Altering Sound Level 1
Sound can be changed and there are a basic set of tools we use to make it better, or worse!
EQs / Filters
One of the most primitive sound tools we have, but also one of the most powerful. EQs and filters are an essential part of a production or mix engineers tool set.
Compressors
Originally designed by the military to make it easier for radio operators to hear commands over the battle, dynamic management is crucial to a great sound.
Chorus / Flanger / Ensemble
These kinds of effects are used to duplicate and very slightly modify the sound, usually to make it ‘thicker’. But they differ in small ways, both in their design and purpose.
Phasers
Phasers evoke the sound of the psychedelic 1960’s, and can make a sound ‘move around’ in crazy trippy ways. Or subtly, to add distinct movement to a sound.
Reverbs
Reverbs make a sound appear to be in a space. Sometimes that space sounds real, like a room or a hall. Other reverbs create indescribable, impossible spaces.
Distortion
Distortion is originally a product of overloading analog circuitry. Nowadays those circuits are emulated in software, but it’s still the same thing; making the signal really loud and finding ways to ‘tame’ it.