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Gear Grotto [YouTube channel]


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Hey guys

 

I've finally made what a lot of people have been asking me to do: a YouTube channel about music production, mixing, mastering and audio engineering in general.

 

The first video is up, it's a review of the Black Box Analog Design HG-2 tube mix bus enhancer, and an introduction to harmonic overtones and the potential benefits of adding harmonic distortion to a mix.

 

Since I write, film and edit everything myself I'm not sure how regular an occurance it will be, but there'll be more videos in the future for sure.

 

Subscribe to make sure you get the future updates:

http://www.youtube.com/user/thegeargrotto

Edited by lagerfeldt
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Excellent! Really well done! Not sure I understood all the technicalities as described in the video, but, that's my lack of knowledge and understanding of the subject(s).

 

Just curious, why not name the three 'suspects' (i.e. controllers) you are comparing the Imperium to in your excellent video? Would one get into legal trouble? Or, is it just 'bad taste' to mention their respective names? I honestly don't know and only curious.

 

Thanks.

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Thanks!

 

That's a good question.

 

By keeping these brands undisclosed I avoid making people who own them sad or perhaps pissing off people who've bought the expensive models :lol:

 

The first one should be easy to guess, though.

 

There's nothing legal that keeps me from mentioning exactly what those controllers are, but my goal in this video was not to make any particular brands or models look bad. The shop that gave me the units on loan didn't stipulate such a demand, it was simply a case of me saying "the names have been removed to protect the innocent".

 

I could have chosen three other active brands in the same price ranges and the results would have been very identical.

 

My aim was to show that all active monitor controllers exhibit some unavoidable problems regardless of price, especially when they use a potentiometer instead of precision matched switches.

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Makes perfect sense not to mention the third party names! Thanks for explaining.

 

But, are the differences between active and passive monitors when they use potentiometers versus precision matched switches perceptible to the human ear? I think that’s the ultimate question. I know there are differences using precision instruments, but, what about someone trying to actually hear the differences between the two. If the differences are not perceptible to the human ear, then the differences, in essence, don’t exist. Correct?

 

Thanks.

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But, are the differences between active and passive monitors when they use potentiometers versus precision matched switches perceptible to the human ear?

This difference is clearly audible to you and me and probably anyone on the street, but it depends on the output level.

 

The stereo tracking is the most audible problem as we're dealing with several dBs of offset at lower levels which severely skews the stereo balance. With some controllers there are problems all the way up, not just at lower levels (as shown in one of the active controllers in the test).

 

A trained person with a good setup can often discern fractions of a dB in an AB test, i.e. a 0.3 dB difference in EQ or balance with statistical significance (95% certainty or above), especially if you know what to listen for. In an ABX test and when you're not told in advance what to listen for, it's more difficult, but what often amounts to several dB of balance offset is easy for anyone to tell.

 

The noise/hiss/hum is a potential problem in the first/cheapest of the controllers in the test because it's relatively loud and it could mask very low level information (reverb tails, some depth information), but it depends on how loud your source signal is and how loud you've turned up the controller output.

 

I also measured an unexpected (to me at least) phase correlation problem with the active controllers, but only when feeding them rather punishing signals. It looks like random distortion of the components. Audible under normal circumstances? Probably not.

 

I think that’s the ultimate question. I know there are differences using precision instruments, but, what about someone trying to actually hear the differences between the two. If the differences are not perceptible to the human ear, then the differences, in essence, don’t exist. Correct?

Yes, I agree. Sort of.

 

My general attitude is that if you can't hear the problem then it's not a problem. That being said, problems can accumulate, i.e. a bit of virtually inaudible distortion early in the chain suddenly becomes audible when it's turned up later in the mix, mastering and broadcast chain, or when multiple tracks have a bit of distortion that adds up. Just an example, but you get my point I trust.

 

For that reason you have "best practices" in audio engineering which means that by following some rules about gain staging, dithering, SRC, monitoring, acoustics, etc. you can keep potential problems to a minimum.

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I'm in love with your Black Box HG-2 tube processor.

 

Ever since i watched your video about a week ago, i've been trying to find similar plugins that could either emulate tube saturation well, or at least has a pleasant saturation that i could use in a soft, piano driven ballad music.

 

I think i've found 2, but they are over USD 200 for each plugin.

 

Anyways, can you lend me some money to buy the plugin or you know, just donate your used Black Box HG-2 to me, and ill do the same for someone else in the future.

 

After all it's kind of your fault i lust after it. :wink:

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But, are the differences between active and passive monitors when they use potentiometers versus precision matched switches perceptible to the human ear?

This difference is clearly audible to you and me and probably anyone on the street, but it depends on the output level.

 

The stereo tracking is the most audible problem as we're dealing with several dBs of offset at lower levels which severely skews the stereo balance. With some controllers there are problems all the way up, not just at lower levels (as shown in one of the active controllers in the test).

 

A trained person with a good setup can often discern fractions of a dB in an AB test, i.e. a 0.3 dB difference in EQ or balance with statistical significance (95% certainty or above), especially if you know what to listen for. In an ABX test and when you're not told in advance what to listen for, it's more difficult, but what often amounts to several dB of balance offset is easy for anyone to tell.

 

The noise/hiss/hum is a potential problem in the first/cheapest of the controllers in the test because it's relatively loud and it could mask very low level information (reverb tails, some depth information), but it depends on how loud your source signal is and how loud you've turned up the controller output.

 

I also measured an unexpected (to me at least) phase correlation problem with the active controllers, but only when feeding them rather punishing signals. It looks like random distortion of the components. Audible under normal circumstances? Probably not.

 

I think that’s the ultimate question. I know there are differences using precision instruments, but, what about someone trying to actually hear the differences between the two. If the differences are not perceptible to the human ear, then the differences, in essence, don’t exist. Correct?

Yes, I agree. Sort of.

 

My general attitude is that if you can't hear the problem then it's not a problem. That being said, problems can accumulate, i.e. a bit of virtually inaudible distortion early in the chain suddenly becomes audible when it's turned up later in the mix, mastering and broadcast chain, or when multiple tracks have a bit of distortion that adds up. Just an example, but you get my point I trust.

 

For that reason you have "best practices" in audio engineering which means that by following some rules about gain staging, dithering, SRC, monitoring, acoustics, etc. you can keep potential problems to a minimum.

 

Thanks, Lagerfeldt. Excellent explanation...as always.

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I don't know what the third video will be about, but probably not another review for the time being since I've already done two.

 

If you can do a video about your mastering approach, that would be killer!

Like a short example of how you had to deal with a not-ideal mix. Things like that since mastering can be very subjective.

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It's an 18 minutes video, but yes I'll actually go through a lot of things. Including what seems to be one of the biggest myths of compressors: that the attack & time parameters are time periods, which they aren't.

 

As the title indicates it's more of a "functions" than "technique" video (The Mastering Compressor: Advanced Functions - Kotelnikov GE Review [Teaser])

 

But I was thinking of going into details with something like fake upward compression in a separate video.

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...and it's out.

 

The Mastering Compressor - Advanced Functions

TDR Kotelnikov Gentleman's Edition

 

 

Subjects (although some just perfunctory):

 

Program dependent compression

Threshold

Ratio

Hard knee vs. soft knee

Attack & release misconceptions

Gain reduction limit/range

Peak vs. RMS

Peak crest

Dual release paths

Inertia/non-linear speed/electro/opto/variable auto-release

Low frequency relaxation/side-chain filtering

Basic feed-forward compressor design

Internal vs. external side-chain

Frequency dependent ratio

Yin & yang/harmonics/asymmetrical shaping

Processing targets

Stereo sensitivity

Processing quality/aliasing

Make-up gain

Parallel blend

Equal loudness trim

Equal loudness bypass

Delta eavesdropping

 

I'm afraid the part about learning how to make great coffee was clickbait.

 

There'll be a short follow-up video soon, where I go through some pracitcal techniques and my presets.

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...and it's out.

 

The Mastering Compressor - Advanced Functions

TDR Kotelnikov Gentleman's Edition

 

 

Subjects (although some just perfunctory):

 

Program dependent compression

Threshold

Ratio

Hard knee vs. soft knee

Attack & release misconceptions

Gain reduction limit/range

Peak vs. RMS

Peak crest

Dual release paths

Inertia/non-linear speed/electro/opto/variable auto-release

Low frequency relaxation/side-chain filtering

Basic feed-forward compressor design

Internal vs. external side-chain

Frequency dependent ratio

Yin & yang/harmonics/asymmetrical shaping

Processing targets

Stereo sensitivity

Processing quality/aliasing

Make-up gain

Parallel blend

Equal loudness trim

Equal loudness bypass

Delta eavesdropping

 

I'm afraid the part about learning how to make great coffee was clickbait.

 

There'll be a short follow-up video soon, where I go through some pracitcal techniques and my presets.

 

Hey I'd be interested in asking if your view on Kotelnikov changed recently? I remember you saying in your Logic Compressor post that it didn't fit into your current workflow.

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