Study Hall

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Name That Tune: A Cornucopia Of System Test Track Selections

Whether it’s tonal balance as a whole or acute details in specific frequency ranges, experienced engineers are always listening for something.

Matt Lawrence: I’ve used the same songs for years, including “Harder” by The Simpkin Project. This is a band that grew up with the Dirtyheads. They record their songs in a home studio in the basement on tape. The song has multiple instruments to hit all frequencies and a bass sweep to see how the low end of the PA is working. The warmth of the track is great due to recording on tape.

Another is “Black Skinhead” by Kanye West, a track that feels like it’s breathing throughout the song. This will find anything loose or not sealed correctly on the PA. It also has a low-end pulse that will test the LF extension. And “Hold On” by Wilson Phillips provides a mid- to high-range check with vocals, listening for anything brittle or piercing.

Samantha Potter: “Saving All My Love for You” by Whitney Houston, a classic 1980s song where the vocals sit perfectly between a bright drum set. There’s also quite a bit of saxophone, which gives me the opportunity to listen to any possible squawking. “Partition” by Beyonce provides a true workout for the subs and the classic pop and R&B vocal mix.

When I want to listen for phase issues between the subs and the tops, or even test the reactions of the subs I’m using in an unfamiliar place, this song gives a huge and deep bass drop throughout that will shake your chandeliers. It was produced to provide as close to a full-frequency response in the low end as possible, and this also makes it easy to hear anything that might be blown or weird issues that can be caused in strange rooms. If it’s an outdoor gig, it tells me just how hard I can push the system. I bring my low end in first when I mix, so I need to see where my ceiling is at.

“Someone Like You” by Adele is perfect for the acoustic sets we all occasionally do, offering a powerhouse vocal and a prominent piano. When I want to listen for weird tweeter nonsense, or even strange reverberation in the room, this clean-cut song reveals them without much effort. Simple, sweet, and any issues can be easily discovered.

The songs I choose for tuning are greatly dependent on the use of the system. I want to hear something in a similar wheelhouse of what the system will be used for. What does it matter if I can get Whitney’s silky vocals through the tops if a punk band is playing through it?

Ken “Pooch” Van Druten: I actually don’t use commercial recordings any more. I only use virtual playback from the night before. After all, it’s what is ultimately going to be what’s coming out of the speakers during the show.

Craig Leerman: My first song is usually “Cello Suite Number 1 in G Major” by Yo Yo Ma, which is solo cello. I play it to ensure the PA is working properly. Because I do a lot of corporate speech events, it’s a good choice for testing 2-way loudspeakers without subs. Another good track with 2-way boxes is “Everybody Here Wants You” by Jeff Buckley.

When subwoofers are present I play “Thanks To You” by Boz Scaggs because it has a ton of low-end material that will show any weaknesses in a sub setup. By the way, the Jeff Buckley and Boz Scaggs tunes are mainstay test tracks at our LSI Loudspeaker Demos.

“Everybody Here” is a great track because it’s well recorded and has a lot of sparse instrumentation behind a vocal in the beginning that can get buried on a poorly tuned PA system. On a good system you should be able to make out all of the little things going on in the background.

Jonah Altrove: My go-to is “117” from the Halo 4 soundtrack. The piece is nice and uncompressed, and revealing of problems in the 1 kHz region due to the orchestral sound. I use “Neon” by John Mayer to check for excessive vocal sibilance.

If I want to see what the subs can do, I love “Talking Body” by Tove Lo, which tells me right away how much useful low-frequency extension I’m working with. I also like to use “The Unwinding Cable Car” by Anberlin because there’s effectively no bass until a few minutes into the song, which helps me hear what the mains are doing before adding the subs in.

I just recently heard “Sit Next To Me” by Foster The People, and I’m considering adding that to the playlist because it’s a really nicely balanced mix. Finally, I get groovy with “Break Free” by my friend and brilliant singer-songwriter Mike Green. It’s a nice punchy mix that jumps out of the speakers at you.

 

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