Deck 15: Judging Sound Quality

Question 1

Wide-range sound with extended low- and high-frequency response results from using:

A) high-quality microphones and adequate EQ.
B) digital recording.
C) analog recording.
D) bass boost and treble boost.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

"Tonal balance" refers to the balance of __________________.

A) timbre and envelope.
B) a mix.
C) bass, midrange and treble.
D) tones.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

A "clean" recording is __________________.

A) digital.
B) analog.
C) free of noise and distortion.
D) free of guitar-amp distortion.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

"Presence" is achieved by __________________.

A) close miking, overdubbing, upper midrange boost, less reverb.
B) recording an entire band at once
C) lo-fi microphones
D) extra reverb to add a sense of space

Question 5

Dynamic range is _________________.

A) loudness.
B) signal-to-noise ratio.
C) the range of expression of a vocalist.
D) the range of volume levels from softest to loudest.

Question 6

An ideal reverberation time for classical music is __________ seconds.

A) 0.5 to 1.2
B) 1.2 to 2
C) 2 to 5.1
D) 5.1 to 10

Question 7

In a classical-music recording, "perspective" is controlled by _________________.

A) miking distance
B) direct-to-reverb ratio
C) microphone polar pattern
D) amount of artificial reverb
E) all of the above.

Question 8

When judging stereo imaging, ____________________.

A) always use headphones.
B) sit equidistant from the speakers.
C) sit closer to one speaker than the other to make sure the imaging is robust.
D) sit farther from the speakers than their spacing.

Question 9

Some cures for "muddy sound" are ___________________.

A) reverberation and delay.
B) omnidirectional microphones and digital recording.
C) overdubbing, recording direct.
D) boost EQ at 300 Hz and cut at 5 kHz.

Question 10

Some cures for distortion are _________________.

A) use less gain, insert a pad
B) set master fader to minimum and faders to maximum.
C) higher gain, lower fader setting.
D) record no higher than 0 dBFS in rms meter mode.

Question 11

One cure for noise is ________________________.

A) use a highpass filter for hiss and a lowpass filter for rumble.
B) switch out a mic pad if not needed.
C) turn down gain.
D) keep master fader high and channel faders low.

Question 12

A cure for breath pop is __________________.

A) use a pop filter.
B) place the mic above or to the side of the mouth.
C) use an omnidirectional microphone.
D) use a highpass filter.
E) all of the above.

Question 13

To add a sense of depth, _________________.

A) turn up the reverb slightly on all tracks.
B) add some delay.
C) mike instruments farther away.
D) use varied amounts of reverb on each track.

Question 14

If an orchestral recording sounds too dry, _________________.

A) record in a concert hall with a longer reverb time.
B) use spot mics.
C) mike closer to the orchestra.
D) turn down artificial reverberation.

Question 15

If a reproduced orchestra sounds too narrow, ___________________.

A) pan the left mic hard left and pan the right mic hard right.
B) angle or space the mics closer together.
C) angle or space the mics farther apart.
D) place the monitor speakers farther apart.