Harmonic Balancing

What exactly does this mean?

I heard that one reason professional mixes sound so good on most systems (and also in lower quality formats like low bitrate MP3s) is because they're harmonically balanced?

[Ford Van]

I heard that if the singer lays on his back while doing a take that he can project better!

I also heard that if you mix with your pants pulled down, you can achieve better harmonic balance!

Ok...

I'm just asking what it means. Not saying that I expect it to make all my mixes sound better.

[Ford Van]

No problem. Just having a bit of fun.

[Tim Gillett]

I've only heard the term referred to a special pulley on the end of a car's crankshaft!.

But more seriously, I love recordings where voices harmonize and complement one another. Vocal harmonies can just lift a performance from mediocre to a cracker track. Certain voices seem to blend in better with one another.
A local band country/bluegrass band here does old Stanley Bros stuff, using a single mic on stage for the 4 members playing guitar, mando or banjo, flat top guitar and string bass. They all also sing vocals and harmony. It's a great sound.

Maybe they also do it with one mic so no idiot mixing dudes can mess up the mix. It happens a lot where I live. Maybe it's the low rate of pay. I wish I knew.
Anyway dont know if that's on topic or not.

Tim

[Freddy]

I don't really know what it means.

The only reference I have seen is on the Har-Bal description http://www.har-bal.com/product_info.php

I read that, and I still don't know what it means

Yea I read about it on Har-Bal too but I'm not too convinced by their software.

Maybe it's a marketing word they just started using?

[DM1]

It's definitely marketing-speak.

Here's a definition from another company using the term:

Harmonic balancing will smooth out the frequency spectrum of your music to eliminate the peaks and valleys across your mix. These peaks and valleys are what cause records to sound so different from one listening environment to the next.

Har-Bal also provide a how-to that shows this "in action": http://www.har-bal.com/mastering_process.php

It's nonsense, of course, like all marketing jargon. Peaks and valleys in your spectrum don't determine what's "good" or "bad," your ears do... And what causes records to sound different in different listening environments is a poorly balanced mix, again something you fix with your ears, not your eyes.

[masteringhouse]

To me harmonically balanced means that there are no frequencies that are unnatural to the content of the recording. For example sibilance in a vocal is not natural, or plosives that exaggerate the bottom end of a voice.

In general, if any frequencies "poke out" of a mix that are unintended, or if a mix sounds weak in certain areas of the frequency spectrum it is not well-balanced.

As DM1 said, your ears need to be the guide though on what is or isn't appropriate.

Originally Posted by masteringhouse

To me harmonically balanced means that there are no frequencies that are unnatural to the content of the recording. For example sibilance in a vocal is not natural, or plosives that exaggerate the bottom end of a voice.

In general, if any frequencies "poke out" of a mix that are unintended, or if a mix sounds weak in certain areas of the frequency spectrum it is not well-balanced.

That makes sense.

In that case I don't see the purpose of something like Har-Bal. Peaks and valleys are natural in a recording, and the only way to know if they're good/bad is to listen...

What good is it going to do to just flatten the frequency curve in your recording? I'm guessing that would just make it sound worse.

[mshilarious]

Originally Posted by danny.guitar

What good is it going to do to just flatten the frequency curve in your recording? I'm guessing that would just make it sound worse.

Usually. There are exceptions, like if a mix is way off, but that's generally a sign of a really amateurish mix. Har-Bal probably does fix those problems, but then there are likely to be other issues that a dynamic EQ can't resolve.

Also if a certain genre of music always has an unusual, unnatural EQ curve, something like Har-Bal could be a convenient way to do that, but I don't know if it's programmed that way.

In the end, learning to tweak the knobs works too.

[SouthSIDE Glen]

Harmonic balance means a lot more in integrated circuit design, automobile engineering, far Eastern spirituality and planetary astronomy than it currently does in audio engineering .

The best I can tell is that HarBal's idea of harmonic balancing is to remove non-linearities in the amplitues of the harmonic series of key fundamentals in the music. The theory is that such non-linearatines are allegedly fatiguing to the human ear, so if they are removed, the result is a more pleasing sound.

Unfortunately none of that has anything to do with actual instrument sounds, actual mixes, or actual intent of the engineer/producer. The end result is that HarBal is really nothing more than an ultra-sophisticated EQ that adds it's own color to a mix. As to whether that color is something you want or not for any given mix has to be determined in the same way as any other coloration or signnal processing does.

Put it in the same category of processing as tube coloration, amp modeling, digital aliasing, tape emulation, etc. It tints your mix with a particular color that may or may not get you closer to the color that you want. But is not a substitute for a proper engineering job any more than a tube EQ is.

G.

[Freddy]

Originally Posted by mshilarious

Usually. There are exceptions, like if a mix is way off, but that's generally a sign of a really amateurish mix. Har-Bal probably does fix those problems, but then there are likely to be other issues that a dynamic EQ can't resolve.

Also if a certain genre of music always has an unusual, unnatural EQ curve, something like Har-Bal could be a convenient way to do that, but I don't know if it's programmed that way.

In the end, learning to tweak the knobs works too.

While by no means a "silver bullet" I have certainly found HarBal a useful tool.

Sometimes it does sound more musical when using the defaults - somtimes it is not useful at all.

However, Har-Bal does also allow you to use your own reference files (e.g. for different genres/sounds) and will show your curve against the reference. It will also try and make your curve a closer approximation of the reference if you ask it to.

I have found it useful as a newbie to understand a bit better what I am looking for, though I usually start altering things freehand rather than automatically - or use other tools having learned a bit more.

Probably the main thing I have learned is that I would prefer to get the sound I want coming in - because anything after that always seems to be a compromise.

I think it's cool that you can adjust the EQ and it automatically compensates for volume.

Anyone know of some EQ plugins that do that?

[SouthSIDE Glen]

Originally Posted by Freddy

Probably the main thing I have learned is that I would prefer to get the sound I want coming in - because anything after that always seems to be a compromise.

DING DING DING DING!!!!!

You will go far. You are ready, Freddie!

G.

[villain76]

Harmonic balancing to me means that everything is where it should be (as far as frequency)bass sounds like a bass,kick drum is low but increased very thin Q to allow for the 4kfreq hit on the drum and not crowding the bass guitar,guitars sound big around 2.5k to 4k vocals all over but seperated and clear...Transparency is another term used to describe harmonic balancing, clear and not rigid on the ears...you can tell pretty quick (at least i can) if something is out of place in the frequency balance.

[masteringhouse]

Originally Posted by Ford Van

I heard that if the singer lays on his back while doing a take that he can project better!

John Lennon recorded that way. I forget which song offhand.

Originally Posted by Ford Van

I also heard that if you mix with your pants pulled down, you can achieve better harmonic balance!

I've heard Jim Morrison recorded that way. I believe it was Riders on the Storm. His girlfriend also gave him a little help.

[zed32]

Originally Posted by masteringhouse

John Lennon recorded that way. I forget which song offhand.

seems like the reasoning behind every recording 'urban legend' is that THE BEATLES DID IT!



also, as mentioned earlier in the thread, the harmonic balancer is attached at the end of the crankshaft to reduce vibration caused by the rotation and varying speed of the crankshaft. if it wasn't there, many cars' engines would theoretically just wiggle themselves apart.

[masteringhouse]

Originally Posted by zed32

seems like the reasoning behind every recording 'urban legend' is that THE BEATLES DID IT!

They probably did, kinda like the South Park episode and "The Simpsons did it".

Apparently the song was "Revolution" ...

"Revolution 1" is the same song as "Revolution" but is performed in a distinctly different style: slower, with less distortion and more emphasis on acoustic instruments (though electric guitar remains a primary component of the track's sound). Lennon performed most of the vocal take lying on his back in the studio, typifying his ongoing search for new ways of recording his vocals.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution_(song)

Once again I prove myself to be a fountain of useless information and trivia.

[RAK]

Originally Posted by masteringhouse

They probably did, kinda like the South Park episode and "The Simpsons did it".

Apparently the song was "Revolution" ...

"Revolution 1" is the same song as "Revolution" but is performed in a distinctly different style: slower, with less distortion and more emphasis on acoustic instruments (though electric guitar remains a primary component of the track's sound). Lennon performed most of the vocal take lying on his back in the studio, typifying his ongoing search for new ways of recording his vocals.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution_(song)

Once again I prove myself to be a fountain of useless information and trivia.

It was probably the smack

[zed32]

Originally Posted by masteringhouse

They probably did, kinda like the South Park episode and "The Simpsons did it".

that's exactly what i had in mind.

[flatfinger]

Geeze, all this and no mention of the spectral balancing of an HARMONICA ensemble??

[gtrman_66]

Originally Posted by Freddy

Probably the main thing I have learned is that I would prefer to get the sound I want coming in - because anything after that always seems to be a compromise.

+1

To add to Glen's rousing ding ding ding!!!

You are of course correct. If there is such a thing as this so called "harmonic balance" that makes the "big time" records so desirable, I think it would be the result of recording some great arrangements of well-written tunes performed by some madly-skilled cats on great sounding, well tuned and maintained instruments. Of course, adding great technique by a skilled engineering staff to capture it is always a plus.

Some great equipment in great sounding rooms doesn't hurt either