The Haunted Swing

[ChamMusic]

@ Frantz:

Yes, (being a music teacher 2 / 3 days each week), I know about 'teenbuzz' + the other ones that are out there...I can only just about hear it if I turn my speakers up!!!

Funny thing about those ringtones is that an increasing amount of under 25s can't hear them at all as their ears have been damaged by in-ear headphones at too high volume!

Now I have 'enroe' suggesting similar issues, I'll have another check and report back.

[ChamMusic]

@enroe:

Many thanks for the kind comments and feedback about the high frequencies. As i said to Frantz, above...I will check again and get back to you.

[layzer]

has some great ambience but theres that overwhelming resonant screetching at around 2khz that made me slap my phones off my head.

[Frantz]

But...please, ALWAYS, ALWAYS raise these sort of points

Will do. I didn't want to spoil the party but now with Enroe and Layzer chiming in, it seems like I'm not alone on this point.

[ChamMusic]

@Frantz:
I hate parties, so never worry about spoiling one!:0)

If there's an issue with one of my tracks, I would much rather know about it than not.

@Layzer:

Thanks for the 'around 2kHz' pointer...I'm going to check it out again from another angle today in my studio 'tea break'!

(Oh God , that sounds so utterly English...you've now all got an image of my studio being in a quaint little thatched village called Rumpleston or something similar)! I suppose there are worse visions to have! :0)

[ChamMusic]

Audio Spectrum analysis attached, ( I actually did it three times with different software)...very similar each time.

The graph contains ALL peaks throughout the track.

RED circle - these two peaks both happen just after 3 minutes. (-0.3dB)

BLUE line - no other peaks go above this at any point in the track. (-3.01 dB)

Layzer - spot on with the 2kHz suggestion - this is where most peaks were centred throughout the whole song....other main areas of peaks between 1kHz and 3kHz.

I think the BIG issue here is the violence / steepness of the peaks...they rise and fall very quickly because of the link between the ebb and flow of the swing in the original field recording and the processing I have used...particularly the filter settings.

I've NOT had anyone else mention an issue so far, but I'm now awaiting responses from a few very experienced sound engineers that I know + ALL of my current students with their 'young' ears! :0)

I'll post again soon.

[ChamMusic]

Finally got a whole lot of extra replies regarding the 1kHz - 4kHz peaks...

All my music / music tech students had a listen this week - I asked them to independently report on the production and any issues they found...both on headphones and monitors.

A small, but significant number mentioned the sweeps / peaks...maybe could've been pulled back a little were the thoughts here, but none found them painful or hard to listen to at all. ( Everything came from headphones listening...nothing from monitors)

2 sound designer / mixing engineer friends commented on the peaks in a similar fashion:
1) They liked the idea and thought it was effective in a disturbing / disorienting way.
2) Both thought that although it was technically NOT a 'bad' mix as such, the peaks should be tamed a little for the following reasons:
a) Such very sudden rises in amplitude centred on any specific frequencies can sometimes be overwhelming or even painful to anyone who has a particular sensitivity in that range...all ears are different and certain extreme changes are best avoided maybe!
b) Sudden rises in this particular frequency range are more likely to cause issues with some listeners as this is the area where many are more sensitive anyway...general sensitivity dies away quite rapidly below 1kHz and also above 4kHz.
c) They felt that the really harsh 1 - 4 kHz frequencies in the original field recording should've been 'tamed' a little more beforehand to play it safe.
d) They also mentioned that such frequencies lose their energy very quickly, so the 'pain' effect might be significantly more noticeable in headphones.

CONCLUSION:
It's perfectly OK for the majority of listeners.
Some listeners with extra sensitivity in this freq area might find it overwhelming / painful.
Probably needs adjusting a little to play it safe across the board.
I'll try a new mix out on my 'beta-listeners' sometime this week.

Thanks for the feedback,
Much appreciated.

[Frantz]

You are getting interesting feedback on this. It seems like there is more informed analysis and discussion on this mix than the US Presidential election.

FYI, I was listening on speakers and am always an outlier in terms of frequency sensitivity.

[ChamMusic]

On speakers...interesting...you may be right about your sensitivity.

The big thing I've learnt here is that the human ear is prone to be much more sensitive in certain quite restricted frequency ranges. I hadn't realized quite how much it drops off either side of the 1kHz - 4kHz area.

[ChamMusic]

On the US election...not quite sure what the point of informed debate is when a complete #### like Trump is a front runner...it's terrifying the rest of the world you know! :0)