Post by: Viitalahde on June 12, 2008, 07:32:33 AM
Here's mine: http://hem.bredband.net/tbtaudio
TLs Audio Pocket Limiter (VST).
It hell for sure is NOT a "transparent brickwall limiter". I have no idea what it does, but when it does it, it saves the day. I recently had it chopping off on a death metal single, and it added an incredible rhythm to the sound and made things more alive.
Secret settings? Link off, knee to 25% to 35% and push it up 'till the meter bangs steadily.
Post by: compasspnt on June 12, 2008, 08:01:42 AM
Will have to remain a secret.
Post by: tom eaton on June 12, 2008, 08:58:57 AM
t
Post by: Garrett H on June 12, 2008, 03:36:44 PM
I think when they came out people slapped them on everything, but these days it's not exactly in most mastering chains.
Post by: Bill_Urick on June 12, 2008, 04:26:37 PM
Thanks for the tip!
Post by: TotalSonic on June 12, 2008, 05:47:18 PM
As far as specific ones that fall in this category:
Digital Fishphones Spitfish - excellent freeware de-esser
Stillwell Audio Transient Monster - similar to the SPL Transient Designer - very simple controls - but works surprisingly well across the 2-bus for adding missing transients. This one got used extensively on a recent archival reissue for a hip-hop release that had originally been recorded on 8-track cassette - putting this on really helped to tighten up some softish kicks.
Stillwell Audio Event Horizon+ - a fairly dirty sounding peak limiter/soft clipper that for some tracks can retain some nice midrange snap, and not change the bass end as much as some other limiters do, and can get tracks that already distorted into the "loud" range with less artifacts than some other choces. Not a go-to but a decent option to have that works as the best option among my other tools on say about 3% of the tracks I get here.
Acon Digital Declicker - excellent for removing clicks, ticks, and pops - works better than some more expensive plugs I've tried in fact
JMS Audioware SAWStudio Freeverb - once in a blue moon this freeware reverb plug works great for quickly automating a repair to a noisy fade or a cutoff tail.
Izotope Vinyl - once in a blue moon I get requests to make things sound "lo-fi" (usually just for an intro section) and this handy dandy piece of freeware actually can do the trick really well and very quickly.
a few freeware utilities I really like also:
Exact Audio Copy - simply one of the best freeware tools around for secure CD digital audio extraction and full featured burning from cue sheets.
Rail Rogut sdTwoWav - freeware sd2 to wav converter
Rail Rogut Interleaver - freeware dual mono to stereo interleaved batch converter
Best regards,
Steve Berson
Post by: Jerry Tubb on June 12, 2008, 09:34:36 PM
| Viitalahde wrote on Thu, 12 June 2008 06:32 |
What's your most embarrasing secret weapon? |
I've got an ancient Urei 530 graphic EQ that I love.
Has a lot of musical color that can't be found elsewhere.
Haven't used it in years, but in the '90's found its' way on lots of records from Austin : - )
BTW none of the other Urei EQs have the same quality.
JT
Post by: Adam Dempsey on June 12, 2008, 11:20:57 PM
Had also tried the TC "softsat" on one of their Direct X EQ plugs and found the stock SADiE channel limiter (one parameter, threshold only) in parallel could work well, barely in there.
Post by: mcsnare on June 13, 2008, 12:30:54 AM
Dave
Post by: Peter Beckmann on June 13, 2008, 10:44:18 AM
| mcsnare wrote on Fri, 13 June 2008 05:30 |
Wavelab "Puncher", I feel dirty when I use that one. |
Ughhh I feel dirty just reading it!
Peter
Post by: Glenn Bucci on June 13, 2008, 11:15:40 AM
Post by: Masterer on June 13, 2008, 01:46:41 PM
Works every time.
Post by: David Glasser on June 13, 2008, 02:29:54 PM
"Hey, have you seen this book..." usually keeps the client busy and relatively quiet for at least an hour.
Post by: Phil Demetro on June 13, 2008, 02:32:11 PM
| Masterer wrote on Fri, 13 June 2008 13:46 |
I have 3 "producer" buttons on my console labelled "beer" "tits" and "ass". When necessary i'll hit one of those and watch as everyone feels the love. Works every time. |
Which button do your female clients like best?
(try an get out of this one!)
Post by: joeaudio on June 13, 2008, 03:37:28 PM
| Masterer wrote on Fri, 13 June 2008 18:46 |
I have 3 "producer" buttons on my console labelled "beer" "tits" and "ass". When necessary i'll hit one of those and watch as everyone feels the love. Works every time. |
INSERT 5
Joe
Post by: bigaudioblowhard on June 13, 2008, 06:47:39 PM
| David Glasser wrote on Fri, 13 June 2008 12:29 |
"Recording the Beatles" book sitting on the coffee table. "Hey, have you seen this book..." usually keeps the client busy and relatively quiet for at least an hour. |
This is the best "quiet the client" device I have too. Also Beatles Recoding Sessions, and autographed copy of "Here There and Everywhere" (Geoff Emerick).
bab
Post by: jdg on June 13, 2008, 07:13:50 PM
Post by: cass anawaty on June 13, 2008, 08:05:54 PM
Post by: bblackwood on June 13, 2008, 08:10:02 PM
| Cass Anawaty wrote on Fri, 13 June 2008 19:05 |
Probably me. |
I can see why you're embarrassed!
hehehe
Post by: Matt_G on June 13, 2008, 08:39:08 PM
I'm not sure if it keeps them quiet though as I usually hear them laughing. hehe
Matt
Post by: crna59 on June 13, 2008, 09:23:49 PM
Regards,
Bruce
Post by: cass anawaty on June 13, 2008, 10:19:53 PM
| bblackwood wrote on Sat, 14 June 2008 01:10 | ||
I can see why you're embarrassed! hehehe |
Post by: masterhse on June 13, 2008, 11:18:04 PM
Post by: Viitalahde on June 14, 2008, 05:22:33 AM
That mullet book is a lovely idea.
Post by: aivoryuk on June 14, 2008, 05:45:14 AM
| Viitalahde wrote on Sat, 14 June 2008 10:22 |
I don't know if it counts since I've only used it once, but Samplitude's own multi-band oppressor has a function called "compr. max", which inflates given range in a stupid way. That felt dirty! |
You know I actually used that just last week on some masters turned out pretty good, but it felt dirty, very dirty
Post by: Gold on June 14, 2008, 06:43:21 AM
| Viitalahde wrote on Sat, 14 June 2008 05:22 |
I don't know if it counts since I've only used it once, but Samplitude's own multi-band oppressor has a function called "compr. max", which inflates given range in a stupid way. That felt dirty! |
Every once in a while I give the Samp multiband a shot. Sometimes you just need a multiband. It always ends up in the bypass position. I should just pick up a TC multiband. I think that's dirty enough.
Post by: dave-G on June 14, 2008, 08:48:36 AM
| masterhse wrote on Fri, 13 June 2008 23:18 |
I have a Urei LA-22 that I use very rarely for upward expansion. For some reason it works sometimes on severly squashed mixes. But don't tell anyone, it's secret. |
Pretty good de-esser too!
[feigns embarrassment]
-dave
Post by: Patrik T on June 14, 2008, 09:00:06 AM
Best regards
Patrik
Post by: Thomas W. Bethel on June 14, 2008, 09:09:30 AM
Too bad it can only do 48 kHz and 16 bit.
Post by: bblackwood on June 14, 2008, 11:03:34 AM
| Patrik T wrote on Sat, 14 June 2008 08:00 |
I keep my arsenal of weapons to a minimum and a minimum of embarrasement seems to come out of that. |
Same here - five total pieces of analog processing gear, little/no processing digitally (occasionally some HEDD or L2).
Post by: TotalSonic on June 14, 2008, 06:02:21 PM
| bblackwood wrote on Sat, 14 June 2008 11:03 | ||
Same here - five total pieces of analog processing gear, little/no processing digitally (occasionally some HEDD or L2). |
For me knowing the abilities of a number of additional tools I would be embarassed not having them available for the times when the mix would actually benefit from having them applied.
I'll acknowledge that many times having a multitude of processors always available, or having a number of processors that are new or unfamiliar to the engineer at once, can lead to over processing by erroneously applying them when they are not required - or "option anxiety" leading to slower and potentially bogged down session work flow. So - yes - when adding processor options it's important to take the time to learn them first and then limit their use only to when they are actually of a benefit.
Best regards,
Steve Berson
Post by: Patrik T on June 14, 2008, 11:13:50 PM
| TotalSonic wrote on Sun, 15 June 2008 00:02 |
So - yes - when adding processor options it's important to take the time to learn them first and then limit their use only to when they are actually of a benefit. |
Probably just me, but I've always found this strange.
Not the learning thing but the limitation. IMO, a good processor will work with pretty much everything and a bad with hardly nothing.
I do not consider the phenomena of music to be overly different between genres, beats, dynamics and so on, so when people talk about X being good for rock and Y being good for electro I go a little "whutta?".
I guess it IS embarrassing with tools that only seem to work sometimes.
Best Regards
Patrik
Post by: TotalSonic on June 14, 2008, 11:36:16 PM
| Patrik T wrote on Sat, 14 June 2008 23:13 | ||
Probably just me, but I've always found this strange. Not the learning thing but the limitation. IMO, a good processor will work with pretty much everything and a bad with hardly nothing. |
I disagree with this. Take the best sounding most versatile compressor in the world - and then apply it on a track that is already over-compressed. It doesn't make things sound better then, does it?
Take a look at my list of "embarrasments" - you'll find mighty cheap digital tools that simply produce better sounding results in my direct experience than other processing options - but only in very specific and exacting cases.
| Quote: |
I do not consider the phenomena of music to be overly different between genres, beats, dynamics and so on, so when people talk about X being good for rock and Y being good for electro I go a little "whutta?". |
In general I agree with you but there are in fact expectations based on what is generally practiced for the majority of that (sub)genre that if not acknowledged will generally end up with more revision requests than not.
i.e. presented with a dubstep track the client is most likely going to want a heckuva lot more low end than a client presenting a typical cumbia would. And a client bringing in a chamber music track will generally want much more natural dynamics left in tact than your typical death metal artist would. So often processing choices (and sometimes the processors themselves) will get made differently for these occasions. Pretending these things don't exist is slightly disengenuous to me - although I agree with you in the vast majority of cases that the same eq's and comps would work on nearly every genre.
| Quote: |
I guess it IS embarrassing with tools that only seem to work sometimes. |
Well - my modded SPL SX2 sits off the vast majority of the time. But on the tracks where it works for I'm seriously glad to have it. Nothing embarassing about that to me - except maybe for the fact that something you can find on ebay for about $200 sits next to an eq that originally cost well over $5000.
Best regards,
Steve Berson
Post by: Viitalahde on June 15, 2008, 01:44:20 AM
When I need to resort to these, things are out of hand anyway..
Post by: Patrik T on June 15, 2008, 03:55:40 AM
| TotalSonic wrote on Sun, 15 June 2008 05:36 |
I disagree with this. Take the best sounding most versatile compressor in the world - and then apply it on a track that is already over-compressed. It doesn't make things sound better then, does it? |
Better get it out of the signal chain at that specific moment then and happily conclude that the track does not need any compression.
| Quote: |
In general I agree with you but there are in fact expectations based on what is generally practiced for the majority of that (sub)genre that if not acknowledged will generally end up with more revision requests than not. |
I think that (too) many tools in mastering is a good source for a constant flow of revision requests.
| Quote: |
i.e. presented with a dubstep track the client is most likely going to want a heckuva lot more low end than a client presenting a typical cumbia would. And a client bringing in a chamber music track will generally want much more natural dynamics left in tact than your typical death metal artist would. |
If a "tool" does "work" better for dubstep than chamber music what will happen if there is suddenly cellos and violas within a dubstep piece?
Time for tool #3?
Which has to be compensated by #4? Which has to be adjusted by #5? Which has to................
Best Regards
Patrik
Post by: masterhse on June 15, 2008, 06:38:49 AM
| dave-G wrote on Sat, 14 June 2008 08:48 | ||
Pretty good de-esser too! [feigns embarrassment] -dave |
(shhhh) you let out another secret Dave ...
Post by: Thomas W. Bethel on June 15, 2008, 09:45:20 AM
Most of these are plug-ins and I keep them in reserve for those hard to fix problems that I run into ever so often. YMMV
Post by: TotalSonic on June 15, 2008, 04:01:38 PM
| Patrik T wrote on Sun, 15 June 2008 03:55 | ||
Better get it out of the signal chain at that specific moment then and happily conclude that the track does not need any compression. |
Exactly!
| Quote: | ||
I think that (too) many tools in mastering is a good source for a constant flow of revision requests. |
It certainly is a dangerous trap that one must be careful to avoid. Experience with mastering in general and the processor you are using in specific is the way of avoiding it.
| Quote: | ||
If a "tool" does "work" better for dubstep than chamber music what will happen if there is suddenly cellos and violas within a dubstep piece? |
In this case then generally then these would be overdubbed elements and the essential character would still be of a dubstep track. i.e. big @ss synth bass, some organic and electronic elements cutting in and out, and vocals on top. Anyway - I was referring to a generally expected frequency spectrum balance particular to a subgenre and not to having specific processors in mind for a genre in my example.
| Quote: |
Time for tool #3? Which has to be compensated by #4? Which has to be adjusted by #5? Which has to................ |
It doesn't have to work that way and I myself never work that way.
Instead:
Ears are the guide. Sometimes an esoteric unusual processor will do some magic for very specific cases where a specific unusual problem is occurring in the mix. The other times then I agree with you that a minimum of simple tools does the job the best. What I disagree with is approaching anything with an absolutism as to what can or can not work. Open minds help in this case. Spending time outside of sessions investigating potential tools and then spending extra time learning the select few tools that have potential to be of actual use thoroughly before applying them in a session helps to eliminate potential faults of overprocessing or bogging down the session's work flow.
There are examples of tons of tracks I work on where there's just 1/2db tweaks from 2 bands on my "go to" analog eq and a db of limiting and it's done. Then there are less frequent examples of tracks where in order to get the client happy with the master I have to do tons and tons of processing - sometimes with unusual processor choices. Whatever works is all good by me.
Again - please don't misunderstand me - I most often use a small number of processors and I don't add new processors to my options very often. But there are indeed tasks like declicking, transient recovery, sibilance removal, etc, that I find are soemtimes necessary tasks in todays mastering sessions. I like to have tools available to do these things - and just an eq and a compressor will not let you do these.
Best regards,
Steve Berson
Post by: Andrew Hamilton on June 15, 2008, 04:10:07 PM
| TotalSonic wrote on Sun, 15 June 2008 16:01 |
Again - please don't understand me - |
Sounds like great advice.
Andrew
Post by: TotalSonic on June 15, 2008, 04:13:53 PM
| Andrew Hamilton wrote on Sun, 15 June 2008 16:10 | ||
Sounds like great advice. |
Hee hee! - fixed that typo - but on second thought - maybe it's a much easier approach to posts on internet forums!
Best regards,
Steve Berson
Post by: Mickey Tee on June 16, 2008, 07:57:57 AM
| Masterer wrote on Fri, 13 June 2008 18:46 |
I have 3 "producer" buttons on my console labelled "beer" "tits" and "ass". When necessary i'll hit one of those and watch as everyone feels the love. Works every time. |
Sorry to be pain, but that is about the unfunniest thing I ever read here; painfully lame imo
sorry
Post by: tom eaton on June 16, 2008, 09:50:16 AM
A joke that makes everyone in the room laugh can be a terrific tension release if there have been moments of disagreement previous...
Half the job is about managing the personalities in the room.
tom
Post by: cerberus on June 16, 2008, 03:03:57 PM
one would need to have iron balls; and some very esoteric buttons
to push with extreme confidence. even female m.e.s.
jeff dinces
Post by: Garrett H on June 16, 2008, 09:14:46 PM
| Mickey Tee wrote on Mon, 16 June 2008 07:57 | ||
Sorry to be pain, but that is about the unfunniest thing I ever read here; painfully lame imo sorry |
The problem is Masterer has people ask him to make the bass 'more spry,' and when that happens, he has to have the appropriate tools for the job. So, the BTA-1 is the tool in those situations.
Just sayin'
Post by: David Glasser on June 16, 2008, 10:37:05 PM
Post by: Masterer on June 17, 2008, 01:10:37 AM
| Mickey Tee wrote on Mon, 16 June 2008 07:57 | ||
Sorry to be pain, but that is about the unfunniest thing I ever read here; painfully lame imo sorry |
Sorry to be pain?
While I'm sure your sense of humor is full of subtlety and charm, I was not kidding. I really do have those buttons on my console. Thanks for sharing your heartfelt opinion though.
Post by: dcollins on June 17, 2008, 02:25:19 AM
| Masterer wrote on Mon, 16 June 2008 22:10 |
Sorry to be pain? While I'm sure your sense of humor is full of subtlety and charm, I was not kidding. I really do have those buttons on my console. Thanks for sharing your heartfelt opinion though. |
"I Pity the Fool!"
DC
Post by: jason goz on June 17, 2008, 05:28:49 AM
| Quote: |
.e. presented with a dubstep track the client is most likely going to want a heckuva lot more low end than a client presenting a typical cumbia would. And a client bringing in a chamber music track will generally want much more natural dynamics left in tact than your typical death metal artist would. So often processing choices (and sometimes the processors themselves) will get made differently for these occasions. Pretending these things don't exist is slightly disengenuous to me - although I agree with you in the vast majority of cases that the same eq's and comps would work on nearly every genre. |
Steve,
Do you master a lot of Dubstep?
Regards
Jason
Post by: TotalSonic on June 17, 2008, 06:50:38 PM
| Jason Goz wrote on Tue, 17 June 2008 05:28 |
Steve, Do you master a lot of Dubstep? Regards Jason |
I've been getting some in from Dutty Artz and Lustre Kings Productions a bit - definitely a very cool development in a future reggae that I think offers a ton of potential for creativity.
NYC's dubstep scene is relatively small now but I think could start to make some bigger waves above ground at some point soon - the "Dub War" nights at Club Love here are definitely worth checking out - you can get an idea of the vibe at - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrVmEQIsWmw
Got to say that if there is any justice in the world then Jahdan Blakkamore deserves to be a superstar - check him out laying it down completely unplugged at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z81LIy5aOHo
Jason - do you work on a lot of dubstep yourself? I'm imagining the propensity for enormous amounts of bass end (some of it using synth patches with wide uncorrelated images) makes the cut to lacquer a tricky one sometimes.
Best regards,
Steve Berson
Post by: Tomas Danko on June 18, 2008, 03:39:11 AM
| TotalSonic wrote on Tue, 17 June 2008 23:50 |
Got to say that if there is any justice in the world then Jahdan Blakkamore deserves to be a superstar - check him out laying it down completely unplugged at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z81LIy5aOHo |
Wow, that guy is simply awesome! What a talent.
Kinda like a Wyclef sans the ego, with added toasting. Imagine brainstorming all sorts of musical styles in a studio with him, it wouldn't take much of an instrumental background to make final tracks with that voice.
The calmer and more RnB'ish parts reminded me of Jacksoul, btw.
Post by: Samc on June 19, 2008, 02:49:12 AM
| Tomas Danko wrote on Wed, 18 June 2008 08:39 | ||
Wow, that guy is simply awesome! What a talent. |
Very OT I know , but; While this guy is good, what he's doing is neither new or unique...And if there is any Justice in the world, all American rappers would stop pretending that they invented the art form of talking/toasting over music.....any kind of music.
I have records with guys ripping it up over well known classical pieces.
Oh, by the way Steve, reggae, dub and 'dancehall' mixes have been going to vinyl for decades now without any problems.
Post by: Tomas Danko on June 19, 2008, 03:42:31 AM
| Samc wrote on Thu, 19 June 2008 07:49 | ||||
Very OT I know , but; While this guy is good, what he's doing is neither new or unique...And if there is any Justice in the world, all American rappers would stop pretending that they invented the art form of talking/toasting over music.....any kind of music. I have records with guys ripping it up over well known classical pieces. Oh, by the way Steve, reggae, dub and 'dancehall' mixes have been going to vinyl for decades now without any problems. |
I never said he was unique, just that he was great.
Talking over music you say?
Post by: mbruce333 on June 19, 2008, 12:41:49 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVbv6r_tKnE
Post by: TotalSonic on June 19, 2008, 04:21:07 PM
| Samc wrote on Thu, 19 June 2008 02:49 |
Oh, by the way Steve, reggae, dub and 'dancehall' mixes have been going to vinyl for decades now without any problems. |
I know - I cut a good number to DMM myself. In cutting vinyl masters bass content is not the problem - it's extensive amount of bass content without its phase correlated that's the problem - which is sometimes occasionally seen in some bass synth patches used in some dubstep or other genres with stereo fx or wide stereo images on them. You can put an EE on or a VAL on them but sometimes you lose the same impact they have when unprocessed. This is the issue I was referring to.
Best regards,
Steve Berson
Post by: justpushplay on June 25, 2008, 12:44:02 PM
| crna59 wrote on Fri, 13 June 2008 20:23 |
I have an "easy" button I picked up from Staples sitting on the console! |
Me too!!
Michael
Post by: greg charles on June 26, 2008, 07:56:25 PM
Maybe the first couple years it was released it wasn't embarrasing however since then, so many hacks and bedroom ME's simply let it wack off 5 times a second and then proclaim their record "mastered" the tool in my opinion has become an embarrasment.
Now many pseudo-pros dis the L-2 when really it was the users fault.
I can't think of any other tool that has been abused as much as an L-2 because of inexperience.
Used properly on the right mix I still think it sounds very good.
Post by: Mark Wilder on June 26, 2008, 10:02:00 PM
Post by: Mark Wilder on June 26, 2008, 10:15:21 PM
Post by: Phil Demetro on June 27, 2008, 10:44:20 AM
I'm embarrassed because they're my main tools & over 30 years old.
I'd take a big hit if they went away.
(ditto on the L2... has no competition)
Post by: MoreSpaceEcho on June 27, 2008, 12:18:37 PM
| Mark Wilder wrote on Fri, 27 June 2008 03:02 |
Man can I spin a yarn. And I got a million of 'em. |
aw c'mon, spin a couple of 'em.
*makes coffee*
Post by: Brad Sarno on June 27, 2008, 01:46:54 PM
Sony CFS-1140 is the model #.
Brad
Post by: MoreSpaceEcho on June 27, 2008, 02:45:24 PM
Post by: Mark Wilder on June 28, 2008, 05:40:04 PM
| MoreSpaceEcho wrote on Fri, 27 June 2008 12:18 | ||
aw c'mon, spin a couple of 'em. *makes coffee* |
But then I'd have no secret weapon.
Post by: MoreSpaceEcho on June 28, 2008, 05:51:55 PM
*slips brandy into coffee*
Post by: dave-G on June 30, 2008, 04:24:29 PM
There's Ted with a client:
and here's some of the engineering staff:
And in this one, you can clearly see Ted discussing the Sterling business structure with Senior Engineer Chris Athens.
-dave
Post by: e-cue on June 30, 2008, 04:50:07 PM
Post by: MoreSpaceEcho on July 01, 2008, 09:57:11 AM
| dave-G wrote on Mon, 30 June 2008 21:24 |
And in this one, you can clearly see Ted discussing the Sterling business structure with Senior Engineer Chris Athens. |
awesome. well done.
Post by: Masterer on July 01, 2008, 12:26:00 PM
| dave-G wrote on Mon, 30 June 2008 16:24 |
Most embarrassing? ... Probably my set of Sterling Sound Action Figures™ .. And in this one, you can clearly see Ted discussing the Sterling business structure with Senior Engineer Chris Athens. -dave |
We were discussing my contract if I remember correctly.
Post by: Viitalahde on July 01, 2008, 02:05:54 PM