Fun Stuff
You’ve probably had a chance to mess around with the Sonic Blaster software by the time you read this; we have, too. Here are a few things we’ve tried at Applied...
Back Talk
Record a word or phrase forward, listen to it backwards, record yourself saying it backwards and then flip it. How close can you get it to sound like an intelligible word or phrase? One phrase that sounds clear when reversed is “eem pleh” (‘help me).
*Notes Remember that you’re working with the way words sound (phonetics), not the way they look; spelling a word backwards and reading it will usually not sound intelligible when flipped around.
Traveling Sound
If you’ve played the Left . Cen . Right file through stereo speakers, you’ve noticed that the sound moves from the left speaker to the middle and then to the right speaker (hence the name Left . Cen . Right). Look at Channel I and 2 of the file. Notice that Channel I has the first drum beat, Channel 2 has the third drum beat, and both channels have the second drum beat.
You can make even mono files “travel” in this manner by copying them into a stereo window, setting the Effects Channel to Display Channel, then pasting in silence over a section of the sound wave at the beginning of Channel One and at the end of Channel 2. Using this technique you could record a joke in mono, then have the left speaker ask the question ( e x : Why are 5 and 6 afraid of 7?) and have the right speaker answer (Because 7, 8,9 and 10).
Answering Machines
Are people complaining about how boring your answering machine messages are? Well, with a Sonic Blaster, some stutter, and a little echo, even the most commonplace “I’m sorry. We can’t come to the phone right now comes alive!
Some answering machines allow external inputs for leaving messages. If yours does, it may be possible to connect the SB directly to your machine. If not, place the machine near the SB speakers, begin recording with your answering machine and play the file you’ve created from Sonic Blaster.
App. F - Try This! 57