AUDIO DISTORTION - FRIEND AND FOE
I’ve stated that Audio Distortion is like cholesterol, and just like cholesterol, there is good Distortion and Bad Distortion. Bad cholesterol can kill you and bad distortion can kill any chance of success of your Audio project. So, how can you determine if the distortion is good or bad?
This is a function of your ears and your brain, but let’s first take a look at the nature of distortion.
In Nature, distortion presents itself during an event that is stressful. A bird, cat, most animals and humans make a distortion-free sound except under a stressful situation. A sick human or dog that has barked for a long time, or trapped rabbit exhibits distortion in their bark or voice. Even powerful thunder does not distort. It will, however, rattle or cause a stressful vibration to occur as a result of its powerful sound wave striking other objects. Therefore it seems natural that distortion in music should be used to express stress or power. A blues singer that “bears down” at the proper lyric to convey stress is very effective. An overdriven guitar amp conveys power, but if either situation is over-distorted it becomes bad distortion and annoying, unpleasant and hard to listen to and enjoy. The Engineer must make the decisions to achieve he proper amount of distortion. Unnecessary distortion is perceived as stressful to the listener and who wants more stress?
With modern recording capabilities, the distortion can be implemented in the source (i.e. a singer’s voice or instrument setting), or on the input, mixing, Mastering or Playback stage of the recording. The distortion can be pure analog, or digital (to be avoided), or digital emulation of analog. Lots of choices and decisions for the Audio Engineer. A good analogy is in cooking. Audio Distortion, when, where and what kind to use, is like adding spices to the cuisine. The proper amount at the right time and place can make the end result fabulous, but the wrong type or amount can make it unpalatable.
Whatever your involvement in the Audio project, be it musician, recording artist, mixer, or Mastering Engineer, it is your responsibility to enjoin just the right amount of distortion (or no distortion). My advice is to keep it clean by under-using the distortion tone throughout the process. Adding more distortion at the Mastering stage is much easier than trying to remove some at that point (but can be done).
Keep in mind that with the common consumer playback devices being used today, additional distortion is added to the sound due to the cheaper electronics of which they are comprised. Your perfect distortion in the studio will not be perfect when it’s played by the consumer. The professional Audio Engineer will compensate with a little less distortion in the final production to compensate for the additional distortion of common playback devices such as smart phones, computers etc.
WHAT IF YOU HAVE PAINTED YOURSELF INTO A CORNER OF DISTORTION?
I.C.E. IS THE ANSWER!
The plugin called Legendary Audio I.C.E. by Sonic Studio can identify and remove distortion on a mix, Master, or individual track. Maybe not all of the distortion depending on the recording elements and your skill, but a high percentages of it that will save the day and get you out of bad distortion problems that are endangering the final project sound. Nothing else can do what I.C.E. does. A perfect tool for the Engineer that wants perfection. I.C.E. = In Case Of Emergency
Learn more at www.legendaryaudio.com, www.sonicstudio.com, and I.C.E. Users Group on Facebook.
BREAKING NEWS! A new improved version of I.C.E. is now available at a lower price. Better and cheaper. Always good!