demystifying (or further convoluting) the silly words we use

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Magnetic Services
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demystifying (or further convoluting) the silly words we use

Post by Magnetic Services » Sun Jun 17, 2012 12:57 pm

I'll start with some classics:

"warm" - rolled-off high end, slightly accentuated midrange. term usually applied to ribbons, tubes, tape, and band-limited older gear.

"smashed/crushed" - treated with very UN-subtle high ratio, low threshold compression

"heavy" - I think this one is best left alone, lest it lose it's magic



Your turn! "open"? "punchy"? "brittle"? "silky"? something original? something outright stupid?

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Post by TapeOpLarry » Sun Jun 17, 2012 8:42 pm

Larry Crane, Editor/Founder Tape Op Magazine
please visit www.tapeop.com for contact information
(do not send private messages via this board!)
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Magnetic Services
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Post by Magnetic Services » Sun Jun 17, 2012 8:55 pm

whoa, two days ago? Great minds....

Another favorite of mine is "floydian"


edit: that marker in the background is amazing.

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Post by vvv » Mon Jun 18, 2012 4:27 am

:lol:

Please, let's not discuss "the brown sound" (what, in light of the possible use of a "sound gun" here in Chi during the NATO conference was a fearful and present threat indeed.)
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Magnetic Services
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Post by Magnetic Services » Mon Jun 18, 2012 3:30 pm

vvv wrote:
:lol:

Please, let's not discuss "the brown sound" (what, in light of the possible use of a "sound gun" here in Chi during the NATO conference was a fearful and present threat indeed.)
I was there! I don't think it ever got deployed, however.

Anyhow:

"brittle" - an obnoxious excess of upper harmonics in relation to the fundamental notes of (usually) an electric guitar track.

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Post by Nick Sevilla » Mon Jun 18, 2012 3:35 pm

"Musky"
"Tight"
"Open"
"Rainbowey"
"Airy"
"Wicked"
"Mysterious"
"Glowering"
"Crinkly"

I've heard more during mixing...
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Post by Magnetic Services » Mon Jun 18, 2012 3:44 pm

"double rainbowy"

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Re: demystifying (or further convoluting) the silly words we

Post by jhharvest » Mon Jun 18, 2012 10:19 pm

I've always associated "warm" with a nice balance of harmonic distortion rather than rolled off top end.

"Open" / "airy" = +2dB @ 17-18kHz

"Punchy" = all the gear along the signal path preserve transients (usually easiest with ribbon mics, no eq, suitably designed preamp, direct coupled amplifiers, maybe no caps at all, electrostatic speakers in the listening chain)

"Muddy" = +3dB @ 200-300Hz

My own terms:
"kitchen table sound" = emphasis on 400-800Hz, usually undesirable
"Nashville" = cut everything at 315Hz and 750Hz (although you still need a very clean signal path to go with it)

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Post by joelpatterson » Sat Jun 23, 2012 5:40 am

"Gnash-ville"-- clean and well-produced but with a howling, breaking-up-with-distortion side too.
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Post by Tragabigzanda » Sat Jun 23, 2012 11:07 am

Just posted to Larry's blog post, I'll re-post here:

One word I've had a lot of success with when dealing with the artist is "undefined." As in, "That kick drum is sort of undefined." It's not too specific, but it gets the dialogue going, and then some experimentation with level, EQ, filter, compression, etc, in an effort to find some "definition" for the track that works in the context of the mix. I think it works well because the artist can often suffer from the "Ooh, that's me coming out of the speakers!" syndrome: they're excited to hear their own music coming back through (hopefully nice) monitors, and aren't really sure what it should sound like in the context of both the mix, and the vision they hold in their own mind for their music.
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Post by joelpatterson » Sun Jun 24, 2012 4:00 pm

That would be the ultimate existentialist moment when someone turns to you and says, "What do you mean, 'undefined'?"
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Post by Tragabigzanda » Sun Jun 24, 2012 4:28 pm

He he he...Husker Du as produced by Albert Camus.

But in all seriousness, I've gotten that response, to which I'll say something like, "Eh, it [the track in question] is just sort of there. What do you think it should sound like?". Whenever possible, I'll try to get them to point to specific examples from other recorded works rather going down the rabbit hole of words like "warm," "punchy," etc.
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Post by Magnetic Services » Sun Jun 24, 2012 9:06 pm

Tragibigzanda wrote:He he he...Husker Du as produced by Albert Camus.

But in all seriousness, I've gotten that response, to which I'll say something like, "Eh, it [the track in question] is just sort of there. What do you think it should sound like?". Whenever possible, I'll try to get them to point to specific examples from other recorded works rather going down the rabbit hole of words like "warm," "punchy," etc.
A good way to work. bypass the silly middleman of language.

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Post by Mixwell » Wed Aug 22, 2012 12:49 pm

Some of my all time favorite moments in the studio with producers; involving the following words and/or statements and/or questions;

GIMME MORE "SUBSTAIN"
incorrect wording for the proper, "Sustain", in reference to decay of a musical note. You might need to make stuff longer, in some way.

"TURN UP THE METRODOME"
incorrect wording for the proper, "Metronome", in reference to the Click Track. Use a High Hat pattern of 1/16 notes, Then Adjust ear jabbing abrasiveness and tempo to taste,

MAKE IT "MUDDIYAH"
this is different from the obvious train of thought towards "adding of mud", as it is simply a request for more crud, underneath the mud.

IS THIS MIDIO? [A dilution of Audio and MIDI]
This question and beautiful wording mistake, is many times, raised with confusion about the signal flow in a session, sort of a chicken or the egg debate, but never the less, bewilderment is occurring about of the actual process here.
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Nick Sevilla
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Post by Nick Sevilla » Wed Aug 22, 2012 2:28 pm

I got this in an advert email yesterday, and had to share.
SO MUCH WIN!!!

I will not mention from which company this was, as I do like their service.

"iZotope Alloy 2 is a powerful, easy-to-use plug-in for sculpting your unique signature sound. Serving up warm, punchy, vintage-inspired sound processing with precise digital control - it's the best of both worlds. Whether you're an artist, a remixer, a studio owner, or a post facility, iZotope Alloy 2 belongs in your virtual rack."

My eyeballs exploded as I read this. My eyes are still coming down to size as I write this.
Howling at the neighbors. Hoping they have more mic cables.

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