Handbook of Recording Engineering PDF
Preview Handbook of Recording Engineering
Handbook of Recording Engineering Handbook of Recording Engineering third edition lohn M. Eargle m CHAPMAN &. HALL CD I p® International Thomson Puhlishing Thomson Science New York • Albany. Bonn • Boston. Cindnnati • Detroit • London • Madrid. MeJhoume Mexieo City. Padfic Grove • Paris. San Franciseo • Singapore • Tokyo • Toronto. Washington ISBN 978-1-4684-9921-6 ISBN 978-1-4684-9919-3 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4684-9919-3 Copyright © 1996 by Chapman & Hall, New Yo rk, NY Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover 3rd edition 1996 For more intormation contact: Chapman & Hall Chapman & Hall 1 15 Fifih Avenue 2-6 Boundary Row New Yo rk, NY 10003 London SEI 8HN England Thomas Nelson Australia Chapman & Hall GmbH 102 Oodds Street Postfach 100 263 South Melbourne, 3205 0-69442 Weinheim Victoria, Australia Germany International Thornson Editores International Thomson Publishing -Japan Campos Eliseos 385, Piso 7 Hirakawacho-cho Kyowa Building, 3F Co!. Polanco 1-2-1 Hirakawacho-cho 11560 Mexico O.F. Chiyoda-ku, 102 Tokyo Mexico Japan International Thornson Publishing Asia 221 Henderson Road #05-10 Henderson Building Singapore 0315 All rights reserved. No part ofthis book covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any torm or by any means--graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systerns--without the written permission ofthe publisher. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 XXX 01 00 99 98 VlSit Chapman & Hall on the Internet http://www.chaphalLcomichaphalLhtml To order this or any other Chapman & Hall book, please contact International Thomson Publishing, 7625 Empire Drive, Florence, KY 41042. Phone (606) 525-6600 or 1-800-842-3636. Fax: (606) 525-7778. E-mail: [email protected]. For a complete listing ofChapman & Hall titles, send your request to Chapman & Hall, Dept. Be, 115 Fiftll Avenue, New York, NY 10003. Contents SECTION 1. ACOUSTlCAL FOUNDATIONS IN RECORDING 11 1. Principles of Physical Acoustics 1 1 2. Psychological Acoustics 138 3. Characteristics of Performance and Recording Spaces 157 SECTION 2. MICROPHONES 166 4. Basic Operating Principles of Microphones 166 5. Directional Patterns and Their Derivation 175 6. Environmental Effects and Departures from Ideal Microphone Performance 1 88 7. Stereo and Soundfield Microphones 197 8. Microphone Electrical Specifications and Accessories 1 105 9. Choosing the Right Microphone 1117 SECTION 3. FUNDAMENTALS OF STEREOPHONIC RECORDING/I2I 10. Fundamentals of Stereo Recording 1121 11. Transaural Recording Techniques 1 141 SECTION 4. RECORDING SYSTEMS: ARCHITECTURE, METERING, AND MONITORING 1147 12. RecordingConsoies/I47 13. Metering and Operating Levels 1183 14. Monitor Loudspeakers 1193 15. Control Rooms and the Monitoring Environment 1 214 SECTION 5. THE RECORDING MEDIUM 1223 16. Analog Magnetic Recording 1 223 17. Encode-Decode Noise Reduction (NR) Systems 1 251 18. Digital Recording 1 262 19. Time Code and Synchronizing Techniques 1284 20. Low Bit Rate Digital Coding of Audio 1290 v vi CONTENTS SECTION 6. SIGNAL PROCESSING / 294 21. Equalizers and Filters / 294 22. Compressors, Limiters, and Noise Gates / 303 23. Reverberation and Signal Delay /313 24. Special Techniques in Signal Processing /326 SECTION 7. STUDIO PRODUCTION TECHNIOUES /346 25. Classical Recording and Production Techniques / 346 26. Suggestions for Remote Classical Recording /379 27. Studio Production Techniques for Pop/Rock Recording /384 SECTION 8. POSTPRODUCTION TECHNIOUES / 411 28. The Mixdown Session / 411 29. Recording the Spoken Voice / 416 30. Principles of Editing / 422 31. Music Preparation for Commercial Release / 432 32. An Overview of Digital Audio Workstations / 439 33. Multichannel Sound for Film, Video, and Horne Music Applications / 447 SECTION 9. CONSUMER FORMATS FOR RECORDED SOUND / 461 34. The Compact Disc (CD) / 461 35. Recorded Tape products for the Consumer /467 36. The Stereo Long-Playing (LP) Record / 473 SECTION 10. COMMERCIAL AND OPERATIONAL ASPECTS OF RECORDING / 492 37. Recording Studio Design Fundamentals / 492 38. Studio Operation and Maintenance / 503 Index/509 Author's Preface The third edition of the Hilndbook 01 Recording Engineering follows broadly the expanded ap proach introduced with the second edition. The author has continued a dialogue with educators in the field of audio and recording, and the present edition contains many useful suggestions for reorganization of existing material and indusion of new material. The recording industry is indeed fast paced in its technological development, and there is much in this book that is completely new. As before, the book retains its essential organiza tion as a handbook and as such will be of considerable use to the practicing engineer, whether in recording, broadcasting, or video. The 10 major sections of the book are de scribed below. Section I: Aeoustical Foundations in Recording. The recording engineer must gain a broad knowl edge of both physical and psychological acoustics and how they come together in performance and recording spaces. The chapters in this section have been expanded in more graphic detail. Section 2: MicropflOnes The microphone is the recording engineer's primary tool, and this se quence of chapters deals with design principles, acoustical characteristics, usage, and electrical characteristics of microphones. A new chapter on microphone selection is in duded here. Section 3: Fundamentals of Stereophonie Recording. This section now deals only with two-channel technology, and we have introduced a new chapter on transaural techniques. Transaural re fers to the localization possibilities that can be created by two loudspeakers making use of a binaural sound field produced in the vicinity of the listener's head. We will hear more from these "imaging" techniques. Section 4: Recording Systems: Architecture, Metering, and Monitoring. This is the longest sequence of chapters in the book, stressing the importance of this topic. Digital consoles are examined in detail, as is digital metering. The continuing evolution of the monitoring environment is discussed here. Section 5: The Reeording Medium. Analog recording and its allied noise reduction technology have remained quite stable over the last five years and continue to be an important element in laying down basic tracks in the pop and rock creative worlds. Digital recording has devel oped at a rapid pace, and MDM (modular digital multitrack) technology seems destined to replace the large and expensive digital reel-to-reel machines. Low bit rate (perceptual) coding of digital audio is examined in detail and will have an important role to play in audio for video. viii AUTHOR'S PREFACE Section 6: Signal Processing. Rapid developments in digital signal processing have influenced the traditional areas of equalizers, compressors, and time domain manipulation to the extent where a single digital system can perform all of these functions through reprogramming at the front panel. Costs are also dropping rapidly, and digital is poised to become the dominant force in signal processing. Section 7: Studio Production Tecfmiques. This important section is, for many readers, the heart of the book, since it explains the "howand why" of what is done in the studio. It has been enlarged with a new chapter dealing specifically with on-Iocation classical recording. Section 8: Postproduction Tecnniques New chapters on the mixdown session, digital audio work stations, and multichannel sound bring this important seetion up to date. Section 9: Consumer Formats for Recorded Sound. While the compact disc is dominant here, the analog media of tape and the LP record are given thorough coverage. While it looked for several years as if the LP was destined to become obsolete, that medium has actually gained in strength in recent years. We shall keep it in this book as long as recording engineers need to know about it. Section 10: Commercial and Operational Aspects of Recording. While the economic basis of re cording continues to move from the full-service studio to the more specialized home recording environment, it is still essential that top-flight recording engineers get their basic training in the studio. The fundamentals given in this section will be valuable for all re cording engineers. 1 Principles of Physical Acoustics 1.1 INTRODUCTION In this chapter we will cover the basic elements of sound generation and propagation in both indoor and outdoor environments. Sound fjelds and directivity of sound sources will be discussed, along with various wavelength-dependent sound transmission phenomena. The concept of the decibel will be introduced. 1.2 CONCEPT OF VIBRATION 1.2.1 Periodic Motion A si ne wave represents the simplest kind of vibration; it is the natural motion of a weight as it bobs up and down on aspring, or of a pendulum swinging back and forth at moderate dis placement. Its characteristic motion is shown in Figure I-I a as an undulating movement about a reference line. The motion can also be described as the projection of a point on a circle as that point moves about the circle with uniform angular velocity. One cycle of the wave constitutes rotation through the complete 3600 of the circle, and the time required for one cycle of the wave is called its period (T). A related term is frequency, which is the number of periods in a time interval of 1 sec. For example, if a sine wave has aperiod of one-fourth of a second (T = 0.25 sec). then its frequency is lIT or 4 cycles/sec. The term hertz (Hz) is universally used to indicate cycles per second. EXAMPLE: Determine the frequency of a sine wave with aperiod of one-thousandth of a second: I I Frequency = - = -- = 1000 Hz (or 1 kHz) (1.1 ) T (0.001) The unit kHz, or kilohertz, is equivalent to 1000 Hz. 2 HANDBOOK OF RECORDING ENGINEERING 1+---- Period .. 180·1----....- ---10· I---+----llr-.L..--+--~_·Time 270' a b Fig. 1-1. (a) Generation of a sine wave, showing amplitude and period. (b) Phase relationship between two si ne waves of the same frequency. Another characteristic of a si ne wave is its amplitude (Al. which is its maximum displacement from the reference line. Depending on the physical domain we are discussing, this displace ment can be in space, as in the case of a pendulum, or in electrical voltage or current, if it is an electrical sine wave. The amplitude of asound wave is customarily measured in pressure fluctuations above and below normal atmospheric pressure. The concept of phase is important in describing sine waves. It refers to the relative displace ment in time between si ne waves of the same frequency; this is shown in Figure I-Ib. Here the dashed sine wave is displaced from the solid one by some distance F; which is usually expressed in degrees with one period of the wave representing 3600. If two sine waves of the same frequency are displaced in phase by 180°, they are said to be in opposite polarity or, more informally, as being out of phase. Obviously, a simple transposition of wiring in a two-conductor signal path can result in this condition. As common as si ne waves are in electrical and mechanical engineering, they are rare in the world of sound, for the reason that nearly all vibrating elements used in the generation of sound have a tendency to execute complex motion. If the motion is a sustained one, as in the case of a bowed string, then the complex waveform can usually be represented as an ensemble of sine waves, beginning with a fundamental wave and progressing upward through a set of sine waves whose periods are related as I, \/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, and so on. This is shown in Figure 1-2, where four harmonically related waves are added together to produce a complex wave (Fig. 1-2c). The components of a complex wave are referred to as harmonics. Figures 1-2b Concept of Vibration 3 310 Fourti harmonie 410 Time - Frequency - a b t t t t 10 210 310 410 Frequency - c d Fig. \-2. (a) Illustration of harmonically related sine waves. (b) Frequency spectra for sine waves shown in a. (c) Generation of a complex wave by adding the sine wave components of a. (d) Frequency spectrum for the complex wave shown in Co and d show the frequency spectrum for each component as weil as for the complex wave itself. By specifying the number of harmonics and their relative amplitudes and phase rela tionships, we can generate any repetitive waveform. 1.2.2 Aperiodic Motion: Noise Although we can describe any unwanted sound as noise, the term is usually reserved for waveforms of the kind shown in Figure 1-3a. The wave has no discernible period and is thus called aperiodic. Just as a complex repetitive waveform can be shown to consist of harmonically related si ne waves, noise can be shown to consist of a continuous band of an unbounded number of sine waves. If the array of frequencies present is as shown in Figure I-3b, the noise is referred to as white noise (similar to the interstation noise heard on FM radios). It is normally band limited, containing frequency components up to so me arbitrary cutoff frequency, fa. The term white noise comes from the analogy with white light, wh ich contains all components of
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