Har-Bal spectrum as a frequncy selector

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MisterNegative
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Har-Bal spectrum as a frequncy selector

Post by MisterNegative »

Hi folks,
I have been using the mastering process outlined in the tutorial and the results have been very good, but I'm trying to get beyond simply following a procedure and understand the reasoning behind it. I do, of course, listen to the effect that changing the attack and release times (usually to the extreme) have on the sound, not because I want the song to sound that way, but because I want to learn to recognize the sonic results that come from the changing of these parameters. I'm getting it, although slowly, but this ability takes time, I guess. My question for this post, however, is about crossover points on a multi-band limiter. What information can the Har-Bal spectrum tell me about choosing them? After smoothing out the peaks and valleys in my raw mixes, I will still notice a gentle rising and falling in the spectrum which I don't try to flatten, since it usually sounds worse when I do. I've attempted to place my crossover frequencies at the bottom of these valleys, but the results, at least to my inexperienced ears, don't seem to be clearly better or worse, just different. Is there any conventional wisdom on this, or is there no real connection? I would appreciate input from the more experienced engineers out there on this or any other mastering process that can tell a novice without a practiced ear what to look or listen for, or what to avoid. Hopefully, the knowledge of others will allow me to obtain good results until the time my own skills can take over.
Thanks,
Mark
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Post by HarBal »

Hello Mark,

There is an explanation on how to determine the cutoff points of multiband limiting in this forum thead:

http://www.har-bal.com/ipw-web/bulletin ... .php?t=987

regards,


Paavo.
MisterNegative
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Joined: Sun Oct 30, 2005 1:55 pm
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Post by MisterNegative »

Paavo,
If I understand the information on these posts correctly, multi-band compression is a kind of repair tool for imperfect mixes that can't be re-mixed, and the cutoff point selection is based on what you are attempting to repair. Otherwise, wide-band compression would likely be used. Although I can remix if I want to (and I have, many times), the flaw in my mixes is not any individual instrument being too present, but that the mixes seem very robust in the lower midrange and lacking in the high end. The multi-band compressor seems to bring out clarity and suppress the boominess without sounding harsh, compared to using the equalizer to bring up the high end, which sounds kind of brittle and metallic. In your opinion, is this proper use of the multi-band, or should I be fixing this at the mix level?
Thanks,
Mark
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Post by HarBal »

That sounds fine to me, although I'd suggest you could probably get equivalent if not better results to using MB compression by applying full band compression to selective instruments in your mix prior to mix-down, so if you have the luxury of remixing then you should do some experimentation with compression of various channels rather that using MB compression. That is my point of view anyway. I'm sure plenty would disagree though.

Cheers,


Paavo.
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Post by HarBal »

One other thing. It may be that your instruments sound woody for a number of factors that aren't readily fixable with EQ., such as microphone placement, room acoustics and the amount of ambiance / reverb you add during mixing. You might find that you could fix your lack of brightness at mix time by adding an appropriate amount of bright ambiance.

The application of compression exaggerates ambiance as a side effect of the process so perhaps that might explain the fundamental issue.

Regards,


Paavo.
MisterNegative
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Post by MisterNegative »

Paavo,
I think you may have defined the real problem in my mixes, that being poor room acoustics and bad mic placement. Well, not so much bad mic placement as bad (or improper) mics. Those things are true. It makes sense that this would have resulted in dull sounding tracks that, as you say, are not easily fixable with EQ. I'm going to take your suggestion and apply compression to the individual instruments in an attempt to brighten them up. I believe I can do this by setting the compressor to "let the attack through" before clamping down on the body of the note (I don't know quite how to describe it). The bright ambiance idea sounds interesting, too. Hopefully, I won't need it. Thank you very much for the advice and we'll see how it turns out.
Mark
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Post by HarBal »

If you need good advice on recording techniques I'd recommend the book "Mixing with your Mind" by Michael Stavrou. It is a wonderful book and a joy to read, written in very clear lay mans language with great analogies. You can order direct from the man from here:

http://www.mixingwithyourmind.com/

Cheers,


Paavo.
MisterNegative
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Post by MisterNegative »

Paavo,
I took your advice and ordered the book. It's a little pricey but the material looks interesting. I'm looking forward to reading what it has to say.
Thanks,
Mark
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Post by HarBal »

It may look a little pricey but when you see that it is hard cover and the quality of the paper and content you'll probably think otherwise. I certainly didn't regard it as expensive when I received it.

Cheers,


Paavo.
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