![]() (This is probably the most useful observation that I found.) There is typically a straight line of deceasing slope tendency for averaged unamplified/unmixed music if the musicians onstage playing together get to adjust their loudness of the various music parts (assuming a multiplicity of instruments including percussion/drums, double bass, and treble instrumentation, like wind and string instruments of the band or orchestra, and voices. The frequency hump from 1-10 kHz isn't really typical of most live music. These spikes are almost always generated by the musicians themselves, not the recording/mixing/mastering processes. The frequency spikes typically correspond to certain types of musical instruments that do not change frequency each time they are played (i.e., piano, percussion, and especially electronic instruments, etc.). In fact, any departures in the averaged frequency spectrum from this linearly decreasing amplitude behavior with logarithmic frequency should signal the need for further investigation. Roll-off of frequencies from low to high is normal, since the frequencies themselves double in their inherent energy for each increase of an octave - i.e., a -5.5 dB/octave is present in all typical recordings (note: don't confuse this effect with the Fletcher-Munson curves of equal perceived loudness). Is the much steeper roll-off of low frequencies below 80 Hz normal? Is the frequency hump from 1-10kHz normal? Is the roll-off toward higher frequencies normal (i.e., is it there in the original master recording before any changes are made to it)? The decreasing slope with frequency across its full spectrum (more on the reason for this later)įrequency spikes of narrow width across certain areas of the spectrumĪ slight "hump" or rounded spectrum from 1000 Hz to about 13 kHzĪ steep roll-off of low frequencies below about 80 Hz When looking at the frequency spectrum averaged across most of this music track, it's easy to see a few characteristics: My tool of choice: the freeware tool Audacity. ![]() At this point, I decided to investigate the reasons why it sounded so bad. When this particular CD arrived it was basically unlistenable, i.e., it sounded exceptionally strident and devoid of bass, but retained its music dynamics. My particular CD dates from 1990, just before the wide distribution and use in 1991 of multi-band music compressors, and with it the Loudness War on popular music. Recently I bought a new/old stock (NOS) CD from Amazon, originally recorded on analog tape in 1976, released on vinyl then much later re-released on CD. Part 3 (Advanced Topics) will follow shortly.] [Edit 10 June 2017: Tutorials for demastering your music tracks using the method described in this thread follow:
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