Topic: Post Stealth Processing? Do you do any?

[skua]

Do most tapers just release or trade raw recordings as captured by their equipment? Or do you do any post recording mastering?

I like to at lease apply fade in / fade out where appropriate... and sometimes I find that the application of a little EQ and maybe a little multi-band compression can really bring a recording to life.  

Do you have an tips or tricks when it comes to mastering a show? Or do you just run with what you've got on tape?

-skua-

[Sloan Simpson]

There's a split on the issue, lots of folks in both the leave-it-alone and tweak-it categories. . .

I personally will do some minor things to a show if I think it makes it sound better because the majority of downloaders aren't going to have the software/skill/initiative/clue to do it later; I also do it because it's the way I like it, and it's easier for me to distribute the same fileset.


Sloan

[greenone]

I'll fade in/out, and occasionally normalize, but I know so little about post-processing that I'd rather leave it alone and let others tweak to their liking later...

--Dave

[RA]

I always normalize and add fades. Usually a slight EQ also. Depends on the raw recording really. I try to make it sound as good as possible in my ears. I generally trade out the "fixed" version, but I keep the raw recording if someone wants that instead.

[firmdragon]

i normally just do fade in/out and normalize.

[JAH]

i normally just do fade in/out and normalize.

I oly do so if it make it sound better but that too is subjective....

not related but wanted to say to firmdragon....cool buscat......do you know what that is from (I do).

peace
jah

[sexymexi]

i fade in and out, thats about it.  Sometimes i'll mess around with it, but not normally.  

[pfife]

I do things only when I need to... which is, much of the time, a normalization.

What I do is normalize it until the loudest point of the recording is just about peaking, and then back it off a tad.  This keeps the dynamics proportional throughout the recording, but raises the volume.

[leegeddy]

i like to fix a recording for a better listening experience. stealth tapes have various problems in many cases like volume fluctuations, nuke crowds, phasing problems, etc.

while everything can't be fixed, i try to do my best to even out the signal in case of amplitude fluctuations.  standard fades and cross-fading any cuts would be fine as well.  

marc

[Sean Gallemore]

rarely do I EQ, but sometimes it is necessary if the bass roll-off is too high or too low.  Other than that it is only subjected to fades

[greenone]

Ok, normalization question...why bother normalizing to 98%? Why not go to 100%? Isn't normalizing, by definition, getting something as loud as possible without clipping? Why would you want to lose that 2% of dynamic range?

[firmdragon]

i normally just do fade in/out and normalize.

I oly do so if it make it sound better but that too is subjective....

not related but wanted to say to firmdragon....cool buscat......do you know what that is from (I do).

peace
jah

thanks

yep its from my neighbor totoro.  i'm suprised someone actually recognized it.

[Savage Messiah]

I use a "top-down" method of EQing.. If the bass and treble settings all the way up on my Aiwa CX-NAJ50 stereo, the audio will be properly EQed if it doesn't sound too tinny, and if the bass doesn't distort coming out of the speakers when the volume is turned up in the 20's.

So when I'm transferring the audio from DAT, I monitor the recording with the RCA outs on my DiO 2496 going into my stereo, and then adjust the bass and treble settings on my stereo until the audio sounds most listenable. Then I use those bass and treble settings to estimate how much of a bass or treble cut/lift I have to do in Cool Edit.

I've subsequently put a lot of EQ'ed stuff out on Sharing The Groove, and haven't received any complaints yet

Good thing is that only about half of my stealth recordings have needed EQing.

[RobC]

I do fade in and fade outs at beginning and end of sets and that about it.

IMO if I need to Normalize the recording than I was too whimpy with my levels when I recorded it

edited to say:
i didn't notice this was for stealth recordings,  for stealth recordings normalization most likely would be necessary since levels can't be easily checked and adjusted and keeping them a little low is safe

[page]

I do not do anything to my recordings, even to the extent that I wont trade out anything I taped on MD (even if I was the only taper there) since I cant do a digital->digital transfer without that analog output/input in there somewhere...

This is primarily because I believe in creating documents of events, memories if you will, and cleaning up a recording is altering a memory, even to make it clearer. I dunno, something about it doesnt seem right to me.

yep its from my neighbor totoro.  i'm suprised someone actually recognized it.

I have all of Miyazaki's movies (except for Spirited Away), and also the ones that Takahata has done with Ghibli too.

I even have a catbus window suction cup plushie and a plushie of the smallest of the totoros (the white one). Paid through the nose to get them though. besides taping, my money goes to anime... I need help...  

-- Page