A picture of Phife Dawg and our Studio Director Jeffrey Wood. Rest in power to the Five Foot Assassin!

祝日 / Permanent Vacation

Janaina Medeiros
ojovivo
trying on a metaphor
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
Claire Keane

#extradirty
hello vonnie

blake kathryn
DEAR READER
Sade Olutola

if i look back, i am lost
Keni
wallacepolsom

ellievsbear
cherry valley forever
we're not kids anymore.
will byers stan first human second
Mike Driver
seen from France
seen from Sri Lanka

seen from Japan
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seen from Estonia
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Australia

seen from United States

seen from United States

seen from United States
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@fantasystudios-blog
A picture of Phife Dawg and our Studio Director Jeffrey Wood. Rest in power to the Five Foot Assassin!
The Psychology of Music
- by University of Florida.
Let’s Talk Patchbay
Patchbays function as a convenient central point to which you can bring all of your audio inputs and outputs so that you have easy access to them. They operate sort of like telephone switchboards.
Here’s a few things you should know: 1) It is standard to put outputs on the top row and inputs on the bottom row of a patchay. 2) There are many different kinds of patchbays, here are a few.. - 96- point solder- type TT patchbay - 48- point 1/4- inch to 1/4- inch patchbay - 48- point Longframe 1/4- inch to 1/4- inch patchbay - 96- point solder- type TT patchbay brought out to different multipin connectors (ELCO, D- sub, DL) or some sort of punchdown block (ultrapatch)
Check out our brand new website: http://fantasystudios.com/
We have lots of fancy new updates, pictures, and info!
The Band.......... Aaron Joseph - Keys, Lead Vocals Kisura Nyoto - Lead vocals Richard “R.J.” Julia – Drums Sarah Rice - Bass Brian Jones - Guitar Adam Rubin...
Happy Tunes-Day!
This week, we’re listening to Midtown Social. We loved having them in the studio!
Music and Science: Harmonics
Making music is an inherently subjective experience and the creative process is different for every musician. However, the fundamental concepts behind creating sounds that work well together are in fact based on universal physical laws and mathematical theory. The notions of octaves, chords, keys, and the basic reasons why certain combinations of notes sound pleasing to our ears are all fully explicable using what we know about the physical properties of a sound wave and some simple math. Recognizing the scientific processes behind harmonics allows for a deeper understanding of what music really is, and that knowledge can be applied to anything from classical composition to engineering a recording session.
Harmonics are the basis of music. When we hear a simple chord—for example a C chord—we can discern three different pitches, but they somehow work together harmoniously to form a cohesive sound. Many musicians can explain this phenomenon using music theory: if you play a root note stacked with a major 3rd stacked with a minor 3rd (in this case C, E, G), you form a major triad, which we know to sound consonant. However, there are ways to understand harmonies on a deeper level. Why do we like the sound of a major triad? What makes a group of notes sound consonant or dissonant? How can we predict what notes will work together? It turns out that these questions can be answered using math and science.
Pythagoras’ Ratios
The connection between harmony and math was explored as early as 500 BC, when Pythagoras, a Greek philosopher and mathematician, made the connection between string length and pitch. Through a process of trial and error, Pythagoras was able to numerically define musical intervals using what are now called Pythagoras’ ratios.
First he found that, with the same tension, width, and material, two strings of the same length sounded exactly the same. Then he discovered that if he cut one string in half (giving them a ratio of 2:1) and plucked the strings together, they still sounded like they belonged together, but the shorter string sounded higher—we call this interval an octave. If he made one string 3/2 the length of the other, he found that they sounded consonant, but not as similar as an octave. This interval became known as a perfect 5th (P5). Through this process he also discovered that a perfect 4th has a ratio of 4/3, and a major 3rd has a ratio of 5/4. The table below describes all the various ratios that can be found within the notes of a major scale.
Interval, # of semitones, ratio
His discoveries, while not fully understood scientifically at the time, were an introduction to the idea that music is not random, or even entirely subjective. You can make music by playing random notes until you figure out what sounds you like based on trial and error, but there are in fact ways to predict the way notes will sound together. There are patterns ingrained in the fundamental make up of sound waves, so music can in fact be objectively quantified and, to an extent, reduced to simple mathematical ratios.
Frequencies and Intervals
Pythagoras’ experimental conclusions can be verified theoretically if you consider what we know about frequency. As mentioned in the previous section of this series, the frequency of a sound wave describes the rate at which compressed areas of the wave—the “crests” of the wave—hit your ear. The faster they hit, the higher the pitch of the sound.
Different combinations of these frequencies will sound different to our ears. Take an octave interval, for example. You’ve probably heard this interval when a woman or child and a man sing the same melody. One voice is noticeably higher than the other, yet they still sound like they’re singing the same note. This is because the frequency of a note one octave up is exactly double the lower note (a ratio of 1:2), so the two waves are in phase with each other.
For example, a middle C has a frequency of about 262 Hz. This means its wave crests, notated by X’s on the image below, hit your ear around once every .0038 (1/262) seconds.
Source: https://plus.maths.org/content/magical-mathematics-music
At an octave higher, C has a frequency of 524 Hz. This means its wave crests hit your ear once every .0019 seconds. Since this is exactly double the rate of a middle C, it lines up with middle C every other crest.
Source: https://plus.maths.org/content/magical-mathematics-music
A perfect 5th, which is still considered to sound very consonant but not quite as hollow as an octave, lines up its wave crests almost as frequently as an octave. You can see in the diagram for C and G below that the ratio 3/2 relates directly to the way the wave crests line up. Every 3rd crest for G lines up with every 2nd crest for C, thus giving us the simple ratio, 3/2. Another way of looking at the relationship is that the crests from G arrive 1.5 times as fast as the wave crests from C, and their crests line up around once every .0075 seconds.
Source: https://plus.maths.org/content/magical-mathematics-music
By contrast, dissonance is created when wave pockets line up less frequently. When two waves are out of phase with only brief moments of synchronization, we hear them as too different and thus dissonant.
Equal-Tempering
Pythagoras’ ratios, while mathematically correct, when implemented musically can pose problems with key changes. Pythagoras’ ratios themselves are translatable between keys—that is, a perfect 5th is a ratio of 3/2 whether it is in the key of C or the key of E. However, in order to play all of these different ratios in various keys, we need to be able to play essentially all frequencies within hearing range. This causes problems for incremented instruments, such as guitar and piano. Unlike instruments like trombone, voice, and violin, incremented instruments do not have every frequency at their immediate disposal, so if you want to play in a certain key, you have to tune the instrument to accommodate for the different required frequencies.
In order to remedy this tuning problem and simplify the way we assign note names, the equal-tempering system was created. Within an octave, which we discussed has a ratio of 2:1, we can divide the pitches into 12 increments, called semitones, so that the distance between each of them is 1.059463. You can check this by setting up the equation: (x^12)=2, because we are looking for the number that when multiplied by itself 12 times, doubles the number we started with. Then solve for x to get 1.059463.
By dividing an octave into 12 equally separated semitones, the equal-tempering system only implements certain frequencies. For example, take C, which as we know has a frequency of about 262 Hz. The closest semitone up from C defined by the equal-tempering system is C#, which is has a frequency of about 277 Hz. So, the 15 Hz between these two notes are unaccounted for and essentially ignored by the system. This method of discounting some natural frequencies between semitones allows for all keys to be accounted for even on an incremented instrument without retuning, remedying the problem that arose from Pythagoras’ well-tempering system. While the system has intrinsic inaccuracy due to rounding, it turns out that the discrepancies between the approximated frequencies from the equal-tempering system and the frequencies defined by Pythagoras’ ratios are not actually prominent enough to be picked up by the human ear. The equal-tempering system is now universally accepted, and because of it, changing keys is as simple as moving your capo up or down on a guitar, or using/avoiding different keys on a piano.
Knowledge of the science behind harmonics and the physical properties of waves is the basis behind any musical creation. By understanding the fundamental physical and mathematical principles of harmony, you are able define what consonance and dissonance really are, why certain chords sound good or bad, and how that relates to what you personally define to be music.
Music and Science: Waves
Some of the most fundamental concepts that any musician or sound engineer should understand are the physical properties of sound, which will provide the baseline knowledge necessary to understand what music really is. Recognizing how sound moves through space and knowing the factors that play into achieving different sounds is the foundation behind creating music.
Sound is propagated through space in waves, which are initialized and propelled by vibrations in various mediums (air, water, many solids, etc). These vibrations can be formed by anything from guitar strings to vocal chords to the taught lining of a snare drum. When something vibrates, sound is produced by causing the medium around it to vibrate in the form of traveling waves. You can feel the source vibrations when you touch the place of origin, such as the body of a cello, and you can feel the vibrations being propagated through space, for example from the speakers at a loud concert or in a car with the bass turned up. Vibrations are driven through space by its surrounding particles—As a sound wave is formed, the particles nearest to the source are compressed and pushed toward their neighbor particles, which in turn are compressed toward their neighbor particles, and so on and so forth, while the particles behind each of these air pockets spread out. This process of particles moving back and forth while energy is transported forward is called compression (pushing together) and rarefaction (spreading apart). Because the particles of the medium move in a direction parallel to that of the energy transport, sound waves are said to be longitudinal.
Compressions are areas of high pressure; rarefactions are areas of low pressure.
Source: http://www.robchapman.tv/forum/threads/decibels-acoustics-and-sound-physics.25409/
How we hear a sound wave is dependent on a few properties, the most prominent being frequency and amplitude. Frequency of a wave relates directly to pitch—the higher the frequency of the wave, the higher in pitch the sound is. The frequency of a wave, measured in units of Hertz (Hz), is quite literally the rate at which each air pocket (formed from compressions and rarefactions) reaches your ear. 1 Hz is equivalent to 1 vibration hitting your ear every second, a rate inaudible to humans, as our ears can only detect frequencies of about 20 Hz to about 20 kHz (20,000 Hz).
It’s important to distinguish frequency, which describes the rate of air compression in a wave, from speed, which describes how fast the entire wave travels through space. Assuming you’re listening to a sound through air, and the temperature and pressure of the space is constant, the speed of sound is fixed at around 343m/s. Frequency, on the other hand, is not constant and can be varied based on wavelength. The relationship between frequency and wavelength can be described as inversely proportional—The smaller the wavelength, the higher the frequency, and vice versa. This proportionality can be applied very tangibly to, for example, guitar strings. By plucking a guitar, you can hear that for any given string, its lowest pitch is heard when it’s played open. The pitch rises respectively with how high up the fret board you press. The higher you press, the shorter you make the string. A shorter string means shorter wavelengths, thus giving the wave a higher frequency and a higher pitch.
Another important property of waves is amplitude, which is related to how much energy a wave carries. For sound waves, amplitude is measured by the pressure difference between undisturbed air and the maximum pressure caused by the wave compressions. The larger the amplitude of a sound wave, the louder we hear it. This is because a larger amplitude allows for a greater amount of energy to be carried and thus a stronger intensity of sound to reach our ears. The smallest humanly perceptible amplitude, called our threshold of hearing, is around .000002 N/m2. The largest, called the threshold of pain, is approximately 60 N/m2, though this number varies from person to person.
While the physical properties of sound extend far past what was covered in this passage, recognizing simply what a sound wave is and realizing how frequency and amplitude relate to what we hear will provide a jumping off point to understand what music really is. In the next section on harmonics, we will try to understand the difference between sound and music—what makes certain notes sound good together? Why are there 12 semitones in a scale? How does our ear distinguish between consonance and dissonance?
Music and Science: Series Intro
You’ve probably heard that music is math, and while the expression is vastly oversimplified, there is some truth to it. Music is undoubtedly more than just equations, but math and science can explain how sound moves, why chords sound good together, how acoustics can affect recording, the technology behind audio recordings, music’s effect on the human brain, and more. There are musical patterns within melodies and rhythms that can be explained mathematically, and there are mathematical principles that can be applied creatively and artfully. The crossover between musical creativity and mathematical procedures is wide-ranging, and understanding the connection is important for the recording process both as a musician and an engineer.
Bobby McFerrin & Richard Bona
Happy Tunes-Day!
This week we’re listening to Bobby McFerrin, who came by the studio to record a while back. Check out this awesome improv from him and Richard Bona.
Luciano’s Favorite Fantasy Studios Project
This week, we asked one of the Fantasy Studios interns, Luciano, what his favorite project to work on here has been. Without hesitation, he answered that it was assisting on a big project for the reggae band, Ancestree. It was an easy answer for him because he had a particularly hands on experience with it.
The unique, almost psychedelic sounding reggae band filled up the entire room of Studio D, our largest studio. There were multiple microphones on drums, guitars, synths, and horns, and the project used many of the preamps we have at Fantasy. Still, Luciano described the process as fairly quick. The night before the session, he set up the room, which was then approved by Robert. The next morning at around 10am, they were ready to record and the session went on until late that night. In that day, they successfully recorded around 10 tracks for an upcoming release from Ancestree.
“I think it was nice how we were super technical when we were setting everything up and thinking about measurements and getting the right levels. It was coming out in such a nice quality, such a cool color, you can’t even think about the numbers, you just think, “wow this sounds kick ass.” Apparently if you set everything up right, when it’s time to press record you forget every single technicality and just listen to the music, and suddenly it becomes real. I think that’s a sign that you did your job right.”
You can learn more about the band and listen to their music on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ancestreereggae?fref=ts
Check them out live at Moe’s Alley in Santa Cruz this Thursday July 16th!
Session Set Ups: An Intern’s Perspective
My name is Yasmeen and I’m the social media intern here at Fantasy Studios. I usually work the front desk, but today I got the chance to learn a little bit more about the way we set up the audio for sessions here at Fantasy. With the help of an experienced intern, I was able run through the set-up process for a particularly large session that will be recording in Studio D here in a couple of days.
Firstly, I learned that since setting up and tearing down sessions is a major responsibility of the audio interns, every intern must become familiar with all the types of microphones we have here. With close to 100 different types of mics in the studio, memorizing them all takes time, but there are a few mics to make sure you’re familiar with as soon as possible. One of the most important and commonly used mics is the Neumann U87. We have seven of these versatile condenser mics in the studio, and used three for this session alone. Since they were all set up for vocals, we placed pop filters on them to avoid any possible mic damage from spitting while singing.
U87 set up for vocals on the keys. It has a shock mount and a pop filter set up with it, and the cue box next to it is plugged in and ready for use.
This session’s particular set-up is very extensive, with over 10 different mics on the drums alone. Then we have keys, bass, vocals, and electric guitar.
Before the client arrives, all of these mics must be set up and plugged into their specific wall plates that direct the sound flow into the control room where the console, preamps, and audio workstation pick up the signals.
One of 5 different wall plates in the Studio D being used mainly for various drum mics. On the floor are power supplies for two different tube mics.
Inside the control room, all of the audio signals must be patched together in a specific flow pattern. The pathway for an audio signal commonly goes as follows: audio is picked up through a mic, which transmits the sound through tie lines on the wall, to the patchbay inside the control room, through a specific preamp, back into the patchbay, and finally into an audio workstation (in our case Pro Tools), which is connected to the entire SSL console. Of course there are variations to this model of signal flow. For example, in this specific session the engineer chose to run the kick drum audio signal through external compressors before returning to the patchbay and going through to Pro Tools. Other pickups, such as the one for the snare did not go through our preamps and were connected directly to the console.
Patchbay
Preamps and Outboard Gear
Console Close-up
Running through the set up of this session taught me a lot about audio setups, but more importantly it showed me how much more there is to learn about the recording process. Each mic has a specific sound, every compressor adds a slightly different flavor to the audio, every knob on the console corrects the sound in a different way, and it takes years of experience and trial and error in order to be able to manipulate all of these variables properly and record on a professional level. The technology and creativity required to record music is tremendous and there is no better place to learn about it than here at Fantasy Studios.
From the archives--Aerosmith in the studio
Tips for maximizing your studio time
Rehearse beforehand
The more rehearsed you are before entering the studio, the more effective your time here will be and the more you’ll get out of your session. It’s always a good idea to practice with a metronome, especially when you’re coming in to record multiple instruments. If your track includes vocals, you may want to practice it just instrumentally a few times. Things may change musically once you get into the studio with new creative ideas flowing, but it’s important to have a solid framework that you can then build off of. The more you practice the better!
Think about:
What makes a rehearsal effective and efficient?
How can you tell when you’re completely prepared?
Is it possible to over-rehearse?
Relax
While atmosphere and vibe are very important to us at Fantasy and our sessions are kept as relaxed as possible, it’s understandable to be nervous during your session, especially if you’re new to recording. The process of a recording session may be different from the rehearsals that you’re used to, but it’s important to stay creative and open, despite any structural unfamiliarity. Keep in mind that it’s okay to make mistakes and the more comfortable you are, the better your sound/performance will be.
Think about:
Do you have specific rehearsal techniques that work for you?
What environment or state of mind do you feel you perform best in?
What does it mean to relax, and how can you allow yourself to do so in an unfamiliar setting?
Know the sound you want
This includes educating yourself—the more you know about the recording process, the easier it’ll be to articulate to the engineers what you want out of the session, and the better your sound will be. It’s always helpful to come with albums or artists whose sound you like to show the engineers examples of the type of sound you hope to achieve.
Think about:
Who are your inspirations and in what ways have they influenced the sound you want?
Is there someone you collaborate with to help identify your musical goals?
Is the sound you’re aiming for similar to your past releases, or do you hope to take your project in a new direction?
Be realistic
Patience is key! Rushing the process to try to accomplish an unrealistic amount will only result in a product you aren’t satisfied with. If you’re used to playing your material live, you may be surprised by how different it sounds in the studio. The songs you bring in that sound great from on stage might need reworking in order to sound good on tape. So give yourself room to make mistakes, don’t get too caught up in striving for perfection, and trust that after the whole process, you will end up with a recording that you love.
Think about:
Which aspects of your project are most important to you?
Which are you flexible on?
How much time are you willing to spend on the project to achieve the sound you want?
Tunes-day! Today we’re listening to Lauryn Hill, who was here at Fantasy a while back. Check out her latest release!
Robert’s Favorite Fantasy Studios Project
The YUPP Organization (Youth Utilizing Power and Praise) came into Fantasy Studios not too long ago to work on their "Breaking the Barriers" album, spearheaded by Shelene Huey-Booker, Marcus McCauley, and the California Northwest Youth Choir. Their ambitious project made an impression on our staff assistant here at Fantasy Studios, Robert Kirby, and he found this project to be his favorite to work on so far. Robert worked on the sessions assisting Jesse Nichols, Reto Peter, and Michael Starita.
What made this project special to Robert was the amount of passion, soul, and love that the whole project brought to Fantasy Studios, and it was for a good cause!
The YUPP Organization is presenting a CD release concert for this album July 24th in Fresno!
You can buy tickets here: http://breakingthebarriers.bpt.me/
More information about the YUPP Organization can be found here: http://www.yupporg.com
Professional Studios vs. Home Recording
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The idea of home recording is one that hasn’t been plausible until recently. With the influx of accessible, affordable equipment on the market, all boasting that they can help you create a professional sounding record right at home, you have to wonder why professional recording studios haven’t been run out of business.
Recording equipment has never been more accessible, and in the right hands, it can be used to make a great record. You can even buy Pro Tools, the audio workstation used at most professional studios, for relatively cheap. However, more goes into a professional-sounding recording than simply owning the workstation. While at a certain point gear becomes arbitrary in comparison to the music itself, it’s hard to ignore the difference in sound quality between professional level equipment and the affordable, accessible microphones and recording gear that are on the market now. Whether to go the at-home or professional route in making music ultimately comes down to personal preference.
In making the decision between DIY and professional recording, multiple factors should be considered. For many, the first and foremost of which is cost. One must weigh the hourly rates of a recording studio against the overall flat rate of purchasing all the equipment necessary to create an at-home recording. Either way, recording is an investment, but taking into consideration the cost of cables, mic stands, monitors, headphones, etc., a lot of times the daunting rates of a professional recording studio are actually cheaper than the required cost of creating a record at home. In the end, the more cost-efficient solution is specific to every different musical project.
Another consideration is that of the space in which you’re recording. Studio spaces are specifically engineered to make music. With the right tools and expertise, it is possible to get a passable sound from simply a bedroom or a garage setup; however, the science behind creating professional studio space, and engineering an environment to get the most out of your sound is actually very complex. The rooms at many professional studios, including here at Fantasy, consider every aspect of a room that could affect sound quality: acoustic interference caused by standing waves, modal ringing in small rooms and excess reverb in large ones, absorption and diffusion of sound within the room, sound leakage both into and out of the room, and more. These details allow the sound put out by the artist to not only be captured in its purist form, but also to be heard as it truly sounds. The control rooms at a professional studio, soundproofed and stocked with a variety of speakers, will always output a truer sound than that of headphones or speakers at home. This sound purity allows the engineers more opportunity to create an exact desired final product through the mixing/mastering process.
Finally, efficiency of the creative process has to be taken into account. For instance, a self-made space for recording might be able to produce your desired sound, but figuring out how to do so will take time. Different rooms require different mixing/mastering techniques, and professional engineers are used to working in the rooms at their studio. Thus, the process of achieving each desired track is both possible and efficient. There is a steep learning curve with all at-home devices, and while tutorials and how-to books can teach you how to achieve a nice sound, it takes time to gain the kind expertise and experience that studio engineers have to produce any specific quality of sound. Our staff engineers have years of experience with various genres, ensuring consistent, high quality productions.
In the end, how you choose to record is a personal preference and dependent on your own desired musical outcome. We’ve found here at Fantasy that we get a large number of calls from clients asking us to “fix” recordings that were either done at home or at other studios, and these clients often come to the conclusion that they could have saved time and money by recording professionally in the first place.