Profiling the Acoustic Texture of Materials to Create Audio-Emulating Software: Preliminary Analysis

Acoustical effects can be created in the recording studio either authentically or by digitally emulating them over recorded sound. This paper provides preliminary analysis of sound data in the first step to creating a piece of software that would digitally emulate the presence of a reflecting surface in an environment. This project profiles drywall, cedar paneling, solid maple, painted brick, and carpeting. Various sound samples—in particular an acoustic guitar, a snare drum hit, and a kick drum hit—were played through a loudspeaker directed toward a surface of the material in question, and a microphone directed at the surface was used to digitally capture the reflected sound. The sound files were analyzed in several steps, including actually listening back as well as running spectral analysis to determine the degree of effect of the material on frequency. This was compared with what should be the expected results, based on known absorption coefficients, and in all cases the data was consistent and differences in frequency response were observable and measurable. 1