Below is a post that I found on an audio forum that I frequent. It was posted in response to a detractor of Har-Bal, and a pretty good read. Enjoy...I know I did
Igor
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I can't help but feel you're on a disroll fueled by fear and pride. The way you interpreted Har-Bal's "guidelines" seems very misunderstood to me. It's pretty clear they're marketing Har-Bal for all users, not primarily seasoned pros.
To ridicule the use of headphones for mastering is also pretty ignorant. To rely on nothing *but* headphones is bad news, but I've mastered a lot of highly exposed music using primarily headphones, and that's no compromise on my part. We use several pairs of Genelec's, Dynaudio BM6a's, KRK 6000's and Yamaha NS10M's monitoring in our studios, but there's nothing that makes me feel as much in control as I do when I slap on a pair of Sennheiser HD600's. Had it not been for the strain I tend to put on my ears when mixing or mastering in headphones, I'd probably be doing most of work in cans and use nearfields for reference. Not vice versa. The main problems with headphones are the highly exaggerated stereo-field and unrealistic (*not* inaccurate) bass response, but I have since long gotten a good feel of how much real-world bass there is in what I'm hearing in my HD600's before I switch to hearfields.
We have Mac and PC DAW's running ProTools|HD, Nuendo2 and Cubase SX2, and high-end outboard candy like an Aphex 320A and 250 at our disposal for mastering, and I've been using Har-Bal daily since we bought it. The genious of Har-Bal lies in its simplicity and efficiency. It doesn't wipe it's own ass, but it uses a hell of a lot less toilet paper.
Laugh away, Lorenz, but Har-Bal is a tool that's going to nuke some mastering engineer's business, just like the virtual world generally chews away on the real one. Could you do the same work you're doing now 25 years ago?
That said, no program or plug-in will ever replace a second pair of trained ears. That's what you are.
-kl3in
take that, non-believers
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Har/Bal
RE:take that, non-believers
Thanks Igor and thank you for your support!
I read the full thread with interest and was a little surprised that Lorenz was still peddling the same old arguments and taking a very pro-active stance at bagging out Har-Bal, it's developers and even those that use it. I also loved the way that they took advice that I'd given on this forum completely out of context (ie. monitors / headphones).
It was surprising to see him on the receiving end of some of his own medicine too. I think it was bad form bagging out Craig Anderton (or at least attempting to) because he wrote a favourable review. Not because he can't defend himself but because he wasn't a participant of the thread.
All support is welcome but not required! I am content to let the word about Har-Bal out at its own pace. There are more reviews to come in Keyboard Mag, Sound On Sound and another that I don't remember the name of. More exposure to upset those completely dismissive of the product.
Regards,
Paavo.
I read the full thread with interest and was a little surprised that Lorenz was still peddling the same old arguments and taking a very pro-active stance at bagging out Har-Bal, it's developers and even those that use it. I also loved the way that they took advice that I'd given on this forum completely out of context (ie. monitors / headphones).
It was surprising to see him on the receiving end of some of his own medicine too. I think it was bad form bagging out Craig Anderton (or at least attempting to) because he wrote a favourable review. Not because he can't defend himself but because he wasn't a participant of the thread.
All support is welcome but not required! I am content to let the word about Har-Bal out at its own pace. There are more reviews to come in Keyboard Mag, Sound On Sound and another that I don't remember the name of. More exposure to upset those completely dismissive of the product.
Regards,
Paavo.
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Jay
take that, non-believers
Glad to hear you don't let that stuff get to you, Paavo. Of course, there will always be nay-sayers no matter what you do in life, and particularly in the virtual world where it's easy to slam something/someone when you don't have to look someone in the face.
I see this same sort of thing in the web development community; you get the hand-coding snobs who insist that no web dev app could possibly be worth the time it takes to use it. This is, of course, ridiculous cuz it all has to do with who's using the tool and why they're using it (and I say this as someone who prefers to hand code). I honestly think it boils down to fear of losing their perceived sense of power over those who aren't as knowledgeable.
Well, I guess I'm done opining.
Anyway, glad you're takin' it in stride. Got a new ETA for the update?
I see this same sort of thing in the web development community; you get the hand-coding snobs who insist that no web dev app could possibly be worth the time it takes to use it. This is, of course, ridiculous cuz it all has to do with who's using the tool and why they're using it (and I say this as someone who prefers to hand code). I honestly think it boils down to fear of losing their perceived sense of power over those who aren't as knowledgeable.
Well, I guess I'm done opining.
Anyway, glad you're takin' it in stride. Got a new ETA for the update?-
Har/Bal
Got a new ETA for the update?
Hi Jay,
I'm 3/4 the way through adding a range of extra things to the graphical display (original track spectrum, frequency response view, impulse response view and track focus i.e. which spectrum plot corresponds to the playing track).
When that is complete I'll only have the background recording and background analysis stuff to complete before I'll make the alpha a beta and make it available to registered users. While In beta I'll work on updating the doco and fix any reported bugs.
I'm hoping to go beta in less than a week. Unfortunately I've had a lot of my development time taken up with urgent issues with the new house we're working on getting complete. I'll try my best to get it out in beta by next week.
Regards,
Paavo.
I'm 3/4 the way through adding a range of extra things to the graphical display (original track spectrum, frequency response view, impulse response view and track focus i.e. which spectrum plot corresponds to the playing track).
When that is complete I'll only have the background recording and background analysis stuff to complete before I'll make the alpha a beta and make it available to registered users. While In beta I'll work on updating the doco and fix any reported bugs.
I'm hoping to go beta in less than a week. Unfortunately I've had a lot of my development time taken up with urgent issues with the new house we're working on getting complete. I'll try my best to get it out in beta by next week.
Regards,
Paavo.
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sonicvent
THANKS!
Thanks for Har-Bal! Been using it for 2 or 3 weeks now and am really digging this little proggy. One of the best software investments that I have made in a while. Not only that, it's making my life a lot easier. Now we're able to get the mixes to customers super fast and with good quality for finals, while they pack up their gear to leave the studio! Thanks, thanks, thanks... looking forward to the next release with the mono file support!
From a believer
From a believer
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Har/Bal
You are welcome!!
It is very cool to read that you are truly seeing the great use of the program.
Har-Bal has become a program designed by our customers based on their needs in a tool and is really evolving at a rapid pace.
If there are any questions you have regarding functionality feel free to post. We have a great bunch of engineers in our forum who are quite knowledgeable.
Earle
Har-Bal has become a program designed by our customers based on their needs in a tool and is really evolving at a rapid pace.
If there are any questions you have regarding functionality feel free to post. We have a great bunch of engineers in our forum who are quite knowledgeable.
Earle