Help Earle....

If you are looking for advice on how to use Har-Bal best, or you have some tips of your own, post them here!
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Ged the undead
Posts: 24
Joined: Mon Mar 13, 2006 7:21 pm
Location: Scotland
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Help Earle....

Post by Ged the undead »

Hi Earle, just a querie bout the wavelab multiband compressor...

could you let me know how the diagonal input output line works?
in the help files it says a breakpoint above the line means expansion, but below means compression? also where should the top (highest ) breakpoint be? always at 0db?
how does make up gainwork???
im looking for a general setting to deal with an impacting bass drum and de essing
id love some advice on this as i cant find any pdf's dealing with it.
many thanks mate,
Ged.
har-bal
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Posts: 647
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 8:00 pm
Location: Atlanta/Australia
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Re: Help Earle....

Post by har-bal »

Ged the undead wrote:Hi Earle, just a querie bout the wavelab multiband compressor...

could you let me know how the diagonal input output line works?
in the help files it says a breakpoint above the line means expansion, but below means compression? also where should the top (highest ) breakpoint be? always at 0db?
how does make up gainwork???
im looking for a general setting to deal with an impacting bass drum and de essing
id love some advice on this as i cant find any pdf's dealing with it.
many thanks mate,
Ged.
Ged

When using the Wavelab multiband compressor it is best to use your ears. I never use a compressor for expansion unless it is an extreme emergeny. Generally expansion is used to restore the dynamocs to a track that has been overly compressed.
The best thing to do in a case such as this is to recommend to the client that they go back to the original mix and remove the compression.

You you stated in your emai the FM setting has a little too much compression. I agree. however it is a good place to start. Normally I clik on the frequency band editor and it highlights the corresponding characterisic display.
I simply make the appropiate adjustments by grabbing the middle and moving towards the bottom right very slowly. It does take some experimentation to get the hang of it. Once you do it is smooth sailing.
If you want to deal with a specific section it is best it isolate that area using Frequency editor and possibly soloing it and making the adjustment to the corresponding line on the right.

Cheers

Earle
Ged the undead
Posts: 24
Joined: Mon Mar 13, 2006 7:21 pm
Location: Scotland
Contact:

Re: Help Earle....

Post by Ged the undead »

har-bal wrote:
Ged the undead wrote:Hi Earle, just a querie bout the wavelab multiband compressor...

could you let me know how the diagonal input output line works?
in the help files it says a breakpoint above the line means expansion, but below means compression? also where should the top (highest ) breakpoint be? always at 0db?
how does make up gainwork???
im looking for a general setting to deal with an impacting bass drum and de essing
id love some advice on this as i cant find any pdf's dealing with it.
many thanks mate,
Ged.
Ged

When using the Wavelab multiband compressor it is best to use your ears. I never use a compressor for expansion unless it is an extreme emergeny. Generally expansion is used to restore the dynamocs to a track that has been overly compressed.
The best thing to do in a case such as this is to recommend to the client that they go back to the original mix and remove the compression.

You you stated in your emai the FM setting has a little too much compression. I agree. however it is a good place to start. Normally I clik on the frequency band editor and it highlights the corresponding characterisic display.
I simply make the appropiate adjustments by grabbing the middle and moving towards the bottom right very slowly. It does take some experimentation to get the hang of it. Once you do it is smooth sailing.
If you want to deal with a specific section it is best it isolate that area using Frequency editor and possibly soloing it and making the adjustment to the corresponding line on the right.

Cheers

Earle
Thanks Earle, the only thing is, how do you apply make up gain if, say, i'm homing in on a boomy kick drum, i set the line towards the bottom right till it sounds right, but then you lose some low end, so where do i apply the make up gain on this comp?
cheers,
Ged.
har-bal
Site Admin
Posts: 647
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 8:00 pm
Location: Atlanta/Australia
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Re: Help Earle....

Post by har-bal »

Ged the undead wrote:
har-bal wrote:
Ged the undead wrote:Hi Earle, just a querie bout the wavelab multiband compressor...

could you let me know how the diagonal input output line works?
in the help files it says a breakpoint above the line means expansion, but below means compression? also where should the top (highest ) breakpoint be? always at 0db?
how does make up gainwork???
im looking for a general setting to deal with an impacting bass drum and de essing
id love some advice on this as i cant find any pdf's dealing with it.
many thanks mate,
Ged.
Ged

When using the Wavelab multiband compressor it is best to use your ears. I never use a compressor for expansion unless it is an extreme emergeny. Generally expansion is used to restore the dynamocs to a track that has been overly compressed.
The best thing to do in a case such as this is to recommend to the client that they go back to the original mix and remove the compression.

You you stated in your emai the FM setting has a little too much compression. I agree. however it is a good place to start. Normally I clik on the frequency band editor and it highlights the corresponding characterisic display.
I simply make the appropiate adjustments by grabbing the middle and moving towards the bottom right very slowly. It does take some experimentation to get the hang of it. Once you do it is smooth sailing.
If you want to deal with a specific section it is best it isolate that area using Frequency editor and possibly soloing it and making the adjustment to the corresponding line on the right.

Cheers

Earle
Thanks Earle, the only thing is, how do you apply make up gain if, say, i'm homing in on a boomy kick drum, i set the line towards the bottom right till it sounds right, but then you lose some low end, so where do i apply the make up gain on this comp?
cheers,
Ged.
Ged

Thats the easy part. First, monitor the initial level of the track using level/pan meter which you can open by clicking on Analysis/Level/Pan Meter

1. Click on the bypass button on MultiBand compressor and look at the level while playing the track. Make a note of the level.You have numbers that range from -45 thru +6 on the level/pan meter

2. Now apply you changes using the compressor. When you are satisfied with the sound, rotate the output button on the multiband compressor while keeping an eye on the level/pan meter until it has returned to the same spot as previously noted.

Cheers

Earle
Phi Lion
Posts: 39
Joined: Sat Jan 07, 2006 9:16 pm

Post by Phi Lion »

Is that plugin worth all that effort?

Just curious as ive not tried it.
har-bal
Site Admin
Posts: 647
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 8:00 pm
Location: Atlanta/Australia
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Post by har-bal »

Phi Lion wrote:Is that plugin worth all that effort?

Just curious as ive not tried it.
Phi

Explaining it is tedious, but using it is a breeze. It becomes instinctive. You really don't think about it at all. I usually use it on songs that feel a little unbalanced to me. It is a great repairer. I guess that is why it had been around for so long.
The design takes a little getting used to.
But again as I always say, try to have the VUmeter up on the screen when making changes so you can insure you are keeping the song balanced.

Cheers

Earle
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