30
votes
Accepted
What is the difference between increasing volume and increasing gain?
'Gain' just means 'amount of amplification'. It can be applied at various stages in the signal chain between musical source and final playback.
The topic we're talking about is called 'Gain staging'....
- 90.6k
29
votes
Accepted
How do professional electronic musicians/sound engineers combat listening fatigue?
One of the most common pieces of advice I hear about this is to take breaks. You're right that in some situations (extremely tight deadlines, for example) this may not be practical, but in reality, it'...
- 967
25
votes
Accepted
Can I turn any synthesized instrument into a bass by lowering the frequency?
when I'm picking a "bass" can I choose any instrument..?
Yes, you can. However, you might find that not all instruments work well to your ears as 'bass' instruments.
When you see 'bass' in a synth ...
- 45.9k
22
votes
Do I need 88 keys to produce film soundtracks?
No, you do not need 88 keys.
You could produce film soundtracks with 0 keys- everything can be programmed nowadays. Of course, many prefer to record MIDI, and 61 keys will be sufficient at that. How ...
- 7,491
18
votes
Accepted
How to make a sound appear to be more distant?
It depends on what kind of environment you want to reproduce, but there are two main factors that lead the brain to think a sound is coming from farther away:
As sound travels through the air, it ...
- 56.3k
18
votes
Accepted
Is the number of keys on a controller keyboard important in music production?
An instrument is a set of easy-to-do vs. hard-to-do factors. The instruments and tools you use for composing and arranging - just like your personal skills as well - are bound to affect the actual ...
- 27.1k
16
votes
Where does the great audio quality of tracks released on YouTube come from?
Quick answer - try running your output through a compressor.
Long answer - work on your composing, arranging and recording skills. Get years of experience. Then try running your output through a ...
- 90.6k
16
votes
How do professional electronic musicians/sound engineers combat listening fatigue?
Taking breaks has been mentioned, and is obviously a good idea!
Other ideas:
A change is as good as a rest: work an a different project for a while, and come back to the first one
listen to other ...
- 45.9k
16
votes
What is the difference between increasing volume and increasing gain?
In amplification jargon, all volume changes are described by the term "gain", where gain is the ratio of the input and output signals. In a lot of modern amplifier design, there are effectively 2 ...
16
votes
Accepted
Can you bass boost a song repeatedly?
Yes, you can feed back processed audio into the same system that processed it originally, again and again. However, whenever you feed back audio into a non-idempotent system, the audio will always ...
- 399
15
votes
Do I need 88 keys to produce film soundtracks?
88 keys are very useful if you intend to PLAY the keyboard in a pianistic style. Otherwise your 61 keys will be fine. I wouldn't be surprised to learn of a modern soundtrack composer who didn't use ...
- 90.6k
14
votes
Accepted
How to check the quality of an audio sample?
The only thing that matters is if the sample sounds good. You have to listen to it and decide whether you want to use it. No numbers or waveforms or analysis programs are going to tell you whether ...
- 19.6k
13
votes
Accepted
12
votes
Accepted
Mac vs PC for music production
This has been a raging debate for the past 30 years or so. There has been a healthy competition between the two platforms in an effort to corner a large segment of the market share.
In the ...
- 27.2k
11
votes
Accepted
Where does the great audio quality of tracks released on YouTube come from?
MilkyTracker is just a tool, and like any tool, the quality of the tool is less important than the skill and knowledge of the person using it. You could give a carpenter terrible, rusty old tools and ...
- 234
11
votes
Accepted
Recording with midi/synth vs actual instrument?
[are there] any guidelines as far as recording a mechanical instrument versus using a midi controller or synth?
No, only pros and cons. It all depends on what you want the finished product to sound ...
- 2,420
11
votes
Are studio monitors necessary for producing tracks?
You could produce tracks with some ordinary earbuds. It's just harder to know what exactly is going on in your mixes and whether it will translate well to other listening environments.
It's general ...
- 854
10
votes
Accepted
Why does the recording of distortion guitar sound different than what I hear through the amp?
Always remember one thing: the sound that you hear depends on the device you are getting the output through. As you say, you like the sound through your amp but not from the software, this is because ...
- 481
10
votes
What is the difference between increasing volume and increasing gain?
Electrical engineer here.
Gain is the ratio of the output signal magnitude to the input signal magnitude of an amplifier. In idealized circuits, as you turn the gain up, you increase this ratio and ...
- 281
10
votes
Accepted
Is the audio in mp3 and video files the same?
Two things.
(1) You don't necessarily get the same bits back that were uploaded to a streaming service. Audio or video. Streaming media services can and often do encode the audio and video with ...
- 27.1k
10
votes
Can you bass boost a song repeatedly?
Applying an equalizer twice gives (to a good approximation, at least in case of digital EQs) the same result as applying it only once with the controls cranked twice as far from neutral. I.e. there's ...
- 35.3k
9
votes
Can I turn any synthesized instrument into a bass by lowering the frequency?
Simple as that. Bass refers to the range of the instrument, so electronically, turn a piccolo into a bass if you want. It's much harder with fish, though. Turning a salmon into a bass doesn't seem to ...
- 190k
9
votes
Recording with midi/synth vs actual instrument?
The real instrument will sound more real, but as you note, there are many challenges to recording acoustic instruments or anything with a microphone that are completely bypassed when using a virtual ...
- 56.3k
9
votes
Is it normal to use a clipper instead of a limiter?
Assuming your question is dealing with pre-recorded tracks that aren't already into your clipping range and you are having problems with the main output being too loud when you mix:
No, when dealing ...
- 7,389
9
votes
Is it normal to use a clipper instead of a limiter?
You like your mix because your DAW and soundcard have headroom. You can go past the nominal 0dBFS and still have it work, because of headroom in the software and electronics. A CD or MP3 has no ...
- 4,752
9
votes
Does including a sport commentator voice in a music track make me owe him mechanical royalties?
If caught without asking permission up front, it gets you a law suit, or at minimum, a takedown.
Commentary is not covered under music publication laws, but under far more stringent broadcast laws. ...
- 27.7k
9
votes
Accepted
Audio interface outputs lower volume from the monitor outputs
Quite normal. Though they use similar plugs and sockets, the Headphone and Line Outputs are electrically different. Plug your headphones into the Headphones output, plug your speakers into the L &...
- 90.6k
8
votes
Is it legitimate to use music technology to make me sound more proficient than I am?
Other than plagiarism, if you're creating your own music, "cheating" really doesn't matter.
Sure.. I think effects, like pitch & rhythm correction, are all bad substitutes for being a great ...
- 483
8
votes
Why get an audio interface if I could just use USB?
I have a USB mic
A USB Mic is basically a mic with an audio interface built in. Of course it's all you need if that mic is the only sound source you need. But what if you do want to record a guitar, ...
- 45.9k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible