Har-Bal Users Forum BBS

Hi ,

In the good old days of VU meters ... a bass soloing up at ~ -6dB would usually be about right .... Full mix would be ~ 0dB ....

Cheerzz....

Merlin , Depends which end of the spectrum you're dealing with ... but they're shelf filters ... low-cut at the bass end ( roll-on ) ... high-cut at the treble ( roll-off ) ... In Har-Bal you can choose your frequency of rollon/off , and degree of slope with the two shelving functions .... I can't c...

Hi , I'd agree with both Earle , and Paavo .. From my perspective , this technique sits somewhere between a classical stereo mastering , and HBing each individual track ( differing to that , by HBing individual GROUPS ) Altering the tonal nature of each group ... or worse, altering their relative le...

Hi Paavo , Here's a unusual suggestion for you ... The pumping is coming from too short a release ... so ... how about connecting release time to limiter gain ... i.e. the more the limiter is working , the longer the release .... It would save a separate 'dial' for release control ... Cheez ....

Hi all , Though not applicable in your situation ( analogue desk ) ... there is another approach to this business of separation ... which uses HB to surgically correct each instrument ... more than 'top'n'tailing' on the desk ... To explain .... Each instrument will have various peaks/valley in it's...

Lucky ,

Pink noise , as suggested by Paavo , is more a calibration tool ... used because it disperses energy equally over the spectrum ( per octave ) ..
More 'real-life' would be the actual mix , with it's unique spectrum , that occupies you at the time ....

My thoughts .. anyhows ...

Hi Lucky , Yes .. it's relatively loud ... but is the volume at which your ears give the truest representation of what's coming from your speakers ... It is recommended that 8 hours straight at that volume may lead to ear damage ... in terms of safety ... but do take breaks ... Measure with 'A-weigh...

Lucky , Is an much as Har-Bal can , in limited fashion , adjust your electronic gain ... it can have some effect . However , the sound pressure in your room is largely determined by amp power/settings etc ... Get a sound meter , position at your ear level when monitoring .. and set your amps accordi...

Lucky , Har-Bal adjusts the mix through eq changes ..... it's a very precise , powerful , and fancy eq system ... at heart ... It is not the whole story on 'commercial level' sound ... go read Earle's mastering tutorial for other steps , often used in the mastering chain ... You work as hard as ever...

Hi Lucky , Har-Bal works on files ... on HD or CD ( but to work on a commercial CD you'd need to rip the .WAVs from it ). From my reading , you can transfer out mixes ( as .WAVs ) via USB to a PC from your Tascam .. which is probably cleaner than burning to CD , and copying in ... You want .WAVs on ...

Hi ,

If you would prefer RMS measurements , as opposed to VU , there's a free plug called RMS Buddy , which works well ( just place in the chain , play once , and read off ) .
Do insert it POST fade ...

Cheerz ..

Hi Lucky , In that Har-Bal is a stand-alone programme , you need nothing else for your mastering eq . Typically , many people eq before compression/limiting , so they'd import their final mix into Har-Bal , eq , then inport that file into their normal mastering chain ... Regards tutorials , the foru...

Zumbido , There seems to be a misunderstanding here .... I was referring to the trace of a single ( mythical ) instrument as displayed in Har-Bal .... not to a simultameously sounded series of notes ... although I agree , an harmonic series ( dependent on the degree of expression of each overtone ) ...

Dude !!!! The bit I didn't say was your fundamental(s) will be ( a) peak(s) , in the lower frequencies . There's likely to be more than one . If of a harmonic series , you'll see peaks near where the overtones are predicted by the Harmonic Cursor ... Have a play with it and all should become clear ....

Hi , Paavo is on it , concerns individual notes , but the plot thickens when considering cuts from an instrument . Due to it's woods/construction/tuning it will have frequencies that resonate , and others that cancel ( worse if air cavities are involved ) . As a further complication , the key played...