower
+* Impedance level. Higher impedance headphones offer greater resolution at the expense of greater power requirements. Lower impedance headphones require less power, but the resolution is lower.
-* For higher impedance headphones, a microphone amplifier may be needed to supply those extra watts. Some of the higher-end audio interface can also offer more power
+* For higher impedance headphones, a microphone amplifier may be needed to supply those extra watts. Some of the higher-end audio interface can also offer more power.
 ===PositiveGrid’s BiasFX and BiasAmp===
-As per reccomendation of Prof. Manzo, [https://www.positivegrid.com/ PostivieGrid's ] ''BiasFX'' and ''BiasAmp'' are excellent VST's to help in creating professional grade guitar tones. With these two VST's a complete customization of the signal chain from start to finish can be achieved. It also comes with pre-customized packages, from default presets for a quick ballpark tone to downloadable fully designed signal chains that mimics signature sounds of famous guitarists.
+As per reccomendation of Prof. Manzo, [https://www.positivegrid.com/ PostivieGrid's ] ''BiasFX'' and ''BiasAmp'' are excellent VST's to engineer guitar tones. With these two VST's a complete customization of the signal chain from start to finish can be achieved. It also comes with pre-customized packages: from default presets for a quick ballpark tone to downloadable fully designed signal chains that mimics signature sounds of famous guitarists.
 <gallery widths="500" heights="400">
 File:Biasamp.png|Bias Amp
@@ Line 102: / Line 102: @@
 For the final cover, I chose Tengaku by Wagakki Band. I focused on making the compression provide the power needed for a heavy fast-paced rock song. In the beginning of the solo, there is a sweep picking section that (similar to tapping, but not to the same extent) needs a certain level of output from compression. Here, I used the aforementioned guidelines to get the tone similar to the original.
 <youtube>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqh57OuRTWU</youtube>