the SoundFusion recording system
for home and pro studios
The
Quick Sound Field is a powerful upgrade for all acoustic recording
environments. It was initially developed by ASC in 1987 as a reference
sampling booth for Syclavier, and endorsed in 1988 by Pete (The
Who) Townshend after he installed a QSF sampling room in Eel Pie
Studios.
The QSF was released as a free standing gobo-like
setup in 1989 and was discovered by premier recording engineer Bruce
Swedien in 1990. He has used the QSF setup for all his recording
work since and he provides carte blanc “you gotta hear it
to believe it” endorsement for the QSF sound in recording
to this day.
The QSF is the acoustic technique which adds abundant,
clean, low level early reflections to the direct signal at the mic.
This creates reverberant free, very life-like and robust, natural
sounding tracks. It is the same “sound fusion” recording
technique recommended by F. Alton Everest in his Critical Listening
workbook in 1982, who later discovered the QSF in 1991 and endorsed
it in his 3rd edition of The Master Handbook of Acoustics in 1993.
The
Quick Sound Field is created by an arrangement of Studio Traps,
whose number varies between 8 for vocals and up to 20 for large
trap sets. Recording engineer Bruce Swedien uses 14 StudioTraps
in his QSF, and he “never leaves home without them”.
The StudioTrap is a two sided acoustic cylinder.
The front half is live, treble diffusive and the back half is dead,
treble absorptive. The silver dot marks the center of the live,
the treble diffusive side. The StudioTrap is a free standing, adjustable
height, portable studio acoustic, useful in any room to form gobos
or to soften walls and corners.
But set them up in the middle of a room, any room,
in that classic horseshoe pattern, and you will have created a whole
new acoustic space, a nearfield mic space. The sound inside the
QSF can easily be changed between the new-school Live Space and
the old-school Dead Space (LSDS) by rotating the diffusive side
of your StudioTraps either in or out.
Ask your talent to step into the opening at the
base of the QSF setup and drop your mic into the middle. The mic
becomes decoupled from the room. That means that you can finally
free your tracks from that close mic, proximity sound effect. Dig
out your good figure 8 or omni, don’t be afraid to back it
off the talent, up and away into that dense set of early reflections
that live, alive and well, inside the QSF.
And then, ask your talent to project, to play into
and fill up the QSF space in front of them. And also, to feel free
to move around, because the sound inside that space doesn’t
change at the mic, it just stays there, rock solid. Best of all
is that what the talent hears is what it sounds like on playback.
And, yes it pans, mixes and runs through the effects rack just like
ay other dry signal, except better. Remember: “you gotta hear
it to believe it.” So, call us now for an audition.
QSF Applications
The multiple early reflection pattern from the Quick Sound Field
produces a saturation of early reflections, all inside the Haas
effect window, which effectively produces acoustical compression.
The StudioTraps accommodate almost any microphone placement while
the reflectors mask any variation or movement of the script stand
or talent. The alternating pattern of absorption, reflection and
venting eliminates flutter. Mic boom connector kits for the top
of the StudioTraps are especially useful when recording drums. The
Quick Sound Field will give you a solid recording every time.
Why
do You Need a Quick Sound Field?
The QSF is a nearfield acoustic environment that improves the quality
of the signal at the mic. It uses StudioTraps to surround and separate
both mic and talent from the room. The QSF creates a controlled
and very stable acoustic workstation and completes the missing link,
the acoustic part of the mic environment in todays digital studio.
Sonic structure inside the QSF is so consistent, you can break the
kit down, put it away, days later you can casually set it back up
anywhere and get the same sound you had before.
The article contains all our secrets, everything
you need to know about how QSF works as well as a comprehensive
history behind its development.
New Travel Bag Now
Available
After
all these years, ASC has finally come up with a nifty nylon carrying
bag for our famous StudioTrap. For folks with the Quick Sound Field
setup or anyone with StudioTraps, this bag makes portability a snap.
It's also a great way to store your Traps and keep dust and dirt
out.
It's a slip cover with a convenient
carry handle, placed to perfectly balance the StudioTrap when lifted
into a horizontal position. We used durable 240 oz. black coated
cordura nylon fabric and super tough nylon webbing for the handles.
Plus it comes with a drawstring at the base to keep the cover from
slipping off during transport.
If you do a lot of travel
and don't want to leave your StudioTraps at home, consider picking
up some travel bags, bargain priced at $39 per bag. Made in the
USA.
The
Quick Sound Field is created by an arrangement of Studio Traps,
whose number varies between 8 for vocals and up to 20 for large
trap sets. Recording engineer Bruce Swedien uses 14 StudioTraps
in his QSF, and he “never leaves home without them”.
Ask your talent to step into the opening at the
base of the QSF setup and drop your mic into the middle. The mic
becomes decoupled from the room. That means that you can finally
free your tracks from that close mic, proximity sound effect. Dig
out your good figure 8 or omni, don’t be afraid to back it
off the talent, up and away into that dense set of early reflections
that live, alive and well, inside the QSF. 
Why
do You Need a Quick Sound Field?
