[ardour-dev] Advice on FFT Analysis ... How to Read it, and What Can it Tell You?

[Shayne O'Connor]

Fons Adriaensen wrote:
> On Sat, Nov 04, 2006 at 08:21:31PM +0000, John Rigg wrote:
>
>   
>> Mixing according to a spectrum analyzer is probably a bad idea. They can
>> be useful in pinpointing problems, but they fail to take into account various
>> characteristics of the ear. For example, the frequency response of the ear
>> varies according to sound level (take a look at a graph of equal-loudness
>> curves at different SPLs and you'll see what I mean). Trust your ears
>> first, analysis tools second.
>>     
>
> Good advice. First use your ears. Music is heard, not measured.
>
> If you want a 'musical' spectrum analyser, take a look at JAPA.
>
>   http://users.skynet.be/solaris/linuxaudio
>
>   
okey-dokey ... thanx all for reminding me of this point, cos i probably
don't think i do trust my ears enough -

but don't worry, i've no choice but to use my ears first - my skills at
the technical side of stuff (such as reading an audio analysis
spectrum/curve/whatever) are pretty non-existent :)

JAPA looks like the tool to give me a bit of Intuitition, though - i
guess it would be a good idea to run a bunch of stuff through it, just
so i can see how a well-mixed track looks as opposed to a bad mix, and
where the different instruments lie on the spectrum.

shayne