I'm going to be doing an oldies show. I'm going for a vintage sound and my studio is mono - the music is on my computer in .wav files and goes through a Sound Blaster audio card into a BE 4M50 console into a dbx 160a and finally out through a CBS Audimax and Volumax, which I've had refurbished. It generally has the sound I'm trying to acheive, but I'm getting some rare instances of clipping on certain songs and the audio isn't quite as clean as it needs to be to take the program into eventual syndication. My question is, what processing gear would you recommend that will allow me to 'slam' the audio, yet still sound clean, short of an Optimod, which is a little out of my price range!
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need audio processing advice
- Thread starter bitman
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Given a minimal budget, you could take a look at the Breakaway software. I haven't used it, but it receives great reviews from those who have.
You can try it free, but it will have a Breakaway 'commercial' take over your airwaves about twice an hour. It's a world class processor. If you're not driving a transmitter, you want to try Breakaway Live! and if you are driving a transmitter, Breakaway Broadcast Processor is what you need. You will NOT be disappointed, but you will be amazed.ChiefOperator said:
bitman said:
You're falling into the same trap as creating a "Big Sound" by squashing the beJesus out of all of the devices. The best suggestion is to find the sweet spot of each processor then create the wall of sound.
I'm working on a Breakaway preset that'll make the old-school AM guys cream their screens (computers & tubes) called Big Iron. Named after, and in honor of, everyone in last year's "Big Iron" series in Radio Guide, as well as all forgotten warriors of the era. Designed to have the attack heuristics & micro-dynamics of massive AM station's sound in their hay-days, but without much of the pumping and breathing and also very consistent yet natural sounding spectral balance. Unfortunately it won't be out till this summer in the Omnia.9, and some time later for Breakaway. Will it be worth the wait?
http://masterfulaudio.com/forumfiles/ceaudio/Big Iron 2.flac
That's only my second revision. Many of my presets have over 100. So be kind, it's just a baby, but it has a great mother (my Passive Aggressor preset). There is a tad too much slow hole punching with a slight pump to it that I'm planning on balancing out a tad more. As well as accentuating the attack heuristics even more. This is ONLY the core processing, no stereo processing (duh), and no Undo. There is however a reverb & a very gentle ~10kHz low-pass filter before Breakaway.
If you want a decent retro-esc sound right now in Breakaway, you could enable the "depreciated" presets via the INI file, and use my "Rusticity 73" preset. Or perhaps CGSmooth preset by Corny Gould with a speed/power tweak.
http://masterfulaudio.com/forumfiles/ceaudio/Big Iron 2.flac
That's only my second revision. Many of my presets have over 100. So be kind, it's just a baby, but it has a great mother (my Passive Aggressor preset). There is a tad too much slow hole punching with a slight pump to it that I'm planning on balancing out a tad more. As well as accentuating the attack heuristics even more. This is ONLY the core processing, no stereo processing (duh), and no Undo. There is however a reverb & a very gentle ~10kHz low-pass filter before Breakaway.
If you want a decent retro-esc sound right now in Breakaway, you could enable the "depreciated" presets via the INI file, and use my "Rusticity 73" preset. Or perhaps CGSmooth preset by Corny Gould with a speed/power tweak.
Might want to try the board right into the Audimax/Volumax just for grins. Processors into processors eventually lead to over-processing. Remember, the big sound you are seeking was done just that way, the Audimax/Volumax driving a big ol' tube AM transmitter which many old time engineers would argue added their own particular sound to the audio. Plus we listened to it on our stock car radios through the single 6x9 speaker on the dash! You are probably listening to it on technology that didnt even exist when the CBS twins were the gold standard. Go hook it up to a Collins Power Rock and listen to it in your '67 Chevy and I bet you will think it rocks!
Maybe Phil Spector could help,since he created that wall of sound.I think i have his "Cell" number here somewhere
Nostalgia said:
I did that orginally and couldn't get any punch (minus the Collins). Then the technology thing dawned on me - what were the Max Brothers processing back in the day? 7" vinyl, highly compressed 45's...in other words, they didn't have to work that hard. I added the 160a to replicate the 45 vinyl characteristics from my CD files. I'm really close...just need to clean things up a bit.
bitman said:
If this is something you record and then will be played on a radio station, I'd advise using (multi-band) compression and perhaps limiting, but not hard limiting and clipping. It may not sound big to you when you listen to it, but it will sound big and alive when played on the air. You will probably have to tweak your processing depending on what processor the station uses and how it is set up, to get the best result.
If you fully process your recording as you would an on-air signal, it will not sound as good when played on the radio station. Leave the peaks and transients in there and focus on levelling and compression.
Regards,
Goran Tomas
Good old CRL mono gear works very well. An old SEP-400 is simple and would probably sound really good between the Max Brothers to give you that full sound while keeping the audio tonal balance consistant. CRL made musical stuff and it's cheap to find. You can get a good mono SEP-400 for what you paid for the DBX and it sounds a hell of alot better.
Even better would be the APP-400 with the SEP-400 and Volumax
http://www.broadcastavsales.com/products/CRL-SEP%2d400-Spectral-Energy-Processor-Reconditioned.html
This would be a great buy. Lightner does good work and refurbed an Autogram console a few years ago for a friend. Sounds great!
If you can slow down the Audi and find a good sweet spot in the Volumax, that would be best. Find an Orban reverb between the CRL and Volumax and you're really good.
Nothing beats hardware processing for reliability, be it analog or on purpose built "computers".
Even better would be the APP-400 with the SEP-400 and Volumax
http://www.broadcastavsales.com/products/CRL-SEP%2d400-Spectral-Energy-Processor-Reconditioned.html
This would be a great buy. Lightner does good work and refurbed an Autogram console a few years ago for a friend. Sounds great!
If you can slow down the Audi and find a good sweet spot in the Volumax, that would be best. Find an Orban reverb between the CRL and Volumax and you're really good.
Nothing beats hardware processing for reliability, be it analog or on purpose built "computers".
How can I do this INI file trick?Jesse Graffam said:
Jesse Graffam said:I'm working on a Breakaway preset that'll make the old-school AM guys cream their screens (computers & tubes) called Big Iron. Named after, and in honor of, everyone in last year's "Big Iron" series in Radio Guide, as well as all forgotten warriors of the era. Designed to have the attack heuristics & micro-dynamics of massive AM station's sound in their hay-days, but without much of the pumping and breathing and also very consistent yet natural sounding spectral balance. Unfortunately it won't be out till this summer in the Omnia.9, and some time later for Breakaway. Will it be worth the wait?
http://masterfulaudio.com/forumfiles/ceaudio/Big Iron 2.flac
That's only my second revision. Many of my presets have over 100. So be kind, it's just a baby, but it has a great mother (my Passive Aggressor preset). There is a tad too much slow hole punching with a slight pump to it that I'm planning on balancing out a tad more. As well as accentuating the attack heuristics even more. This is ONLY the core processing, no stereo processing (duh), and no Undo. There is however a reverb & a very gentle ~10kHz low-pass filter before Breakaway.
If you want a decent retro-esc sound right now in Breakaway, you could enable the "depreciated" presets via the INI file, and use my "Rusticity 73" preset. Or perhaps CGSmooth preset by Corny Gould with a speed/power tweak.
God, that sounds like something I'd love. I'm already using the CGSmooth preset with some tweaks and it's close to the sound I want but not quite there. I'll be buying Breakaway in a week or two, would I be able to get an updated version once Big Iron is finished and added?
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