Spectral processing involves the manipulation of a sound by analysing its contents at a particular point in time (or "window"), and then chopping it up into many small frequency bands, or "bins". These bins can then be re-arranged in various ways to produce all sorts of strange inharmonicities and filtering effects. In addition, by sampling a sound at large intervals, and then reconstructing it by interpolating between each window, a number of characteristic blurring or drone type effects are possible.
One of my favourite plugins in the suite is called the "Spectral Tracing" plugin. This allows you to filter a sound based on the loudness of each frequency component in the spectrum.
Here I have processed a drum loop, but retained only the loudest frequency components of the sound. The result is a really atmospheric blunted, throbbing texture.
Blunted by pedalsteeldrummer
Here I have taken some factory noise and retained only the middle amplitude frequency components. Result: an eerie underwater effect.
Underwater by pedalsteeldrummer
With these plugins, a good deal of experimentation with different kinds of source material is required, and for Spectral Tracing I find that very dynamic sounds work best.
I also find that it is important to use a large number of frequency bins, otherwise a lot of brittle metallic artefacts are produced in the effected sound. In small amounts though, this metallic quality can be quite atmospheric, so it is worth experimenting with the "FFT size" parameter.
You can find the SoundMagic Spectral plugins (Mac OS X only) here.
Related links
- SoundMagic Spectral for Mac OS X http://www.michaelnorris.info/soundmagicspectral/index.html
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