CMP Audio Mixing Techniques 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does the 'attack' parameter on a compressor control?
- How quickly the compressor reduces gain after the threshold is exceeded (Correct answer)
- The overall output level of the compressor
- How quickly the compressor releases gain reduction
- The frequency band targeted by compression
Correct answer: How quickly the compressor reduces gain after the threshold is exceeded
The attack time determines how fast the compressor responds and begins reducing gain once the signal crosses the threshold.
Question 2: In EQ, what does a 'bell curve' (peaking filter) allow you to do?
- Cut all frequencies below a set point
- Boost or cut a specific frequency range with an adjustable bandwidth (Q) (Correct answer)
- Apply a fixed shelf boost above 10 kHz
- Pass only a narrow band of frequencies and mute everything else
Correct answer: Boost or cut a specific frequency range with an adjustable bandwidth (Q)
A bell (peaking) filter boosts or cuts a frequency with a center point and variable Q (bandwidth), making it the most versatile EQ shape for surgical corrections.
Question 3: What is 'pre-delay' in a reverb plugin and why is it useful?
- A delay added before the dry signal to create an echo
- A short time gap between the dry signal and the onset of reverb, helping preserve transient clarity (Correct answer)
- The time it takes for reverb to reach full decay
- A pre-amp emulation inside the reverb algorithm
Correct answer: A short time gap between the dry signal and the onset of reverb, helping preserve transient clarity
Pre-delay creates a brief gap before reverberation begins, allowing transients to remain clear and the source to be perceived as distinct from the room sound.
Question 4: When would you typically use a multiband compressor instead of a standard broadband compressor?
- When you want the fastest attack time available
- When you need to control dynamics independently across different frequency ranges (Correct answer)
- When processing only mono signals
- When applying compression only to the stereo master bus
Correct answer: When you need to control dynamics independently across different frequency ranges
A multiband compressor splits the signal into frequency bands and compresses each independently, allowing targeted control over problem areas like a boomy low end without affecting the high end.
Question 5: What is the 'Haas effect' and how is it applied in mixing?
- A psychoacoustic phenomenon where a sound delayed by up to ~40 ms is perceived as coming from the same direction as the original, used to create width (Correct answer)
- A reverb algorithm that simulates a concert hall
- A distortion effect caused by phase cancellation
- A mastering technique for boosting perceived loudness
Correct answer: A psychoacoustic phenomenon where a sound delayed by up to ~40 ms is perceived as coming from the same direction as the original, used to create width
The Haas effect exploits the brain's precedence effect: a delayed copy under ~40 ms is fused with the original and perceived as wider, not as a separate echo.
Question 6: What does 'oversampling' in a plugin do during the mixing process?
- Reduces the sample rate to save CPU
- Temporarily processes audio at a higher sample rate to reduce aliasing artifacts from nonlinear processing (Correct answer)
- Converts audio from 24-bit to 32-bit float
- Duplicates samples to artificially extend a track
Correct answer: Temporarily processes audio at a higher sample rate to reduce aliasing artifacts from nonlinear processing
Oversampling runs the plugin internally at a multiple of the project sample rate, pushing aliasing artifacts above the audible range before downsampling back.
Question 7: What is the purpose of automation in a mix?
- To have the DAW auto-generate tracks without user input
- To dynamically change parameters like volume, pan, or effects over time during playback (Correct answer)
- To automatically quantize MIDI to the grid
- To sync all plugins to the project BPM
Correct answer: To dynamically change parameters like volume, pan, or effects over time during playback
Automation records and plays back parameter changes over time, allowing the engineer to make dynamic adjustments that bring the mix to life.
CMP Audio Mixing Techniques 3
What does the 'attack' parameter on a compressor control?