Improving Communication With Your Sound Designer Part 2
by Kane Minkus

Contents   Introduction   Tools Communication   Sample/Instrument Communication   Structural Communication   Printable version   Discuss this article The Series   Part 1   Part 2

Tools

The tools all audio designers use, to some degree, are similar and in many ways variations of each other. We will focus on the most widely used and the most likely necessary for you to know about to help make valuable suggestions.

EQ

Just like you adjust the knobs or sliders in your car, so can the audio designer adjust the EQ on their system. EQ is short for Equalizer (although no one seems to use that term anymore) and it is an adjustment of the frequencies in the full audio/hearing spectrum. EQ can both be adjusted to the final mix (what audio engineers call the 2-track, mix down, final print, the bounce, etc), and to the individual sounds/instruments. Although EQ can get detailed and complex, we will divide up the EQ spectrum into 3 parts: Low End, Mid Range and High End. If you just know those terms, in can make a world of difference in communicating about the EQ changes:

1. Low End – as the name suggests is the part of the audio spectrum (on either an individual instrument or final mix) that deals with all the low thuds: i.e. kick drum, bass, low orchestra strings (bass), timpani, etc. It is important to note that each instrument might have representation in the different audio spectrums: i.e. – a kick drum’s thud is in the low end, while the snap of the kick on the head is in the mid range spectrum. To communicate effectively with you audio designer, it is not important for you to know the specifics of where everything is in the EQ spectrum (that’s what we learn for years and years!), but just the general areas (which are usually intuitive).
2. Mid Range – again as the name suggest this is the middle of the EQ range usually containing pianos, guitars, violas, clarinets, etc. (remember that bass and other instruments will have some representation here, but will be more heavily represented in other areas of the EQ spectrum). This is the area that can get the most “muddy”. If a mix sounds too cluttered, or heavy, too many instruments might be representing themselves in the mid range.
3. High End – Also as the name suggests, this is where all the high frequencies sit: i.e. – flutes, piccolos, high octaves on any instrument (the high keys on a piano, the high strings on a guitar), etc. If an instrument or mix is not bright enough (or too bright), this might be an area of the EQ spectrum to address.

• Brightness – Perhaps an instrument needs to be brightened up to hear it better, or the overall mix needs to be brighter so that it seams “clearer” (another word often associated with the high end of the EQ spectrum)
• Muddy – Perhaps there is too much going on in the mid range of an instrument or final mix and it sounds “bulgy” or “fat”. If something feels like it is taking up too much space in the music sonically, it is often in the mid range.
• Warmth/Hallow – if there is not enough mid range, it might feel as if the middle is dropped out. That is because the mid range gives the warmth of each instrument and often the “body” or textures that are pleasing to the ear. Too much will sound bulgy/muddy and too little will sound hallow or bodiless.
• Boomey or Heavy – this is often a description when there is too much low end in the instrument or mix. Perhaps the low end of the drums are just too loud, thumping away. Or the bass is too fat and boomey. This is likely to be addressed by the Low End.
• No Bottom – when there is no bottom you feel like there are no legs for the music to stand on. There is no weight to the audio and it has no impact in the low audio spectrum.

Effects

These are a bit easier then EQ (which is really the most complex of all the tools):

Reverb

This creates the echoey feel of being in an environment like a hall, theater, bathroom, studio, outside, etc. This effect is always added to the individual instruments (not to the final mix – although too much reverb on all the instruments will make the final mix sound very “reverby”). Key terms and their related effect are:

• Wet – this means there is a lot of the effect on the instrument (or the overall mix can sound too wet)
• Dry – not enough reverb is on the instrument and the instrument sounds too natural
• Depth – Reverb often gives the spatial perception that there is depth to the instrument, or distance between the listener and the instrument. Sometime you prefer more or less depth

Delay

This simply takes the sounds and repeats it again and again and again and…

• Wet and Dry are used in the same way here
• Faster or slower – the delay can go faster or slower and usually should be in sync with the tempo of the piece
• Sync/Out of Sync – The delay will usually sync to the overall tempo and give you each repetition in time with the song. If it is not, it is “out of sync”

Volume and Pan

Volume and Pan are the most simplistic of the tools used to change the sound, but often overlooked.

Volume

It is often easy to identify an instrument that is too loud (or too soft), but volume can also be used to reduce an overly-complicated piece of music, bring the melody more to the forefront, or help sculpt a sound effect better. Volume will give more or less presence to something (depending on whether it is loud or soft). Words and phrases like: "subtle", "bold", "in your face", "off in the distance", "closer/further away" – are all related to volume changes.

Pan

This is the location in the stereo field of an instrument or sound effect. Often forgotten or ignored, this is a powerful tool that (especially combined with volume) can cause a sound to feel like it is moving. This is a great way to create “perspective”, “movement”, “position” or “change” (all words that relate to pan). For those of you that work in Surround, this is a must to explore.

Sample/Instrument Communication