Using an Oscilloscope for Music Production Explained
If you've never used an oscilloscope before, you may be wondering what exactly their purpose is. In this 70-minute production video course with audio expert Larry Holcombe, he'll share with you many useful applications for this powerful audio tool. With topics ranging from audio analysis and sample layering to assisting with loudness and checking phase, these videos will help you gain a deeper knowledge of what you're doing to audio when you process it, which in turn will help you to make more informed decisions about said processing. These videos are for intermediate pro audio producers and engineers.
Videos
• Recreating Kick Drums (13:02) - First up, we use an oscilloscope to analyze aspects of a kick drum like length of the tail, pitch of the kick's fundamental, and transient level. This allows us to create a similar-sounding kick drum to use in our own productions.
• Layering Samples (09:03) - Next, we layer two kick samples together using the oscilloscope to ensure we maintain good phase coherence. We also analyze the effect of low cut EQ on phase.
• Understanding Compression (14:26) - Explore how an oscilloscope can help better understand what different compression settings and styles have on our waveforms. This allows us to make better informed decisions on our dynamics processing.
• Understanding Transient Shaping & Saturation (16:51) - We look at some other processors next and discover how they can be visually understood using an oscilloscope. We focus on what transient shaping and saturation can do to the sound.
• Understanding Kick & Bass (08:01) - This video concentrates on how we can utilize an oscilloscope to set the respective phase of kick and bass parts. You'll also learn how we can dial in side-chain attack times to get tight pumping for our kick and bass parts.
• Understanding Front/Back Perspective (07:00) - Next up, we use the oscilloscope to deepen our understanding of how transient energy relates to front/back perspective within a mix.
• Using an Oscilloscope to Assist with Transparent Loudness (11:15) - Finally, we visualize a mix at various points in the oscilloscope to help us squeeze as much loudness out of a track as possible. This is done by controlling transient level and crest factor by clipping the waveform.