You're quite welcome, Mike. :) I figured you might be interested in seeing some of that stuff...and I knew Jeff wouldn't mind me using his thread. He'll probably chime in and add his experiences to this knowing him. :) 

As for the eq and compression thing, you're right..it is like another instrument. But the key thing to remember is to have the right listening environment or you can totally waste years of your life. A prime example of this (not a wasted life mind you lol) but Bapu was to me, and engineer that always had decent sounds but was somewhat missing certain things. It had nothing to do with his engineering skills or his gear as Ed has some really insane toys. However, no matter how good your gear, the wrong monitor representation will kill you every time and this was one of Ed's issues. I got him to try ARC, fed his head a little bit about frequencies, compressor settings and problem areas, and the next thing you know, within a week, the dude sends me this mix that has all the right stuff. 

It's amazing what you can hear when you hear it right...esepcially with eq's..which is the other animal that plagues us...especially bass frequencies. I find that most near-fields just fall short in bass represenation no matter which ones you buy. I didn't start getting the low end stuff down until I got a sub...then of course ARC fixed everything up for me. I know...more stuff to buy, just what we need when we don't have the money, right? Well, let me tell you...pro, hobbiest, semi-pro, bedroom guru...whatever you consider yourself, you can't put a price on removing those black clouds that frustrate you or stop you from enjoying this field. If ARC would have cost me $1000 or even $5000...and I knew it would have worked as well as it has for me...you better believe as much as I think that's a super steep price to pay, it's one I'd have no problems parting with for me to enjoy what I do. Let me tell you...I was in such bad shape, I hated recording. I knew that my place would only be pre-pro only and thought I was the reason. How could I know all the stuff I think I know and fall short every time? 

I WAS the reason...being stubborn and cheap. If you don't have the money...that's one thing...you have to save for certain things that make a difference...there's no way around them. But if you DO have the money and you're so tight you squeak like me because you just don't believe some of the things you read/hear about and are afraid to waste your money, that's when you actually do yourself an injustice. I had credible engineers and producers at my studio telling me "wow, you got everything in here...except good monitors and room tuning." I'd always answer with "bah, I got NS-10's....the monitors the entire world uses....new monitors and room tuning ain't gonna help...it's me, I'm just a crap engineer!" The funny thing there...anytime I was in a studio with room tuning and good monitors, all the stuff I couldn't hear as problematic in my mixes, came right out to me in an instant. This told me right there "hmm, maybe you're not such a bad engineer...maybe you do need some monitors and some sort of room eq and tuning?" 

I of course decided on some pricey monitors...Genelecs and then Adam A 7's with the Sub 8. Guess what...yep...I still couldn't mix much better! Things improved but I was still missing things that I justc ouldn't hear. I was ready to hire someone to come in and do all that room stuff..bass traps etc, room eq...and then I heard about ARC, tried it, and I've been loving everything I do ever since with things translating perfectly everywhere. So the compression thing...we can teach you. Eq, if you're not in the right environment, you'll never hear the right stuff to even be able to have someone teach you what to listen for and how to deal with frequencies. That's definitely the first thing to save up for so it helps you get that annoying beast out of the way. The day the clouds clear for you is the day you sit back ane really enjoy this little hobby we have. Yeah it can get a bit expensive at times...but at least you're not out drinking and getting into trouble....if we went back in time and looked at how much we spent on "party favors" I'd be willing to bet most of us could own a loaded up 500k studio. :) Hang in there brother. Glad some of this stuff has been helpful. 

-Danny

Middleman


The most recent episode of Pensado's Place had some discussion around ARC. It was the acoustic engineers opinion that ARC was most useful in rooms where there are considerable issues and limited treatment. As you improve your room through bass traps, diffusers and absorbers, the need for the software diminished. What that tells me is, if you have a space where treatment is not possible or affordable, ARC is a good solution.

Philip

Danny Danzi

Philip


+1 on the ARC (per Danzi).  It's like a 'studio-in-a-box' or 'bass-traps-in-a-box'.  Translations seem impeccable for me for the non-subs (after 2 months using).

But I still need cans and car stereo for 'outside-the-box' meditations and such. 

Also, I'm not sure ARC works well for freqs under 60-80Hz.  I'm afraid to use a sub in my small room studio with 8' ceilings and sub-freqs.

I'd be interested to know how well ARC works for subs in a tiny room ... or even the car -- ha ha!

I'm not sure how tiny your room is there Philip, but my little "B" room here is 12x12 and it handles the sub perfectly. You have the same Adams as me, right? I couldn't tell a difference with ARC using correction with sub and without on them. It really did a great job to where the correction "with sub" sound is exactly the same as the correction "without sub" sound when I toggle the two. It works perfectly for me from 80 Hz and below. My little "B" room is a nightmare. It's where I like to hang out and do editing, video games and basically has a bit of everything I need right around me as I spin my chair. Glass doors, no room correction at all...it looks like a little music store. Guitars hanging off the walls, a drum kit, mixing console, tape machine, stereo system, 60 inch TV...probably the worst room anyone would want to work out of. But I get as good of results in this room as I do in my big A room with all the fancy toys, bells and whistles.
 
Strange you mentioned the frequencies you mentioned. The stuff I've worked with you on had perfect low end from 45 to 60 Hz in a good way for that style of music. Subby but not to the point of "distorted overkill".
 
You could also be suffering from "excessive bass syndrome" 
 
-DannY

(ha ha ha! ... my ears learn more and more on bass timbres everyday)

Thanks for validating/comparing ... Danny; TBH, I wasn't sure how big your 'B' studio is (where a sub is).  (Yes bro, I have (older) Adam's near fields and should purchase an Adams sub ... in due time ...)
 
I had read several others (incl. Ethan Winer, iirc) who *hate* subs in small rooms.  I'm supposing that Ethan and others listen oft outside the 'critical ARC sweet spot' or haven't studied ARC as a solution ...
 
... else they'd *approve* ARC as an option for us home-producers.
 
So, IIRC, you'd recommend a sub in my 10ft wide x 18 foot wide x 8 ft high room (with the ARC sweet spot employed) ... based on your A-B studio comparisons.
 
Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!