Har-Bal

[whosyourdaddy00]

i don't consider myself a pro yet, but for half-assed DIY mastering i've found this program (couppled with Ozone)very useful...anyone else ever used it? it's basically a visual mastering eq....i've had it for a month now and i'm diggin' it...i spend alot less time checkin' my mixes on different systems.

http://www.har-bal.com/

not tryin' to shamelessly promote this, i was just curious if anyone else here has used it.

wyd

[MASSIVE Master]

Tried it just for fun, didn't like it, returned it.

That being said, it was very easy to take a crappy sounding mix and make it "less irritating" quickly and effectively.

On mixes that actually sounded good in the first place, I wasn't impressed.

[Toad]

They REALLY need an OSX version!!!

[username]

yeah, it can be usefull.. but it's definately no substitute for ears.

[CptTripps]

WYD!!!

I use this, I have a crap room with tiny monitors that have very little bass response and the visual aid is welcome.

[zirconst]

I love this thing for comparing to reference mixes. I've used it on 5 or 6 tracks over the last year (commercial releases) and it's awesome if you're trying to emulate the sound of a similar song. Also, it's fantastic for pinpointing trouble frequencies. Sometimes, especially with long songs, even watching a spectrum analyzer and listening carefully isn't enough to figure out exactly what the problem is. Har-Bal makes it easy to see that oh, the average power at 60hz is way too high, even compared to (some other song with heavy bass.)

For $99 it was absolutely worth it, IMO.

[bitman]

I like it. I use it.

[Sid Viscous]

I bought it and it helped me to learn how to get the results without it. Well worth the $100 to me YMMV.

[Corran]

I was thinking about buying this until I saw a post or two saying it wasn't worth it. Maybe it is after all. I need a good spectrum analyzer.

[theblue1]

Originally Posted by CptTripps

WYD!!!

I use this, I have a crap room with tiny monitors that have very little bass response and the visual aid is welcome.

Also good for a crap room with great monitors.


I found Har-Bal to be a useful analytical tool. While I have an EQ plug that I favor for most actual modification -- and it does have a realtime graphic spectrum display, Har-Bal can zero in more on problem frequencies and seems well suited to finding 'overcompensation' in EQ use that can come about as a result of less-than-ideal monitoring environments.

[giraffe]

yea, very handy.
it will not make your crap sound much better, (if it's crap in the first place) but it will make sure that it translates!


well worth $99

[spons]

Love it. If used sensibly it is very educational and helps greatly in finding out and comparing various frequency peaks. Sure the mastering guys don't like it, it takes some of the mystique out of their art

[jetglo]

Aside from drinking and typing.. I record my own music and I record my band. I like HarBal, as a DIY'r on a limited budget, it is a good tool for checking my pre-masters for anything that my 1970s Pioneer speakers might not express, or that my stage-ruined-ears might miss.

Based on the analysis, I can make changes to my overall mix.. or go in and tweak individual parts/notches for a better fit.

There are quite a few mastering engineers who MIGHT question it's abilities or marketing.. but there ARE a few mastering engineers who charged me for less time because I gave them a better pre-master.

I am sure if I wore the robes and rings of the 'Mastering Engineer' I would like to pay off my Fairchilds and foam temple too.. and so I would poo-poo anything that cuts into the cash. But from a stay-up-late-self-recording, DIY, pre-mastering-upstart HarBal does a fine job.