artificial noise floors for character

[jasyr]

hiza, i read a post here a while back that was talking about taking room ambiance ( from albums like Exile on Main Street, for example,) and using it to warm up ITB recordings. i've been looking for some time for it and cant locate it. if anyone can help direct me to it that would be cool.

also do any of you do this ? is there a post that points to noisy records?

any other place i can learn about this?

thank you much, j

[Kyle S]

listen to mr. self destruct by nine inch nails. check out what the noise does to the overall mix.

[12ax7]

The film guys call it "room tone."

When shooting on location, the mixer for the shoot will often get everyone quiet for a few seconds, and just roll tape on the "quiet" room.

They do this so when the production moves to editing, the "raw room" sound is available "in the clear" for placement in places where the dialog is cut out between lines, etc.

I like to make sure I've got a little "dead roll" of all of the tracks with nothing going on but whatever noise there is from each setup.

It often comes in handy later.

[jasyr]

ah, room tone. that's the word i was looking for...
i'll try searching again
thanks...
any one else?

[jasyr]

bump...!

[subbasshead]

Not sure its relevant but check out some music by Rhythm & Sound - they often feature a very present noise floor that definitely contributes to the feel/vibe of it....

you can hear it on this track despite youtubes crap compression
but seek out the vinyl of any of their tracks - its beautiful...
YouTube - rhythm & sound w/ tikiman - jah rule

sounds to me like analogue processing noise floor, which sometimes pumps in rhythm to the beat.... theres been lots of speculation about how they make their music, as they are not forthcoming on any technical details...

Rhythm & Sound
Rhythm & Sound Discography at Discogs
Basic Channel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[sonnykeyes]

I used to play in a recording act, and when we were tracking our second album with Bob Ezrin, we set the drums up in the loading bay - cinderblock walls giving a huge natural resonance. We were in the middle of a take of the title track, and everything was working, the band sounded exceptionally exciting, and everyone was getting into the take, and then at the end we realized that we had forgotten to switch off the huge industrial heater, and there had been a bed of noise under that take. Bob was furious at the assistant whose job it was to switch it off, but in the end he used a big chunk of that take for the final.

Looking back on it, it makes me think of the end of "I Want You/She's So Heavy" with that synthesized noise that ramps up the intensity all through the end part.

Sonny Keyes
Ricochet Audio
Toronto

[12ax7]

Originally Posted by sonnykeyes

<snip>

Looking back on it, it makes me think of the end of "I Want You/She's So Heavy" with that synthesized noise that ramps up the intensity all through the end part.

Good example!

[Jfriah]

Originally Posted by 12ax7

The film guys call it "room tone."

When shooting on location, the mixer for the shoot will often get everyone quiet for a few seconds, and just roll tape on the "quiet" room.

They do this so when the production moves to editing, the "raw room" sound is available "in the clear" for placement in places where the dialog is cut out between lines, etc.

I like to make sure I've got a little "dead roll" of all of the tracks with nothing going on but whatever noise there is from each setup.

It often comes in handy later.

Just to clarify:
the mixer for the shoot --sometimes-- will --ask-- everyone to be quiet for a good thirty seconds. Sometimes and ask are important words there. Most directors who 'get it' will allow such things...

[Jfriah]

And, yeah, great She's So Heavy example---really enjoying that one ressurected in Beatles: Rock Band.

[12ax7]

Originally Posted by Jfriah

Just to clarify:
the mixer for the shoot --sometimes-- will --ask-- everyone to be quiet for a good thirty seconds. Sometimes and ask are important words there. Most directors who 'get it' will allow such things...

Thank you for that clarification.

(It doesn't always happen, even when the mixer asks.)

That's why I said "the mixer for the shoot will often get everyone quiet for a few seconds"

I guess I should have said that this would be contingent upon the director's approval.

But it DOES seem rather stupid for a director to deny 30 seconds for such a thing (considering the time it would save in post-production).

[Jfriah]

it DOES, yes.
and it WOULD, yes.

But we're just the 'sound people' who need to fix things.
Good luck!

[AdamJ]

I've got some room tones here that might fit the bill

Room Tone Sound Effects, Roomtone Sounds, Room Tone Sound Effect, Roomtone Sound Clips

but you could also just as easily record some noise yourself I suppose ... sounds like a cool idea to dirty up a track

[12ax7]

.

It occurs to me that "noise floor for character" could mean many things:

"Room tone" can be used to make edits (and/or gating of instruments) sound more natural.

...Or character can be added by mixing in noise (a la "She's So Heavy").

"Noise" is like "weeds." --Any plant in a place you don't want it is a "weed."

A lovely piano chord where one wants a rest is "noise."

A crackling guitar cable that sounds really cool right before the coda is music.

[Mundox]

Originally Posted by 12ax7

.

A lovely piano chord where one wants a rest is "noise."

A crackling guitar cable that sounds really cool right before the coda is music.

thumbsup

[12ax7]

.

Found a good example:

Daddy's Gone.mp3

(From Dark Night of the Soul)

[jasyr]

i'm talking about cds by legendary artists where you can grab the noise floor just for the fun of it. like the exile example i used. there has to be some great places like that. i'd love to get uncleaned up motown and staxx ambiance to charm up my ho hum ( ok its all itb so no hum) digital recs.