Bonus Question answer

Last time around, our bonus question was this:

Where was the first echo (or delay) effect first manufactured?

If you have been following the Hearing Effects series so far, then you’ll know by now that nothing has a clear-cut answer. There is always too much debate about who really did what, and who really did what when; and this is even among the official records’ archivists!

However, regardless of who first “pioneered” the echo effect; the first to commercially manufacture it was Ray Butts in the early 1950s, who designed and built his wire-based echo machine into guitar amplifiers. (There might be someone out there to dispute that, but most fingers point to Ray.) It is a common mistake that the “echoplex” distributed by Maestro was the first, but that mix up is understandable since the “echoplex” holds the popularity award, and is still certainly regarded as the “Holy Grail” of echo effects.

This leads us straight into our next topic of echo/delay/reverb effects. Smooth, aren’t I?

Inspired by Nature

Alright, let’s dive right in. Everyone knows the sound characteristics of, say, yelling in a giant stadium or a cavern, or even out in the open high mountain ranges (for those who have actually experienced the wonder of something like the Grand Canyon).

Nature has built-in reverberation. For each different environment, sounds behave accordingly. The larger, more open and unobstructed spaces produce a longer delay between the sound and the bouncing around of that sound that reaches back to your ears. Those reflections can take a few milliseconds or up to a second or two to reach back to you. Once they do: Click to read the rest…

Missed the previous posts in the series? Catch up with Part One and Part Two.

So you’re planning on buying some new toys, or shifting your set up around, but how will you know if you have actually made things better?

First things first, you need some test material. Several hi-fi manufacturers make CDs of test tracks, but I suggest finding a small selection of material you know really well and covers the range of music that you enjoy. My personal selection includes: The Cinematic Orchestra, Björk, Led Zeppelin and Steve Reich.

Burn these tracks on a CD and take it with you when you go shopping (any decent hi-fi or pro audio shop should have a listening room to try out equipment).

Wherever possible shut your eyes and ask a friend or shop assistant to switch (or rearrange) equipment so you can be sure you are listening with your ears and not your eyes or bank balance.

Guidelines

You don’t need to be an expert to listen for the changes you have made, just trust your ears and listen out for the following:
Click to read the rest…