This week's selection is Beck's Sea Change, an album reserved for sincere moments of tenderness and longing. A collaboration with producer Nigel Godrich, Beck recorded the album at Ocean Way Studios following an emotional breakup with longtime girlfriend. As in most pro sessions, the setting and tone of a studio location can make a palpable difference in the sound (you might recall Alan Parsons at Ocean Way Studios during some of the scenes in ASSR).

Whether you think the added reverb effects transport you into a heartfelt dream within a solacing landscape or perhaps illustrates the introspective confines of Beck's half-barren mind and body, the production value of Sea Change depends on the subtle qualities of sound wave reflections. According to this post on Gearslutz, much of the ambience on the recordings were heard through Ocean Way Studio's reverb chambers, reverb plates, and digital reverb from a machine that Allen Sides gave Nigel Godrich as a gift.

Want to learn more about the properties of acoustic reverb? Here is an excerpt from the Reverb section of ASSR, featuring an overview of natural reverb in acoustic instruments and spaces. The physical qualities of a room will almost undoubtedly affect the nature of a recording, so it is important to be mindful of both the playing and the space when using microphones.

- Ben Cruz

Turn on and tune in now: ASSR Album Of The Week on Spotify