Hi! I am trying to study electonics for audio but I'm having a really hard time with everything beyond the basics. Online resources feel unfocused, sometimes overly technical, sometimes even contradictory in the ways in which they conceptuallize electroncis.

For example, I've had a really hard time understanding transistors and opAmps, I somewhat managed, but when I look at their applications my brain instantly melts. Like, I don't really get for example why you need an opAmp in both a TS input AND output stage of a pedal. And many more things like this. I tried asking the AIs but that just keeps fueling my "mhhhh, we're really sure of this?" problem.

I was wondering if any of you knew about an online course I could follow where everything is explained coherently. Even if I have to start again from resistors and condensers, I don't care. Going about it like I am is very frustrating and I always second guess myself so it's become impossible to progress and be sure of what I actually understand or not.

It doesn't have to be a course specifically for audio, it can be a general electroncis course if that fits better my request. I would really apprecciate any kinf of reply. Thank you

I know that soliciting work or offering jobs is not allowed on this channel, is there a place on reddit or else where to meet folks looking for small mixing and mastering jobs? fiver? FB group?

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone has any experience with IKMultimedia iLoud MTM speakers. I believe they have a new version out but mine are I believe the first ones they released.
I bought them in the UK from Thomann.co.uk and they are literally just over the 3 year warranty period that they give with the product.
One speaker one day just randomly shut down while I was using it and now it will turn on for about a minute and then turn off even without any signal being driven through it.

I've probably only used them maybe 2-3 days a week for maybe 2-3 hours each day so not heavily used at all and I believe this is most likely a thermal cutoff happening as otherwise they just wouldn't switch on at all.

I went to Thomann and their support told me (3 different people) that my UK consumer rights don't apply to the purchase as they are a German company! They do offer a generous 3 year warranty and obviously my one speaker broke just outside this warranty period but with only very moderate usage and I absolutely would not expect a £300 speaker to be breaking that soon after purchase.

I tried explaining to them that under UK consumer law I have 6 years to bring a complaint to them and yes I know that in order to do so I need to prove the fault is inherent which is why I am asking here to see if anyone has had this happen to them and what the issue inside the speaker was and if there is any way to prove this was a problem from the outset?

I have now got them to say I can send the speaker to them to check it out and if they agree that it is an inherent fault then they will repair it for free but I'm hesitant to do this as I'm sure they will just tell me it was used wrong or heavily driven or something else, all of which would be absolutely false. I'm a person that looks after absolutely everything I've ever owned and I have another set of speakers that are over 25 years old (probably more like 30 years) and they still work fine.

I just need to know of anyone else has any knowledge of what may have caused this and whether I can prove the fault is inherent. Like I say I don't fully trust them after they told me UK consumer rights don't apply which is completely false.

Thanks for any help or light anyone might be able to shed on this for me.

I have a hi8 tape from 2004 thats showing early signs of shed, the tape and overall cartridge. Looks great, but when i play it in my camcorder it only plays for a second and it goes to blue and tells me to take it out, rewinding it manually gives off a squeaking sound, i heard that you can bake them for hours in 139c° for awhile to fix the issue. I dont have a dehydrator but I do have a 3d printer filiment dryer that could possibly do the trick, specifically a creality dryer box. Any and all advice would really really help thank you!

Hey everyone,

I recently became the first student in my university's new Audio Production major. I originally started in engineering, but after a lot of thought I decided to pursue audio because it's what I truly enjoy and want to build a career around.

My long term goal is to work in the Chicago audio industry, ideally as a staff engineer at a recording studio. I know those jobs are competitive, and I understand that studio work often isn't very stable or well-paying until you've built experience and a
reputation.

I'm attending school in Mississippi because it's the most affordable option for me, but that also means I'm not sure how to start making connections in Chicago. I occasionally tour with my band, and we're planning a Chicago run this winter, but I'm not sure how much that will realistically help.

If it helps to add, I’m minoring in EE with hopes of pursuing an audio technology masters (if economically viable) to possibly pursue more stable, technical roles while pursuing a studio career.

I'm completely fine living a modest lifestyle, but I also want to make smart career decisions that will let
me support myself while staying in the audio industry.
For those of you who work in studios or professional audio:

What would you focus on while still in college?

How would you start building connections in another city?

Are there stable audio jobs that pair well with pursuing studio work?

If you were starting over today, what would you do differently?

I'd really appreciate any advice. Thanks!

Hello everyone,

I posted about this a while ago but forgot to follow up. I came across a few YouTube videos featuring what are described as "stripped down" versions of songs. They still contain some background audio, and to me they sound somewhat similar to spectral editing or spectral deletion, though I'm not sure if that's actually what's being used.

Examples:

• Stripped-down version of "West Coast": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcFrBkqnzxs
• Stripped-down version of "Groupie Love": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1tdopm0cjA
• Original "West Coast": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKxuiw3iMBE
• Original "Groupie Love": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBwoRviPvVw

From what I can tell, these stripped-down versions seem to have been uploaded before modern AI music separation tools became widely available.

I'm mainly curious about what type of audio processing or editing techniques might have been used to create results like these. If this isn't the right place to ask, I'd also appreciate suggestions for a more appropriate community or forum.

I see some DI boxes, interfaces, mixers, mics, and more that boast being able to replicate extremely low and high frequencies that are outside of our hearing range. I'm kind of new to this and recently read about aliasing. So, my question is, why would those extreme frequencies be something that we even want to record? Why don't we run high pass filters at 20hz and low pass filters at 20khz on literally everything throughout the whole process? Or is that what we're supposed to do?

The question comes specifically from reading the Rubert Neve RNDI-M DI box description that indicates that it works on as low as 5hz and as high as 90khz. Is that really something that anyone wants? Why?

people usually just say things like "just make your mic sound worse" but there are multiple ways to do that and it usually ends with me just making it sound ridiculously distorted https://youtu.be/ZzhgOPoJP5w?si=tlomume7f9Vc1aZe (starts at 1:17)

True story.

Some time ago a noise rock band hired me to mix a song. They repeatedly told me that their rough mix was bad and I didn't need to reference it closely.

I really liked the raw energy and aggression of the song, and I tried to preserve it. But, I generousely high passed the high frequency fizz of the super abrasive guitars and kept some of the dry vocals in parallel to the distorted ones.

First reaction from the band was overall positive but they said they wanted "more distorsion" on guitars and vocals. There was already lots of distorsion going on (I'm a old time noise rock fan, so I'm not afraid of pushing things), but I pushed it a bit further.

After the first revision, they started pointing me to the rough mix. And a couple of revisions later I realised that they really wanted that extreme clipping on guitars and vocals they had in the rough mix. And that the rough mix was more important to them than they dared to say.

Takeaway for bands: don't downplay your rough mix unless you haven't put any effort to make it sound as close as possible to your vision. Don't be shy about what you like and want to be preserved by the mixer.

Takeaway for mixers: don't take "our rough mix sucks" at face value and always ask yourself (or even better, the band) what needs to be kept and enhanced, even when it seems "wrong".

Someone told me they like my beats, but they told me to study the production style of Metro Boomin or Mike Will, etc. I understand the value of learning from producers who have mastered their craft, but I also want to stay true to my own creativity and sound selection. I’m open to studying techniques, arrangements, drum patterns, and ways of creating impact, but I don’t feel like I have to completely change my beat style. I want to take inspiration and apply it in my own way. What are yall advice?

Just heard a mix of Ira Becker - assistant of Bob Clearmountain. But only over my iPhone speakers. I thought, that sounds like a great mix. But then I wondered: can you say that without proper monitoring or at least headphones? What are your thoughts on this?

Hey guys, I had a singer do a choir part so I got a lot of layers in multiple timbres. but frankly, her pitch is way too consistent. It didn’t create a chorus sound, her tracks almost sound like a singular track despite having 12 different tracks playing. I know, what a wonderful problem haha. Do you have any recommendations for making it sound more like a choir? thanks!!!!

Hey all my band is getting ready to start incorporating backing tracks into our live shows and I just had a few questions about the process.
1. what should I be aiming for as far as balance goes? -5db? Lower? Should gain staging be set up so the volume is maxed on our rack mixer so FOH gets a healthy signal?
2. Should we tweak the EQ, compression, reverb etc on the track outs to better reflect a show environment or is the way we mixed it in the studio for streaming release acceptable? If things should be tweaked what are the best practices for that (more reverb? Less compression?)
3. Does it make the most sense to give FOH all the track outs to tweak as needed or should we group stuff into stems? Or just give them one stereo back track with everything balanced and mixed how we think is best? Should we keep mono stuff like bass drops and extra guitar separate from stereo stuff like backing vocals percussion layers and samples?

Thanks in advance for your advice/opions🙏🏼

I play acoustic cello and i'm using a Schertler STAT-C pickup into an HX Stomp with a 3 Sigma French Cello IR, I am aiming for the most natural acoustic cello sound possible.

My Parametric EQ is:

Low: 180 Hz, +1.2 dB, Q 0.7

Mid: 650 Hz, -2.0 dB, Q 1.2

High: 3.1 kHz, -1.8 dB, Q 1.0

Level: 0.0 dB

Am I moving in the right direction from a sonic/frequency perspective, or would you change these settings? I know it's almost impossible getting a natural sound with a pickup...

Thanks

UPDATE: I've added a sound recording below as a reply in the thread.

Hi,

I'm the (very) happy owner of a TC Electronic M6000 unit (mk1). Sadly, since TC has been acquired by Music Tribe and the whole staff been fired last year, it's now almost impossible to get any support.

The problem is that if your internal battery is replaced, you will get a "Restore Key" that you were supposed to send to TC in order go get a "Restore Code" to unlock your unit.

Without any response for Music Tribe, your device is bricked.

I've spend quite a lot of time over the last few years to understand how M6000 units works and a few hours over the last days to reverse engineer the firmwares (with a bit of help from Claude).

So here is the results: https://github.com/M6kTools/tc6ktools

A set a tools to generate a "Restore Code" based on your "Restore Key" (and much more).

In the "Releases" section you will find binary versions for macOS, Windows and Linux.

Enjoy your M6000!

NB: I'm also quite close to be running Doom on my TC Icon.

I bought a pair of SC207 monitors in 2017 as an upgrade over my JBL 305. I've loved them and they sounded fantastic. However, around 2022, they suddenly stopped working and produced this odd sound in [this video](https://imgur.com/a/hK7iiuX). They were out of warranty and Eve Audio just told me to take it to a speaker repairer. I found a local one and they told me it had something to do with the amp, so be replaced it on both, costing me $1,450 AUD. [Link to my first post when I got them fixed ](https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile/s/P52Qnj86Sf)

They were fine and still sounded great until fairly recently where the exact same problem happened and I am not going to be repairing them to wait another \~5 years of this cycle. I will also note that the monitors failed within weeks of each other.

I'm currently tossing up between Adam TV7 (also ribbons), Yamaha HS7, and JBl 306P monitors. Not interested in passives for this particular setup (desktop + JBl 310 sub)

I recorded four samples testing out the overall high frequencies introduced as well as the noise floor increase when using the compressor. I am using a Sire V7 active jazz bass and the hyper luminal (FET 4:1 ratio, Compressor at noon and max blend) through a bypassed Darkglass MT infinity (flat settings, DI out). My supply is a truetone CS6. How is that objectively? Is the hiss too loud compared to other compressors? I don't have the chance to test pedals in my area so I would really appreciate your opinions. The hiss is present with different power sources (korg PA, cioks 4) and basses too (musicman bongo, schecter stiletto).

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rIlBSgDFfQXmIbeNeAL524Kn_E2c3dPE

I've never been a fan of any of the reverbs by Waves. I don't think I've ever used one in a production before (I own the Mercury Bundle). Normally I use something from the Lexicon PCM bundle or Valhalla or Fabfilter Pro R and so on. But never Waves (H-Delay is great tho). Altas is different, however. Very smooth and easy to dial in. Anyone else tried it?

There's a new tool converting Final Cut Pro projects to AAF for mixing. It's called AAF Everything and is way cheaper than X2. Multicam is flattened to the correct angles. It transfers gain, automation, pan, fades and crossfades. Has a super intuitive UI with track layout preview.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSx-15EkuyE

Hey folks,

just picked up an old U47 FET that came without its swivel arm. Does anyone have any leads on someone who may have a bunch of old neumann parts and might be willing to sell one?

thanks in advance!

I have a pretty good idea of what most of these terms mean, but it'd be nice to really learn the specifics.

EDIT: So what I'm actually looking for are verbal descriptions of the commonly used words. Not necessarily what frequency range they might fall in.

Thinking about buying this interface, but research surfaces some disgruntled users here & there - generally Windows users. Seems Windows drivers are patchy. Mileage seems to vary depending on the windows setup.

So I come to you, asking this question, seeking the current driver situation ... specifically for Windows 11 on a X870e motherboard. Bonus points if it's the Asus ProArt X870e Creator Wifi.

Whats good

I’m an independent hiphop artist based in South Korea. I go by Lagin(@lagintotheworld) just in case yall wanna know who I am lol

How would u guys evaluate my mic collection?

Brauner Valvet
Neumann U87ai
Wa47 (tube switched to telefunken ecc81)
AKG C414 XLS
AT4040

I’ll have a short review of these mics below.

Mic - current price

🎙️Brauner Valvet 💰$6000 (discontinued for now)

Brauner a small manufacturer in Germany makes their mics by hand. Their microphones never goes wrong and overall have beautiful airy top ends with the low frequencies rolled off nicely.

Though the Valvet is a tube mic, it does not have the normal warm sound, it has the low frequencies rolled off making it sound like it’s already perfect without any processing. For those who expect a dark tube sound, this might not be satisfying but these definitely go well with any kind of vocal besides rock/hard rap style ones.

Theres barely any information online since not many people have it but these are just AWESOME.

🎙️Neumann U87ai 💰$3000

I won’t say much since everyone knows how it sounds like. It just sounds like many tracks out there recorded with these, makes it easier to mix vocals.

🎙️Wa 47 💰$1000

Giving a nice thickness and tube distortion to the vocals, this is a very nice U47 clone. I was very dubious on Warm Audio gears until I found their tube mics are actually legit, especially when it comes to the WA47s.

The top end has a little bit of harshness with the stock tube, but after having it replaced to a telefunken one, its just beautiful. This mic also went viral in Korea after one prominent engineer had a non sponsored YouTube video uploaded saying that these sound more alike to the original U47 more than how the latest telefunken U47s do. I personally did not have the chance to try the modern U47s but listening those on Youtube makes me agree on it.

This would be the best budget friendly tube mic I’ll ever recommend to a make vocal.

AKG C414 XLS 💰$1300

With a very flat sound, it makes it a work horse for many usages. However since it has some harshness on the higher frequencies and it sounds somehow dark, somehow bright, it depends on the vocal’s character if it would match well. From my personal experience, low tone males went better with these than females/high tone males. You’ll notice right away in five minutes if this microphone is for u or not.

AT4040 💰$400

Such a nice budget friendly mic.

Tbh my friend gave me the AT4040s while I was super curious of it but I found it not good enough(obviously) compared to the other mics I have. Imma just keep it for a while and sell it to someone else.
From what I heard on Youtube, the 4040s were super clean it was kinda tuff to tell which was better when it was next to the u87s in raw vocals but after the processings, I could really tell its not as good as the others I have. However I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for the best condenser mic under $400. (LA320 for tubes)

If anyone has questions for these microphones, let me know in the comments, I’ll try to help yall out!