My Take on Music Recording with Doug Fearn Doug Fearn

Ever since its announcement, I have been interested in learning more about Dolby Atmos. I was skeptical at first, primarily because of my experience with “Quad” back in the 1970s. That 4-channel concept never gain any popularity with either the listening public nor in the recording community. I presumed that Atmos would be similar, just more speakers. The early demo sessions I attended left me convinced that this was going to be another dead end, like Quad. The early mixes I heard were gimmicky and did not serve the musical intent of the artist well.
But as I was exposed to mixers who really understood how to use the expanded format, my interest increased. And for the public? I never thought there would be much market acceptance of a system that required many speakers. But Dolby was smart about their implementation. The system knows how many speakers you have and creates a version that fits your hardware.
There’s more to Atmos, however, because of certain psychoacoustic processing that goes on, the resulting mix, in any format down to plain stereo, sounds better, with more detail and separation of sounds. I hear more things in an Atmos mix, even in headphones, than I did in the stereo mix.
Shawn Dealey is the chief engineer at Sweetwater Studios in Indiana. I have been involved with several mixing projects with Shawn over the past couple of years, and I think he has an effective approach to interpreting the producer/artist/engineer’s intent, and making it into an improved version.
In this episode, I talk with Shawn about his evolution as he explores the new format. I learned a lot from Shawn, and I think you will, too.
This episode was recorded at Sweetwater Studio B, the main Atmos mixing room. We used AEA 44 mics, a VT-2 mic preamp, and a VT-7 compressor, the same chain I use for recording most episodes.
Thanks for listening. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please pass them along to me at dwfearn@dwfearn.com
email: dwfearn@dwfearn.com
www.youtube.com/c/DWFearn
https://dwfearn.com/

Compression and limiting are tools we use to modify the dynamic range of the music we record. In this episode, I present a brief history of where this technique came from, how it evolved over the years since the 1930s. I discuss the various ways that compression circuits work, from the variable-mu vacuum tube, to the optical compressor, the FET, the VCA, the PWM, and the digital limiters. I explain how these different approaches affect the sound in different ways.
There are often a lot of adjustments on a compressor, and I go through the most common controls you are likely to encounter and what they do to the sound.
Compressor and limiter effects on the music are subjective, so I try to give general guidance for getting the sound you want from your hardware and software devices.
Your ideas for future episodes are always welcomed. And your comments are useful to me. You can reach me at dwfearn@dwfearn.com
email: dwfearn@dwfearn.com
www.youtube.com/c/DWFearn
https://dwfearn.com/

This is part 2 of the Audiophiles Guide to Music Recording. You can listen to part 1 at
https://www.buzzsprout.com/942952/14335456
Or you can access part 1 wherever you listen to podcasts.

My Take on Music Recording is primarily aimed at people in the professional recording world, but there are a significant number of listeners who are music lovers and audiophiles. This episode provides an overview of the recording process for them. However, I think even people in our profession might enjoy how I attempt to explain the recording studio process in layman’s terms.
This reflects my experience and how I work as a producer and engineer. I tend to carry over the tools and techniques that I have learned over the last five decades. They work best for me and my style of recording. I know that there are other approaches, and I try to acknowledge and explain those, too. But my focus is on what I do, which isn’t always mainstream.
Your feedback on these episodes is especially interesting to me. Tell me what you think.
As always, thanks for listening, commenting, and subscribing. I can always be reached at dwfearn@dwfearn.com
email: dwfearn@dwfearn.com
www.youtube.com/c/DWFearn
https://dwfearn.com/

My Take on Music Recording is primarily aimed at people in the professional recording world, but there are a significant number of listeners who are music lovers and audiophiles. This episode provides an overview of the recording process for them. However, I think even people in our profession might enjoy how I attempt to explain the recording studio process in layman’s terms.
This reflects my experience and how I work as a producer and engineer. I tend to carry over the tools and techniques that I have learned over the last five decades. They work best for me and my style of recording. I know that there are other approaches, and I try to acknowledge and explain those, too. But my focus is on what I do, which isn’t always mainstream.
There is a lot to cover, so this topic is split into two episodes. I will publish the second half next week.
Your feedback on these episodes is especially interesting to me. Tell me what you think.
As always, thanks for listening, commenting, and subscribing. I can always be reached at dwfearn@dwfearn.com
email: dwfearn@dwfearn.com
www.youtube.com/c/DWFearn
https://dwfearn.com/

Music is meant to be heard in an appropriate acoustical environment. But many times, we have to record in a space that does not have the right sound to it. Artificial reverb is often the solution.
In this episode, I talk about good room sound in a studio, and the earliest methods of creating a reverberation sound. That started with spring reverb, then acoustic echo chambers, tape delay, plate reverbs, and finally the digital reverbs that are used today on most recordings.
I discuss the origins of those techniques for creating reverb, and the strengths and weaknesses of each, along with my impression of how each of them sounds.
I also provide my own insights into using reverb. What kind? How can we modify the basic sound? And how much reverb is appropriate. And maybe no reverb at all is best.
Thanks for listening, subscribing, and commenting. I am always looking for your questions and suggestions for future topics.
email: dwfearn@dwfearn.com
www.youtube.com/c/DWFearn
https://dwfearn.com/

In this episode, I talk about software plug-ins vs hardware. It is a question that I get frequently from listeners. It is relatively short.
Can a plug-in perfectly emulate a hardware device? What are the tradeoffs a plug-in designer needs to consider? What about a plug-in that has no hardware antecedent, but it something out of the mind of the designer? These are some of the topics considered.
Thanks for listening, subscribing, and commenting. You can reach me with your questions for a future podcast, or suggest a topic you would like to know more about. Send me email at dwfearn@dwfearn.com


email: dwfearn@dwfearn.com
www.youtube.com/c/DWFearn
https://dwfearn.com/