Technological and Computer-based Projects

Custom-recorded Impulse Responses
Completed

Convolution Reverb uses a recorded impulse of a space in order to create a simulation of that space in which to place other sounds.

I took my Advanced Tech Lab students [Second-year MFA in Music Composition for the Screen program at Columbia College Chicago] on a field trip to a nice-sounding concert hall. Over the course of a couple of hours, (and after using donuts and coffee to bribe two nice pianists to move out of practice rooms directly above the hall), we recorded:

1. Several "pistol shot" simulations with various mic positions in the hall
2. Several "sine sweeps" of 10s and 50s, using the hall's PA system
3. "Pistol" and "Sine sweep" recordings of the interior of the hall's grand piano, with the pedal held down and the strings close-mic'd.
4. Two "noisy" IRs, where all the participants made musical and unmusical sounds in the hall during the recording.

By far the last two options are the most interesting. The inside-the-piano IR lends a fascinating piano resonance to any sound, as though it were happening inside of a huge forest of resonating strings. Then, the "noisy" IR is just a warped, weird, extended reverb sound that is useful for fade-outs, freak-outs, and sound design.



Final files, recorded with Earthworks QTC-30 omnidirectional mics:

1. 10sec2.pst
2. noisy1.pst
3. piano sweep1.pst
4. piano true stereo sweep.pst
5. piano true stereo sweepB.pst
6. piano1.pst
7. piano2.pst
8. sweep1.pst
9. sweep2 50s.pst
10. take 1.pst
11. true stereo1.pst

These files all are built to work in Logic's Space Designer reverb, but the straight IR files should work with any convolution reverb. If you'd like to use these files, please get in touch.