gotta admit when i clicked on this video i didn't expect the fiverr doctor to play a major part in it. life is full of wonderful surprises

I have a friend who died on stage (he had to be brought back to life) due to a bad ground loop. DO NOT take the ground loop plug off of your stuff.

Theres a bar near my house, that specializes in Jazz, uh, Ellington Jazz Club, and whoever designed the sound proofing on that places is a god. The front of the place has these big windows, but if you walk by at night, you hear NOTHING. The second the bouncer opens the door your blasted with noise, but s soon as the door closes, nothing.Oh and inside the sound is immaculate. You can have a whole room of people talking, but somehow the band on stage will be playing and you'll hear it perfectly , but its not super loud, jazz people don't roll that way. Its just... perfect. What I can tell is that the whole place seems to be a room within a room. The front doors almost like an air-lock. Two doors a foot apart. The windows have a second window, and the walls seem to be super wide. I think they literally built the whole bar (Two stories!) as a suspended studio type thing. Its wild.

Pulled the ground peg out of a Fender Twin power plug once. Touched a mike while holding my guitar and ended up not being able to let go of either while 120 volts coursed through my body. if we had been in Europe I would be dead. Don't do it kids.

RE: "How do I sample" - the answers in this video were comprehensive and helpful, but they made one major assumption (it was a fine assumption) that people will be creating their sampled music in a for-profit framework. Of course this is the dominant framework for music. But isn't there more to the world of sampling? I guess I'm opening a "Fair Use" can of worms for remix and plunderphonics culture. These sample based art-forms live in a gray area out on the fringes of art. It's a worthy topic, but perhaps a ridiculous distraction from the primary question, but it's my favorite topic.

You just solved like 3 problems for me that have been driving me crazy for the last week.

@15:06 my TL;DR here is put a HPF at 120Hz on literally every channel EXCEPT your sub & kick channels... Ez. Perfectly clean sub every time. As far as mixing it, I'd never mix sub-levels based on listening anyway (I always use a frequency analyzer & references). Note: I only mix electronic music, so the violin example is probably valid, although tbh, if you're not HFP'ing a violin anyway, wtf are you doing? xD

I would like to add that if you build a new studio you should stay away from light dimmers! Better to set up several circuits with different light sources to get that cosy feeling. Light dimmers can creata a hum extravaganza especially with electric guitars!

You mention making your own samples in this, I would love to see a video of you showing how you personally go about that. I love your tube resonance video so much! I'd love to see more!

Speaking of needlessly expensive digital cables, I once found a gold plated optical cable on amazon...

One thing that might get lost in this "sound proofing" discussion is: a) do you want to have the room to be for monitoring or b) do you not want the sound to get out. Some of tte answers overlap, but there's 2 different problems with 2 different solutions. Some of the solutions of making a good mixing room work for also insulatiing the room from the outside world but they are not the same thing.

I like how the “doctor” struggles with words. That. Are. Short. In. Length. Anyway, bless him, he did a nice job. And great video, Benn.

Analogue gear - Its a big subject but one thing none ever talks about is capacitors reaching electron saturation. They then sound their best and this takes a long time. Black Gate capacitors we used in hifi valve amps quote 3,000 hours use before they sound their best and certainly the system, even when run in, will sound better and better over the first few hours. Many valve hifi owners switch their gear on Friday morning for the weekend, switching it off before going to work on Monday. Analogue synths really should be left on to stabilise tuning. Lastly, ANYTHING with a switch mode (computer style) power supply shoudl be left off when not in use. The PSU is switching the mains 50,000 times a second and if that switching chip doesn't die then the dumping capacitors will. Here endeth the sermon.

The doctor was excellent. Also, the ground loop explanation very helpful. Cheers

Been listen since Acidwolf days, you are becoming the Bill Nye of music and I love it! You are my hero Benn.

DUDE!! I listened to "Arrival to an Empty Rooms" since it came out, i mustve been around 15 years old at that point. I have been revisiting "The Flashbulb" on Spotify every so often, not realising it was you lol. Only now i saw your face on Spotify and needless to say, my mind was blown haha

as if i didnt find you to be the most superb person ANYWAY... hiring the actor to play a doctor to ask all this is just..... arghhhh.... amazing

I was expecting a click baity video with shallow information and I got a wealth of knowledge that was actually entertaining too! I'd love to see a similar video about the top music business questions and issues, as you clearly have the right experience as a self released artist with your own label.

I haven't spent a ton of time (or money) there but I like the tracklib model - not splice sample packs, just buy a song with a streamlined clearance process.

"How to soundproof" missed something important: direct air paths are the most problematic. Which means, it has to be airtight. Ventilation is a major issue and it requires baffles and dust filters (in this case, there is one room between the recording space and rest of the building, which could serve as a "reservoir" for air, making the direct route more complicated). Doors are the first thing to attack when doing just light soundproofing. Direct coupling has MUCH less energy that comes from air, so if you keep all vibrating things decoupled from the floor and walls (not directly connecting to them but have something soft between), that will do a lot. But, without room-in-a-room and very good air tightness where it counts, well designed ventilation... it is never going to be sound proofed, just less leakage.

Installing a new grounding rod won’t help if the wall receptacles aren’t grounded. These days, the main usage of ground is tripping the breaker in case of a fault, i.e. when there is an exposed hot wire electrifying the metal components of an appliance. This is why appliances have a green ground screw that is in direct contact with the chassis, so that the current from an exposed hot wire immediately flows into the ground wire, to the panel, and trips the breaker.

I totally feel that my Patreon money is well-spent with that doctor.

Please keep in mind that phantom power can damage (especially older) ribbon mics!

Gotta admit, that whole doctor thing was hilarious.

Question about sampling music. What if you just do it for fun and experiment with your own creativity and practice. However, you are not making money out of it? What about these cases?

You have come a very very long way and i hope nothing but the best for you. Always giving answers to the questions I didn't know i needed.

One other thing with insurance ( if you're touring and flying with your gear/instruments in the hold of the plane ) make sure to find an insurance company that insures your gear/instruments flightside i.e. when it's actually in the hold of a plane. With a lot of the cheaper insurance companies there is a clause that says your gear is not actually insured once you drop it off at security to right up until you pick it back up from the airport luggage belt on the other side. Therefore If it gets stolen, dropped, smashed up, lost by luggage handlers for example it will not be insured and you will get nothing. So double check the contract. As a touring sound engineer for many years I've seen people caught out by this so be aware.

you are honestly among the top 3 music you tubers Benn! i always learn something new and get a laugh out of every bit of content. keep up the amazing work Benn!!!!!!! cheers from colorado!

Re ground loops, when connecting active equipment to a mixer, run them through a passive DI box with a ground lift switch.

Having the doctor ask the questions makes it 10x better😂

15:13 this could be perfect material for some kind of "out of context" compilation

Breh you're admirable asf for ur humor and knowledge thx

An amazing breakdown on the studio. Wow!

To comment about Expensive Digital Cables Being Worth It, I've had USB, Firewire, and Thunderbolt cables be the culprit for malfunctions. Some of them are so coy, that they'd only produce the problem about once in a 30 minute span. Only by switching out every component could I blame it on the cable. They DO go bad sometimes. I've had some experience to know that brand name cables of at least medium build tend to fail less. Trust me, change out your digital cable before you send your interface for repair.

Dude, thorough AF, wasn't expecting an avalanche of actual info, you're making other yt'rs look bad, good job! Loved the bit on my arch enemy & nemesis, copyright. Seriously, I hate it but I fear it's too late, so if I want to hear 'sorry inigo, I din't mean to jog him so hard' I'll do my own impression, out of meter and probably play that backwards for safety, ugh, I hate it I hate it I hate it!

Superb video as always, Benn. Excellent info.

DUDE. WTF. I knew this too. In the first 20 seconds my jaw dropped. Freaking love your music dude. Now I'm finding out you're cool as heck too, super aware of music/music production tips tricks and techniques (that I've been watching for time now too) and it didn't even click! Ahhh.

Your content is great man, some helpful stuff for any producer here

Hey great vid man, I just wanted to say about phantom power that it can fry a ribbon microphone. Granted they're not very common, you're much more likely to find a condenser and dynamic mics but hey, there are some pretty legendary ribbon mics out there, beware ;)

It’s funny how literally 5 seconds before clicking on this video I wrote down an idea for a song that involved sampling Radiohead I’ll still do it tho

Thank you for making such informative and entertaining videos. I will subscribe to your Patreon.

Just pure nuggets of wisdom, thnx Ben!

Again a winner! Thanks Benn.

Before sampling was a thing the rule used to be 10s or 4 bars max whichever of those comes first (In the Netherlands at least)... In the '80 they changed it.. That's where the misconception comes from... Ground loop -> DI box with ground lift. Also helps with getting shocks from your mic while holding a guitar...

First answer seems to forget a major caveat: it is legal to sample someone else’s music without a license, and copyright infringement cannot technically even happen, *if the work is in public domain*. Which even copyrighted music automatically becomes, though many years later. Be careful though, laws can be obscure and vary by country.

it absolutely kills me how many people conflate the concept of "fair use" in regards to transformative video content on youtube with sampling rights in music production. Music copyrights are their own beast. Thanks a lot for opening the video with some quick and dirty discussion in that area. The more people that know this stuff the better.

16:15 I think even if you connect every thing to one power strip you can still get ground loops because the other connections like USB, Audio, etc between your gear will enable/close the loop.

DIMMER SWITCHES! Those switches, on floor/table lamps or wall switches and ceiling fans can cause maddening noise issues. If your outlet is on the same circuit as one of these you will get noise. My downstairs neighbor had a dimmer switch and would drive me crazy because i had no idea it was there. It was intermittent because when the switch is off the noise went away!!! Took me months before I asked him about it! I finally found a different outlet but needed a 25' extension cable lol!

Regarding soundproofing: I guess that those producers who don't live in an own house, but just rent an apartment, are absolutely screwed.

Rock on bro! I’m loving these videos

Great video, much appreciated!

ever since your behind the scenes video, i've really grown to appreciate the lighting on the curtain behind you

re: insurance, you can individually schedule gear on an "inland marine" policy as an adjunct to your renter's/homeowner's insurance. That type of policy is designed for "I have this expensive thing that doesn't fit the regular policy," and musical instruments even have an extra form you can buy that insures it if you use it for gigs.

what an amazing video thanks

love you man, you're the best.

Great video, very educational...

Fiverr doctor is genius. Benn is inventing new KZfaq formats that many will likely copy

This is probably the most helpful and informative video I’ve ever seen

Extra info about phantom power: never use it for dynamic microphones (unless you have an active pre that requires it) and turn it off before unplugging the mic! I did kill my lovely Alesis io2 with the latter.

alternative sound panels for dampening: I recommend getting panels made out of Basotect ... There should be some honest vendors out there who do not mark up and scalp these products to crazy prices... It is melamine-formaldehyde condensation resin foam and in ways designed by the company BASF to have sound-dampening characteristics and it does NOT cost an arm and a leg, despite many vendors telling you otherwise. A panel of this size ~39"x20"x2,8" (1000mmx500mmx30mm) is around 25euro and you should be able to get corner parts as bass traps as well for maybe 40-50... of course it is dampening and not soundproofing.

Ground loops are not necessary an issue with the 120v side of power distribution. Loops can also come from the low voltage side of a power supplys that's built into hardware. Basically two power supplies are not playing nice with one another and power is trying to move from one source to another.... They make ground lift boxes and transformer isolation boxes to prevent this type of interference.

Thanks Ben, I love you

I actually really like the ghetto as hell soundproofing tip lmao! Thanks for the awesome vid as always!

Wow this was so helpful

That section on grounding issues would have saved me so much time 12 years ago. I used to live in an old apartment that wasn't grounded at all. It made all my gear buzz like crazy and some electronics act strangely.

I'm so glad that I found this channel, all the content I've seen til now has been top notch.

Great vidéo, i love this !

Fun, interesting and informative video!

Comments from an Electronics Engineer- Leaving electronics on causes earlier death of electrolytic capacitors in power supplies - since they are converting AC to DC they charge during the AC peak and discharge the other time - that ages them. If it is designed well (which is not necessarily anything to do with price) they could live longer than you or I. In PC power supplies though they skimp like crazy which is why you need to buy a new PC PSU every few years but not with audio gear. Earth loops - ethernet is transformer isolated and will not contribute to earth loops. The shielding on RCA cables does. The loops are made from a continous earth connection between devices via main power earth and signal RCA cable earths. Note you only need to connect two mains powered devices via 1 RCA cable and you have an earth loop. Any wire carrying AC current that passes through this loop forms a transformer and transforms it's voltage into the RCA cables shield and power cable earth which then is effectively added to the signal in the RCA cable. So do that powerboard trick, but also watch the path each cable takes to avoid loops. NOTE this is entirely separate to the no-earth problem which is where you need to fix your houses earth connection, both yield the hum.

thank you for this video Benn I love u

Very great video idea 💡 thank you

How weird is it that the existence of Patreon is what gets really high quality content produced more often on KZfaq though? More seriously, thanks for this video. This is totally the kind of thing I would "smash that bell" for.

HI Benn, I actually made a remix of your song 'I think in a minute or so I'll explode' the one that has been re-uploaded a few times... It was over ten years ago now..... I never thought to ask for a license as I didn't expect anybody to listen to it. I love your music so much. Did you ever hear it? If so did you like it?

Great video. Hey thanks!

thank you!

Another great video

Thank you, Ben.

I do remember a song with a sample of « I got a feeling » that some young talented musician created but removed from his album Such a shame for such a beautiful song

I don't know why, but four pole pickup was as disconcerting to me as the totally legitimate doctor.

Dude, 3 mins in now.. already worth my Patreon fee. You a/the man. 7:15 in JohnCenaCantDeal.gif 8:00 No!!!! ok, what about Isolation Transformers.. that's gotta help when you leave stuff on?

"Slightly change impotence." I think now we really know why the doctor is here.

I was always wondering if that guy was actually for hire hahaha Also thank you for the free audible month trial. As a person who is broke at the moment (lol) I often use the Libby app that ties into my library card for audio books how ever audible has a few things I have been wanting to listen to. Thanks again Also it ain’t much but im in the $1 tier of your Patreon which makes it really easy however I appreciate that your videos are available on oootube

This is genius, thanks man!

weirdly interactive, subbed!

I remember reading many times that the Saturn V rocket was the loudest noise ever produced by man, but the levels were only estimates at 190 - 210 decibels.

16:37 Ethernet is electrically isolating using transformers. So unlike USB and many other computer interfaces, it does not cause ground loop problems

That blanket advice reminds me of putting mc's under a blanket with a torch, their rhymes and a mic 😆👍

I just got an ad with the title "Small Chested Women Deserve Better" from the brasserie brand "Pepper" while playing this video. At least KZfaq's ad algo didn't show that ad on your video "Why Aren't There More Female Producers?"! 😅

Great video. Mostly the sampling info but i eas curious about song covers if that works the same way?

I remember once at guitar center, the guy behind the desk in pro-audio asked if I wanted to purchase a Mogami MIDI cable ... told him my midi was clean enough.

3 videos in, new here, subscribed and thanks, Interesting stuff

Preach brother! Preach!

Nice one!

Excellent!

Hey Benn! I just wondered if there's any reason as to why "Programmable Love Songs" isn't on Spotity? I absolutely love that album, as it is very nostalgic to me. Much love

this video really hit,

Oh shit you hired the meme guy! That's amazing!

Holy moly! I have a new question. Do you need an exam in electric science to make music? 🤯

Brilliant summary of the "piggy bank" questions**. Of course, I had to delete my favorite (10 Euro) "Can't you filter out the vocals anyhow" sometime 10 years ago when AI-driven Stem and Track Isolation finally happened. So sad. Did mostly finance my vacation on its own.... I like you a lot, Sir! ;-) **there's a piggy bank since my first studio in 2001 and next to it a list of stupid questions and how much they cost.

The ground loop problem has driven me absolutely to distraction over the years. The annoying thing is that usually the solution is a simple one. It’s just such a time sucker though!