New Monday #117
Happy Monday!
A Techy Geeky Addendum
I received a lot of emails regarding the article I wrote on The High-Pass Filter Controversy. Some of you had questions. Some of you thought the whole thing was nonsense. Some of you thought I could have been more accurate technically.
I taught audio for years at college level—Dan Korneff was one of my students, that is how we met. I wanted my students to understand concepts in a useful way—a way that they could apply in the studio quickly and intuitively, because studio engineering at that time was about going fast. I also found for myself that if I had a more visual or metaphorical notion of how something worked, it helped me to use it in a more creative manner.
That way of teaching has stuck with me, and that's the way I approach what I write for you all. I'm trying to boil down concepts to something easily understood, and sometimes there's a level of abstraction applied, or a generalization that is accurate, but it could be more accurate, especially if you want to dig deeper into the concept. If you're understanding enough of something that you want to learn more, that's great. If you understand it enough that you're more competent and sure of yourself in the studio, that's even better. That is the target I'm aiming for: you getting it in a useful, applicable way.
Regarding the High-Pass Filter Controversy... I could hear issues with pass filters and phase 30 years ago, but not anymore. And 30 years ago I only cared about it if it was a net negative in terms of the music and the record. I cared a lot more about shitty lyrics than I ever cared about phase anomalies in the lows.
Dan can hear all of this stuff, and he approaches it the same: it's a problem when it's a problem, and usually it isn't a problem. But... on plugins and hardware, getting the phase squared away is of a different importance and urgency than on a mix.
It depends not only on what you're doing, but also who you are. Engineers who hear that stuff actually hear that stuff, and if it's a problem to them, that is legitimate. If it isn't an issue to you, god bless and get mixing and put high pass filters all over the place. Make it sound good. There were a bunch of tips on how to make it sound good IF phase issues are causing you problems. Even if you don't hear an issue, the tips were all good ideas and the more you know the more you grow. It's all good. And thank you all for writing.
More On High-Pass Filters
I wrote more on this topic for this week. And I will write one more article on it next week and then I'll move over to something else.
This week: high-pass filters and an in-depth explanation of how phase issues happen—and this is true for a variety of filters and EQs, not just high-pass filters. I also explain ringing and what a digital Minimal-Phase filter is. Click on the link below.
https://korneffaudio.com/more-pass-filtering-and-minimal-phase-filtering/
Next week, the topic is linear-phase filtering.
Haute and Freddy
Pronounced Hot and Freddy, they're a duo composed of singer/songwriter Michelle Buzz and percussionist/producer Lance Shipp. They popped up on my radar about a year ago and I've been following them since, waiting for a major label to snap them up and for an album.
Atlantic signed them in January, and Big Disgrace was released in March. They recorded and produced it themselves in their home studio in LA and some locations in Norway. Freddy (Lance Shipp) did the mixing, and most of the album was written by just the two of them.
The record is what happens when you take theatre kid Haute (Michelle Buzz) and let her loose with a mandate to revive 80s electronic pop à la New Order, Depeche Mode and Dead or Alive, but take it to 11, puleeease. The result is a bonkers, campy assemblage of hooks, attitude and imagination. It's over the top in nearly all ways, yet it manages to land tons of tight punches. The opening number sounds like it's from a Broadway musical, but almost immediately it turns into a dance party with killer song after song after song. This is a debut record? It could be a Best Of.
Unlike a lot of pop records these days, there's nothing R&B about Big Disgrace. The rhythm is straight four on the floor; the emphasis is on melody and chord structure. Nor is Ms. Buzz an R&B singer. She's more like a new wave goddess, like Lena Lovitch or Martha Davis of the Motels, or Dale Bozzio of Missing Persons... except she's throwing around a better voice than all of them. She's instantly distinctive, smart and expressive. Totally charismatic vocally and visually. I think she's a major talent arriving.
Haute and Freddy also make insane videos. Picture 80s new wave in the Renaissance with cross-dressing. They look like the record sounds. This is so far my favorite album of the year. Fabulous. Some things to watch:
https://youtu.be/TK-1LoKmnME?si=KNcLGkAhnE27kUs3
https://youtu.be/IsDqlPKY1fQ?si=CAE0TBG3cRS-Hr1K
Anyway - that's it for this week, high tech and high camp!
Warm regards,
Luke