Musical Sound Effects

Jean-Michel Réveillac is a consultant-adviser and lecturer for large companies. He currently teaches at the University of Burgundy, and CNAM in France and at IGA in Morocco.

• Foreword xiAbout this Book xiiiIntroduction xviiChapter 1. Notes on the Theory of Sound 11.1. Basic concepts 11.1.1. What is sound? 11.1.2. Intensity 41.1.3. Sound pitch 71.1.4. Approaching the concept of timbre 81.2. The ears 91.2.1. How our ears work 91.2.2. Fletcher–Munson curves 141.2.3. Auditory spatial awareness 151.3. The typology of sounds 211.3.1. Sounds and periods 211.3.2. Simple sounds and complex sounds 221.4. Spectral analysis 241.4.1. The sound spectrum 241.4.2. Sonogram and spectrogram 261.5. Timbre 271.5.1. Transient phenomena 271.5.2. Range 281.5.3. Mass of musical objects 301.5.4. Classification of sounds 311.6. Sound propagation 321.6.1. Dispersion 321.6.2. Interference 331.6.3. Diffraction 351.6.4. Reflection 371.6.5. Reverberation (reverb) 391.6.6. Absorption 391.6.7. Refraction 391.6.8. The Doppler effect 401.6.9. Beats 401.7. Conclusion 41Chapter 2. Audio Playback 432.1. History 442.2. Dolby playback standards and specifications 482.2.1. Dolby Surround encoding and decoding 482.2.2. Dolby Stereo 492.2.3. Dolby Surround 502.2.4. Dolby Surround Pro-Logic 502.2.5. Dolby DIGITAL AC-3 512.2.6. Dolby Surround EX 522.2.7. Dolby Surround Pro-Logic II 522.2.8. Dolby Digital Plus 542.2.9. Dolby TrueHD 542.2.10. Dolby Atmos 552.3. DTS encodings 552.3.1. DTS 562.3.2. DTS Neo 6 562.3.3. DTS ES 6.1 572.3.4. DTS 96/24 572.3.5. DTS HD Master Audio 572.3.6. DTS X 582.4. Special encodings 582.5. SDDS 592.6. THX certification 592.6.1. THX select and ultracertification 612.6.2. THX Ultra 2 certification 612.7. Multichannel audio recording 622.8. Postproduction and encoding 632.9. Multichannel music media: DVD-Audio and SACD 652.9.1. DVD-Audio 652.9.2. Super Audio CD 672.9.3. Comparison of CDs, SACDs and DVD-Audios 692.10. Conclusion 69Chapter 3. Types of Effect 713.1. Physical appearance 713.1.1. Racks 723.1.2. Pedals 743.1.3. Software plugins 773.2. Audio processing 783.3. Conclusion 80Chapter 4. Filtering Effects 814.1. Families of filtering effects 814.2. Equalization 844.2.1. Frequency bands and ranges 844.2.2. Types of equalizer 864.2.3. Examples of equalizers 914.2.4. Tips for equalizing a mix 944.3. Wah-wah 974.3.1. History 974.3.2. Theory 994.3.3. Auto-wah 1004.3.4. Examples of wah-wah pedals 1014.4. Crossover 1024.5. Conclusion 104Chapter 5. Modulation Effects 1055.1. Flanger 1055.1.1. History 1055.1.2. Theory and parameters 1075.1.3. Models of flanger 1105.2. Phaser 1115.2.1. Examples of phasers 1135.3. Chorus 1155.3.1. Examples of chorus 1165.4. Rotary, univibe or rotovibe. 1175.4.1. History 1185.4.2. Theoretical principles 1205.4.3. Leslie speakers 1225.4.4. Examples of rotary or univibe pedals 1235.4.5. Leslie speakers and sound recording 1255.5. Ring modulation 1275.5.1. Theoretical principles 1275.5.2. Examples of ring modulators 1295.6. Final remarks 130Chapter 6. Frequency Effects 1316.1. Vibrato 1316.1.1. Theoretical principles 1326.1.2. Settings 1326.1.3. Examples of vibrato 1336.2. Transposers 1356.2.1. Octaver 1356.2.2. Pitch shifter 1376.2.3. Harmonizer 1396.2.4. Auto-Tune 1426.3. Conclusion 154Chapter 7. Dynamic Effects 1557.1. Compression 1567.1.1. History 1567.1.2. Parameters of compression 1567.1.3. Examples of compressors 1637.1.4. Multiband compressors 1667.1.5. Guidelines for configuring a compressor 1697.1.6. Parallel compression 1707.1.7. Serial compression 1717.1.8. Compression with a sidechain 1717.1.9. Some basic compression settings 1727.1.10. Synchronizing the compressor 1757.1.11. Using a compressor as a limiter 1757.2. Expanders 1787.2.1. Parameters 1787.2.2. Examples of software expanders 1797.3. Noise gates 1807.3.1. Parameters 1807.3.2. Examples of noise gates 1827.3.3. Configuring noise gates 1847.4. De-essers 1847.4.1. Principle of a de-esser 1847.4.2. Examples of de-essers 1857.4.3. Replacing a de-esser with an equalizer and a compressor 1867.4.4. Configuring a de-esser 1867.5. Saturation 1877.5.1. Fuzz 1877.5.2. Overdrive. 1887.5.3. Distortion. 1887.5.4. Examples of equipment dedicated to creating saturation 1897.6. Exciters and enhancers 1927.6.1. Examples of exciters 1937.6.2. Using a sound enhancer 1957.7. Conclusion 195Chapter 8. Time Effects 1978.1. Reverb 1978.1.1. Theoretical principles 1978.1.2. History 2008.1.3. Principles 2088.1.4. Reverb configuration 2198.1.5. Recording the IR and deconvolution 2278.1.6. Studio mixing and reverb 2408.2. Delay 2438.2.1. History 2438.2.2. Types of delay 2448.2.3. Tips for using delays in the studio 2518.3. Conclusion 255Chapter 9. Unclassifiables 2579.1. Combined effects 2579.1.1. Fuzzwha 2579.1.2. Octafuzz 2589.1.3. Shimmer 2599.2. Tremolo 2629.2.1. History 2629.2.2. Examples of tremolos 2649.3. Sound restoration tools 2669.3.1. Declickers 2669.3.2. Decracklers 2679.3.3. Denoisers 2679.3.4. Declippers 2679.3.5. Debuzzers 2689.3.6. Examples of restoration tools 2689.3.7. Final remarks on sound restoration 2719.4. Loopers 2719.4.1. Looper connections 2729.4.2. Examples of looper pedals 2749.5. Time stretching. 2759.6. Resampling 2769.7. Spatialization effects 2779.8. Conclusion 278Conclusion 279Appendices 283Appendix 1 285Appendix 2 295Appendix 3 299Appendix 4 313Glossary 319Bibliography 327Index 337