House Curve

2382 Views 10 Replies 9 Participants Last post by RJHollins, Mar 13, 2012

thediscoman

Discussion Starter · Mar 6, 2012

Do you need a House Curve in a Recording Studio setup?
I know it is recomended in a home theater.
I always thought it was best to have a measured flat responce rather than a perceived flat responce.
I record my own music in my Studio and need to have a good reference to record.

I have been going backwards and forwards for some years now, and not sure what to do, can any one advise?

Regartds,

Thediscoman

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chrapladm

· #2 · Mar 6, 2012

Everyone I know seems to like different curves.

I myself think your studio should be set flat. That way you have a clear idea of what your sound should sound like. If you had a system with a boost in a certain area and someone played it back on their "flat," system it would sound less than what you heard in your studio.

Start with a neutral system(flat curve) and let the music come through. If you need more of something just add gain. Dont let the monitors or playback system color the music(if you can help it). Other wise you will be adjusting for just the playback system instead of the overall sound.

Most peoples ears tend to like a slight boost to the low end. But I would prefer to record what is there and have neutral playback. And if it sounds thin I will just add gain wherever needed.

That being said I have read a lot of info on recording engineers and most of them have their own ways. Some like to do this and some like that.:scratch:

And then it changes again also for those that record for specific genre's such as Hip Hop/R&B music verse Country music studios.:rolleyesno:

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drdoan

· #3 · Mar 6, 2012

Welcome to the Forum. Have fun. Dennis

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Zeitgeist

· #4 · Mar 6, 2012

I would think flat FR in room would be the way to go - especially since many studio monitors have significant design/engineering to try to get flat response.

But I have read about plenty of studios that have some curve (or engineers that want a curve).

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Jon Liu

· #5 · Mar 6, 2012

Glad to have you with us! As far as a house curve for your recording studio, I wouldn't add a house curve for all the reasons that chrapladm said, at least initially that is. Adding a little gain to suit your preference here and there is perfectly normal. But, drastic boosting can result in unpleasant sound for the end-user. The end-user tends (especially) to boost the low frequencies a lot more. So any added in the initial recording process will only be emphasized that much more.

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TypeA

· #6 · Mar 6, 2012

Welcome to Home Theater Shack Ken

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Wayne A. Pflughaupt

· #7 · Mar 7, 2012

thediscoman said:
Do you need a House Curve in a Recording Studio setup?

I always thought it was best to have a measured flat responce rather than a perceived flat responce.

I’d say flat is a good place to start. But then, give a serious listen to a CD or some other pre-recorded music you’re very familiar with. If it sounds thin with poor bottom end, then you might look into a house curve. If not, you’re only going to end up compensating for the thin response by boosting the low end in your own recordings.

Regards,
Wayne

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SAC

· #8 · Mar 10, 2012

I can't really address your intent, as I am not clear as to exactly what you are trying to do;
but to my understanding, a 'house curve is implemented AFTER achieving the flattest possible response.

And then an oft cited 'reference' is that the house curve should be 10 dB down at 10 kHz relative to the level at 1 kHz, and that is typically used for speech reinforcement only in large auditoriums...

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Zeitgeist

· #9 · Mar 10, 2012

SAC said:
I can't really address your intent, as I am not clear as to exactly what you are trying to do;
but to my understanding, a 'house curve is implemented AFTER achieving the flattest possible response.

And then an oft cited 'reference' is that the house curve should be 10 dB down at 10 kHz relative to the level at 1 kHz, and that is typically used for speech reinforcement only in large auditoriums...

For the sake of clarify, you mean SMPTE 202M – X-Curve? Or some other mixing curve?

This is a good read on (movie related) curves for anyone interested:
http://www.dolby.com/uploadedFiles/...essional/Dolby_The X-Curve__SMPTE Journal.pdf

I've never heard of any real comparisons between music recording studios -- and dubbing stages/movie theaters. Very different acoustically.

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SAC

· #10 · Mar 10, 2012

Actually I was referring to the classic curve advocated by Dr. C.P. Boner, the 'father of equalization'.

Also, I might direct folks to these two articles that have provide quite allot of information about both the process and methodology of equalization that far too many misunderstand while thinking that all they must worry about is what is displayed on the screen, without thinking about what goes into creating that which is 'on the screen'.

http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/print/whats_the_measurement_understanding_and_properly_using_rta_fft

http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/tuning_a_system_with_fft_getting_it_close_without_listening/P1/

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RJHollins

· #11 · Mar 13, 2012

Great articles SAC !

Thank-you.

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