[Tom Powers]

Here’s what the Invoice said the Drywall is…  Quietrock 545

Which I found online here:

https://www.quietrock.com/products/quietrock-545

 

 

[Tom Powers]

So in a side question that goes along with this discussion….

REW is a great measurement tool, but what is the consensus on the software room correction software such as Sonarworks, Accurate or Audiolense? Personally I’ve tried and use the Sonarworks to dial in the small adjustments the room needed after treatment. I’ve found that if there’s a -6db or greater dip in the graph , that Sonarworks cant really deal with that…which for obvious reasons of that being a wicked cancelation and should be addressed in the room. But, if you vary +/- 3dB…then SW does pretty well in adjusting the rest of the way.

So given that one has treated the room against the measurements taken, to get as flat as possible, and then using the software to get the “rest of the way”… what pitfalls are there in such an approach?  And to build upon that…what advantages, if any,  do the hardware correctors like the Trinnov bring to the table?

All insight is appreciated.

[Tom Powers]

Well Bob, here’s what I’ve found.

If you apply that EQ graph above to a binaural recording, you can play it through loudspeakers and it sounds like a regular track, but as I feared, you lose the binaural effect when on headphones.

What I’ve found so far is that if you have a stereo mix and you’ve delayed, EQ’d, and panned  duplicate tracks with precedence effect in mind, then when you add the binaural “reamp” track that I explained above, that the stereo mix gets real bright and brittle. When you listen on headphones, it sounds great.

So I experimented….dealing with 2 guitar parts, one on the left and one on the right (and the binaural re-amped tracks of them)

First I took the regular stereo mix guitar tracks out and left the binaural tracks in the mix. Result:  The headphones sounded great, but the stereo mix was thin and brittle

I verified that if I put the EQ setting on the Binaural re-amp tracks, that the headphone effect pretty much dies off but the stereo mix was fine.

So then I tried to balance the binaural tracks (without the EQ setting) with the stereo tracks and blend them, and that sort of worked? The Binaural effect wasn’t as prominent, but it was there….just not to the effect I wanted, and the stereo loudspeaker listening was good because the brightness was removed.

So … the last, and most promising result, was based on this premise:

The binaural reamped tracks , when blended with the stereo tracks were all being sent to the same guitar bus ( one for each guitar). As previously stated, the stereo track was too bright but the headphones sounded great.

I then decided that if I left the binaural tracks alone, and used the above EQ settings on the Stereo tracks…the end result is a good sounding stereo mix on the speakers (because the mid-high frequencies were cut on 2 of the 4 guitar tracks going to the guitar bus)…but to my surprise, the binaural effect was still very prominent in the headphones and “leftover” frequencies after the EQ settings on the stereo tracks, really didn’t bother the headphone mix.

More to come as I and to try a few other things…like what does it sound like if I record the Binaural “reamped” tracks lower than ear level, and then blend that it…will it sound like the guitar is physically higher ?  What would it sound like if I made one reamp track below the speakers and one above and blend them into the stereo tracks…will I get a “wall of sound?”

Of course, much of this experimentation results in trash, but some of this is actually working out…so more to come.

I’ll definitely check out the process by Andrew Mayo…thanks!

[Tom Powers]

Using the binaural “reamping” technique described above, I’ve been getting some very interesting results (as long as the signals are phase aligned with the original track).

The binaural tracks are very bright, and in recent research, I’ve found this graph from head-acoustics and DPA.  It looks like an “inverse” htrf filter used for binaural playback.

While I can see how this would take care of the extraordinary brightness in playback, will it detract from the binaural effect on headphone playback? I’ve only found this today and am away from the studio.

[Tom Powers]

I think that’s really the crux of the issue is how the BA (binaural) track was made.

 

In my first thought, during the individual instrument tracking, if we had the cabinet mics on a guitar and had the BA head in a listening position where the guitar was on the left… then the signals are more straightforward and related.

Now if I didn’t have that…would it be possible to MAKE a BA signal by playing back the guitar track, panned to the left, and use the BA mics to record the playback from a listening position where the guitar sound is on the left…sort of like reamping a track.

My goal , as crazy as it sounds, is to try to bury BA signals in the stereo mix (say for guitars, and vocals, and maybe drum overheads) that when played on headphones “comes alive” but otherwise, like most BA in stereo …the effect isn’t really noticeable.

I’ve done some preliminary trial and error and had surprisingly good results, but I’m NOT doing this with a room mic BA capture, like the Jazz club Bob mentions, but instead individual BA parts of specific instruments.

There’s a fine line between innovation and a total mess and I’m hoping I don’t look behind me and see that line 🙂

What pitfalls should I be looking for here other than phasing issues which are obvious

All insight is appreciated

TP