Apart from the obvious what's the main difference between them?
Also is the virtual finalizer on the TC powercore any good?
Pz
Also is the virtual finalizer on the TC powercore any good?
Pz
Difference between TC Finalizer Plus + 96Khz?
- Thread starter pharrell
- Start date
Brett - K A L I S I A
Dreaded Moderator
pharrell said:
Very disappointing... Bought the Powercore almost only for that (and the reverbs) and I wish I would have thought about it twice...
when you say "apart from the obvious" without quantifying in any way what you mean by that it kind of leaves it up to us to figure out what is obvious to you... i mean, to some the only "obvious" difference would be the name...a statement like that is very subjective. so, you let me know what differences are obvious to you and then i'll fill in the rest.pharrell said:
black sugar
The Burninator
Brett - K A L I S I A said:
Are you using the Master X3 or X5? I love the X5, but I got some very good advice on using it in advance from evildonkeymaster. What don't you like about it? Maybe we could help out a bit.
But yeah, multiband compression with the same threshold for all the bands is um... potentially dangerous. Sometimes you kind of have to eq into it a bit to compensate for the threshold thing.
I like the UAD Dreamverb better than the Poco verbs, but oddly enough, I like the 24-7C for crushing more than the 1176 and LA2A. Go figure.
Anyway, I don't know squat about the hardware finalizers so I can't offer any comparison there.
The obvious being the 96K option. Thanks for the info on the powercore - I'll leave that off my shopping list then!
Brett - K A L I S I A
Dreaded Moderator
black sugar said:
I'm using the Master X3. I would very gladly hear your good advice about how to use it indeed ! What I don't like about ? It doesn't sound like the real Finalizer (IANAS - (I am not Andy Sneap) but I know he feels the same about it). Also, it's easy to clip it... And the limiter is not very transparent (less than the L3 for example). Globaly I'm frustrated with the Poco because the included plugins are not very good (don't like the 24/7, nor the reverbs - only ones I like are DynamicEQ and CL) - compared to the ones with the UAD-1 I mean -, but the optional (and very expensive) ones seem much much better (the Sony ones for example)...
black sugar
The Burninator
Brett,
Here's my approximate setup for using Master X5. It shouldn't be that different from Master X3. I'll use some examples from the UAD collection since I like 'em and I think you have those, but you could use anything else, really. This is just a guideline, of course. It's really tough to generalize this stuff while not actually working on something...
1) Broadband EQ -- I like the Pultec Pro here, just for modest tweaks at first. Later on, you can use the "cut" bands on the Pultec to compensate for the lack of threshold controls on the X3 if you're slamming a particular area too hard.
2) Compression -- I use an 1176 (you might want to use something more transparent) on a fairly high ratio with medium attack and the fastest release setting to glue (not slam) the mix, tame the peaks (and subsequently the clips in the X3), and control the level going into the X3. I swear it makes a difference if you control the level here vs. with the input gain controls on the X3. If you can get away with less than a 1.5db increase on the X3 input gain to get the peaks up around zero, that's probably best.
3) Notch EQ -- Put it in place, but set it up last to cut out any ugly areas that jump out when you've pumped up the master to full level.
4) Master X3 -- Set the lookahead to 10ms, of course. I use the default settings on the expander and leave all the target factors in the middle.
For me, the compressor threshold usually ends up between -6 and -12, ratio 2:1, short to medium attack and release. Boost the gain of all the bands to +6 to start with, then fine tune from there. This is where you're going to get your mastering "volume" so you'll probably end up around +6 to +9 or so on average, depending on how dense the mix is.
Be sure to solo the different bands and see how the compressor is reacting, and compensate with the Pultec if necessary. Sometimes I'll throw a C4 with something close to Andy's setting before the X5 to tame the low end boom a bit.
In a sense, I use the X5 multiband comp as a broadband mastering eq, but you'll be a little more limited there (no pun intended). With the X3, I'd probably go with the "smiley" target curve and work around it.
On the limiter, I start with the threshold around -3, soft clip off, medium attack and short release. Don't sweat the clip meters too hard. It's going to clip the meters a little, esp. on dynamically loud, busy parts, but that's ok. Just use your ears, not your eyes, to judge when to back off.
Hope that helps a little. Let me know what you find. I've spent a lot of time with it recently, but I'm sure there's plenty that I've missed or haven't even thought about.
Here's my approximate setup for using Master X5. It shouldn't be that different from Master X3. I'll use some examples from the UAD collection since I like 'em and I think you have those, but you could use anything else, really. This is just a guideline, of course. It's really tough to generalize this stuff while not actually working on something...
1) Broadband EQ -- I like the Pultec Pro here, just for modest tweaks at first. Later on, you can use the "cut" bands on the Pultec to compensate for the lack of threshold controls on the X3 if you're slamming a particular area too hard.
2) Compression -- I use an 1176 (you might want to use something more transparent) on a fairly high ratio with medium attack and the fastest release setting to glue (not slam) the mix, tame the peaks (and subsequently the clips in the X3), and control the level going into the X3. I swear it makes a difference if you control the level here vs. with the input gain controls on the X3. If you can get away with less than a 1.5db increase on the X3 input gain to get the peaks up around zero, that's probably best.
3) Notch EQ -- Put it in place, but set it up last to cut out any ugly areas that jump out when you've pumped up the master to full level.
4) Master X3 -- Set the lookahead to 10ms, of course. I use the default settings on the expander and leave all the target factors in the middle.
For me, the compressor threshold usually ends up between -6 and -12, ratio 2:1, short to medium attack and release. Boost the gain of all the bands to +6 to start with, then fine tune from there. This is where you're going to get your mastering "volume" so you'll probably end up around +6 to +9 or so on average, depending on how dense the mix is.
Be sure to solo the different bands and see how the compressor is reacting, and compensate with the Pultec if necessary. Sometimes I'll throw a C4 with something close to Andy's setting before the X5 to tame the low end boom a bit.
In a sense, I use the X5 multiband comp as a broadband mastering eq, but you'll be a little more limited there (no pun intended). With the X3, I'd probably go with the "smiley" target curve and work around it.
On the limiter, I start with the threshold around -3, soft clip off, medium attack and short release. Don't sweat the clip meters too hard. It's going to clip the meters a little, esp. on dynamically loud, busy parts, but that's ok. Just use your ears, not your eyes, to judge when to back off.
Hope that helps a little. Let me know what you find. I've spent a lot of time with it recently, but I'm sure there's plenty that I've missed or haven't even thought about.
black sugar
The Burninator
Brett - K A L I S I A said:
Yeah, I agree that the quality isn't as good as the UAD in general. But where the poco shines is quantity. You can really run a shitload of them for the less important tasks and save your CPU and UAD card for the tasty stuff. Just be sure to turn off the Soft Sat at all costs.
I get a lot of mileage out of the Vintage CL (I always turn off the limiter section) for general compression duty.
The Voice Strip is nice. I use one on every vocal channel. I also use the X3 on the lead vocal if I want that relentless, in-your-face, modern vocal sound.
I also like to run an 1176 and a basic X3 setting on the master buss so I can get an approximation of what might happen when it's mastered. I turn those off on mixdown, of course.
The Denoiser is good for those random hissy tracks.
I like the 24-7C for sloppy vintage-style crushing. Really, just for mangling stuff, not much else.
Tubifex saved my ass once by adding some grit to a badly recorded (and played) bass DI track of all things.
EQ Sat is decent for notching and shelving. I prefer the UAD Cambridge, though.
That's about it off the top of my head. I definitely need to spend more time with the Dynamic EQ. I haven't even tried the Chorus/Delay yet.
Yeah, the optional plugs are ridiculously expensive. I might be able to get you a 10% discount on those if you take the plunge. I don't think I ever will, though. The UAD optional plugs are very reasonably priced so they'll get my money first (someday).
Jeez. Ok, I'll shut up now. I just experienced kind of the same feelings as you are now when I first bought a Powercore Element, so I'm trying to make you feel better since the mkII is a lot more expensive! (I upgraded to a mkII and I'm happy with it.)
Brett - K A L I S I A
Dreaded Moderator
Hey Sugar,
Thanks a lot for these posts man. I'm leaving right now so I can't answer in details, but I'll try to remember to do so when I'll be back in two weeks and try these tips (won't have access to the Poco until then).
Cheers !!! \m/
Thanks a lot for these posts man. I'm leaving right now so I can't answer in details, but I'll try to remember to do so when I'll be back in two weeks and try these tips (won't have access to the Poco until then).
Cheers !!! \m/
Brett - K A L I S I A
Dreaded Moderator
Hey guys,
So here the latest thing I've been mixing (too bad I had to finish it in a rush, I couldn't tweak it as much as I would have loved to). I've used MasterX3 on the main bus, went out pretty good I think finally...
http://tinoo.free.fr/tower/mp3/bsc.mp3
Cheers !
Brett
So here the latest thing I've been mixing (too bad I had to finish it in a rush, I couldn't tweak it as much as I would have loved to). I've used MasterX3 on the main bus, went out pretty good I think finally...
http://tinoo.free.fr/tower/mp3/bsc.mp3
Cheers !
Brett
Razorjack
Bass Behemoth
Brett - K A L I S I A
Dreaded Moderator
Similar threads
