All Buttons In: An investigation into the use of the 1176 FET compressor in popular music production

The Urei/Universal Audio 1176 is one of the most revered and popular compressors used in music production (Senior 2009). Bill Putnam introduced the design in 1966 and at the time it was the first peak limiter based on all transistor circuit (Universal Audio 2009). Many engineers attribute its famous sound to the FET and fast time constants and despite being through many revisions it is still a studio staple today. This paper aims to investigate why the 1176 is so widely used in production and will attempt to define its particular sonic signature. Due to the nature of popular music production and its under researched status in academia, information will primarily be gathered from textbooks and interviews given by contemporary music producers. From this information the author will attempt to ascertain how producers use the 1176 and undertake a series of subjective listening tests to verify their views

The behavior of federal funds futures prices over the monetary policy cycle

The federal funds futures market enables market participants to both hedge interest rate risk and speculate on interest rate movements. Prices of federal funds futures also reveal market participants' expectations about changes in Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) policy. This information allows monetary policymakers to assess the degree to which asset prices already reflect potential policy moves and these prices' likely reaction to policy changes that deviate from market expectations. ; This article examines the relationship between U.S. monetary policy changes and futures market participants' ability to forecast these changes. Previous research has shown the federal funds futures market to be a relatively good forecaster of changes in the fed funds rate on average. But these studies treated futures market data as a single sample and failed to take into account the significant changes in forecast error behavior over different periods of the monetary policy cycle. ; The authors find that futures market forecast error mean and variance differ substantially over various stages of the monetary policy cycle, with overall performance improving considerably in the latter half of the 1990s before deteriorating sharply through 2000 and 2001. The data also reveal both substantial overshooting and undershooting by futures prices around turning points in the path of the funds rate. Finally, the evidence suggests that increased disclosures of information by the FOMC during the past decade have played only a minor role in improving futures market participants' forecasting performance.Federal funds market (United States) ; Monetary policy

Resale Price Maintenance After Leegin: Why Treating Vertical Price-Fixing As “Inherently Suspect” Is the Only Viable Alternative to the Traditional Rule of Reason

The Article focuses on resale price maintenance (RPM) and price fixing in the U.S. Information is provided on the U.S. Supreme Court case Leegin Creative Leather Products Inc. v. PSKS Inc. which made vertical RPM legal under U.S. commerce law. Topics include the Court\u27s interpretation of the U.S. Sherman Act and the validity of the rule of reason standard regarding price maintenance

Interests And Ideas: Industrialization And The Making Of Early American Trade Policy, 1789 - 1860

Trade policy was a prominent economic and political issue in the United States between 1789 and 1860, culminating in the Civil War. Many historians have characterized this period as pitting mutually exclusive economic systems, an industrializing, free-labor North and a slave-based agricultural South, against one another. The traditional interpretation is that the North eagerly supported tariffs and economic protection that they provided, while the South stood in opposition. The Nullification Crisis of 1832-1833 is frequently cited as evidence that the tariff was a sectional issue and some historians go so far as to describe the tariff as a significant cause of the Civil War. This traditional view of early American trade policy merits reconsideration. The First Industrial Revolution, rather than competing labor systems, provides the appropriate context through which antebellum trade policy ought to be viewed and understood. An examination of congressional roll call votes on important trade policy legislation, coupled with economic census data, provides compelling evidence that the tariff was national in scope, pitting economic nationalists, who supported protective principles, against liberals, who supported free trade. By the time of the Civil War, the tariff issue was clearly not demarcated by geographical region. The debates over trade policy before the Civil War were dynamic, and highly influenced by interests and ideas. As industrialization spread throughout the United States, local economic interests were susceptible to change, which were manifested through the votes of elected legislators. Likewise, ideas played an important role, as Americans debated the respective merits of a strong national policy to serve the community-at-large through national military and economic strength versus a desire for an egalitarian approach involving minimal federal government involvement. The American trade policy debate was sectional in nature for a brief period between 1824 and 1833. Prior to that time, trade policy was shaped by foreign relations. By 1824 the First Industrial Revolution had commenced in the United States, though it was limited to the northeastern part of the nation. Between 1824 and 1833 there were bitter debates over the tariff, caused by the industrialization had been introduced to part, but not all, of the nation. However, by the 1830s other portions of the country, including the South, began experiencing an industrialization takeoff process. An examination of various tariff bills in 1841 and 1842, when subjected to statistical modeling, demonstrates that the relationship between capital investment in manufactures per capita for a political unit (congressional district or state) and the trade policy voting pattern of its senators or representatives was significant. In comparison, geographical region and slave population were not significant factors. By the time of the tariffs of 1841 and 1842, trade policy was again a national issue and it remained so up to the Civil War. Economic interests and ideas, shaped by the Industrial Revolution, were the factors that most profoundly shaped antebellum American trade policy

An Investigation into the Relationship Between the Subjective Descriptor Aggressive and the Universal Audio 1176 FET Compressor

In popular music productions, the lead vocal is often the main focus of the mix and engineers will work hard to impart creative colouration on this source. This paper conducts listening experiments to test if there is a correlation between perceived distortion and the descriptor “aggressive” which is often used to describe the sonic signature of the Universal Audio 1176. The results from this study show compression settings that impart audible distortion are perceived as aggressive by the listener and. Furthermore, there is a strong correlation between the subjective scores for distortion and aggressive. eIt was also shown that there is a strong correlation between compression settings measured rated to have 0.5% THD and above were rated as both the most distorted and most aggressive. high aggressive scores and the audio feature roughness

Promoting Diversity in Higher Education

Many institutions are working on ways in which they can promote diversity. Within a diverse society, there are so many different cultures. Faculty, staff, and administrators have been working hard to implement strategies that will assist in diversifying their institution of higher education. As we continue to advance through the millennium, institutions of higher education are making changes in their programs of study in order to have a more diversified learning environment. This paper discusses diversity in higher education and how the university community can work together to make the institution a more welcoming environment for everyone

Crisis Communications in a Natural Agricultural Disaster

Wildfires in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas in the late 2010s caused seven deaths and catastrophic damage to millions of acres of ranch and farmland. Because of the rural location of these disasters, agricultural communicators were releasing information to media, internal stakeholders, social media, and other agricultural audiences. The purpose of this study was to explore the communications efforts made and subsequent lessons learned from agricultural communicators during the fires. Through a qualitative case study, researchers interviewed 14 agricultural communicators about their experiences in disseminating information about the fires. Most of the findings align with pre-existing literature; however the researchers found that communicators should be prepared to develop a system to communicate about and accept donations, develop a network of organizations that can be supportive in a crisis situation, and let people be the subject of the messaging. The data also indicate that an undergraduate course in crisis communications would be beneficial

See You On TV: A Phenomenology of Careers on Extension Television in Oklahoma

Extension specialists are under increasing pressure to interact with audiences through emerging digital media including video. In an effort to understand how such interactions affect the careers of engaged specialists, this study seeks to explore the career effects on Extension subject-matter specialists that resulted from long-term, regular participation in an Extension television effort. Using Cultivation theory and source credibility as a lens, a qualitative phenomenology was conducted by interviewing individuals who have contributed to one such program on a weekly or bi-weekly program for multiple decades. Participants reported improved career effectiveness via increased credibility in face to face communications as well as enhanced communication when broadcast messages were seen as a continuation of in-person communications. Early career advancement was said to have resulted in spite of broadcast participation rather than as a result of participation, however, administrative attitudes toward broadcast have shifted in favor of such efforts

An Investigation into the Sonic Signature of Three Classic Dynamic Range Compressors

Dynamic range compression (DRC) is a much-used process in music production. Traditionally the process was implemented in order to control the dynamic range of program material to minimize the potential of overloading recording devices. However, over time DRC became a process that was applied more as a creative effect and less as a preventative measure. In a professional recording environment it is not uncommon for engineers to have access to several different types of DRC unit, each with their own purportedly unique sonic signature. This paper investigates the differences between three popular vintage dynamic range compressors by conducting a number of measurements on the devices. The compressors were tested using: THD measurements, tone bursts, and objective analysis of music-based material using spectrum analysis and audio feature extracti

An Investigation into Non-Linear Sonic Signatures with a Focus on Dynamic Range Compression and the 1176 Fet Compressor

Dynamic range compression (DRC) is a common process in music production. Traditionally used to control the dynamic range of signals and reduce the risk of overloading recording devices, over time it has developed into a creative colouration effect rather than a preventative measure. This thesis investigates sonic signatures, distortion, non-linearity and how audio material is coloured during the music production process. It explores how methodologies used to measure distortion and timbre can be used to define the sonic signature of hardware compressors and other pieces of music production equipment. A grounded theory and content analysis study was carried out to explore how producers use DRC in their work, how they describe its sound quality, which compressors they frequently use and which audio sources they process with particular types of compressor. The results from this qualitative study reveal that producers use compressors to manipulate the timbre of program material and select specific compressors with particular settings for colouration effects. Tests were carried out on a number of popular vintage hardware compressors to assess their sonic signature. Firstly, a comparative study was conducted on the Teletronix LA2A, Fairchild 670, Urei 1176 and dbx165A. Secondly a comprehensive in-depth analysis was undertaken of the 1176 to fully catalogue its sonic signature over a range of settings and to compare results from a vintage Urei Blackface 1176 and a modern Universal Audio reissue. Objective analysis was conducted on the compressors using Total Harmonic Distortion (THD), Intermodulation Distortion (IMD) and tone burst measurements. Complex program material was analysed using spectrum analysis, critical listening and audio feature extraction. It was found the compressors all have subtle nuances to their sonic signature as a result of elements in their design colouring the audio with non-linear artefacts. The 1176 was shown to impart significant amounts of distortion when used in its all-buttons mode and with fast attack and release configurations. This style of processing was favoured by producers in the qualitative study