Topic: Annoying frequency

[morningdew]

O.k. I've noticed this more and more lately at live concerts.  Some bands that I tape are using a frequency for a sound that sounds like crap on my car stereo.

An example, I just taped Disco Biscuits and Umphrey's MacGee.  Both bands used this particular "sound" that seems to overload my car speakers.  On my home system I play back the shows and they sound very good.  However, when I put the same CD in my car it can really sound like crap.  I can somewhat tone it down by turning down both my treble and bass knobs two clicks.  I have no idea how simple bass/treble knobs work but I'm guessing they do some type of curved roll-off where they reduce the extreme frequencies more so than the freq's closer to the middle of the curve.  If this is true, the frequency range that is really making my car speakers sound crappy is probably in the middle of the curve.  Like I said it seems to work best if I turn down both the bass and treble knob 2-3 notches.

1.  Anyone know immediately what I'm talking about and have similar problems?  If yes, is there something I can do post to make the recording sound good on both my home and car system.

2.  I'm at the point now where I really enjoy listening to the shows on my home system but it's a bummer that I can take them to my car.

[ethan]

My 93 Eagle vision had the same problem. It was especially bad with Hammond B3's in the 250 Hz range. I took care of it by junking that car.

-e

[morningdew]

Yeah,

I knew I was going to get "Buy a new car" and "Install new stereo"  .

But, your right I believe the sound is being made by the keyboards.

[greenone]

I knew I was going to get "Buy a new car" and "Install new stereo"  .

I'll submit "tape different bands" for the trifecta!

[ethan]

I knew I was going to get "Buy a new car" and "Install new stereo"  .

I'll submit "tape different bands" for the trifecta!

[live2496]

Yeah,

I knew I was going to get "Buy a new car" and "Install new stereo"  .

But, your right I believe the sound is being made by the keyboards.

Morningdew,

Ok, now for something affordable. 

It is likely that the offending frequency is just too dominant and it is masking the highs and mids.

If you have these files on a computer or can get your files onto a computer, download this tool.
http://www.har-bal.com

Load up your audio file into this program. It will analyze the file and give you a frequency trace of the amount of energy in the audio spectrum. Look for any sharp peaks (mountains) in the freq trace. If you have a lot of energy at 250hz it should show up in the trace. Follow the example tutorials to design an eq curve that will smooth out the audio. The idea is to gently reduce the peaks and perhaps boost the valleys so that the track is more listenable. This is too much to go into here, but they have good tutorials.

If a frequency is resonant it will make you want to turn down your speakers while listening at a louder level. This indicates an eq problem. Also, small loudspeakers are not able to reproduce some very low frequencies, so this may build up in the cabinet and make the audio sound muddy too.

After you have treated the audio with harbal and still have a problem try this tip:
http://www.har-bal.com/ipw-web/bulletin/bb/viewtopic.php?t=722
Don't get too carried away with low-shelving though as it will take away a lot of the lower energy.  His suggestion is to lower the lowest frequencies by 2db at most.

I don't know how you may feel about this, but you might not want to alter your original audio. Still, you can experiment with this to create a new CD which will sound better in your car.

Gordon