[Music] Playing Around with the New Helios EQ-4/2 UPDATE

[Jeraz]

Updated links. Was still the old link until 2 PM EST 4/02. Sorry!

This is my first song mixed with the Helios 69 EQ. It’s actually re-master from an earlier version, and both are on my site, at 192kbps.

The song is a little weird, but is a good one to play with, since it is vocal + guitar only, and tracked pretty cleanly. The noise in the beginning is handling noise. I was going to remove it, but recently listened to a Bensusan album where you could hear the guy breathing and moving all over the place, and after that, figured, \"to heck with it\".

The first version, this one:

I Found Me (Original)


-Guitar: Used only Gliss EQ with a -6dB trough around 200Hz, but set Gliss so that only big transients were EQ’d (sensitivity setting of 2 on that band). Real gentle, passive EQ in Samplitude’s AM*PHIBIA analog modeler.
-VOX: Used only Voxengo Voxformer’s built in EQ with a little dip at 950Hz, plus Samplitude’s built in EQ with a trough of -2dB at around 3K, and a +1db shelf at 4K
No EQ on the master. Real gentle, passive EQ in Samplitude’s AM*PHIBIA analog modeler on mids and highs (no settings…that plug is done by ear)

New (Helios) version:

I Found Me (Helios Version)

-Guitar: Flattened Voxengo Gliss trough by 2dB; added Helios with -9dB 50Hz Bass setting, -1d on 700Hz, and +2dB on 10kHz, and boosted gain by rotating knob to not quite 3PM.
-VOX: flattened Voxformer EQ; eliminated Samplitude EQ altogether; added mono Helios on vox stem with only a -1dB trough at 3.5K and no gain change; added another, stereo Helios to the Vox buss, after compression and before reverb, with Bass set to -9dB, a mid trough of -6dB at 1kHz; and +2dB at 10kHz.

Interesting results…this is my first pass with this, and is really sort of a Band-Aid mix—I plan on doing a re-master from the ground up, utilizing the Helios, but thought it might be fun to see what’s possible just “fitting in” the Helios to an existing work.

All tracks through a John Hardy M-1 (2-channel), direct into the RME FF800 (I didn’t have the API A2D back when I recorded this, or I would have used its ADs, which to my ears sound somewhat smoother, with less “hype”...and that is a relative statement, because when not A/Bing, the RME sounds great to me).

Thoughts?

 

[pbissell]

Nice

Nice.
I have to say - in THIS setting, there is an air about the original that I like. The Helios version just seems smaller in a sense. However the original seems somewhat bright and I dig the darker overall quality, I just wish it would 'draw me in' like the opening guitar of #1.
Thanks for this!

Paul

 

[Jeraz]

Thanks Paul...you know, I think that the original is louder...I didn't take care to to make them exactly alike in that regard. I am gong to go back in over the next several days and tweak. Thanks for the listen and comment!

 

[Akis]

The original is actually way louder.

 

[Jeraz]

The original is actually way louder.

True, and I prefer the quieter...what do you think? Perhaps a another 1dB would be optimal...but I a worried too loud and I would lose the dimension I hear now. I guess I'll find out when I try. :wink:

 

[Dan Duskin]

Yeah... the original is louder, so the listener needs to adjust the volume to make a fair comparasin (which is what I did).

I think the Helios version has a nicer high-boost... but, you might have used 1dB too much of it, but that's just my personal opinion comparing it to the original.

Great guitar sound!
Nice chorus!

Personally, I think the vocals need more compression or fader riding, and a few vocal notes need some pitch correction... but, i'm used to working with more modern stuff... so, take it with a grain of salt...

Nice work!

Cheers!

 

[Jeraz]

@Dan

Thank you for the compliments on the guitar sound and chorus.

Great feedback, too. I took some of your comments to heart. I agree that I overdid it a bit with the helios. I throttled back, and also swapped out the Fairchild for the 33609, and added more vocal compression. I will go back in and touch up the pitchy parts, or maybe even re-sing it. I also made it louder. Soundwise, at least, I like this mix better.

@Paul

I've been mulling over what qualities drew you in at the intro of the original. I hope that I put SOME of that back. There is more ambience to this newer mix.

PS: I didn't change the link until 4/2, 2:04 PM EST. Oversight on my part...until then, the old file was streaming. Now I am listening to this one for the first time on Sharp E2C buds...the one thing that I didn't check the mix on, and I am concerned that the guitar is a bit boomy...may have to go in and correct.