Welcome back to the ongoing series that began with Frequency Fundamentals. I trust and hope it has been as helpful for you as it was fun for me to write.
Moving along, this is the start of a new series that will dovetail with the frequency series. Consider it the second suite of a broader work. These new articles will continue our discussion and build on top of the foundation we laid down previously. This time we will focus on audio effects.
“Relevance?”, you ask.
Find me a musician, audio professional, or recording/mixing/mastering engineer that doesn’t use audio effects – and I will be the one to question if they have red blood coursing through their veins!
A more pertinent question would be this: “Effects… OK. But why now?”
If you are familiar with the previous frequency series, you should know the answer by now:
All roads lead to frequencies!
And if you care to venture deeper: the manipulation of those frequencies! That is how we ply and mold the sounds we use in music/production.
What is the primary method of travel into attaining such a goal?
There you have it.
Overview
The following articles will be a “must know” fundamentals primer into the basic world of audio effects used by all in music/production (save for those lost souls without red blood!)
The structure of articles will be the same as the frequency series: complete coverage with overviews, relevant facts… and of course homework – this is meant to be interactive for you!
Prior knowledge of the Frequency Fundamentals series isn’t absolutely mandatory, but is very highly recommended! This series will use a lot of back and forth references, so reading that series first will help you avoid a lot of aspirins! Remember: think of this new series as the continuation of a larger discussion.
Many of the concepts were hinted at previously, outlining things to come – as fortune would have it, here we are continuing that discussion!
This particular series will focus on the main groupings of effects known as:
- Dynamics effects
- Distortion/overdrive effects
- Delays/reverb effects
- Modulation effects
Let us continue…
The series begins next week with Part 1 on Dynamics Effects. If you need to brush up on your frequencies, harmonics, EQ bands, etc. check out the following:
- Start of Series: What’s ‘Frequency Training’ All About?
- Quiz: Percussion Frequencies
- Quiz: Frequency Bands and Harmonics
