Earle-
Just got T-RackS as per your recommendation and am very impressed, but I'm wondering if I should turn off the compressor when I use the opto+half inch setting with my Harbalized track- it sounds much louder and "fuller" this way, but I don't know if I'm doing something wrong here. Please advise!
-Shep Shepard
using T-RackS with Harbal
What I'm wondering here is why my mix sounds so much better without the compression on, and whether or not those of you mixing down using the opto+1/2 inch setting are leaving the compression on or not. Right now, if I mix down in T-Racks after Harbalizing with the aformentioned setting minus the compression and EQ, my mix sounds as loud and nearly as full as the professional songs I've been comparing it too(of course, it's much worse in many respects, given my meager skills), but perhaps my amateur ears and budget monitor speakers are not allowing me to effectively gage what is going on. Is my experience a typical one? Any info/ advice would be appreciated.
And by the way, I've made a run on music software over the last six months (I've gotten everything from Sonar 4.0 to Reason) and Harbal is without question one of the best purchases I've made. It has made huge differences in my ability to at least approximate professional mastering and is just a joy to use. I love this app- thanks guys!
And by the way, I've made a run on music software over the last six months (I've gotten everything from Sonar 4.0 to Reason) and Harbal is without question one of the best purchases I've made. It has made huge differences in my ability to at least approximate professional mastering and is just a joy to use. I love this app- thanks guys!
Hello there
shep9040 wrote:What I'm wondering here is why my mix sounds so much better without the compression on, and whether or not those of you mixing down using the opto+1/2 inch setting are leaving the compression on or not. Right now, if I mix down in T-Racks after Harbalizing with the aformentioned setting minus the compression and EQ, my mix sounds as loud and nearly as full as the professional songs I've been comparing it too(of course, it's much worse in many respects, given my meager skills), but perhaps my amateur ears and budget monitor speakers are not allowing me to effectively gage what is going on. Is my experience a typical one? Any info/ advice would be appreciated.
And by the way, I've made a run on music software over the last six months (I've gotten everything from Sonar 4.0 to Reason) and Harbal is without question one of the best purchases I've made. It has made huge differences in my ability to at least approximate professional mastering and is just a joy to use. I love this app- thanks guys!
What it may mean is that you have actually done a great job mixing. You don't always need to use compression after EQ'ing. Sometimes you may only need to add limiting and you are done.
The reason your songs probably sound so good is because you haven't compromised the dynamic content of your track. Just our of curiousity are you using mainly accoustic instruments?
Earle
No, the song I've been toying with is actually full of some heavily distorted guitar. The more I listen to the uncompressed master on different stereos, the more I'm aware that the uncompressed version, though far more "present" and "full" than the compressed master, is actually too harsh on the ear. The compressed version is much less vital, but the guitars are more managable. Arghhh! Should I just go back and work on the guitars in the mix, and then send the Harbalized version back through T-RackS w/out compression, or should I play with the compression ratio in T-RackS?
For the record, I've worked on the middle and upper frequencies a bit in HarBal, but I know the whole point of the mastering EQ is just to get things properly balanced without radically making changes- any suggestions? Again, I prefer the non-compressed master (and it really is much more like the pro CD's I measure it against), but I know the guitars must change.
Thanks in advance for any advice you might have for me!
For the record, I've worked on the middle and upper frequencies a bit in HarBal, but I know the whole point of the mastering EQ is just to get things properly balanced without radically making changes- any suggestions? Again, I prefer the non-compressed master (and it really is much more like the pro CD's I measure it against), but I know the guitars must change.
Thanks in advance for any advice you might have for me!
Ahh I see
Here is what I would do. If the guitars are too harsh they may turn folks away from the song. Go back to the individual track and compress the guitar so the presence is still there but just not in your face.
The opto + half inch preset in T-Racks works fantastic and really doesn't need to be tweaked. That preset was designed so that the equalizer/compressor and limiter would work in concert with each other.
Maybe you can place a link to your file so I could check it out. That would be a lot easier that just speculating.
If you prefer you can go to my home page www.hdqtrz.com and upload the file as an mp3 through the link I have set up.
Earle
The opto + half inch preset in T-Racks works fantastic and really doesn't need to be tweaked. That preset was designed so that the equalizer/compressor and limiter would work in concert with each other.
Maybe you can place a link to your file so I could check it out. That would be a lot easier that just speculating.
If you prefer you can go to my home page www.hdqtrz.com and upload the file as an mp3 through the link I have set up.
Earle
shep9040 wrote:No, the song I've been toying with is actually full of some heavily distorted guitar. The more I listen to the uncompressed master on different stereos, the more I'm aware that the uncompressed version, though far more "present" and "full" than the compressed master, is actually too harsh on the ear. The compressed version is much less vital, but the guitars are more managable. Arghhh! Should I just go back and work on the guitars in the mix, and then send the Harbalized version back through T-RackS w/out compression, or should I play with the compression ratio in T-RackS?
For the record, I've worked on the middle and upper frequencies a bit in HarBal, but I know the whole point of the mastering EQ is just to get things properly balanced without radically making changes- any suggestions? Again, I prefer the non-compressed master (and it really is much more like the pro CD's I measure it against), but I know the guitars must change.
Thanks in advance for any advice you might have for me!
I know where you are coming from and I like the idea of preserving the dynamics as much as possible.
I'm curious to know what the peak spectrum looks like in the track you are referring to. Maybe you could email us the .anl file for the track so we could take a look ( support@har-bal.com ).
If you got harshness that is fatiguing, chances are it will show up in the peak spectrum. Is it strong around 3kHz. If find this is very common in rock/grunge recordings and my ears always find it disturbing (compressed or not). In any case, if you've got any peaks in the peak spectrum that really stand out (for frequencies below 5kHz) try bringing them down in size so they're about the same height as neighbouring peaks. You might find that this is all you need to take away the harshness but preserve the dynamics.
Regards,
Paavo.
mhh That's mine T-racks presets in Suite directory and i don't find here right preset.Do i miss smth 
http://pcr.mikare.net/bladetone/t-racks_presets.jpg
http://pcr.mikare.net/bladetone/t-racks_presets.jpg
Hmm, interesting. This preset is in the stand alone version. You appear to have the plugin version.Bladetone wrote:mhh That's mine T-racks presets in Suite directory and i don't find here right preset.Do i miss smth
http://pcr.mikare.net/bladetone/t-racks_presets.jpg
Tell you what, I will contact Paul from T-Racks and ask him for you.
Earle
Paul from T-Racks/1K Multimedia wrotehar-bal wrote:Hmm, interesting. This preset is in the stand alone version. You appear to have the plugin version.Bladetone wrote:mhh That's mine T-racks presets in Suite directory and i don't find here right preset.Do i miss smth
http://pcr.mikare.net/bladetone/t-racks_presets.jpg
Tell you what, I will contact Paul from T-Racks and ask him for you.
Earle
Hi Earle,
The reason the customer does not have that preset is because it is the plug-in version. The stand-alone unit has a few different presets than the plug-in. However...included is a user made preset we just put together recreating the Opto + Half inch settings from the stand-alone unit.
It is only for the PC, any plug-in users may add this to their T-Racks presets by simply unzipping and placing into the T-Racks presets folder.
C: > Program Files > IK > T-Racks Plug-In > T-Racks Presets > T-Racks Suite
The Plug-in has an output stage which the stand-alone unit does not have. So the preset is not identical, feel free to give any suggestions! Let me know if you think any changes are necessary.
Thanks.
--
Best Regards,
Paul Hudson
Customer Support Manager
IK Multimedia US
954-846-9866
paul.hudson@ikmultimedia.com
*************************************************************
You can download the opto + half-inch preset file for the plugin from
Link address www.hdqtrz.com/T-Racks
Cheers
Earle
Last edited by har-bal on Fri Dec 10, 2004 10:32 am, edited 1 time in total.