The FIRST Step to Mastering a Song: Fixing Phase Rotation | Mastering Masterclass Ep. 4

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ย. 2024
  • Ever wonder what the FIRST step is to mastering a song? It's not compression, it's not stereo imaging, and it's not EQ. The first step John Mayfield takes when mastering is fixing the PHASE rotation of a song, making sure that the file is symmetrical in its waveform values. John explains why this is important.
    More to come so stay tuned as we will deep dive into mastering a song from start to finish, and other tips, tricks and insights from renowned mastering engineer, John Mayfield.
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ความคิดเห็น • 385

  • @iZotopeOfficial
    @iZotopeOfficial 3 ปีที่แล้ว +160

    Thanks for featuring RX!

    • @ADAMAudioBerlin
      @ADAMAudioBerlin  3 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Thanks for watching, guys!

    • @thegroove2000
      @thegroove2000 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Amazing tools thanks team. Very talented.

    • @ADAMAudioBerlin
      @ADAMAudioBerlin  3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Thank you for watching 👍

    • @a3axon
      @a3axon 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      run izotope and Adam monitors ❤ great tools.

    • @joannem3051
      @joannem3051 ปีที่แล้ว

      What specific software is he using to do this?

  • @haidar6280
    @haidar6280 3 ปีที่แล้ว +129

    Wow. This has completely opened my eyes to something I've never known about or thought of before. It's so rare to find completely new information in this engineering world 6+ years in. Gem of a video guys. one love

    • @ADAMAudioBerlin
      @ADAMAudioBerlin  3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      So happy you've enjoyed it! Make sure to let John know how much you've appreciated his knowledge! We simply captured it

    • @RonnieVaiArovo
      @RonnieVaiArovo 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Totally agree 👍

    • @cleantones
      @cleantones 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      6 years. :) I'm 25 years in and still learn plenty. Maybe not on this video but it's a constant learning and evolving craft.

    • @ahriik
      @ahriik 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@cleantones Right? If you're not still learning new things regularly at only 6 years, I'd be awfully concerned.

  • @AndrewMcMillenium
    @AndrewMcMillenium 2 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

    With all my respect I have to say that in the video, where the beginning of the track was analyzed for phase rotation - the whole track was selected, that's why it showed +34 degree several times.
    Some sounds, mostly acoustic ones, are asymmetrical by nature. Imagine hitting a drum membrane with a stick. The first half-wave is the biggest in amplitude, because it's caused by the stick (or hand) directly being in contact with the membrane and moving it much deeper/further than what comes next. Every movement coming next is smaller and smaller in amplitude and if you analyze the whole drum hit sound - it will have a skew from the center line.
    Regarding the difference - many people say you don't hear a difference, BUT. People who work for example with car audio know that there is a difference. If you wire all the speakers in a given car in a wrong polarity - you'll have less punch, because the first movement of speaker membrane goes inside instead of outside. And all this phase correction thing (which I was using in the past too) is a wrong thing to do, because it messes with the original natural sound. It won't change RMS, frequency response, but it will sound differently. If you say "pumpkin" into a mic - it will be asymmetrical, because of how much the mic membrane is being moved by the air bursts. But it should be that way! And after using RX adaptive phase rotation for years on podcasts I finally stopped doing that and it sounds much better and natural.
    So, the only good thing about phase correction is that you can squeeze more volume out of it.

    • @doingittodeath
      @doingittodeath หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      I totally agree with you...BUT I think, that some of the information given in this video may be helpful for some situations like the one mentioned in the video with the trombone solo. If you can't really make something out of a stem or so because of these phase rotation problems, this feature in RX could be really helpful for not distorting the sound. I myself had a vocal some days ago where the waveform looked really weird to me because there was more information above the center line than below. I only read something about phase rotation in the tooltips of one of the compressiors found in TDR Limiter No. 6 and couldnt really understand what phase rotation is until I saw this video now. But I think it would've helped me in a way if I knew about this topic earlier. Unfortunately these scientific and technical topics don't really get discussed that often.

  • @DerperyPooslinger
    @DerperyPooslinger 3 ปีที่แล้ว +20

    In 2013-2014 I got a chance to work with John in studio A. I couldn't believe the atmosphere that room has, and John's enthusiasm when it comes to explaining the science behind his craft. Quality guy and quality work.

  • @ADAMAudioBerlin
    @ADAMAudioBerlin  3 ปีที่แล้ว +12

    Did you know about the importance of phase rotation already? Let us know 👇

    • @maxduncan4473
      @maxduncan4473 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I read that it's applied in radio processors (Orban, etc) to optimize the available headroom, just as you're doing here in a mastering context. I did read also, though, that it has an interesting drawback for material which has been deliberately clipped (ie: with the wave flat-topped). Sometimes the flat-top is rotated around to being a straight line more in the middle of the waveform; it looks like a scar or a drop-out. (I'm not sure it would sound like a drop-out though; it would still just sound like the distortion that it is, right?)
      I don't work in mastering anymore, but I still do it sometimes when I'm working on unevenly-recorded vocal podcasts. Because the presenter is moving back-and-forth in front of the microphone, you end up having to apply heavy compression or limiting to even out the volume, with all the usual drawbacks. But male voices, particularly, are very asymmetrical, so applying phase rotation to them can mean you don't have to hit the compressor as hard.

  • @CristianVargaMastervargas
    @CristianVargaMastervargas 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I'm sorry but this is pure BS. How about listening to the damn song and hear if it needs any kind of treatment. He talks for 8 minutes without once hitting play. that's not mastering music - that's waveform editing for the looks of it.

  • @sqcaraudio
    @sqcaraudio 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    My take is that it's using an FIR algorithm to shift phase tilted from the highest frequencies to the lowest. So the 20kHz is delayed by say 30 degrees and then less at 10kHz down to no shift at 10Hz. You can do this with Meldamedia "free phase".
    The reason you can't do adaptive on main mixes is that it may introduce pitch artefacts due to the delay changes.
    The key term here phase is meaning delay but they don't say FIR time domain manipulation. So less delay at lower frequencies. Hope that helps. You could run two files against each other in Rational Acoustics Smaart and see what phase plot x y tilt they are using.

  • @beatchildproductions
    @beatchildproductions 3 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Mix With The Masters... TAKE NOTES! This is how you make educational content.

  • @michaelgraflmusic
    @michaelgraflmusic 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    None of this makes any sense. I'm shocked that so few comments are pointing this out.

  • @FrequencySummoner
    @FrequencySummoner 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I'm not sure it makes sense to refer to this as "fixing" or "correcting" phase rotation, as though some phase relationships are inherently "wrong". What you are doing is optimising the phase for digital headroom. What does this process do to transients? Don't people intentionally use all-pass filters to smear transients in time? How is that avoided here?
    (I'm not a professional audio engineer, just trying to make sense of this from a physics perspective and an artistic perspective.)

  • @joeljohansson6097
    @joeljohansson6097 3 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    Basically, you get more sound out of the speakers with less energy. That's very good, now with the climate changing and everything.

  • @davidasher22
    @davidasher22 3 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Wow! It’s been a while since I actually learned something new from an audio engineering video on youtube. Faith restored..

    • @ADAMAudioBerlin
      @ADAMAudioBerlin  3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Thanks for watching David! So happy you enjoyed it.

  • @davelordy
    @davelordy ปีที่แล้ว +5

    The reason the phase keeps showing you +34° is because you keep analysing the same audio - the whole track - when you think you are selecting a specific part, you are only zooming in on that part, not selecting it . . . . keep up : )

    • @Rene_Christensen
      @Rene_Christensen ปีที่แล้ว

      And phase is per frequency so what is even the 34 value?

    • @davelordy
      @davelordy ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@Rene_Christensen 34° is how far out of phase something is, so (obviously) 0° is completely in phase, and 180° is completely out of phase.
      So if we were comparing two pure sine waves, it would be like the starting point of one of the sine waves (the point at which it crosses 0dB (or 0V / or 0°) is aligned with the second wave that is already 34° into its cycle.

    • @Rene_Christensen
      @Rene_Christensen ปีที่แล้ว

      @@davelordySure but he is not looking at single sinusoidal, he is looking at a piece of music. I have a PhD in acoustics and work with signal processing daily and I cannot see any sense in what he is doing.

    • @Todzuum
      @Todzuum 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@Rene_Christensencan you go deeper into why you said this?

    • @Rene_Christensen
      @Rene_Christensen 7 วันที่ผ่านมา

      @@Todzuum In the frequency domain, everything revolves around sinusoidal signals that started forever ago and will go on forever. This is where we can talk about the phase of each sinusoidal, as each frequency component ("phasor") then has a complex amplitude with positive magnitude and a phase. If you analyse a more involved signal that is described via several (possibly infinitely many) sinusoidals at each their frequency, it does not make sense to talk about a single phase. There is no "total' phase to discuss then, only phase that typically varies over the frequency spectrum. You can of course have the trivial situation of zero phase (a wire) or 180 degree phase change over all frequencies (flipped wires; polarity flip), but the 34 degrees make no sense here.

  • @intoalter
    @intoalter 3 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    This is going to be a GOLDEN series!!! I would love to see a course regarding Audio Engineering through some subscription, It would be a absolute game changer, because the quality you guys give us is absolutely amazing.

    • @ADAMAudioBerlin
      @ADAMAudioBerlin  3 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      Thank you for watching and so happy you're enjoying the series. No need for a subscription, we're happy to make this for everyone to watch!

    • @intoalter
      @intoalter 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@ADAMAudioBerlin love you guys!

    • @ADAMAudioBerlin
      @ADAMAudioBerlin  3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      ❤️ Thanks for watching!

  • @sinsoftherich
    @sinsoftherich ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I don't think any of us realized we'd become scientists when we first got into music lol

  • @dunkeldeutsch
    @dunkeldeutsch หลายเดือนก่อน

    Thank you so much!! Can you or anyone in the comments recommend a Plugin for Phase Rotation (using Cubase) - Thank you!

  • @jefjaeger
    @jefjaeger 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    So what caused it in the first place?

  • @LaminarSound
    @LaminarSound 3 ปีที่แล้ว +24

    This is the first ive learned about phase rotation. Ive seen asymmetrical waveforms for years but never noticed any audible issue with them. However, i wasnt really *listening for it. I still dont quite understand why this happens though. Is this something that happens when the signal is being converted to digital? Or is this issue inherent in the source signal?

    • @peadybeatz6721
      @peadybeatz6721 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Can somebody give an answer on this question? I'd like to know too :)

    • @Tibbon
      @Tibbon 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Similarly, I'm curious about the cause.

    • @TjMoon91
      @TjMoon91 3 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      It's just something that happens with different phase relationships between the fundamental and it's harmonics. Nothing to do with digital audio, we just weren't aware of it before digital because we weren't looking at waveforms.
      There's no "audible issue" except that the peak value is higher, even though it isn't any louder. Which mean's you can't turn it up as loud before hitting the threshold of a compressor or limiter.

    • @reedtaylor4846
      @reedtaylor4846 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@TjMoon91That is correct. This is the answer. Just about every horn part I've ever recorded was positive heavy and looked funny on the screen. It's the timbre of the instrument itself causing it. Interesting though, is this lesson about how these waveforms create false peak levels that steal some of the mastering engineer's working headroom, I never considered that aspect.

    • @kelainefes
      @kelainefes 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@reedtaylor4846 some vocal tracks have this issue here and there.
      I think it happens when there's a strong 2nd harmonic, which always causes asymmetrical waveforms.
      Some plug-in emulations of valve equipment will do it too, but I think actual valves will do the same.
      But I think there might also be different causes for this.

  • @Barncore
    @Barncore 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Wow i've been doing audio for 8 years and i've never heard of this. Really grateful to have been exposed to this nugget! Thanks

    • @ADAMAudioBerlin
      @ADAMAudioBerlin  2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Thanks for watching!

    • @Vospi
      @Vospi ปีที่แล้ว

      but note that phase rotation is not "free" in terms of how it sounds (although it's very transparent), which wasn't mentioned in the video.

  • @Almostbakerzero
    @Almostbakerzero 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    while this is interesting, i dont quite understand how it works. now the issue here is that a waveform is for some reason offset from the digital zero point (which is basically equal to an analog signal thats offset by a positive or negative DC voltage). however, i wonder what fixing this might cause. he gives an example of a very small part thats being fixed. in order to fix just a part of the track, its necessary to offset the part so its in the middle. but at the point where the "non-offset" transitions into the corrected part, you automatically have some sort of audible transition. either a click, or RX has some sort of smudging feature to mask it. when editing the whole track, you could offset it without having any clicks. But since i would assume that the track has some "real" silence in it, (beginning or end), this silence would be offset to a point where it is not really zeroed but rather above or below zero.

  • @TomWa
    @TomWa 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Wow! I wish I had known about this sooner. I'm working on a project where, from a stereo mix, I'm removing vocals, correcting them, and then replacing them back into the vocal-less stereo instrument stem. The RX8 music rebalance algorithm works WAY better once the rotation (which was off by quite a bit) is corrected. Thank you!

  • @externity9569
    @externity9569 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Just when I think I'm starting to get over the first hurdles of learning to mix..
    I find this mind blowing technical wizardry.

  • @LiamBradburyMusic
    @LiamBradburyMusic 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I'd love to sit in a room with this guy and chat for about 2 days straight

  • @Hexspa
    @Hexspa 3 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    This almost creates more questions than it answers. I’d like to see a way to achieve this without RX specifically. An industry-wide standard definition would be good too.

    • @Tibbon
      @Tibbon 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      I don't think there are any ratified industry standards on it.

    • @rafriley6993
      @rafriley6993 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      there’s a free plugin by air windows called DC offset. It doesn’t the the exact same thing but you can shift the entire waveform higher or lower which can help if you have asymmetric peaks

    • @Hexspa
      @Hexspa 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@rafriley6993 Right. But I think they were saying that this isn't DC offset. Ableton has that built into Utility and I think Meldaproduction has it in their MUtility plugin also. DC offset is a pretty generic thing and that's why I was asking what's going on here.

    • @anthonycarr3495
      @anthonycarr3495 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@Hexspa I'm pretty confident this its exactly the same as DC offset - no idea why he has decided to call it phase rotation

    • @Hexspa
      @Hexspa 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@anthonycarr3495 Weird, huh? Never tried correcting DC offset on a master but it makes sense. I mean 'phase rotation' :)

  • @audiokemestry
    @audiokemestry ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Great info!! I have bumped into this problem many times...and addressed in different ways....but I never knew what it was called and never knew RX could fix it! Lol. Thanx much

  • @williamarnold1234
    @williamarnold1234 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I wonder if this is what Phase Rotation feature on Orban audio processing does on the fly? Anyone, anyone?!

  • @CarlosMartinez-gr1rp
    @CarlosMartinez-gr1rp 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Phase rotation, what is that even supposed to mean. You cannot speak from phase of a complex signal, just periodic pure signals like sines and squares have phase. Even if you mix two sine signals of different frequencies and phase offsets, what is the phase of the sum supposed to mean?

    • @Rene_Christensen
      @Rene_Christensen 7 วันที่ผ่านมา

      Exactly. This makes no sense. Well, square signals can be decomposed into sinusoidal phasors, each with their own phase. But I fail to see what the video is even about.

  • @The1mars1
    @The1mars1 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Great video but terrible mic placement!! Rx has de-rustle module...use it!

    • @ADAMAudioBerlin
      @ADAMAudioBerlin  3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Apologies for the poor microphone audio. Will certainly adjust that going forward.

  • @MichaelSchuerig
    @MichaelSchuerig 3 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    I don't understand how this is related to phase. What I understand from John's description and see in the graphs is that he is removing a DC offset. How does phase get into this?

    • @lkadshglkhvani
      @lkadshglkhvani 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Based on the RX documentation, it seems like the tool is using phase shift to change where the digital samples are taken, giving you slightly more headroom, but afaik that wouldn't change the true peak maximum.

    • @ADAMAudioBerlin
      @ADAMAudioBerlin  3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Hi Michael, great question. Like the comment below, the answer comes from the Izotope manual: We are balancing asymmetric waveforms by rotating signal phase. Rotating the phase of a signal changes its peak values but doesn’t change its loudness, and otherwise has no audible effect on the signal. Asymmetric waveforms can occasionally occur in audio such as dialogue, voice, and brass instruments. Making the waveform more symmetrical gives the signal more headroom.

    • @matrixate
      @matrixate 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      That's what I thought but this is not a DC offset.

    • @rocketman374
      @rocketman374 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Michael, how do you fix DC offset? The answer is, usually with a very low hpf. That hpf isn't linear phase, so it induces a phase change in the material. Dan Worral has a good video on that...

    • @MichaelSchuerig
      @MichaelSchuerig 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@rocketman374 Dan has a lot of good videos, can you point to the specific one?

  • @zsteinkamp
    @zsteinkamp 28 วันที่ผ่านมา

    hell yes! thank you for this. today I learned!

  • @lastwarning1
    @lastwarning1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    Phase rotation absent a shift in time introduces pre-ringing. It's not something with zero drawbacks. Telling people to do this on an entire track without full disclosure of everything the process does is crazy. Some people may prefer not to smear their transients in the name of loudness. This caveat is mentioned nowhere in the video, probably because the guy himself doesn't know it happens.

    • @muziekmindtwister
      @muziekmindtwister ปีที่แล้ว +1

      If he wasn't aware he could have aplied it to the whole song in where he was facing those problems instead of asking for the solo stem to fix it right? or am i missing something?

  • @LOLCoolJ
    @LOLCoolJ 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    So ideally we'd do this before mixing?

  • @RainGodRecordsInc
    @RainGodRecordsInc 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Codswallop

  • @BrandonTmusic
    @BrandonTmusic 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I would love to know WHY this happens to wav files in the first place. What causes a digital recording to have a lot more information above or below the center line? Is it faulty recording equipment? Electrical issues?

    • @tightsnare
      @tightsnare 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Dc offset due to additional voltage in the circuit i believe :)

    • @gbebici
      @gbebici 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Its a natural behavior once you're pushing more the capsule than pulling it. When you're recording a Brass, for example, the blow will always push the mic (if the player is standing on front of it)

    • @matthijshebly
      @matthijshebly 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      It's not specific to digital recording. It has to do with the presence of even harmonics (e.g. 2nd harmonic) in the signal, causing an asymmetric waveform. The phase between fundamental and these harmonics determines how high the peaks will be, without changing the sound. What he does in the video changes this phase, thereby lowering the peaks.

    • @TWEAKER01
      @TWEAKER01 ปีที่แล้ว

      it simply shows a natural acoustic event for mostly positive going waveforms (read: acoustic pressure).

  • @deareeMusic
    @deareeMusic 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Trombones are always like that. Anytime i ever record them. So off

  • @martijn_nl
    @martijn_nl หลายเดือนก่อน

    The phase tool in RX also has an adaptive mode. Is there a good reason for not using it?

  • @feinklangmastering
    @feinklangmastering 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    This is gold content! Thanks for this in depth specific look at this difficult topic.

    • @ADAMAudioBerlin
      @ADAMAudioBerlin  3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Thank you for tuning in, Johannes!

  • @allourep
    @allourep 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Anybody know what caused the Trombone recording to have the phase rotation issue to begin with? What can the engineer do on his end to fix it once noticed during the session?

    • @TWEAKER01
      @TWEAKER01 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@ShroomJesus exactly. It's not a "problem" at all. Applying the "fix" to a full mix will always affect other elements.

    • @rikkshow
      @rikkshow 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      It is typical for brass sounds. By getting the waveform to center, you don't change the sound, but you reduce the digital peak value in one channel, thus getting more headroom.

    • @allourep
      @allourep 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@rikkshow So recording in 32 bit would be a way of avoiding this issue in that case?

  • @skk6811
    @skk6811 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    A hardware company giving out professional courses for free. I'm sold.

    • @ADAMAudioBerlin
      @ADAMAudioBerlin  3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Glad you enjoyed it thanks so much for watching!

  • @soundtoys795
    @soundtoys795 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    would it be a better to check phase rotation on individual tracks, to minimize the cumulative effect in a stereo mix??

    • @TjMoon91
      @TjMoon91 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Doing it on a stereo file doesn't create an audible change. However, if you did it on each track individual track, the phase shift will mean those tracks will now stack up differently.
      If you have already carefully layered sounds together like multiple snares, or layered synth bass lines, applying phase rotation on these individually will potentially change how they sound when mixed together.

    • @soundtoys795
      @soundtoys795 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      ​@@TjMoon91 So the correct way to do it is to fix the phase on all tracks before doing any mixing

    • @TjMoon91
      @TjMoon91 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@soundtoys795 yeah I suppose so. Two different sounds both with symmetrical waveforms can still result in an asymmetric waveform when mixed together, so I’m not sure you’re achieving much. Maybe if you have a particularly uneven stem like a lead vocal it might be worth doing it with those select tracks.

    • @parentteachernight
      @parentteachernight ปีที่แล้ว

      @@soundtoys795 In that case you'd be altering the phase relationship between all multi-mic'd sources. This is a solution in search of a problem.

  • @RobertCow
    @RobertCow 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    John gives me the impression of a great and interesting person!

  • @ronaldanderson9263
    @ronaldanderson9263 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Is this not the same as DC offset? Cakewalk, what I use has a DC offset removal which should center the waveform around 0.

    • @naughtyducky6325
      @naughtyducky6325 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      It’s not the same thing, when you have DC offset the waveform is perturbed from the Center line, fixing DC offset moves the waveform back to the Center. An Asymmetrical wave form isn’t symmetrical on both sides so while it may be on the Center line it’s positive amplitude is different from its negative amplitude.

  • @evanmatthiesen7478
    @evanmatthiesen7478 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    sounds like they need to use RX for that mic rustle!

  • @rarelycomments
    @rarelycomments 3 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    How does waveform asymmetry relate to phase?
    What does the Izotope algorithm do, in signal processing terms?
    What does he mean by a "false digital value"?
    Aren't a lot of real instruments naturally asymmetric? i.e. kick drum, trumpet etc.
    Does removing this asymmetry audibly change the signal?

    • @TjMoon91
      @TjMoon91 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      It doesn't audibly change the signal, it just gives you a lower peak value. Which means you can push the signal louder before hitting the threshold of a compressor or limiter.

    • @michaelgraflmusic
      @michaelgraflmusic 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I think they just picked some guy off the street, gave him a list of buzzwords and a ten-minute introduction to Ozone and then filmed his improv performance.
      I have the same questions as you do, because none of this made any sense. He even used percent to describe the phase rotation instead of degrees. Pretty sure the phase optimization tries to find the position with the least amplitude so the limiter has to work less or something like that. It has no effect on DC-offset.

    • @TjMoon91
      @TjMoon91 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@michaelgraflmusic 100% = 360 degrees, 50% = 180 degrees, 25% = 90 degrees. I'm sure you can work that out.

  • @gbebici
    @gbebici 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    this phase asymmetry its a natural capsule's behavior, once you're pushing more than pulling it. When you're recording a Brass, for example, the blow will always push the mic (if the player is standing on front of it). Not saying that it must not be corrected later. Am i right?

    • @matthijshebly
      @matthijshebly 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      This is more about even harmonics.

  • @burns46824
    @burns46824 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Very interesting. If you're mastering to make things loud, this makes sense to do. If you're making quiet masters, I don't think I would do the extra processing.

  • @footsandersen
    @footsandersen 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    John is amazing. I went to him for mastering and got a mixing mentor!!!

    • @ADAMAudioBerlin
      @ADAMAudioBerlin  3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Love it! Thanks for watching, Keith.

  • @anthonyrobin915
    @anthonyrobin915 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    lmao step one is in episode 4 😂the game aint free!

  • @snapascrew
    @snapascrew 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I always love reading the comments from the experts 😂😂😂

  • @JSBallard
    @JSBallard 25 วันที่ผ่านมา

    Does it make it sound better?

  • @Jarxiel
    @Jarxiel ปีที่แล้ว

    Thanks ❤

  • @iamsyntact
    @iamsyntact 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    this is incredible. I can't tell you how many times I have a sample or instrument that's way out of balance and before now I had no idea how to fix it. so many times I've heard "you can fix this with a highpass filter" but this is absolutely not always the case. thank you sir

  • @marcomaselli8986
    @marcomaselli8986 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    isn’t this called dc offset?

  • @JoelWard1
    @JoelWard1 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Wowza. I had absolutely zero clue that this was a thing. Geez, I'll be having trouble going to sleep this night knowing how many masters I could've saved just by having the feintest clue about this....

  • @Daneidorff
    @Daneidorff 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Great… now i need new ADAM monitors AND RX8…💸💸💸🙄 jokes aside - nice video. Been seeing this a lot on waveforms, but never knowing why and what it is.

  • @JiihaaS
    @JiihaaS 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Nothing weird about wind instruments causing the waveform to be lopsided like that. Air blowing from the instrument into the mic capsule will push the diaphragm back, and the diaphragm's position is directly related to the produced waveform. Same happens often with human voice, since there's blow of air involved, especially on plosives.

  • @chopsoe
    @chopsoe 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    The fact that it gives more headroom for volume optimisation afterwards is so logical and I don't know why I never really thought about it before... Good stuff!!

  • @phillipemery572
    @phillipemery572 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    All interesting information, but I'd have liked to hear the difference as well as seen it.

    • @ADAMAudioBerlin
      @ADAMAudioBerlin  3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Hi Philipp, glad you enjoyed it. Frankly, the sonic differences are extremely difficult to hear until later in the mastering phase when you start to bring up levels because the main issue that John is fixing is how this rotation can effect your headroom later down the process.

  • @GrumpyGr3g
    @GrumpyGr3g 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Video is "old" but wondering, why not use the "adaptive" mode ? I did several tests on different types of music, some works perfectly fine with the "suggest" while some other performs better (phase wise) in "adaptive" mode, especially when there a massive difference on transient. The suggest mode does not change a lot, the adaptive seems to really center things up better.
    Any where to find out more infos about what's really going on behind these two different modes ?
    Cheers!

    • @alan_gleeson
      @alan_gleeson 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      from the manual "Adaptive phase rotation is best used on vocal material, as it can occasionally yield pitch artifacts on musical material." So in the always use your ears.

  • @jorriffhdhtrsegg
    @jorriffhdhtrsegg ปีที่แล้ว

    Is this even something yo fix? Sometimes it is sought after for "tube warmth" for example at least some things will do this because of the phase relationship of odd vs even harmonics. Do we hear audible difference? Do we want to sacrifice it for "loud"?

  • @Yitzhakk
    @Yitzhakk ปีที่แล้ว

    You know he wanted to say "Nitty Gritty" instead of SCientific in the first few seconds. Probably took everything in him to not say it. lol

  • @getstew
    @getstew 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Can you not just check "Adaptive Phase Rotation" and then render? This is what I have been doing for podcast, at least.

  • @panorama_mastering
    @panorama_mastering 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Great video guys; top job!

  • @BTC_MIM
    @BTC_MIM ปีที่แล้ว +1

    mastering with eyes

  • @zayin_beats517
    @zayin_beats517 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Just a quick question. Isnt rms like the average volume of an audio track? So how come that by fixing phase issues you get headroom but rms is the same?

  • @TharinduHimash
    @TharinduHimash ปีที่แล้ว +1

    😘😍❤️

  • @arthurcerqueira696
    @arthurcerqueira696 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    So, it would not make sense to do this on an already mastered song right? Since just heard about this concept and I already have some songs "done".

  • @shevyjohn9308
    @shevyjohn9308 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Would this then be process using analog or this is a printed track from analog processing before using a digital limiter ?

  • @banyanmusicofficial8899
    @banyanmusicofficial8899 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Incredibly helpful and simple to understand. Thank you!

    • @ADAMAudioBerlin
      @ADAMAudioBerlin  3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Thanks for watching, Banyan! Glad you enjoyed it

  • @davearooney
    @davearooney 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    so, at 1:50, he says it's 38 degrees out - where is he seeing that number? It says 34 in the Phase dialog box.

  • @jfilbert
    @jfilbert 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    LOL- excellent ending... or perhaps beginning? =)

  • @scoremix8556
    @scoremix8556 ปีที่แล้ว

    Very good.
    Side note ; brass is always “ top heavy”.

  • @5urg3x
    @5urg3x 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    How does this get "out of wack" to begin with though? I feel like that wasn't really explained.

    • @TWEAKER01
      @TWEAKER01 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      that's just it: it was never out of whack because it's not a problem. Phase rotating a mix will phase rotate elements that don't need it.

  • @oscarpatxot659
    @oscarpatxot659 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    As a Latin producer working with many brass instruments I have notice this all the time. I just why it is so common for brass to have the rotation wrong

    • @semilumi
      @semilumi 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      I have noticed this too. I would assume it has to do with the high pressure wind energy coming off the instrument and hitting one side of the microphone membrane... But the picture is incomplete, got to go to google...

    • @parentteachernight
      @parentteachernight ปีที่แล้ว

      Because the timbre of the instrument creates an asymmetric waveform. It's not a problem in need of correction!

    • @rikkshow
      @rikkshow 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Air pressure I think

  • @JohnDoe-wl8ti
    @JohnDoe-wl8ti ปีที่แล้ว

    Would you do this in the beginning or at the end of your master right before the final limiter(s)?

  • @TWEAKER01
    @TWEAKER01 ปีที่แล้ว

    this process is completely unnecessary in most situations, particularly on a full mix (ie: it will always affect something). Might be useful - sometimes - in a voice recording to maximize gain before clipping (thus, used in broadcast for commercials and transmission). For the most part, positive going waveforms represent that acoustic event and are natural.

    • @zenandstimpy
      @zenandstimpy 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

      He explained why he does this.

  • @kick4ss4life
    @kick4ss4life ปีที่แล้ว

    This is the only video/piece of information I could find so far that approaches this topic in mastering, for the rest it's all about fixing it mixdowns, but unfortunately I'm in no position to be able to fix the problems in the mix. Since I'm doing an assignment for school that's solely focussed on mastering, I must ask: If there is a lot of Anti-Phase issues going on in the Mixdown/Premaster you're mastering, how much should/could one do to correct this? Especially if you don't have a plugin like RX at your disposal for example? I have analyzed professionally mastered files with the PAZ meter, and a lot of times I still see a lot of spikes in the Anti-Phase Region. Anyhow, I'm supposed to be in the final stage of the project, but this keeps breaking my head. Thanks in advance to anyone who might give me some clarity on this!

    • @machoman7655
      @machoman7655 ปีที่แล้ว

      Basically, phase rotation is to algin your track from causing phase. You can also take care of phase in the mixdown stages when you are mixing down drums, bass, guitars, etc. Also, when you bounce a track down it never aligns up perfectly, that will also cause phase. For example, if you bounced a beat down and want to use it to record. You have to make sure you put in back in phase before you use it. This is one of the hidden gems that no mastering engineer will tell you. What's even better he gave up the magic number of -2 that will give your master a smooth feel. Basically, if you don't algin your tracks and take care of phase, it doesn't matter how good your mix and master is it will sound bad.

  • @IvanoIcardiOfficial
    @IvanoIcardiOfficial 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Pure wisdom... thx for sharing this!

  • @DougHinVA
    @DougHinVA 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    skip it if you are a normal person and not a geek for recording and mastering

  • @chrisgabriel6397
    @chrisgabriel6397 ปีที่แล้ว

    How do you apply this phase rotation in Adobe Audition?

  • @Nightwinflyer
    @Nightwinflyer 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    It is too bad the loudness wars still exist. I thought that the mastering standards by iTunes and others made the war a moot point.

  • @kelvinfunkner
    @kelvinfunkner ปีที่แล้ว

    WOW! I've been in this industry for a long time, and have never run across this in my own recording/mixing/mastering sessions, but I've seen others ask about it and didn't have a clue what was going on! Thanks for sharing this!

  • @RonnieVaiArovo
    @RonnieVaiArovo 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    mind-boggling 😇

  • @patrick5301
    @patrick5301 ปีที่แล้ว

    Is this true though? If a sax solo is asymmetrical and you rotate the phase, won't the whole thing just become slightly quieter?

    • @hissface
      @hissface ปีที่แล้ว

      Humans hear more like RMS than peak. Phase rotation can reduce peak values while maintaining exactly the same RMS. All of the energy in each individual wavecycle is still there - it's just distributed throughout the cycle more evenly.

  • @snubdawg1386
    @snubdawg1386 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    wow nice tip thank you ...but why should it be -2? ...i tried this on different mixes and masters and after rendering it's - 2 or sometimes +2 ....first i thought to recognize a pattern that only the masterings and loud sources will be rendered to +2 but it also happens to low mixes ....should i correct it with the sliders to -2?

    • @tonal.states
      @tonal.states 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I think it's more of a "the lower the number the better" kind of case so -2 is WAY better than say +34 or -50, always going for something close to 0 there. That's what I got, could be wrong.

  • @mistati8000
    @mistati8000 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Thanks for the great advice! I have a few (possibly stupid) questions:
    1. Is it recommended to fix the phase issues for every single track of a mix individually or for the overall mixed track? (I am asking because Mr. Mayfield only shows a single track in this example that looks like a complete mix)
    2. If the answer to question 1 is "for each track individually", is it also recommended to fix the phase issues for *vocal* tracks individually?
    3. Is anyone familiar with alternatives to the RX Audio Editor's Phase Algorithm shown in this video to fix phase issues? I saw that RX 11 Standard version starts at 330€ which is a bit much for a hobby - home studio producer, given you are only interested in the phase fixing functionality.
    Any help greatly appreciated, thanks in advance :)

  • @studieslessonstheoryetc141
    @studieslessonstheoryetc141 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Can someone explain in practical layman terms what causes phase rotation issue, what it really is?

  • @matrixate
    @matrixate 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    I read about this exact problem many years ago in a discussion by the assistant engineer to Dolly Parton's mastering engineer. He said this was the first step even before they did any processing.

  • @justtosharefiles678
    @justtosharefiles678 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    This was actually a really awesome video thanks for sharing bru

  • @KevinStCroix
    @KevinStCroix 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    I thought dc offset is when the digital representation of the waveform is unbalanced?

    • @TjMoon91
      @TjMoon91 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      A DC offset will raise or lower the entire waveform off the zero line. An asymmetric waveform will still settle on the on the zero line as the amplitude decreases.

  • @vadimmartynyuk
    @vadimmartynyuk 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    These tutorials from Adam Audio are really great, every tutorial is very useful.

    • @ADAMAudioBerlin
      @ADAMAudioBerlin  3 ปีที่แล้ว

      So happy to hear it, Vadim appreciate the kind words!

  • @cirocabrera
    @cirocabrera 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    I saw now your video "Fixing Phase Rotation" and suscribe to your YTCh. That software you use is yours? Other company? Might be huge expensive for me, but would like to know if possible. Thanks

    • @ADAMAudioBerlin
      @ADAMAudioBerlin  3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Hi Ciro, thanks for subscribing! John uses Pyramix for most of his mastering process, but this particular program is Izotope RX.

    • @cirocabrera
      @cirocabrera 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@ADAMAudioBerlin Wao, maybe is not that far away my chances. Thank so Much, ... I liked a lot the experience gived by this sir John. Thank so much

  • @larskivig7612
    @larskivig7612 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Interesting!
    Why does this give more headroom?
    I didnt get that part.
    /Lars

    • @ADAMAudioBerlin
      @ADAMAudioBerlin  3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Hi Lars! Asymmetrical waves are clipping when one of the amplitudes is hitting the threshold. By rotating the phase of the signal, the file can be played louder, without clipping. It thereby utilizes less headroom in the mix. Thanks for watching 👍

  • @Ruekeen777
    @Ruekeen777 ปีที่แล้ว

    wow! that's some valuable info.

  • @bonesnoopd
    @bonesnoopd 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Is this the same thing as removing DC offset?

    • @QuiethouseRecording
      @QuiethouseRecording 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      No

    • @QuiethouseRecording
      @QuiethouseRecording 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      No, DC offset has to do with the waveform sitting above or below the center line. This is the waveform not being symmetrical on the center line.

    • @bonesnoopd
      @bonesnoopd 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@QuiethouseRecording got it, thanks alot

  • @azzinny
    @azzinny 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    difficult. How is it different from DC cutting?

  • @fermendespaula
    @fermendespaula 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    John Mayfield! Great professional and an awesome guy!

    • @ADAMAudioBerlin
      @ADAMAudioBerlin  3 ปีที่แล้ว

      He really is! Thank you for watching, Fernando 👍

  • @soundkillah
    @soundkillah 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Am so happy I arrived here 🤗🤗. Never thought there was anything like that at all.

    • @ADAMAudioBerlin
      @ADAMAudioBerlin  3 ปีที่แล้ว

      We are happy you arrived, thanks for watching 👍

  • @mcsweet1966
    @mcsweet1966 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Hello, Thanks for a very intersecting Video, Can you explain what would creat a unballance like that at the recording/mixing stage and is there something we can keep our eyes (ears) on so it would not append.

    • @maxduncan4473
      @maxduncan4473 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      It just occurs naturally in some types of instruments. You can't hear it.

    • @matthijshebly
      @matthijshebly 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Even harmonics. The phase between those and their fundamentals determine the peak levels.

  • @HollywoodRecordingStudio
    @HollywoodRecordingStudio 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Excellent explanation about the how the imbalance issues impact RMS.

    • @ADAMAudioBerlin
      @ADAMAudioBerlin  3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Thank you, Meghan! Glad you liked it 👍