SOUND ON SOUND
Hugh Robjohns has been Sound On Sound's Technical Editor since 1997. Prior to that he worked in a variety of (mostly) sound-related roles in BBC Television, ending up as a Sound Operations Lecturer at the BBC's technical training centre.
He continues to provide audio consultancy and bespoke broadcast audio training services all over the world, lectures at professional and public conventions, and occasionally records and masters acoustic and classical music too!
I have a compressor with inserts to access the side-chain. What is the side-chain and what would you use these inserts for?
I've been told that, if possible, you should always cut rather than boost when EQ'ing. So, if you need more bass, you should cut the high- and mid-frequencies and raise the overall level, rather than simply boosting the low end. Is this true?
This surprisingly compact large-diaphragm condenser mic shakes up the established competition.
Toft Audio have updated some pedigree vintage designs for their first product, which offers two channels of mic preamplification, compression, and EQ.
Could you clarify the difference between floating- and fixed-point 32-bit operation in the digital domain. I know that floating-point systems allow for data to be handled at word lengths above 24-bit, which are then dithered back down. Does it also result in a greater dynamic range?
These two affordable problem-solvers facilitate digital interfacing and mixing in the home/project studio.
Yamaha pack most of an 02R96 into a unit little bigger than the 01V96. Could this be the ideal console for the quality home studio?
I was told by a sound engineer that, when mixing, it is not a good practice to have all the channel volume faders way up and to have the master fader down, and that this applies both to analogue and digital consoles. Is this true?
Audio Technica have put two different capsules into the same mic, giving you a choice of different sounds for different occasions.
It's often necessary to work on headphones in the home studio, even when mixing. So what headphones should you choose, and how do you go about getting the best results?