Real Time Audio Analyzer?

Started by Elantric, January 23, 2008, 08:51:50 PM

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Elantric

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/709274-REG/Phonic_PAA6_PAA6_Digital_2_Channel.html/


Phonic PAA6 - Digital 2-Channel Audio Analyzer with Color Touch LCD


Har-Bal Spectrum Analysis Software - audio tweakers tool use this to nail that tone

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




Elantric

#1
Best Free Audio Analyzer?

Room EQ Wizard is a Java application for measuring room responses and correcting modal resonances. It includes tools for generating test signals; measuring SPL; measuring frequency and impulse responses; generating spectral decay plots, waterfalls and energy-time curves; generating real time analyzer (RTA) plots; calculating reverberation times; displaying equaliser responses and automatically adjusting the settings of parametric equalisers to counter the effects of room modes.
http://www.hometheatershack.com/roomeq/



An RTA ( Real Time Analyzer) is useful to tone match guitar tones, and have a visual understanding of the sonic differences between a Marshall, Matchless, Vox, Fender Amp.

I performed similar tests using an Audio Precision Audio Test system for some of my other gear, some may find it is worth reviewing.

Line 6 Vetta Frequency Plots of Amps and Cabs:

 

feloniouspunk

Nice!  Great tip Steve.  Thank you.

Chris
Lots of Gear. :)

alexmcginness

Man, I am surprised at he lack of intrest in this. This piece of software is indispensable in programing authentic sounding guitars into the 99.
VG-88V2, GR-50, GR-55, 4 X VG-99s,2 X FC-300,  2 X GP-10 AXON AX 100 MKII, FISHMAN TRIPLE PLAY,MIDX-10, MIDX-20, AVID 11 RACK, BEHRINGER FCB 1010, LIVID GUITAR WING, ROLAND US-20, 3 X GUYATONE TO-2. MARSHALL BLUESBREAKER, SERBIAN ELIMINATOR AMP. GR-33.

ZenSonic

Looks great but won't run on my Mac I5.

Elantric

That's what VMWare Fusion is all about.

Or Bootcamp

ZenSonic

#6
On the HarBal site they suggest getting a used PC. I would prefer Boot Camp for sure.

"Where is the Mac version

We are acutely aware that there is a large Mac user base out there that would appreciate our product and we will be addressing this issue. It is simply a matter of time. Since we are a small organization we only have limited resources and this is the main cause for delay.

However, we can tell you that we are scheduled to begin work on a Mac port in the 1st quarter of next year.

If you are in desperate need of the product now all we can suggest is purchasing a PC version and running it on a second hand PC. It will run fine on a 500MHz machine. It "doesn't" run under PC emulation on a Mac. If you do go down this route you will "NOT" have to purchase another license to run on a Mac when the Mac version becomes available because our licensing policy is that a Har-Bal license is good for all supported platforms.

Earle and Paavo
Har-Bal International"

alexmcginness

I use Harbal and wavelab to match up the virtual guitars with real guitars. You can get the virtual guitars to match up so close its scary. My idea with the 99 was to use it to take my real strat and other guitars on the road with me in side the 99. I put a gk on each of my guitars and modeled the tone and string response of each. Now Im on the road with a Traveller Escape MKII with a GK on it an all my good axes reside inside the 99. I even used the app to model my boutique stompboxes.
   Most people I know that use the 99, use it to get, say  a strat or a Les Paul out of it. My idea was to use the 99 to get the guitars and pedals I already had and was use to playing, out of it, so as not to have to carry them around but still have them on the gig. Harbal is the only way to get the 99 to give you authentic re creations of your own stuff. I put a tutorial up on this when I first got my 99 as I used the technique on my 88, and it got the same lack of response that this thread, which was started in 2008 got. Shame, but I guess its true: What you dont know...you dont miss.
VG-88V2, GR-50, GR-55, 4 X VG-99s,2 X FC-300,  2 X GP-10 AXON AX 100 MKII, FISHMAN TRIPLE PLAY,MIDX-10, MIDX-20, AVID 11 RACK, BEHRINGER FCB 1010, LIVID GUITAR WING, ROLAND US-20, 3 X GUYATONE TO-2. MARSHALL BLUESBREAKER, SERBIAN ELIMINATOR AMP. GR-33.

aliensporebomb

#8
alex: do you have any audio samples of your work I could listen to to see how you've used this to nail tones you wouldn't have otherwise?
My music projects online at http://www.aliensporebomb.com/

GK Devices:  Roland VG-99, Boss GP-10, Boss SY-1000.

imall41

Quote from: alexmcginness on February 15, 2011, 06:47:50 AM
I use Harbal and wavelab to match up the virtual guitars with real guitars. You can get the virtual guitars to match up so close its scary. My idea with the 99 was to use it to take my real strat and other guitars on the road with me in side the 99. I put a gk on each of my guitars and modeled the tone and string response of each. Now Im on the road with a Traveller Escape MKII with a GK on it an all my good axes reside inside the 99. I even used the app to model my boutique stompboxes.
   Most people I know that use the 99, use it to get, say  a strat or a Les Paul out of it. My idea was to use the 99 to get the guitars and pedals I already had and was use to playing, out of it, so as not to have to carry them around but still have them on the gig. Harbal is the only way to get the 99 to give you authentic re creations of your own stuff. I put a tutorial  up on this when I first got my 99 as I used the technique on my 88, and it got the same lack of response that this thread, which was started in 2008 got. Shame, but I guess its true: What you dont know...you dont miss.

I Looked for this tutorial and can't find it.

Does anyone know where it is?

I am very interested in this HarBal Spectrum Analysis Software.

alexmcginness

#10
You dont need mine as you can use Harbal to see for yourself. Plug the output of your guitar into your soundcard and the output of your vg into your soundcard. Lets say you own a strat and youre gonna model that into the 99. Initialize a patch and call up a strat. Set the pickup selector to the same pickup on the real and virtual guitar. Set the tone on the real and virtual to the halfway point. Put wavelab into the record mode and adjust the level of each so that its not overloading. Now we begin. Go to the page on the 99 that allows you to adjust the individual string levels. Play each string and adjust the srting level in the 99 so that the output for each string matches the volume level on the real guitar. hit the record button on wave lab and strum an e chord three or 4 times across all strings. Stop the record. Save each side of the stereo wave file as a mono file. So you will have a mono 16 bit 44.1k file for the two guitars. The real one which you will use as a refrence and the other mono file of the virtual strat. Load the real one into harbal as a refrence and the virtual file as a source into harbal. Lay the response curves over each other and visually compare them, You will be able to see where you need to adjust the eq in the 99 to get the curves to match up more closely. Go to the 99 editor and make the eq adjustments, and then repeat the proceedure of recording the two guitars into wavelab and saving the individual waves and importing them into Harbal. Make some more adjustments and repeat the proceedure until you are happy that theyre as close as you can get them.
   It usually takes me between 11 to 15 times to get the model to where Im happy with it.
   If youre gonna use the guitar you just modeled as a controller, youre done, but if youre gonna trigger the patch with another guitar, then what you have to do is plug that guitar into the 99 and record a mono wave strumming the e chord using the new guitar, as closely as you can to the way you strummed it before and import that wave file into Harbl as a source and then you use the last virtual wave file as a refrence and compare the two. The reason you need to do this, is because different guitars sent different tone thru the gk. You will want to tweak the patch to make it match the eq curve that the original guitar was making when it was triggering the 99.
   Even if you use the same guitar as a controller, there are great advantages to spending the time in settig up your 99 this way. If your strat is old and buzzes, you can have the same tone and feel ( well almost on the feel as the 99s response curve isnt exactly like a real guitar ) without the hum. Instant alternate tunings with the same tone as your real guitar. Also, using Harbal will help you get rid of that artificial digital high end that makes the 99 sound brittle.
   There is a learning curve with Harbal, but I found it was worth the effort. You dont use harbal to actually EQ the 99, you just use it so you can see where you need to eq the 99. The 99 has 5? eqs so theres plenty of horsepower there to really get in and perform precise surgery needed to nail the curve.   Dont forgt to learn how to lay the source response curve over the refrence curve in Harbal. You may wish to rent some of the guitars you dont own and model them as well.  Good luck and happy noodlin. 
VG-88V2, GR-50, GR-55, 4 X VG-99s,2 X FC-300,  2 X GP-10 AXON AX 100 MKII, FISHMAN TRIPLE PLAY,MIDX-10, MIDX-20, AVID 11 RACK, BEHRINGER FCB 1010, LIVID GUITAR WING, ROLAND US-20, 3 X GUYATONE TO-2. MARSHALL BLUESBREAKER, SERBIAN ELIMINATOR AMP. GR-33.

imall41

Thank You alexmcginness,

Thats just what I was looking for, and pretty much how I figured it would be done.

This is great. (-:

JCRob

This is just great!!!
One question:

If I have a Fender (5 string) I wanna model, but my controller is a 6 string bass, will I just have to plug my Fender to one side, and my controller to the other through the 99?

alexmcginness

Quote from: JCRob on February 15, 2011, 11:16:03 AM
This is just great!!!
One question:

If I have a Fender (5 string) I wanna model, but my controller is a 6 string bass, will I just have to plug my Fender to one side, and my controller to the other through the 99?

The process I described above has both the guitar youre trying to model and the controller as the same guitar. In other words youve got a guitar with a gk on it and youre modeling "that " guitar. so, get a patch on the vg that sounds like the fender. Plug the fender into your sound card and play something on it while recording that to a mono wave file. Play the same thing using the virtual patch and record that to a wave file. Put them into Harbal and compare. See where the eq needs to be tweaked and record the virtual guitar again. Compare again, tweak some more. When youve got it close enough, save the patch.
VG-88V2, GR-50, GR-55, 4 X VG-99s,2 X FC-300,  2 X GP-10 AXON AX 100 MKII, FISHMAN TRIPLE PLAY,MIDX-10, MIDX-20, AVID 11 RACK, BEHRINGER FCB 1010, LIVID GUITAR WING, ROLAND US-20, 3 X GUYATONE TO-2. MARSHALL BLUESBREAKER, SERBIAN ELIMINATOR AMP. GR-33.

JCRob

Thanks.  I'll post results when I do it (first have to install bootcamp).

musicman65

I just purchased the HarBal software. I plan to use it compare the patches in my VG-99 to the ones I create in the GR-55. I'm trusting you guys that this software is as good as you say!

musicman65

alexmcginness

VG-88V2, GR-50, GR-55, 4 X VG-99s,2 X FC-300,  2 X GP-10 AXON AX 100 MKII, FISHMAN TRIPLE PLAY,MIDX-10, MIDX-20, AVID 11 RACK, BEHRINGER FCB 1010, LIVID GUITAR WING, ROLAND US-20, 3 X GUYATONE TO-2. MARSHALL BLUESBREAKER, SERBIAN ELIMINATOR AMP. GR-33.

JCRob

Planning on install VirtualBox, then purchasing  the Har Bal... Is it $95?

Elantric

I recommend  VM Ware Fusion - great success running many flavors of Windows on OSX

JCRob


Kenmac

Quote from: Elantric on February 16, 2011, 01:36:42 PM
I recommend  VM Ware Fusion - great success running many flavors of Windows on OSX

There's also a free alternative which I use called Virtualbox here: http://www.virtualbox.org  I'm running Linux Mint and Ubuntu on mine.
"Let them brush your rock and roll hair."

JCRob

Ok:
I've done this:
*Installed Virtual Box, and in it, installed Windows 7.
*I have my DAW in Mac OS (Logic Pro 9), and  I want to make the recordings there, so then I can import them to the HarBal soft (which I haven't bought yet).  The problem is I don't see the virtual hard drive in my Macintosh HD.  Another thing is that I want to be able to locate the installation file once I download it, so I can save it for future installations.

Anyone?  I'll wait for the answer before proceeding further...

Thanks,


Roberto

JCRob

I want to see the HD of the VirtualBox so I can manage files manually.

Elantric

#23
QuoteI want to see the HD of the VirtualBox so I can manage files manually.

An answer might be available here:
http://forums.virtualbox.org/viewforum.php?f=8


But I dont use VirtualBox myself!

VMWare Fusion works easy for me.

JCRob

OK

Bought the Harbal, installed it, and have spent the last two hours in this...
Got to a very convincing place with my Ken Smith (after 20 takes...).

Will post audio results soon!