Report your Test Scores...

[Tweak]

When people are grading themselves, what breakdown are you using for grades? For as long as I can remember i've been graded as:

70+ = 1st class
60-69 = Upper second class (2.1)
50-59 = Lower second class (2.2)
40-49 = 3rd
40- = Fail

Your Grade
41 questions

(F)0-10 You can go back to watching TV.

(D-)10-14 Might be best suited for government work

(D+)15-19 Read it again if you are serious

(C)21-30 You are on your way. Keep up the good work.

(B)30-35 You did very well, better than many who claim experience!

(A)36-40 You have a solid understanding of studio concepts

(A+)41 You are a master of the home studio If you got around all my trick questions and got them all right, I am amazed.

[Swami Digital]

I got a 40/41. I missed the question on synth polyphony (20), which is pretty shameful. I guess I didn't read it thoroughly the first time, but I picked c.

-D

[rAC]

25 - and feeling to bad as most of the 'wrong' answers were partially right or involved microphones which I have no interest in at all.

Quibble though with T/F section question 7 - I would always say that sampling should be done without any extraneous artifacts (eg compression EQ etc) what you do with the sample afterwards is different but the sample should always be as close to the reality as possible.

[Swami Digital]

25 - and feeling to bad as most of the 'wrong' answers were partially right or involved microphones which I have no interest in at all.

Quibble though with T/F section question 7 - I would always say that sampling should be done without any extraneous artifacts (eg compression EQ etc) what you do with the sample afterwards is different but the sample should always be as close to the reality as possible.

There are a number of great sample sets that are known specifically for their processing. Like Goldbaby's Tape 808 and Tape Drum Machines collections. But I think in this case, it's more to even the levels. When you are using samples you want the dynamics to come from your programming, not from the sample set.

-D

[rAC]

But in a way that's my point - great processing cannot happen if you have already done processing (badly) when originally making the sample eg the sample should (IMHO) be as close to the real as possible. If it is then processed and turned into something that sounds outstanding that is good but if the original sample is processed when taken then that limits the post processing that can be done (not to say that it wont make a good sound) if the bits aren't there anymore you cannot tweak them. As an example say you sampled something with a extreme notch filter which eliminated a frequency totally - no amount of processing will get that frequency back for you; but if in contrast you sampled it all you can eliminate that frequency (if you want) by post sampling processing.

No argument with what you are saying about using the samples at all.

[on tilt]

25...solid C

not as well as I had hoped, but better than I expected.

a lot left to learn

[GlassPrison68]

I got a 33. I'd rather not say what I got wrong.

[MAK]

28...Im happy with the amount of knowledge I've acquired from this site so far!

[DarkKnight]

33
I could've done better...time to study up some more

[bass2yang]

31/41. Not too bad.
After listening to the Rite of Spring (Stravinsky) again, the answer was obvious...

...

now I can't get it out of my head.

[helzfire]

24/41 C

[knuckles92]

24/41 ...

so that's what it feels like to get a C... though test, but good to see what sections i'll have to reread.

@TWEAK: what i would have loved is to have small tests throughout the whole GUIDE. you know, short tests in between a bunch of sections so one could already see where he stands in the proces of reading the guide. i know that would take some time to do, but it would be really useful and also motivating i belief.

thanks for sharing your mighty wisdom and knowledge.

[OllieMa]

Well that was depressing,

I got 23/41 - C,

Butttt, thats mostly because I don't really know about microphones or mixers.. Because, I don't use them..

Might read some more of the guide xD..

[JoshuaJet]

ack! 27/41! I thought I had that!

tweak! I love the guide man, hopefully more people will benefit from it!
I would love to see a video series based on the guide!

also, ditto what someone said about mini quizzes, you shouldn't be able to move onto a new topic without mastering five questions from the current section IMHO.

[bananaman10991]

31... I mostly missed midi related questions... I don't do too much with midi... but I may have to go back and re-read some stuff.... but overall, not bad... not bad at all considering I only started doing any kind of *semi-decent* recording at the beginning of this year!

[paulies1]

I got a C and I'm proud of it!
If we all knew as much as the question giver, there'd be no point in having a forum...
The keyboard related midi material was way out of my league, will have to look into that more.

[pimsteen]

C+ 28/41

it was my first test in yeaaaars, but it was fun to do!

[MouseJunkie]

I didn't answer the Stravinsky and ORTF(23 and 32) questions because I had no clue. Got the others right though (without guessing).

By the way, shouldn't the answer to 6. be milliseconds and not microseconds? - as the unit used is generally ms and not µs.

[jmhobbs]

Just sqeaked an A. 36/41.

It only took about 18 months of reading The Guide (and re-reading certain chapters, and re-re-reading other chapters, and re-re-re-reading.....) and hard-core lurking here on the forum.

Now all I need is one of the experts here to explain how to time-stretch the day to be 28 hours long so I have time to actually apply some of this book learnin'.....

[Blue Bear Sound]

Now all I need is one of the experts here to explain how to time-stretch the day to be 28 hours long so I have time to actually apply some of this book learnin'.....

There is a VST plug-in for that, but the artifacts will kill ya!

[jmhobbs]

There is a VST plug-in for that, but the artifacts will kill ya!

Awesome! Now I just need to convince a couple million teeny-boppers that those artifacts are actually the latest and greatest in wicked-cool aural excitement and I'm golden.

"Dude, vocoder effects are soooo 2010. Artifacts are the wave of the future, man!"

[edencane]

30.

Now for a few questions of my own...

1. Why is 'doubling' in recording vocals more effective than duplicating tracks?
a. because you get a more inspired performance
b. because of detuning, which broadens the notes
c. because of phase shift
d. because doubling vocals gives you twice the volume whereas duplicating trackings is subject to logarithms
e. both b and c are true

2. What is the best way to mask piecing together 1 take from multiple takes?
a. layer the takes on top of one another
b. do hard cuts on crossover points
c. do micro fading on crossover points
d. play one take in reverse in the background

3. What is a noise floor
a. something you find on the floor of your studio
b. a specially designed studio floor that absorbs sound
c. a level of sound at which noise becomes audible
d. all noise sources taken together
e. the level when hiss becomes discernable with tape recorders

4. SOS is
a. an emergency signal sent from a vessel in distress
b. a prominent UK magazine on audio recording
c. a method of recording used in pre digital times
d. an activity also referred to as ping pong
e. all of the above

Hope you like.

Kr.
EdenCane

[Blue Bear Sound]

1. Why is 'doubling' in recording vocals more effective than duplicating tracks?
a. because you get a more inspired performance
b. because of detuning, which broadens the notes
c. because of phase shift
d. because doubling vocals gives you twice the volume whereas duplicating trackings is subject to logarithms
e. both b and c are true

Only B is true... (semantics maybe, you wouldn't describe the small timing differences inherent in a doubled part as "phase shifts" since they are not the same signal.)

2. What is the best way to mask piecing together 1 take from multiple takes?
a. layer the takes on top of one another
b. do hard cuts on crossover points
c. do micro fading on crossover points
d. play one take in reverse in the background

C is always true, but B can be true as well (hard cuts will work if there are areas in the takes that have no signal - such as between breaths in a vocal comp.)

3. What is a noise floor
a. something you find on the floor of your studio
b. a specially designed studio floor that absorbs sound
c. a level of sound at which noise becomes audible
d. all noise sources taken together
e. the level when hiss becomes discernable with tape recorders

D is the answer...

4. SOS is
a. an emergency signal sent from a vessel in distress
b. a prominent UK magazine on audio recording
c. a method of recording used in pre digital times
d. an activity also referred to as ping pong
e. all of the above

Both A and B are true......

[7hillsit]

29 Correct. I need to scrub up on my MIDI!

[Rick Levine]

4. SOS is
a. an emergency signal sent from a vessel in distress
b. a prominent UK magazine on audio recording
c. a method of recording used in pre digital times
d. an activity also referred to as ping pong
e. all of the above

Both A and B are true......

Only A is true. SoS is the magazine.