Chapter 182: Dove Recording Books Company

Dove Recording Books Company was originally established in the garage of Michael and Deborah's home, but now they also have offices and a dedicated recording studio in New York City.

Driving a rented car, Henry brought Lady He Ben to the company's recording studio. Deborah Rafin and the studio's sound engineer were already waiting.

The two women greeted each other intimately with a cheek kiss, while Henry, the little assistant, served coffee to everyone, especially the young sound engineer. "Keg, low-fat and decaf, right?"

"Oh, thanks, Henry. Without a cup like this in the morning, I'd have no energy all day."

After serving the coffee, Henry pulled out a paper bag, opened it, and asked, "There are sandwiches, hot dogs, and chocolate donuts. Which one do you want?"

"A hot dog..."

As the young sound engineer spoke, Henry took out a hot dog and handed it over. Who knew the other person grabbed the entire paper bag and said, "No hot dog, I want everything else."

Looking at the lone hot dog in his hand, Henry paused for a moment before saying, "Don't you think the few calories you earned from that coffee have not only been spent on these sandwiches and donuts, but you've also incurred more damn calorie debt?"

"Who told you, you damn kid, to only buy the tasty stuff? The donuts from Old Man Hood at the corner are a motherfucking salvation. Anne's sandwiches are the same."

At this, the two ladies nearby became displeased and said, "Hey, gentlemen, there are ladies present here. Watch your language."

The cowardly Kryptonian immediately apologized, "Sorry, boss."

The young sound engineer just tucked his chin in, stuck out his tongue, and made a funny face to get away with it.

While the two men stuffed their mouths with food, the two ladies discussed the recording content for the day.

Ultimately, Lady He Ben selected four children's stories: Sleeping Beauty, Tom Thumb, Beauty and the Beast, and Queen Ledronette of the Pagoda. As a story within a story, they recorded her voice reciting them.

Deborah Rafin acted as the producer, staying inside the recording studio. But in terms of acting skills or experience, Deborah couldn't offer much guidance to this Oscar-winning actress senior.

So the way the two interacted was not like a director to an actor, or a producer to a singer. Instead, Deborah provided her thoughts from the audience's perspective, and then discussed with Lady He Ben whether there were other ways to express certain lines.

Henry and Keg's mouths were not idle either; they were not only eating but also chatting.

With a reel of original tape playing, both men had one side of their headphones on. Listening to the rock music inside, they conversed, "See, the low-frequency range is best suited for bass and drums; sounds from other instruments in this range should be cleaned up and deleted completely."

"According to the characteristics of the instruments, highlight their features in certain aspects and remove the unnecessary ones. Doing this makes the sounds in each frequency range sound clean and clear."

"The use of compressors and EQ must be very careful because their functions are extremely powerful. Basically, we can make the sound fuller, smoother, and more powerful, or mask some of the singer's pronunciation mistakes through adjustments to these two tools."

"But don't over-compress the audio track just because it's too useful. This will make the sound sound intermittent and inconsistent. Because we have to consider the overall integrity and the singer's own characteristics."

"As for those effects pedals, I think they are used in the final stage to refine and establish personal traits. During the recording stage, instead of fiddling with the mixer, consider the studio's configuration."

"Not every sound is suitable for close-miking. Although we reduced the noise within the recording space, such an audio track would be very dry and boring. Using spatial reverb can give instruments a sense of space and add a unique tension."

"Even which instrument is on the left, which is on the right, and which is in the center will create different feelings. This is also why lead singers mostly stay in the center position; besides the lead singer being the protagonist, the spatial sense of the voice cannot be ignored."

While looking at Keg's messy notes and listening to his explanation, Henry couldn't help but say, "Holy cow, don't look at how all these things are written in relevant books. But without actually hearing them, you really don't understand what the words in the books are talking about."

Keg said proudly, "These things, no matter how many books you read, are useless if you haven't heard them. Moreover, you need good ears; otherwise, you can't hear the subtle details and can only rely on feelings, thinking this adjustment is good and that one is bad."

"Then no matter how many books you read, you cannot understand what those masters are talking about in their books, or you end up treating those nonsense charlatans as the ultimate standard. The worst is that readers can't tell whether the author is the real deal or a fake."

"I've seen quite a few so-called experts in the industry who actually just use a few formulas and routines. If the singer's own skills are a bit lacking, their work will be terrible."

Henry's eyes sparkled, wearing an expression of listening to gossip as he asked, "So, which master did you study under? Do you have any industry secrets?"

Keg smiled and said, "What master? I'm just a self-taught guy. I started as a submarine sonar operator; this skill was honed by finding whale sounds when I was too bored underwater. Have you ever heard the sound of a whale? Let me play it for you."

Without waiting for Henry to agree or refuse, Keg started rummaging through his tape box. In a moment, he replaced the playing rock music with a whale sound tape.

Henry put on both sides of the headphones and listened intently to the sound of the Earth's largest creature.

The sound underwater was very special, feeling completely different from sound propagating in the air, especially the echoes, which were layered upon layered. Combined with the high-frequency sounds of the whales, it indeed had a mesmerizing effect.

Pulling up one side of the headphones, Henry asked curiously, "Did you record this on a submarine?"

"How is that possible?" Keg smiled and said, "Sounds recorded on a submarine, whether in a combat situation or not, are classified data. If you just take them out casually, it could cost you your life."

"The whale sounds you are listening to were recorded by a research vessel from the Ocean Research Institute. What you are hearing now is not even the most complete version. Just need to adjust it a bit with the mixer... hey, just a bit!"

Watching Keg manipulate an adjustment knob, moving it up and down, Henry said, "Is there a contact problem again?"

"Yeah, once it goes below -6db, it seems to have no effect."

Removing the panel of the mixer base, Henry held a flashlight and looked at the tangled wires inside.

Keg, also squatting down to check, sighed, "If it weren't for you coming to fix it, seeing this mess, I'd just want to cut all the wires here like Alexander the Great cutting the Gordian Knot. This damn thing is older than me."

(End of Chapter)