Headphone Effect?

[Derek S]

I'm working on a new track and for fun I'm going to try my hand at a cheesy "concept" type video (instead of the same old thing of just a dude sitting in his studio playing guitars or lame static imagery, etc).

So anyway, I have an idea of what I want to do in the clip and it opens with me sitting on a bench listening to music with earbuds in (taking a break on a bike ride)....so I'd like to know how to make that tiny sound, similar to how a you might hear the other person coming across on a phone while standing next to someone, etc. I'm guessing it's some sort of EQ effect + really low volume?

 

[Eric'45]

You can find all sorts of trashy, free Vst Effects on some sites... some are real bad, but there are some hidden gems among these freebies.
You might try out this one here: Phone Speaker
Of course, that effect should be no more than a specific EQ, and maybe you could tweak a Graphic EQ to sound like it- I imagine a Bandpass filter that lets through a very narrow frequency band could work.

 

[SonVolt]

Why simulate it? Mike up your Earbuds.

 

[Derek S]

Thanks gents - I actually found something right inside the axe fx lol, not 100% quite what I'm thinking but it's pretty cool and unless I find something better, it'll do the job (it's a preset that simulates a lo-fi, warped record album, scratches, tiny sounds and all!

 

[DBi5]

I'm guessing it's some sort of EQ effect + really low volume?

High Pass Filter at around 400Hz.

Low Pass Filter at around 4000kHz.

Adjust to taste.

Add distortion plugin, maybe a white noise generator too.

Advanced - Route audio source track to white noise generator track (side chain) and add compression plugin (ducking).

 

[Derek S]

High Pass Filter at around 400Hz.

Low Pass Filter at around 4000kHz.

Adjust to taste.

Add distortion plugin, maybe a white noise generator too.

Advanced - Route audio source track to white noise generator track (side chain) and add compression plugin (ducking).

Thanks for this, going to try it ASAP!

 

[DBi5]

Thanks for this, going to try it ASAP!

You might need to add some eq bands and boost various mid-range frequencies.

Post a screenshot of your eq when you've got the sound you're looking for.

🙂

 

[Derek S]

Post a screenshot of your eq when you've got the sound you're looking for.

🙂

Your tip was what I was looking for, thanks again. I think it gets the desired effect, at least close enough for what I'm trying to do.

Here's a WIP clip. The opening transition is fairly fast, today's music listener has a short attention span, I want to get to the main track quickly lol, so again, the headphone thingy is short, just a few seconds long as I plan on opening the video already sitting on a bench, I'll pop the earbuds out, kick my shades back to grab some sunshine, close my eyes and it's off to nap land and the acutal track (I also found a pretty trippy dreamy sound in the AxeFx that helps the transition). The rest of the video will be cliche as hell, guitars, zippy bike riding clips, etc.

 

[SonVolt]

That tone when the song kicks in is great. What guitar & amp/cab model(s) are you using?

 

[Derek S]

^^^^ Thanks!

It's a Marshall patch I created in the Axe III (jcm 800 #34 as the base and then some eq tweaks and paired it up with an IR I thought sounded nice with it, the stock choice was bleh). Recorded direct into Cubase 11. The lead is a Splawn model - I think those two tones work pretty well together here.

 

[SonVolt]

Was the rhythm a Charvel? Please say yes... (I just ordered one)

 

[Derek S]

Was the rhythm a Charvel? Please say yes... (I just ordered one)

Haha! Great ears! Yes, an alder Charvel DK24 for all the rhythm tracks.

Congrats on the Charvel! What did you order?

 

[SonVolt]

A USA Select DK24 in Satin White. My local Fender dealer was able to get the price down quite a bit... it's going to be a long wait though. They said the custom shop is at least a 6 month lead time.

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