Any more info on 1/12 octave resolution

[DuncJF]

Hi Guys

Are you still planning on getting the 1/12 octave resolution update out this month ? I'm kinda holding off doing anything until such time as this arrives, well, that and morphing over time for large wave files...

I'm working with previously recorded files from the 70's and 80's with lots of dynamic range, usual playing times of 40 or so minutes and lots of problems in Harmonic balance. I don't want to compromise that range by recording a Harbal'ed balanced file too hot and have the Gain Limiter come in, so...are there any plans in introducing a way of analyzing a complete wave file (that's been Harbal'ed) to determine the peaks pre-Limiter Gain reduction ?
I can then make a judgement on whether to reduce the output so that the Limiter Gain won't come into play.

Hope this makes sense...

[HarBal]

Hi DuncF,

The documentation update is what is holding up the release of the 1/12th octave res release. Using 1/12th octave res is an entirely manual operation that requires the right approach to obtain great results. The problem is that the right approach to most people will seem counter intuitive so if left to manage on their own will more than likely end up ruining their recordings and then blaming Har-Bal for it. Hence, it is essential to have documentation with this release that makes it perfectly clear how it should be used. That is what is holding the release up.

On your other issue, I'm not sure if I follow exactly however, I'd suggest that anything of that length should be broken up into smaller pieces and processed individually for best results. Sure, there are symphonies that run to 40 minutes or more but they have many movements that form natural edit points for dividing the track up. I'll have a think about what you suggested and see what I can come up with regarding future enhancements.

Regards,


Paavo.

[DuncJF]

Hi Paavo,

Thanks for the usual speedy reply.

At present I do split the files into sections, process them and then rejoin them by crossfading in my wave editor (I have previously requested a way of splitting the file and morphing the balance between sections within Harbal - you said that it was something you were thinking of anyway.)

This, however, is still a problem because quite a lot of sections can still be 10 or so minutes and it is tedious to watch the Limiter Gain meter over that time (and easy to miss a brief flash) for any use of the limiter section coming into play. A way of having Harbal offline (i.e. not actually playing the file) analyse the file and report back on the maximum peak level found would be useful (hopefully not just to me). I could then adjust the output level to suit my needs.

Lets just say that the music I'm dealing with is, Electronic in nature, but of symphonic proportions and dynamics...

[HarBal]

I follow you now, and yes that sounds like a good idea that fits in well with a few other things I have planned for the rebuilding of the analysis engine. I could include an order set of references to each block in the analysis and order them by peak intensity. Then you could easily find the blocks with the biggest peak values.

Chears,


Paavo.

[Jammerg]

I'm also really anxious to try out the new version as I'm putting a lot of things on hold until the new update.

The current version is awesome for most things but I keep running into problem resonances that I have to tweak a tiny bit within other programs that have finer resolution.

This new update sounds like it's going to be perfect for my needs. Most of what I work with is in pretty rough shape and zero chance for any re-mixing or ever getting a better copy, (really old recordings, etc.) so I need every advantage I can get.

I can also understand how finer resolution could get some into trouble if used improperly, so I can see why you're trying to make the documentation clear. Can't wait to try out the new update. It sounds awesome.

[HarBal]

Actually, one of the big issues holding up my writing up this process is not understanding why it works but I'm happy to say I now know exactly why it works so I am in a position to outline the process and then explain the mechanics behind its functioning the way it does. That should make for a lucid tutorial for anyone who cares to read it and everyone intent on using it should. Only then will they truly understand what they are doing to their track. I'll try to get a beta out within a week.

Regards,


Paavo.

[tcatzere]

I'll try to get a beta out within a week.

Paavo.

I don't know if you're planning on making the beta release available to all registered users -- or just a few selected ones. But either way, I'd like to be included. Thanks.

Tom

[HarBal]

As it is such a minor code change I don't really see any problems in making a wide beta release. It is simply predicate on me writing a good enough tutorial so you all know how to make use of the technology. Without it it is all too easy to do the wrong thing and end up with horrible sound. That is not to say the process is difficult to master. It isn't. It is simply counter intuitive to most peoples thinking but it has a clear cut scientific basis which will be revealed in the tutorial.

Cheers,


Paavo

[Jammerg]

I'm really excited about this newest update and actually learned quite a lot with the included tutorial in 2.2 so I look forward to studying the new one.

I also hope you still have plans eventually (down the road) to include some sort of M/S feature as I'm finding that to be the key to unlocking a LOT of problems with audio I often deal with. It'd sure be nice to have access to the M/S channels within HarBal directly, without having to always split and then recombine in other programs.

Btw, on a side note, not sure if it's a problem with HarBal or Wavelab 5 but it seems dual Mono files (ie. Left/Right or Mid/Side Mono files Ctrl+Selected) that have been loaded into Wavelab and saved as a Stereo file are totally unreadable in HarBal, but... if simply re-saved in say... Adobe Audition, they load fine. Just something I noticed while tweaking around with M/S stuff lately. (I'm thinking it's a Wavelab problem in saving to stereo though they do only have a problem loading into HarBal and no other program I've ever tried, so....)

I really don't know what I would do without HarBal though, it's such an amazing tool, with nothing else quite like it anywhere and I've been working with audio for over 15 years now. Keep up the great work Paavo.

[HarBal]

Thanks for the compliement. The M/S processing is something planned for the complete re-write. It is a little to involved to bolt on to the existing code base.

Paavo.