HAR-BAL

Does anyone use this?
http://www.har-bal.com/

yup! fantastic piece of software ...

I have it, love it and would recommend it to anyone.
I'm using it today to fix uneven string pressures on bass guitar tracks. Ignore the hypie web site and try it. But it's not a magic bullet: the better an engineer you are the more use the tool will be.
You just need to be clear in your mind what it ACTUALLY does and does not do!
And the support is the best I've ever stuck.

Another Har-Bal Thread:
http://www.cakewalk.com/forum/tm.asp?m=248665&mpage=1&key=har%2Cbal&anchor#248665

Well, tonight I downloaded the demo and played with it for an hour or so.
Although the demo is limited to 8-bit audio, it still has value (IMHO), and can reveal possible issues within a mix.
One should probably read the tutorial, and understand the program's usage, as others have suggested.

If nothing else, one can use the free demo as an analysis tool. One can apply parametric EQ (recommend sparingly) to even out response aberrations in a mix--then using the "[Alt][2]" feature, visualize an approximation to a "corrective" filter. One could then (albeit somewhat painstakingly) re-create a similar response characteristic using a Sonitus or Cakewalk parametric EQ within a Sonar project.

[OK, maybe I'm just too cheap to buy the thing]

- john

I use Har-Bal myself, am a worldwide partner of Har-Bal and am very involved with the Har-Bal people. I love the app, it smokes anything else like it. Which is why I have donated my time to them in writing their tutorial, helping with various tasks such as beta testing, reviewing and other such things.

Just FYI, there will be a VST version of Har-Bal out before too darn long so it will work in your VST hosts such as Sonar, WaveLab and the like.

This has made my mastering jobs so much quicker and so much easier and all the while getting stellar reviews from my clients. It really can't be beat.

Yeah, I had to jump on this bandwagon and get involved, it's to cool of an idea, and as cool as itis, it's still really in it's infancy, can't wait to see what the future brings.

Ah, funny this post comes up! I just came here in this forum to ask about Har-Bal!

I've been on the internet for the last few hours reading about Har-bal. I had never heard of it before. Another topic on this forum got me interested in sprectral analyzis, but har-bal looks to be the best things to get when you want to master on a budget! I read Craig Anderton (almost) only uses Har-Bal with some limiting afterwards to get his masters done!

What'looks really cool to me is the loudness compensation. I've fooled around with ozone for a while but the problem is almost everything sounds better because it's just louder... You cannot really do an A/B comparison because of this. Har-Bal elimiantes this problem. I also like the theory behind it all (smoothing the complete mix and using EQ instead of compressing the stuff to death!)

And what's even better is the price! Ozone is too expensive for me, but Har-bal will cost me only about 75 Euro! Great! Awesome! I really woudn't have been surprised (after reading all the positive reviews on the net) if they'd asked 350 dollars for it: it seems to be that good and worth it!

I only wonder if it is REALLY true that Har-Bal alone (with some good limiting afterwards) can do the complete master-trick... It's seems too good to be true... But if Anderton says so... it almost has to be the truth!
Mind you, I'm an amateur, so... I don't need pro-stuff, but it's nice if you can get close to pro-stuff for only 76 euro...!

I played around with it for an hour last night too. Cool tool. I want one. It will be mine.

I donwloaded the trial version of Har-Bal, but was turned off by the 8 bit limit, and did not really give it a chance. I bought Firum instead because it's a plug-in and the quality is very good.

If Har-Bal comes out as VST, and if someone can tell me why it's better than Firium I will definitely reconsider it.

Let the persuasion begin . . .

My cat just coughed up a har bal.

R

anybody with ears and motivation might also check out

http://www.voxengo.com/soniformer/

and gives us a compare and contrast

I own this as I was very impressed with the mp3 before/after on the site
but honestly have never used it much as I find PolySquasher to be much more effectibe as a pre-mastering tool

Polysquasher is definitely not in th esame category as Har-Bal,
but from the information available Soniformer with spectrum contraction and expansion
may be doing close to the same thing

I suugest everyone to read this thread. Wow, Aleksey from Voxengo is really a dedicated genious:

http://www.voxengo.com/phorum/read.php?f=1&i=524&t=524

best, drjee

I wonder: can Har-Bal be used with other mastering tools, like limiters and compressors? Should you use Har-Bal first then and *then* use limiting, or the other way around?

Is Voxengo Elephant the best limiter?

FWIW,It's my opinion, having tried all three(HB<OZONE<VOXENGO), that voxengo plugs are the most pro sounding and smartest overall.
For mastering i think the voxengo mastering bundle is a frikkin KILLER deal.
If you spend some time with curve EQ you will be amazed at the things this plug in can do and it does them very well. Soniformer is quite a tool as well.
And i do think Elephant is the best limiter in this category.
Oh and dudes, GET GLISS EQ!. This thing is a real treat when mixing, but make sure you understand the dynamics properly.

And no i don't work for voxengo, i just think that the guy is doing wonderful things, runs a killer business and deserves props.