Comments

Chienworks wrote on 8/13/2002, 12:48 PM
The main difference with the sound of a telephone is very limited frequency response. Use Graphic EQ to cut out everything below 320Hz and above 2KHz. Between these two frequencies you can have a "bell-shaped" curve that peaks around 1KHz. (Yes, i work for a company that manufactures microphone and earphone elements for telephones. I see the frequency response charts every day ;)

Telephones are also very noisy. You can add a small amount of white noise to the background, but don't overdo it or it will be annoying rather than effective. Compressing the signal a lot may also help.
RiRo wrote on 8/13/2002, 1:52 PM
The older Carbon Mic phones were also pretty raspy... Maybe a little distortion would help with that. ELO actually used a phone for recording the song Telephone Line, and the effect was accurate. However, the phones today mostly use cleaner mic elements and Cheinworks method will give great results.

absent_carlo wrote on 8/13/2002, 2:01 PM
Thank you both very much!
Ted_H wrote on 8/13/2002, 2:23 PM
There's also a "Cheap TV" preset in the Chorus plug-in that produces a similar effect with less work.

Ted
SJH wrote on 8/30/2002, 12:27 AM
Or you could really have some fun ...

I've built up an interesting library of conversations, instrument solos, narratives, etc., by actually recording into telephones and answering machines. This all started about 10 years ago, when a friend started leaving these amazing slide guitar pieces on my answering machine. The machine itself was very good quality, but after I recorded each piece to my home stereo recorder via a modest microphone, the compression and transfer created a very interesting final product.

Now that I'm a musician and home-recording type, I still use similar methods in my home studio. Here are two examples:

1 Record a live source into your telephone voice-mail. Play back via your speakerphone, then use a good mic and send it into your computer.

2 Record a live source into your tape-based answering machine (if you still have one), then proceed as above.

You can vary your results by using different types of telephones, mics, etc. My favourite telephone to use is a classic, 60s rotary from Northern Electric (one of the Canadian Bell affiliates). Of course, this same type of phone was produced by companies all over North America, if not overseas as well.

There are many other ways to achieve good-sounding, low-tech recordings. Use your imagination and you may discover some of the others that I'm not telling you about :)

Cheers.

sjh
Geoff_Wood wrote on 8/30/2002, 1:43 AM
BPF with steep cutoffs below 400Hz and above 4KHz. Convert to 8 bits.

geoff (ex telephone tech)
duane wrote on 10/26/2003, 8:45 PM
the effect is in waves plug in q 10 preset
Rednroll wrote on 10/27/2003, 7:39 AM
"Or you could really have some fun ..."

I'm saying this with a smile, so don't take it too offensively.....Dude!!! Get a Life!!! If that what you do for fun? :-)
vanblah wrote on 10/30/2003, 9:22 AM
There's the resonant filter for that thin telephone sound and acoustic mirror for old microphone models. I've gotten some really whacky sound effects using those two.