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This is the third installment in a series on Basic Electronics for Recording Engineers. This episode focuses on equalizers and amplifiers. Why do we call them equalizers? And amplifiers are at the heart of every piece of audio gear, even if we don’t usually recognize them as such.

I discuss different approaches to designing an equalizer. And cover the concepts of amplification from the original vacuum tube circuits, through transistors, and then to opamps. Opamps make large format consoles possible, and they are at the heart of almost every audio device in your studio.

email: dwfearn@dwfearn.com
www.youtube.com/c/DWFearn
https://dwfearn.com/

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In this second episode of a multi-part series on Basic Electronics for Recording Engineers, I continue with the fundamental principles of electrical and electronic devices, with an emphasis on practical implications. The explanations are simple, and therefore, incomplete. But I hope it will give you some insight on what goes on inside your equipment – and in the electrical world in general.

This episode focuses on the relationship between electricity and magnetism and how that is used in our studios. I explain why our equipment requires DC to operate, but electrical power is distributed in AC form. That leads to an explanation of transformers, for power distribution, and to convert the incoming voltage to what we need. I also explain a bit about audio transformers.

Our equipment needs DC internally to operate, and I talk about how AC is converted to DC. That introduces capacitors, and their many applications in our studios. I end with resonant circuits, which form the basis of equalizers, as well as how all musical instruments work.

email: dwfearn@dwfearn.com
www.youtube.com/c/DWFearn
https://dwfearn.com/

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The chain of equipment between the recording artist and the listener is long and complex. Every piece of gear, from the microphone to the listener’s speaker or headphones, has the potential to be the weakest link in this chain.

In this episode, I go through every major link in the chain and describe why it could be the weakest link in any recording situation. Are there types of equipment or facilities that have an outsized effect on the ultimate quality of a recording? What can we do about that?

By the way, I decided to try a new microphone for this podcast episode. It is a Sennheiser MKH8030, which is a bi-directional small-diaphragm RF condenser mic. I like RF condenser microphones because they have a lower level of distortion than traditional condenser mics. I like the sound of MKH8030, and I am sure it will get a lot of use on my sessions. But for my voice, I still prefer the AEA R44C that I normally use. What do you think?

email: dwfearn@dwfearn.com
www.youtube.com/c/DWFearn
https://dwfearn.com/