AES New York 2011
Tutorial Details
Thursday, October 20, 9:30 am — 11:00 am (Room: 1E12)
T1 - Delay FX—Wait for It
Presenter:
Alex Case, University of Massachusetts, Lowell - Lowell, MA, USA
Abstract:
The humble delay is the basis for a broad range of effects: comb filtering, flanging, chorus, echo, reverb, pitch shift, and more. One device, one plug-in, and you've got a vast pallet of production possibilities. Join us for this thorough discussion of the technical fundamentals and production strategies for one of the most powerful signal processes in the audio toolbox: delay.
Thursday, October 20, 10:45 am — 12:45 pm (Room: 1E11)
T2 - Ear Training for Mastering Engineers
Presenter:
Andres Mayo, Andres Mayo Mastering - Buenos Aires, Argentina
Abstract:
This tutorial includes a comprehensive set of tools to improve ear training, focused on what the Mastering Engineer needs to do his job. Dynamic EQ, De-essing, De-woofing, and many other techniques will be shown, aiming to help audience to recognize different ranges of frequency. Mr. Mayo pioneered the art of mastering since 1992 and boasts credits in over 1,500 musical titles on vinyl, CD, DVD, and Blu-ray.
Thursday, October 20, 12:00 pm — 1:00 pm (Room: 1E13)
T3 - After Market Power Cords—"Snake Oil" or Legitimate Audio Accessory?
Presenter:
Michael D. Griffin, Essential Sound Products, Inc. - Rochester, MI, USA
Abstract:
Can after-market power cords afford performance benefits over typical "stock" cords or are they all just “snake oil”? In this session, we’ll investigate the performance of audio component power supplies and the performance effects of various “stock” power cords. We’ll consider the question ‘is there an opportunity for improved performance’ and discuss ways this might be accomplished.
Thursday, October 20, 2:30 pm — 4:00 pm (Room: 1E11)
T4 - MP3 Can Sound Good
Presenters:
Schuyler Quackenbush, Audio Research Labs - Scotch Plains, NJ
Thomas Sporer, Fraunhofer IDMT - Ilmenau, Germany
Abstract:
Why does MP3 get such a bad rap? This tutorial will briefly present the history of MP3 coding as a medium for portable music players and discuss the impact of these early experiences on how MP3 is regarded in the audio community. The main focus of the tutorial is to discuss how to develop a robust way to characterize audio quality: a test method must be double-blind, have listeners with thorough training , use a credible test methodology, and turn the subjective results into a numeric measure of quality using sound statistical principles. To close, examples of several subjective tests of audio codecs will be presented, showing some that are done well and others that are not done well.
Thursday, October 20, 2:30 pm — 4:00 pm (Room: 1E12)
T5 - Acoustics for Sound Reinforcement
Presenters:
Peter Mapp, Peter Mapp Associates - Colchester, Essex, UK
Kurt Graffy, Arup Acoustics
Abstract:
Traditionally, acoustic design for performance spaces focuses on optimum acoustics for non-reinforced performances. However, a fine concert hall for symphonic music can be very troublesome for reinforced sound. Even performance spaces designed with variable acoustics are mostly optimized for acoustic sources, little consideration is given to the needs for reinforced sound.
This tutorial addresses the different acoustic requirements for reinforced sound as opposed to non-reinforced sound. Topics to be discussed will include:
- Reverberation, support or interference?
- Source directivity, positioning and aiming
- Discrete reflections and how to avoid them
- What to include in a new venue for optimum adaptation for reinforced sound
- Practical measures in existing situations
- Workarounds in acoustic harsh environments - Control of bass reverberation and room acoustic effects at low frequencies
Friday, October 21, 9:00 am — 10:30 am (Room: 1E11)
T6 - Ear Training for the Aspiring Audio Professional
Presenter:
Mark Erickson, Texas State University - San Marcos, TX, USA
Abstract:
There are no short-cuts. Improving your listening skills takes effort. Without direction, a budding audio professional is more likely to waste time and effort in search of better "ears." This tutorial will enable you to be more productive and reach your goals sooner, with less effort, resulting in a more positive growth experience. Techniques discussed can be integrated into a life-long quest to keep your aural skills sharp or continue your aural development.
Friday, October 21, 9:00 am — 10:30 am (Room: 1E08)
T7 - Fundamentals of Audio and Data Networks over Fiber Optics and Cat5 Cabling
Presenter:
Marc Brunke, Optocore
Abstract:
It is a pre-requisite to be familiar with audio and data networking fundamentals when working with modern audio, video, and data transmission systems. This presentation clarifies the theory behind networking, starting with the basics of fiber and Cat5 cabling through to conceptual data transmission theories including network design and implementation. Different approaches and different ways of dealing with synchronization and jitter problems will be described, each point will be supported with an example from real life applications taking into consideration all present known available technologies.
Friday, October 21, 1:00 pm — 2:00 pm (Room: 1E10)
Lunchtime Keynote: Karlheinz Brandenburg
Abstract:
The MP3 Story
In the not-too-distant past we were faced with the challenge of transmitting high-quality audio over phone lines. While this seemed impossible at the time, ideas from psychoacoustics and signal processing and work by many researchers helped the seemingly impossible to become reality: mp3 and other audio codecs enabled the seamless transport of audio over legacy copper phone lines. However, the mp3 story did not end there. The internet was being transformed from a text-based medium into a major carrier for sound of all kinds, including music. This meant changes not only for the payload (from text to audio), but also new dangers for the audio quality delivered to music lovers. And it changed business models for music sales dramatically, shaking the foundations of the music industry. This is the story of MP3.
Friday, October 21, 1:30 pm — 2:15 pm (Room: 1E12)
Hot Lunch: Microphone Controller for Vocal FX
Presenter:
Daniel Schlessinger
Abstract:
A prototype vocal microphone has been developed that offers intimate and expressive control over vocal effects. For instance, vocalists can control looping or reverb effects from push buttons on the mic or even pan his/her voice between a pair of outputs simply by moving the mic. With this prototype, our idea is to put controls where the vocalist can easily reach them, letting them map the buttons and fader and motion sensors via MIDI to any outboard effects unit of their choice. Without being tied to a foot pedal or having to reach down to the front panel of an effects box, the artists are provided with additional creative possibilities with a complete freedom on stage to control their sound.
Friday, October 21, 2:45 pm — 4:15 pm (Room: 1E12)
T8 - Demystifying Audio Sound Control Protocols
Presenter:
Richard Foss, Rhodes University - Grahamstown, South Africa
Abstract:
Starting from an introduction to the concepts of network discovery, control, and connection management and an examination of existing approaches including MIDI, AES24, OSC, IEC 62379, and XFN among others, this tutorial on the XFN connection management and control protocol presents core features concepts and functionality. There will be a discussion of options for achieving interoperability between devices using XFN as well as other protocols. A demonstration will show how XFN is used in conjunction with a graphical interface to perform discovery, connection management and control of network audio devices. A protocol essentially similar to the XFN protocol has been proposed for standardization in the AES under project AES-X170. Attendees will be updated on the status and progress of this project.
Friday, October 21, 5:00 pm — 6:30 pm (Room: 1E08)
T9 - Noise on the Brain—Hearing Damage on the Other Side
Presenter:
Poppy Crum, Dolby Laboratories - San Francisco, CA, USA
Abstract:
Did you know that drinking a glass of orange juice every day may actually protect your hearing?
Most discussions of hearing damage focus on what happens to the cochlea and inner ear. While this understanding is crucial to predicting and avoiding trauma that can lead to hearing loss, both acoustic and chemical stimuli can also have significant effects on higher brain areas. In some cases, thresholds and audiograms can look completely normal but listeners may have great difficulty hearing a conversation in a noisy environment. This session will explore the latest research regarding the effects of acoustic and chemical trauma, and how this damage manifests throughout the auditory pathway as changes in hearing sensitivity, cognition, and the experience of tinnitus. We will also consider recent research in chemically preserving hearing and combating these conditions with supplements as common as Vitamin C!
Friday, October 21, 5:30 pm — 6:30 pm (Room: 1E10)
T10 - Library of Congress Collections & National Jukebox
Presenter:
Brad McCoy, Library of Congress - Culpeper, VA, USA
Abstract:
This tutorial will highlight several of the Library of Congress collections, especially ones with New York interest (Tony Schwartz, some very early Frank Sinatra, others) to use as examples of audio preservation, workflow, and metadata issues at the Library of Congress. The tutorial will also include a quick look at the National Jukebox.
Saturday, October 22, 9:00 am — 12:00 pm (Room: 1E07)
T11 - Technology and Practice of Disk Mastering for Vinyl Products
Presenters:
Paul Gold
Albert Grundy
Abstract:
This tutorial on the technology and practice of disk mastering will cover topics including: technology of the 33 1/3 12-inch LP record; the blank disk and cutting stylus; available space and lines per inch; mechanics of the groove: lateral, vertical and orthogonal motions; the dynamic cutter head stylus amplitude, velocity and acceleration; evolution of the recording characteristic; time constants and corner frequencies; limitations imposed by 10 octave bandwidth. The second part of the tutorial will look at applying this information to cutting parameters after auditioning the program.
Saturday, October 22, 1:00 pm — 1:45 pm (Room: 1E07)
Hot Lunch: Demystifying Fiber Optics for Audio
Presenter:
Ronald Ajemian
Abstract:
This presentation will cover fiber optic fundamentals for pro-audio and explain the principles behind fiber optic technology so that an audience with no prior knowledge will benefit. Mathematics will also be kept to a minimum. You will come away knowing fiber optic jargon and will also be able to answer these (5) main questions:
• What is fiber optics?
• What are the advantages of fiber optics?
• Where is fiber optics being used in audio/video?
• How can you apply fiber optics to audio/video?
• What types of cables and connectors can be used for
audio/video?
The presentation will wrap up with two short video clips. The first clip is on a new fiber optic cable breakthrough called the ClearCurve courtesy of Corning. The second clip will show how easy it is to put a fiber optic connector together using new state of the art tools.
Q & A to follow after tutorial. Bring your notebooks, pens, and pencils. A hard copy of a glossary of terms will be given out.
Saturday, October 22, 1:15 pm — 2:15 pm (Room: 1E11)
Lunchtime Keynote: Jane Ira Bloom
Abstract:
Wingwalker: Jane Ira Bloom in Conversation with Ashley Kahn
Jane Ira Bloom is a soprano saxophonist, a composer, and a pioneer in the use of live electronics and movement in jazz. She is the winner of the 2007 Guggenheim Fellowship in music composition, the 2007 Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Award for lifetime service to jazz, the Jazz Journalists Association Award, the Downbeat International Critics Poll for soprano saxophone, and the Charlie Parker Fellowship for jazz innovation. Bloom was the first musician commissioned by the NASA Art Program and has an asteroid named in her honor by the International Astronomical Union. She has recorded and produced 14 albums of her music and has composed for the American Composers Orchestra, the St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble, and the Pilobolus Dance Theater, integrating jazz performers in new settings. Bloom is on the faculty of the New School for Jazz & Contemporary Music in NYC. She will be in conversation with journalist and author, Ashley Kahn, and will discuss her latest release, the critically acclaimed CD, Wingwalker.
Saturday, October 22, 2:30 pm — 4:00 pm (Room: 1E07)
T12 - The Basics of Archival Preservation
Presenter:
James Sam, Hoover Institution, Stanford University - Stanford, CA, USA
Abstract:
The audio preservation program at the Hoover Institution Archives of Stanford University is a real-world implementation of archival best practices. Two large collections of the Archives are the Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty and Commonwealth Club of California collections. They are eerily similar in their recording formats and time spans despite being generated on two different continents, yet the archival approach remains the same. Mr. Sam will discuss this approach using these examples and its implications for both legacy and new recordings. He will describe preservation methods used, employing fascinating examples from the collections.
Saturday, October 22, 4:30 pm — 6:30 pm (Room: 1E09)
T13 - Telephonometry: The Practical Acoustics of Handsets, Headsets, and Mobile Devices
Presenter:
Christopher J. Struck, CJS Labs - San Francisco, CA, USA
Abstract:
This tutorial introduces the basic concepts of Telephonometry with respect to electroacoustic measurements on analog and digital telephones. Both subjective and objective methods are discussed and the historical concept of Loudness Rating and standardized methods for its calculation are reviewed. Standard objective measurements of send, receive, sidetone and echo response are explained. The selection and use of appropriate instrumentation, including ear and mouth simulators, is also described. Techniques for the evaluation of handsets, headsets, speakerphones, and other hands-free devices are presented. Applications of these measurements to analog, digital, cellular, and VOIP devices are shown. Various methods specified in the ITU-T, IEEE, TIA, ETSI, and 3GPP standards are explained.
Sunday, October 23, 9:30 am — 11:00 am (Room: 1E12)
T14 - Untangling the Comb Filter
Presenter:
Alex Case, University of Massachusetts, Lowell - Lowell, MA, USA
Abstract:
All audio experts are familiar with the comb filter. This tutorial gets precise—describing, defining, visualizing, and quantifying this ever-present, always-important property of audio. The radical alteration to frequency content caused by comb filtering is shown to be a problem that can be avoided or minimized in some instances, a negligible factor in others, and a positive production technique worthy of emphasis in yet other situations. Through a more complete understanding of this effect, we can track and mix with confidence, employing comb filtering for practical, technical, and creative sonic benefits.
Sunday, October 23, 11:30 am — 1:00 pm (Room: 1E11)
T15 - Reality Is Not a Recording/A Recording Is Not Reality
Presenter:
Jim Anderson
Abstract:
The former New York Times film critic, Vincent Canby, wrote “all of us have different thresholds at which we suspend disbelief, and then gladly follow fictions to conclusions that we find logical.” Any recording is a "fiction," a falsity, even in its most pure form. It is the responsibility, if not the duty, of the recording engineer, and producer, to create a universe so compelling and transparent that the listener isn’t aware of any manipulation. Using basic recording techniques, and standard manipulation of audio, a recording is made, giving the listener an experience that is not merely logical but better than reality. How does this occur? What techniques can be applied? How does an engineer create a convincing loudspeaker illusion that a listener will perceive as a plausible reality? Recordings will be played.
Sunday, October 23, 1:00 pm — 2:00 pm (Room: 1E10)
Lunchtime Keynote: Skip Pizzi
Abstract:
The Future of Broadcasting in a Connected World
Much industry news nowadays cites the impending death of broadcast and the rise of online as the preferred distribution method for audio and video content. Is this truly the case, or have rumors of broadcasting's demise been greatly exaggerated?
Sunday, October 23, 1:30 pm — 2:15 pm (Room: 1E14)
Hot Lunch: Acoustic & Audio Apps
Presenter:
Peter Mapp, Peter Mapp Associates - Colchester, Essex, UK
Abstract:
The introduction of the iPhone, iPod, and iPad has led to the generation of several acoustic and audio measurement apps for these highly portable and popular devices. Applications range from simple sound level (SPL) measurement to slightly more sophisticated 1/3 octave real time analysis to advanced FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) programs with full complex transfer function computation. This latter category of app can enable high resolution frequency response and phase measurements to be made or the system impulse response to be derived—which opens up a whole further raft of acoustic measurements to be made. Other apps make making full use of the host device’s computing power enable a wide range of test signals to be generated or even highly sophisticated measures such as STI and STIPA speech intelligibility to be performed. But are these apps valid tools for the audio pro or merely gimmicks for the geeks and nerds ? Come to the hot lunch session and find out.
Sunday, October 23, 2:30 pm — 4:30 pm (Room: 1E08)
T16 - Drum and Percussion Programming
Presenter:
Justin Paterson, University of West London - London, UK
Abstract:
Drum programming has been evolving at the heart of many studio productions for some 30 years. Over this period, technological opportunities for enhanced creativity have multiplied in numerous directions, from sequenced MIDI one-shots to sample loops, and from DAW cut and stretch techniques to deterministic beat-slicer plug-ins, etc. The palette of sounds available today ranges from ever more realistic to ever more synthetic/exotic. This tutorial will embrace all of these techniques and more and include numerous live demonstrations. Although introducing all key concepts from scratch, its range and hybridization should provide inspiration even for experienced practitioners, leading up to the state-of-the-art. A number of genres will be covered from the pseudo-realism of jazz and funk, to the exploitation of synthetic textures in "intelligent dance music."
Sunday, October 23, 4:00 pm — 5:30 pm (Room: 1E11)
T17 - Mastering for Vinyl
Presenter:
Scott Hull, Masterdisk Studios - New York, NY, USA
Abstract:
Scott Hull has been mastering for vinyl and digital for 28 years, seeing formats come and go, and come back again. In the last few years there has been a renewed interest in producing vinyl among modern artists. What has to be considered when you mix/master your music for vinyl? Scott will dig deep into the quality control issues and discuss several sure ways to sound great on your first pressing.
Topics will include: Why contemporary CD mastering techniques do not produce the best sounding vinyl records. Long Sides—the relationship between volume, duration, and quality. The Turntable—what does yours sound like? The quality control process: mixing— mastering—plating—pressing. The realities of the current vinyl market. Modern trends in record making.
Sunday, October 23, 4:00 pm — 5:30 pm (Room: 1E10)
T18 - Audio Metadata: Understanding AES57 and AES60
Presenter:
David Ackerman
Abstract:
AES will publish in the next couple of days AES57 and AES60, two metadata standards pertinent to the archiving community. This tutorial will explain the proper use of these documents in the archiving of audio collections.
