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Optimod 8300

C

chriscollins

Anyone have any good advice on Optimod 8300 settings? I've been slowly tweaking this processor over the past few months and it just sounds a bit grungy to me. I run the Urban preset with Less-More backed off to around 5.5.

I like the Rock Medium MX setting as well, with the Brilliance turned up to 3. It's just quite low in comparison to the other stations in the market. I kind of miss my 8100A/XT2/Composite Clipper combo.

Any help would be appreciated.

Chris
 
What's your format? I have an 8400 and they're fairly similar...and I really don't like my 8400 either. lol
 
I'm not an engineer, but I have trained myself on our 8400 by sitting in front of it a few minutes every day for 2 years. Here is where I have had the most success on my station (Hot AC, with some rhythmic at night):

- "Bass Punch MX" (a.k.a. "Gregg" in the 8400) is great if you're looking for dial dominance. It has different tuning in band 1 so that it really maximizes the low end. Negative side: it sounds pretty aggressive if you're not in a 'loudness war'. (With this setting I like the Multiband Release time slowed down as slow as it will go...otherwise the density is just way too much for our market.)

- "Rock Medium MX" (a.k.a. "Rock-Medium" in the 8400) is good if you're just trying to impress the locals. It's a much cleaner sound with considerably less density than Bass Punch MX. Negative side: to my ear, band 5 needs some more boost.

- A country station down the street from us has an 8300 and uses "Rock Open MX" with Less-More turned down to 8.0. It gives them a lot of punch and a great amount of presence. The bad side to it is that the high end is really muddy...but they've also got a lot of old equipment hooked up.

- As with all of these presets I like to have the Phase Rotator turned OUT. Good luck!

Whit

P.S.: I would go with the setting that makes you or your bosses the happiest. I always compare us to stations in other markets, and I always end up dissatisfied with our sound afterwards. That's why I've played with this thing for 2 years. Don't get caught doing the same thing I've done! :p
 
chriscollins said:
I like the Rock Medium MX setting as well, with the Brilliance turned up to 3. It's just quite low in comparison to the other stations in the market. I kind of miss my 8100A/XT2/Composite Clipper combo.
Click to expand...

If you're low in comparison to other stations, check your modulation level (and competition's modulation levels). The 8300 is pretty loud, in fact it's as loud as 8400 and very close to 8500. Do your self a favor and check modulation, etc, before you turn to processor.

That being said, any preset whit less/more set to 5.5 will probably sound lower than the competition (depending on the market), so keep that in mind as well.


Regards,
Goran Tomas
 
I've spent some time with the 8300 and found that rock general was the best 'middle of the road preset'. But also found it a little mushy. I put it down to a release time in the AGC of 3 sec. Try slowing it down to 0.5s and it allows a little more of that dynamic range and punch back. This makes little difference to the loudness.

If you want loud try the extreme preset and do the same with the AGC. That preset is very loud.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. Goran. I only ran it at 5.5 for testing. The preset I was running (Rock Medium MX) was at 8.5. However, I will take your advice and check my comps modulation. Stace, your tip helped alot. Lowering the agc setting did produce a nicer sound. I'm going to listen to it and tweak some over the weekend. Any other tips would be appreciated.

Once again, thanks everyone.

Chris
 
I'm running Urban MX. I adjusted the AGC (settled on 1.0s) and made some tweaks to the eq, Bass Clipper, and some of the clipper controls. I worked with it slowly, listening to what I had changed before making any other changes. I'm pretty happy with what I have right now. I will probably listen to it all week and decide if any other changes need to be made.
 
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