Hey guys, today we’re going to talk about some of the different audio effects you’ll
use when recording and mixing music.
Since there are a large number of different effects to go over, today we’ll talk about
some of the basics of these effects and then we’ll go into more detail in future videos.
So the audio effects we’ll talk about are equalization, compression, chorus, delay,
flanger, noise gate, phaser and reverb.
Before we start talking about the different effects we’ll be using, we’re going to
play a clean, unedited guitar track.
We’ll use this as a track for comparison of all
the effects.
One of the most important effects you’ll use when mixing is equalization.
Equalization allows you to cut and boost at certain frequencies, which can affect the
tone of the instrument.
It’s commonly used to make instruments fit together nicely by removing troubled frequencies
and increasing those that enhance the sound.
In this example, we’ve cut out some of the low end of the guitar track, and added to
the highs, making it sound a little brighter.
The overall effect of this equalization would be to allow the guitar to fit nicely with
a bass, without the two interfering too much in the low end.
Compression is an effect that’s used to adjust the dynamic range of audio.
It is generally used to reduce the volume of audio once it goes past a level known as
the threshold.
Along with the threshold, compressors also have the ability to control how fast the effect
turns on and off, as well as how much volume is reduced.
In the original example, we recorded a track with a large dynamic range as if someone was
playing inconsistently.
This track had very evident loud peaks when the chords were first struck.
By adding compression, we’re able to reduce the volume of these peaks while maintaining
the rest of the track, leading to a smoother, more balanced sound.
Chorus is an effect that makes one instrument sound like many more are playing at the same
time.
By having multiple sounds that are very similar in timing and pitch, it is possible to create
a rich sound as if many instruments are being played at the same time, while only using
one actual instrument.
Delay is another effect that’s often used to add more depth to a track.
It’s a simple effect that repeats what’s played a short time after.
The sound can be played multiple times and quickly decreases in volume until it completely
disappears.
With the delay effect, users often have the option to control the level of the delayed
sound, how many repeats will be audible, and the timing of the delay.
For the delayed track, we’ve added a slight delay at about 400 milliseconds after the
original signal.
Phasing is an effect used to creating a swooping sound in the track.
It works by sending a signal through an all-pass filter, which changes the phase of certain
frequencies.
This causes out of phase frequencies to cancel out, leading to certain frequencies sounding
louder than others.
By varying the phase response to frequency over time, the phaser can give the effect
of the sound sweeping across the frequency spectrum.
Flangers are effects that add a sweeping sound to your track as well.
The effect is similar to a phaser, except that instead of going through an all-pass
filter, there is a slightly delayed signal instead.
It works in a similar way to a chorus, but the delay between sounds is much shorter.
The sweeping sound caused by flangers is created by slight variations in the delay that is
added to the sound.
Flangers have a much more distinct sweeping sound than phasers.
Here’s an example of the same track but with
a flanger added.
Noise gates are used to remove any noise below a certain threshold.
Noise gates have some similarities to compressors, however, instead of reducing volume above
a certain threshold, they reduce the signal if it hasn’t reached its threshold.
Noise gates do work to remove noise when there is no audio signal, but they are unable to
remove noise when it is combined with the audio.
In the case, all the audio passes through the noise gate undisturbed.
First we’re going to play our sample track that has had background noise added.
Now we can add the noise gate.
So the first thing you’ll notice is all the noise at the beginning of the track has
disappeared.
This is because the noise level is not high enough to reach the threshold and send the
signal through.
When the guitar starts playing, the threshold is reached and both the guitar and noise go
through.
Reverb is an effect that’s used simulates the reflections of the sound in a room.
Many recordings are done in a dry sounding environment, and reverb is used to add a sense
of depth and space to the sound.
Reverb effects use as series of delays with a much more complex algorithm.
Often digital reverb effects will have controls based on the properties of the room such as
dimensions and absorption.
The reverb effect was used to give the impression of a larger room from the otherwise completely
dry guitar sound.
In this example, we used a preset to make the guitar sound as if it was played in a
large auditorium.
Thanks for watching this video on audio effects you need to know when recording and mixing
music.
For information on how to add Nyquist effects to Audacity, click on the video screen.
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