POWERFUL, NEW HARMONIC EQUALIZATION SOFTWARE PRODUCES FLAWLESS SOUND TRACKS 100% OF THE TIME WITHOUT

POWERFUL, NEW HARMONIC EQUALIZATION SOFTWARE PRODUCES FLAWLESS SOUND TRACKS 100% OF THE TIME WITHOUT A MASTERING ENGINEER

Atlanta, Georgia - August 15, 2003 – Har-Bal International - a joint venture between TAQUIS (Australia) and HDQTRZ Digital Studios (US) - announced today the release of Har-Bal (Harmonic Balancer) A powerful, new mastering equalization system for all Windows systems (95,98,ME, NT, 2000 or XP) that corrects inconsistencies in mixed track sound files 100 percent of the time. Har-Bal will revolutionize the music industry by completely eliminating the need to have a mastering engineer in the end process of music production.

The software is composed of two parts: a spectrum analysis engine and a high-resolution linear phase digital filter to perform the EQ'ing so there is imperceptible degradation in quality (i.e. noise wise). Har-Bal analyzes a recording, which gives a measure of the average and peak spectrum content (displayed graphically) from which any user can easily judge the spectral balance. Next, through a novel user interface, the software allows you to design a matching digital filter. This differs from conventional approaches in that you no longer need golden ears to judge the problem areas of a particular recording. The spectrum measurement provides you with an accurate indication of any problems in the recording. Har-Bal International is the first company to address the classes of frequencies that have proven to be troublesome to the human body. Frequencies felt in the body, i.e., low frequencies, with high amplitudes and throbbing, pulsing envelopes can make listeners sick to their stomach...so the expression goes. There definitely seems to some connection with the corrected resonant frequencies of a song that has been harmonically balanced as opposed to mastering.

For an undetermined period of time, a restricted version of Har-Bal can be downloaded at http://www.har-bal.com. You will no longer need to test your mastered CD in cars, boom boxes, walkmans, etc. The software uses an 8192-point linear phase FIR filter whose characteristics are designed to match and compensate for the average spectrum as closely as possible.

The degree to which you can boost and cut a particular region is essentially unlimited. Har-Bal International has proven that by coupling spectrum analysis with linear phase digital filtering, Har-Bal provides a powerful, yet functionally simple means of re-adjusting the spectral balance of sound recordings…be they original new masters or re-masters of existing works.

Har-Bal International is currently working on a plug-in version for individual tracks. Har-Bal has definitely taken the pain out of mastering music and will prove to be a necessary tool in any producer or engineer’s studio. Har-Bal International may very well be the next Microsoft of the music industry. Their product really works!

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Hi Alécio! Have you downloaded the demo? Could it be true? Mastering in a box or plug! I don't believe it.

--Rick

 

Lemme just check the date......... nope, it's not April 1st...... This is something I gotta hear for myself.

 

Ronny told me it sounds crap. I dunno how in the USA you guys handle this but a lawyer representing the mastering guys would be interesting to slap such a fake

 

Well, if the demo only plays back in 8bit, it's definately gonna sound crap! Pretty stupid way to offer a demo version where you want to demonstrate your product's sonic quality

Or has he heard the full blown version?

 

I will verify.

 

This sounds just as corny as MTV's new "COMPUTARIZED AUTOMATED HIT DETECTOR MANCHENED" and that "SUPER VOICE SYNTH SIMULATOR WITH SPRINKLES" that popped up at various times. Sure, it's a novel idea. Sure, people spent millions developing it. Sure, it's still a stupid idea.

Bad news is, more people are likely to flock to this than the other two products, and ego will dictate that people will "no longer need a mastering engineer". It's going to be like the dawn of "mastering plugins" all over again, except a whole lot worse this time around.

My two cents.

 

yes...and who said Waves Q10, TC MAster X5, MC2000, MAster Bundle, L1, L2, C4, Finalizer, Vintage Warmer where the enemy tools of the real ME?

 

I think the more important skill is to know *WHEN* to use rather than *WHAT* to use.

 

Wow, that looks like the most useless audio software I have ever seen. Obviously those guys don't have good ears if they think you can evaluate the product doing its work at 8bit resolution.

 

... Maybe they're trying to showcase advanced dithering and noise shaping techniques which work with 8-bit. "What? Only 256 possible values each sample can have? No problem! Our software will smoke that!"


I just went and read the site a little more. What the hell? Using a spectral analyzer and EQ to master? That's hardly ground-breaking in any way.

Hot damn, I use a sonogram all the time, and I don't even consider what I do anywhere close to mastering. It's a visual aid to reinforce what my ears tell me - nothing more.

 

The static is entirely due to the 8 bit restriction in the demo version. I would agree that this limits the performance but to say that you cannot evaluate the effectiveness of the product is not the
case.

If you have the eq filter out of chain then you hear the original track quantized at 8 bit (ie. with the static) and with the eq filter in you here the filtered result which includes the static. This
allows you to realisitically judge the effectiveness of the filter playback as the same static is present in both. It's equivalent to doing mastering equalisation on a recording that was done on 8 bit
equipment.

I am sorry if this is inconvenient but if there were no restriction on resolution what would be the motivation to purchase the product? You could argue that we could put a time restriction on the full
resolution playback but that leaves our software open to piracy through cracking. The resolution limitation in the demo is our attempt to avoid this problem.

If you believe the product has potential you can purchase the product and if you are not satisfied request a full refund and be granted one provided that you do so within 30 days of the initial
purchase.

Regards,


Paavo Jumppanen.

 

If you truly believe in your product...

which I assume you do...

then you could have some before and after examples posted somewhere at full resolution?

dying to hear them,
Brock

 

elkanah: What kind of dithering does the demo version use to truncate to 8-bit, if at all? For the sake of fairness, converting the sample track to 8-bit for an A/B comparison would have to undergo the same process.

When we're talking about a mastering software, I'd say quality is of the utmost importance - Isn't that the root of mastering, after all? This is like saying a Ferrarri is fast, but you're not allowed to go over 30mph. In the meantime, you can test out the Ferrarri at 30mph and see if you like it better than an old jalopy going at 30mph.

But hell, you've probably thought about all this a lot more than I have, since you're the guy behind the product, so what do I know?

Best wishes.

 

I agree Brock, in fact why not have the product reviewed here at RO. Possible?

--Rick

 

absolutely capital idea, my dear watson...

:c:

 

yeah, it would be cool to have a nice review once their boss does not come here to insult me as he did in other forums.

 

I dunno bout anybody else....... but i have this feeling that Dorothy and her doggie are around here somewhere.....

And until we find her......... ignore the man behind the curtain...........

ROTFFLMFAO

I believe in a few things in this world of ours...

One of which is: if it looks like a duck - and walks like a duck and sounds like a duck - it's probably a duck.

Next is - If it looks toooooooo good to be true..... it isn't.

Happy Hunting.... til we find the next clue to the Holy Grail of music.......

Rod

 

I personally think it is a load of sh*t.. Anything that supposedly takes an audio experience and turns it into a visual is way off track.. like “You too can master, even if you can’t hear”… Hopefully this product will fail miserably otherwise some day all tunes run through this program will all have the same spectral balance.. yuck! Let’s just remove the last vestige of art that the industry has for the sake of profit. If these guys have their way, no one will need any talent to make a record.. Pitch correct, time correct and now mastering correction… I’m sooooo glad I’m old and I will be dyeing soon someday. I guess I need to make arraignments to be cremated, otherwise I’ll be spinning in my grave… Kurt
-------------------------------------------------
You don’t let blind people drive, so don’t let deaf people master

 

I do love Uncle Cedar!
The man always has the right answer at the right timimg!
lol