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DJMala · 10-19-2004, 11:21 PM

I've always been very skeptical of, but fascinated by, EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena, which is the 10 cent word for ghost voices on tape). I went to school for audio engineering, and I still work (at least perhiperally) in the recording business. I've heard plenty of recordings that creeped the hell out of me, but I'm still not entirely convinced they are what they seem to be.

First, almost all EVP recordings I've heard are very noisy and poor quality. I've rolled plenty of hours of tape in controlled conditions using high-quality mics, including recordings made with a portable rig in old churches and performance halls. I've never heard anything that wasn't audible in the room at the time of the recording.

Second, I can't see what the mechanism for these recordings would be. Sound is the vibration of air molecules. A microphone takes the mechanical energy of vibrating air and converts it to electricity. The electrical current is then either used to power an electro-magnet and the signal is stored in magnetic media (analog recording) or it is converted to 1s and 0s and stored (digital recording).

EVPs are not audible in the room at the time of recording, so that rules out any vibration of the air.

Perhaps the magnetic media is being influenced directly? This would seem to imply that an EVP could be captured simply by bringing a tape into a haunted place, with no recorder. I've seen no evidence that this is possible. The strongest argument against this theory is the fact that people claim to have recorded EVPs on digital recorders. Unless ghosts can speak binary, this is simply not possible.

Perhaps the phenomena is electrical, being picked up by the microphone wires or the recorder itself. This is the most likely possibility. The major problem here is that cables and recorders are designed to reject exactly this kind of interference. If they weren't, you'd constantly pick up stray radio signals of all kinds.

That pretty much covers the entire signal chain. I really can't see how else these sounds could not be present in the room at the time of recording and yet somehow be printed to tape.

I've always wanted to investigate this sort of thing using proper equipment, but I've never had the opportunity or (I'll admit it) the nerve.

10-19-2004, 11:21 PM	#9 (permalink)
DJMala Crazy Location: MA	I've always been very skeptical of, but fascinated by, EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena, which is the 10 cent word for ghost voices on tape). I went to school for audio engineering, and I still work (at least perhiperally) in the recording business. I've heard plenty of recordings that creeped the hell out of me, but I'm still not entirely convinced they are what they seem to be. First, almost all EVP recordings I've heard are very noisy and poor quality. I've rolled plenty of hours of tape in controlled conditions using high-quality mics, including recordings made with a portable rig in old churches and performance halls. I've never heard anything that wasn't audible in the room at the time of the recording. Second, I can't see what the mechanism for these recordings would be. Sound is the vibration of air molecules. A microphone takes the mechanical energy of vibrating air and converts it to electricity. The electrical current is then either used to power an electro-magnet and the signal is stored in magnetic media (analog recording) or it is converted to 1s and 0s and stored (digital recording). EVPs are not audible in the room at the time of recording, so that rules out any vibration of the air. Perhaps the magnetic media is being influenced directly? This would seem to imply that an EVP could be captured simply by bringing a tape into a haunted place, with no recorder. I've seen no evidence that this is possible. The strongest argument against this theory is the fact that people claim to have recorded EVPs on digital recorders. Unless ghosts can speak binary, this is simply not possible. Perhaps the phenomena is electrical, being picked up by the microphone wires or the recorder itself. This is the most likely possibility. The major problem here is that cables and recorders are designed to reject exactly this kind of interference. If they weren't, you'd constantly pick up stray radio signals of all kinds. That pretty much covers the entire signal chain. I really can't see how else these sounds could not be present in the room at the time of recording and yet somehow be printed to tape. I've always wanted to investigate this sort of thing using proper equipment, but I've never had the opportunity or (I'll admit it) the nerve.