Golden Ears, or other training?

[LeftyStrat]

I've always wanted to buy one of those courses that could train you to be better at recording/engineering/producing, but they're all kind of expensive.

Waste of money or worth it?

I just want to expand my audio vocabulary beyond "Needs more warmth" to something like "I'd boost things around 5kHz"

Or whatever.

Any advice?

[jelle]

Yes, I would say some number between 50hz and 200Hz maybe?

[overtone]

Lefty,
Have you read Bob Katz "Mastering Audio: The Art and the Science"?
Best,
tony

[Reeltarded]

Good call, Tony!

[Gibsonman63]

There's a lot of good information on http://recordingreview.com/

Also, you can subscribe to TapeOp for free. There's always something useful in there.

[NickC]

I've always wanted to buy one of those courses that could train you to be better at recording/engineering/producing, but they're all kind of expensive.

Waste of money or worth it?

I just want to expand my audio vocabulary beyond "Needs more warmth" to something like "I'd boost things around 5kHz"

Or whatever.

Any advice?

I rarely boost with EQs. I almost always cut troublesome frequencies.

Try this with a parametric:

(1) set a very narrow Q
(2) turn gain all the way up
(3) sweep the frequency spectrum until you hear the most objectionable sound
(4) cut it till it's not so objectionable
(5) repeat as needed

That will help eliminate so-called "wolf tones". It will also get your ear educated about frequencies, especially if you're working in-the-box on a DAW (where plugs have neat features like spectral analysis).

The Bob Katz book recommended by overtone is brilliant! Highly recommended.

[Reeltarded]

I don't use eq, unless I do.

[LeftyStrat]

Lefty,
Have you read Bob Katz "Mastering Audio: The Art and the Science"?
Best,
tony

Thanks, I'll check that out.

[vibratoking]

I just want to expand my audio vocabulary beyond "Needs more warmth" to something like "I'd boost things around 5kHz"

I know what you are saying. I have the Katz book, while it has alot of good information you won't find exactly what you are looking for AFAIR.

[overtone]

I just want to expand my audio vocabulary beyond "Needs more warmth" to something like "I'd boost things around 5kHz"

I know what you are saying. I have the Katz book, while it has alot of good information you won't find exactly what you are looking for AFAIR.

Certainly Katz does not talk about tube amp frequency ranges specifically, perhaps that is Slipperman territory.

But Katz's chapter three, somewhat creepily named "An Earientation Session", is is about gaining experience through concentrated listening. There is a cool chart inside the cover too.

For hands on: what NickC said about searching for your wolftones is a great practical exercise.
To cut rather than boost is a good tip too.
Someone said it's all EQ anyway, who was that?

best, tony

[Reeltarded]

Someone has to make a paragraphic eq for your platform, freebie style. I don't keep up with the open source things like I used to, but there are (and have been) bunches of free tools that could be useful in experiments.

[LeftyStrat]

This book looks interesting:

http://www.amazon.com/Mixing-Audio-Conc ... +and+tools


A lot cheaper than the Golden Ear CD set.

[vibratoking]

I have the Owsinski book. It has some good information, but nothing earth shattering. The book you linked does look interesting. Get me a copy while you're at it.