Stephen W. Desper is an American

audio engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

who is best known for his work with

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

during the early 1970s and for inventing the Spatializer. The Spatializer is an

effects unit An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing. Common effects include distortion/overdrive, often used with electric guitar in el ...

which employs

psychoacoustic Psychoacoustics is the branch of psychophysics involving the scientific study of sound perception and audiology—how humans perceive various sounds. More specifically, it is the branch of science studying the psychological responses associated wit ...

techniques that emulate three-dimensional ambience via traditional

stereophonic Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

units, and can be heard in the

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated ...

album ''

Longing in Their Hearts ''Longing in Their Hearts'' is the twelfth album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1994. The album contained the mainstream pop hit, "Love Sneakin' Up On You," which reached #19 on the Billboard singles chart, and "You", which remains to date her onl ...

'' (1994). Desper was also the house engineer for the

Monterey Pop Festival The Monterey International Pop Festival was a three-day music festival held June 16 to 18, 1967, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. The festival is remembered for the first major American appearances by the Jimi Hendrix ...

in June 1967. Through the Beach Boys subsidiary American Productions, the band loaned their touring sound system to the festival. He accompanied the equipment from the Beach Boys storage warehouse up the coast with band road manager Jon Parks and ended up mixing the house system for the entire three-day festival.

Engineering credits

The Beach Boys * ''

Smiley Smile ''Smiley Smile'' is the 12th studio album by American Rock music, rock band the Beach Boys, released on September 18, 1967. It reached number 9 on UK record charts, but sold poorly in the US, peaking at number 41—the band's lowest chart place ...

'' (1967) * '' Wild Honey'' (1967) * ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...

'' (1968) * ''

20/20 Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...

'' (1969) * '' Live in London'' (1970) * ''

Sunflower The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a large annual forb of the genus ''Helianthus'' grown as a crop for its edible oily seeds. Apart from cooking oil production, it is also used as livestock forage (as a meal or a silage plant), as ...

'' (1970) * '' Surf's Up'' (1971) * ''

15 Big Ones ''15 Big Ones'' is the 20th studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released July 5, 1976 on Brother/Reprise. It includes a mix of original songs and renditions of rock 'n' roll and R&B standards. The LP was the band's first albu ...

'' (1976) * ''

Keepin' the Summer Alive ''Keepin' the Summer Alive'' is the 24th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released March 24, 1980 on Brother, Caribou and CBS Records. Produced by Bruce Johnston, the album peaked at number 75 in the US, during a chart stay of ...

'' (1980)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Desper, Stephen Date of birth missing (living people) Living people American audio engineers 20th-century American inventors Brian Wilson Year of birth missing (living people)