Hello all,
Today I want to give you a few acoustic tips to follow when either designing a space or remodeling a space.
1) Use a professional: Not every professional is a professional... Ask for credentials...past jobs, education... this can tell you a lot about a persons qualifications. Also, regardless of what a website says, there are NO 'one size fits all' acoustic packages. There is actually a great deal of math and physics that goes into an acoustic design. Of course, there is a great deal of art involved. Acoustics if often described as the perfect blend of art and science. Without using a professional (with real credentials), you could end up spending thousands of dollars on an acoustic package that leaves your room still sounding terrible.
2) Dimensions matter: Room modes are the resonances that exist in a room when the room is excited by an acoustic source such as a loudspeaker. Each room has a modal distribution and dimensions directly relate to this distribution. It is ideal to have a distribution where all modes are no closer than 5Hz and no further than 20Hz to each other. Even moving a wall or a ceiling just a foot can change this distribution.
3) Absorption coefficients: Each product has a number that is associated to a frequency. This is usually the absorption coefficient in Sabines. When the number is 1, it means perfect absorption... When it is 0 it means perfect reflection. If you see a product with a number that is much greater than 1, such at 1.8 or so, this usually means that the numbers are bogus. Usually I tolerate, but take with a grain of salt, numbers that are as high as 1.2. My reason for this is a little more in depth than this post allows...
4) Rerverberation: A great deal of items fall under this idea of reverberation. A big one however is intelligibility. To much reverb will cause words to blur together and become indistinguishable from each other. To little reverberation and it will seem dry and lifeless. Reverberation is based on the properties of the room such as materials on the walls, floor, and ceiling.
These are just a few tips when considering a new space. Consider acoustics, and consult a professional!
Tom
Friday, December 21, 2012
Sunday, December 9, 2012
An Idea About Audio
Hello all,
This post is more of a 'get you thinking' kind of post...
When I was in school at Columbia College Chicago, I had 2 distinctly different professors. I must first say that I really enjoyed having classes with both of them.
The first professor was extremely smart, a quick thinker, and someone that I really looked up to in the college. He had a way of taking a complicated situation and making it seem so simple. We would work on vibration, HVAC, environmental, or architectural acoustics every day. We would have all the equations and approximations that made everything quantifiable. He posed to us that regardless of our problem, we would have the tools to solve any problem after school if we just think critically.
The second professor was also a deep thinker, and to be honest, we never really accomplished much in class. He would get on rants about issues or problems he encountered during his time in acoustics. See, this professor was self taught. He worked in the field for many years and eventually became very respected and published. He seemed to teach us that regardless how much we knew, audio and acoustics is as much an art as a science... He did this by taking us to different buildings around Chicago. We would go to some that were designed with and without the sience of acoustics. He also taught us that we need to make sure that we enjoy the finest audio to remind ourselves what we are working for.
While both professors seemed to teach primarily different things, they often taught the same ideas with a different world view.
The thought that I wanted to put in your heads as you read this is simple. What is audio/acoustics? What does it mean to have great sounding audio? Have you ever heard a concert hall that when you walked in, you felt a sense of awe from the first note played?
I firmly believe that audio and acoustics are as much sience as they are art. I believe that analysis is important and you need to do the best you can scientifically when considering audio and acoustic design or treatment. I also think it is important to have a good answer to all of these questions before completely understanding what audio is and what it means to have good acoustics.
Both professors really hammered on one side more than the other. However, because I had both, I was able to have a very well rounded view of my craft.
This post is more of a 'get you thinking' kind of post...
When I was in school at Columbia College Chicago, I had 2 distinctly different professors. I must first say that I really enjoyed having classes with both of them.
The first professor was extremely smart, a quick thinker, and someone that I really looked up to in the college. He had a way of taking a complicated situation and making it seem so simple. We would work on vibration, HVAC, environmental, or architectural acoustics every day. We would have all the equations and approximations that made everything quantifiable. He posed to us that regardless of our problem, we would have the tools to solve any problem after school if we just think critically.
The second professor was also a deep thinker, and to be honest, we never really accomplished much in class. He would get on rants about issues or problems he encountered during his time in acoustics. See, this professor was self taught. He worked in the field for many years and eventually became very respected and published. He seemed to teach us that regardless how much we knew, audio and acoustics is as much an art as a science... He did this by taking us to different buildings around Chicago. We would go to some that were designed with and without the sience of acoustics. He also taught us that we need to make sure that we enjoy the finest audio to remind ourselves what we are working for.
While both professors seemed to teach primarily different things, they often taught the same ideas with a different world view.
The thought that I wanted to put in your heads as you read this is simple. What is audio/acoustics? What does it mean to have great sounding audio? Have you ever heard a concert hall that when you walked in, you felt a sense of awe from the first note played?
I firmly believe that audio and acoustics are as much sience as they are art. I believe that analysis is important and you need to do the best you can scientifically when considering audio and acoustic design or treatment. I also think it is important to have a good answer to all of these questions before completely understanding what audio is and what it means to have good acoustics.
Both professors really hammered on one side more than the other. However, because I had both, I was able to have a very well rounded view of my craft.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Fighting Stage Noise
Hello All!
I wanted to talk a little today about stage noise and in ear monitors, why they are important, who should use them, and the dangers involved.
In my opinion, stage noise should be reduced as much as possible all the time... What do I mean by this? I mean that if you can find a way to lower the amount of sound coming from the stage, assuming the talent is quality, your overall sound should be better.
A couple of ways to do this...
1) Get in ear monitors... They cut several dB of sound coming from your stage via wedge monitors, and could eliminate several issues regarding frequency cancellation, phasing issues, and help in eliminating feedback.
2) Either move your guitar amps off stage in isolation cabinets, or play through a pre-amp and monitor through your in ears...
3) If your drummer will do it, play with an electric kit. (This is better when you have multiple drummers such as in a volunteer band at a church)
***Note... This does not matter as much on a large stage where the main level is much greater than the level on stage, but still is a good idea.***
Why They Are Important:
The idea of eliminating stage noise should be important because your front of house engineer has to battle your stage sound with the main mix for the entire performance.
A friend of mine used to run sound at a bar, and would consistently get complaints that the electric guitar or the drums were to loud... He would tell them that the loud instrument was not even coming through the mains and there was nothing he could do... Unfortunately, often times this makes the engineer look bad when in reality it is the band causing the issue because the guitarist needs to 'feel' his sound. (I can make fun of guitarists because I am one...LOL)
The other issue would be, as mentioned earlier, the possibility of creating frequency cancellation. unintended phasing of your sound, or feedback. This can cause you not get the sound you are looking for in a mix easily. There are ways to do this, but it can get difficult.
By getting rid of wedge monitors, you can potentially get rid of several dB allowing your main mix to become much greater than your stage noise allowing your front of house engineer to have a much easier time during the performance.
In my next post, I am going to explain frequency cancellation, and other aspects that cause the sound to be degraded.
Who Should Use Them:
It seems that most believe that only bands that have huge recording contracts, or mega churches are supposed to use technology such as in ear monitors. This could not be further from the truth. In ear monitors are actually probably better suited to small venues due to the stage volume issue.
There also seems to be this idea that in ear monitors have to be wireless... as it turns out, there are several options that allow you to have a simple wired setup for very minimal cost!
Dangers Involved:
People often times associate in ear monitors with hearing conservation... This is and isn't true... With proper management, in ear monitors can be very beneficial to maintaining your hearing. However if played to loud in your ear, you will suffer sever damage to your hearing...
There are however a couple ways you could help yourself.
1) Get a quality pair of in ears. You can either get a custom set made by a certified company with ear molds done by an audiologist, or you can get a quality set from Shure or another similar company... Do Not use iPod buds or something similar. You want the isolation provided by a quality set of in ears so you can set your monitors at a relatively low level!
2) Learn how to play at a lower level... It takes a little while to get used to it, but it is well worth saving your hearing.
There is often also a feeling of isolation for people when the first start using them. When you first start out, this is true. You can quickly get used to the feeling and will soon appreciate the ability you have to hear! If you are really passionate about feeling like you are a part of the room, put up a few microphones to capture the audience and run them back through your in ears.
I hope this helps a little!
Thanks!
Tom Noble
I wanted to talk a little today about stage noise and in ear monitors, why they are important, who should use them, and the dangers involved.
In my opinion, stage noise should be reduced as much as possible all the time... What do I mean by this? I mean that if you can find a way to lower the amount of sound coming from the stage, assuming the talent is quality, your overall sound should be better.
A couple of ways to do this...
1) Get in ear monitors... They cut several dB of sound coming from your stage via wedge monitors, and could eliminate several issues regarding frequency cancellation, phasing issues, and help in eliminating feedback.
2) Either move your guitar amps off stage in isolation cabinets, or play through a pre-amp and monitor through your in ears...
3) If your drummer will do it, play with an electric kit. (This is better when you have multiple drummers such as in a volunteer band at a church)
***Note... This does not matter as much on a large stage where the main level is much greater than the level on stage, but still is a good idea.***
Why They Are Important:
The idea of eliminating stage noise should be important because your front of house engineer has to battle your stage sound with the main mix for the entire performance.
A friend of mine used to run sound at a bar, and would consistently get complaints that the electric guitar or the drums were to loud... He would tell them that the loud instrument was not even coming through the mains and there was nothing he could do... Unfortunately, often times this makes the engineer look bad when in reality it is the band causing the issue because the guitarist needs to 'feel' his sound. (I can make fun of guitarists because I am one...LOL)
The other issue would be, as mentioned earlier, the possibility of creating frequency cancellation. unintended phasing of your sound, or feedback. This can cause you not get the sound you are looking for in a mix easily. There are ways to do this, but it can get difficult.
By getting rid of wedge monitors, you can potentially get rid of several dB allowing your main mix to become much greater than your stage noise allowing your front of house engineer to have a much easier time during the performance.
In my next post, I am going to explain frequency cancellation, and other aspects that cause the sound to be degraded.
Who Should Use Them:
It seems that most believe that only bands that have huge recording contracts, or mega churches are supposed to use technology such as in ear monitors. This could not be further from the truth. In ear monitors are actually probably better suited to small venues due to the stage volume issue.
There also seems to be this idea that in ear monitors have to be wireless... as it turns out, there are several options that allow you to have a simple wired setup for very minimal cost!
Dangers Involved:
People often times associate in ear monitors with hearing conservation... This is and isn't true... With proper management, in ear monitors can be very beneficial to maintaining your hearing. However if played to loud in your ear, you will suffer sever damage to your hearing...
There are however a couple ways you could help yourself.
1) Get a quality pair of in ears. You can either get a custom set made by a certified company with ear molds done by an audiologist, or you can get a quality set from Shure or another similar company... Do Not use iPod buds or something similar. You want the isolation provided by a quality set of in ears so you can set your monitors at a relatively low level!
2) Learn how to play at a lower level... It takes a little while to get used to it, but it is well worth saving your hearing.
There is often also a feeling of isolation for people when the first start using them. When you first start out, this is true. You can quickly get used to the feeling and will soon appreciate the ability you have to hear! If you are really passionate about feeling like you are a part of the room, put up a few microphones to capture the audience and run them back through your in ears.
I hope this helps a little!
Thanks!
Tom Noble
Sunday, November 18, 2012
The Father of Modern Architectural Acoustics
Hello,
I wanted to jump right in and start with a little history lesson in acoustics!
Acoustics have been around for a very long time, but there was one guy in particular that most call the father of modern architectural acoustics. His name was Wallace Clement Sabine.
In as easy and simple terms as I can make it, he figured out this idea of giving a number to reverberation and how to quantify absorption into a coefficient.
Ill start out by explaining his way of measuring reverberation in a room.
In 1895 Sabine was at Harvard working in the physics department. The University had built the Fogg Lecture Hall not too long before, and quickly found out that the room was unusable and classified impossible to fix by senior members of the department. When the room was partially empty, the students were not able to understand the professor. Eventually, the problem landed on Sabine's lap.
Conducting several tests using nothing more than a portable pipe organ, trained listeners, and a stopwatch, he played the pipe organ at a controlled level and stopped it immediately. His trained listeners then told him when the sound became inaudible. Without getting real deep into the topic, the difference was about 60 decibels (dB). This is where the term RT60 comes from. It was the amount of time it took sound to decay 60 dB.
Fogg Lecture Hall took approximately 5.5 seconds to decay 60 dB. After doing the same experiment on several other lecture halls, and concert halls he came to the conclusion that a good concert hall had a reverb time (RT60) of approximately 2-2.25 seconds, and a good lecture hall had an RT60 of 1 second.
Now, on to his work on absorption.
During his many studies on the Fogg Lecture Hall, Sabine figured out that by adding seat cushions to the chairs in the room, he could reduce the RT60. He determined that by adding 6 seat cushions to the room, it was equivalent to 1 person.
Eventually he wanted to be able to put a number to absorption. By creating a number system, he was able to define how effective a material was at absorbing sound. The scale developed is between 0.0-1.0 sabines. 1.0 was defined as 1 square foot of open window, meaning everything that hits that one square foot of open window is 'absorbed'.
Along with his discoveries at Fogg, he also developed several concert and lecture halls including Symphony Hall in Boston (considered by many to be one of the best sounding halls). He also started Riverbank Labs in Geneva, Illinois. Riverbank is a leader in providing acoustic data for product currently used by many major companies.
The life of Wallace Clement Sabine is a fascinating one and he provides much insight into the world of acoustics! I hope you enjoyed this bit of history about Sabine!
Until next time!
Tom Noble
Monday, November 12, 2012
Advanced Acoustic Solutions
Hello,
Welcome to the official Advanced Acoustic Solutions blog! We are here to provide you with fun information, product reviews, dispel certain rumors in the audio world, and much more!
Right now, I want to start off by telling you a little about who we are and why we started this business.
We are a small company that is owned and operated by our three co-founders. The three co-founders are Tom Noble, Rob Noble, and Scott Henson. Each of us have our specialties, but we also all have the ability to help out in any area of our business.
We mainly focus on audio, video, and acoustics, but we are not limited to these specific topics. We are also all able to assist you in almost anything technical including computer networking.
We believe that you are more than just another job or a number on a page. We like to take time and meet with you to understand what your business or church needs. We want to create a relationship with you that will allow you to feel comfortable with us and our services.
The business was started because we felt there was a need for our ideas in this industry. Each of the co-founders actually did all these things as hobbies for many years before this business started. We spent countless hours together looking in to new product and cool unique ways to solve any problem we were presented with.
In short, we started this business because we absolutely love what we do! We want to help you reach a solution while staying in budget.
So, this is a look into who we are and why we started this business.
Check back with us periodically to see new posts!
Tom
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