Acoustics and Recording Techniques Flashcards
7 cards from real CMP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Acoustics and Recording Techniques flashcards as text
What is the Fletcher-Munson curve used to understand in audio production?
Answer: The frequency-dependent sensitivity of human hearing at different loudness levels
Fletcher-Munson (equal-loudness) curves show that human hearing is less sensitive to low and high frequencies at low SPLs, informing mixing decisions.
A producer is recording acoustic guitar and hears a 'boxy' resonance around 400 Hz. What is the most likely cause?
Answer: The microphone is too close to the soundhole
Placing a microphone directly at or near the soundhole captures the resonant chamber of the guitar body, producing an exaggerated boxy or boomy sound.
What does 'dBFS' stand for and what does 0 dBFS represent?
Answer: Decibels Full Scale; the maximum level before digital clipping
dBFS (decibels Full Scale) is the amplitude measurement unit in digital audio, where 0 dBFS is the absolute maximum level — exceeding it causes clipping.
Which Mid-Side (M/S) decoding operation correctly recovers the Left channel from a M/S recording?
Answer: L = M + S
In M/S decoding, the Left channel is recovered by adding the Mid (sum) and Side (difference) signals: L = M + S.
What is 'pre-delay' on a reverb unit and why is it musically useful?
Answer: A short delay before the reverb tail begins, preserving transient clarity
Pre-delay adds a brief gap before the reverb onset, mimicking natural room acoustics and allowing the dry transient to be heard clearly before the tail washes in.
When recording a snare drum, a second microphone is often placed beneath the snare pointing upward. What does this bottom mic primarily capture?
Answer: The resonance and sizzle of the snare wires
The bottom mic faces the snare wires (snares) on the resonant head, capturing their characteristic buzz and sizzle which adds snap and definition when blended.
A recording shows a consistent 60 Hz hum on multiple tracks. What is the most common cause of this?
Answer: A ground loop in the analog signal chain
60 Hz hum (in North America) is the classic symptom of a ground loop, caused by multiple ground paths creating a current that induces noise in the signal.