[64studio-devel] Re: 0.9.5

[Daniel James]

Hi Quentin,

> I am getting some xruns during
> "mastering"!

It's worth bearing in mind that digital mastering is a high latency 
operation, because of the heavy DSP going on, compared to tracking. So 
there's no problem with increasing your Jack frames per period while 
running Jamin - that should sort your xruns out, unless you've got a 
hardware problem (or it's that pesky dual-core Jack bug again).

> I am using a pair of passive monitors in a not so ideal room to mix (and
> almost master) the stuff I record.

Passive monitors aren't necessarily bad, as long as the amp is good 
quality and well matched to the speakers; a lot of top mastering 
engineers use large hi-fi speakers, like B&W Nautilus, in preference to 
active nearfield monitors of the kind often used for tracking these days.

Small nearfields like the Rogers LS3/5A were originally designed for 
outside broadcast vans where space was restricted, not low-end response, 
and the classic studios of the past generally used large passive Tannoy 
monitors for mixing and mastering.

Then people started using nearfields like the Yamaha NS-10 or Auratone 
to figure out what the mix would sound like on a crappy 'hi-fi' with a 
limited frequency response, not as their main mix reference. The big 
studios that are left still benefit from full-size Urei or Tannoy 
monitors, even if they have a pair of active nearfields on the top of 
the meterbridge.

> Does Linux have a room (venue)
> compensation project where you could use a pink noise source to
> automatically program Jamin (or related Jack plugin) to "Fix" the room?

Yes, it's at:

http://drc-fir.sourceforge.net/

However the subject is controversial. What I've heard is that room 
correction only really works at low frequencies, but then again, those 
frequencies are the hardest to treat in small rooms.

I would recommend reading some of the DIY room treatment articles on 
http://www.soundonsound.com/ - look for 'Studio SOS'.

You can do quite a lot with DIY methods - the main thing to watch out 
for is that you don't just absorb the high frequencies. Carpet or thin, 
low-density acoustic foam tiles on the walls are the worst culprit for 
that. You end up with a room which subjectively sounds 'dead', but in 
fact you've created a really uneven frequency response in the room, 
probably with a couple of big resonant peaks left in the bass response. 
The first purpose-built studio I rented was just like that - the 
frequency response in my living room at home was more even :-)

You can get a low-cost test CD with some frequency sweeps on it, or make 
your own test track by sequencing something like zynaddsubfx to sweep up 
the scale. You'll soon hear if any frequencies are coming back much 
louder than the others. Then you'll know which frequencies need the most 
attention.

You'll probably also need to cut down on reflections, to make the stereo 
image clearer. Just changing the room layout and your position relative 
to the speakers can make a big difference there. Sofas can make good 
bass traps too ;-)

Cheers!

Daniel