Exciters?

squibble94

squibble94

Nature of Force
Hey guys. I was wondering if any of you use Exciters in your mixes. I know it helps my mixes a lot. Thoughts, opinions, comments?
 
squibble94 said:
Hey guys. I was wondering if any of you use Exciters in your mixes. I know it helps my mixes a lot. Thoughts, opinions, comments?
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Well I'm excited!!! :D
Sometimes an exciter such as a BBE comes in handy on the kick (add some low) and then again on the snare (add some high) ..... just dial it in for taste! But it doesn't work all of the time.







:cool:
 
I used to use them as inserts on individual tracks, but I think my micing abilities have improved because it hasn't even occurred to me to use them for the last bunch of projects.
 
If an enhancer is the same thing as an exciter {they used to be spoken of in the same breath}, I've used them to add a little treble presence but sometimes when the effect was subtle {which is what it should be !}, I couldn't hear it so I'd whack it up and end up with a treble hiss fest. :spank: I may still use it a little {in my new found 'moderation' :D} on some of the cassette portastudio things I'm finishing off but on my more recent digital digital recordings, it hasn't even crossed my mind. I'd forgotten about it until that 'list your set-up' thread.
 
Have used them in the past for the stereo crowd noise in sports broadcasts/recordings, which was interesting for about 10 minutes until (for me) I realized I didn't want such an interestingly processed crowd to be a distraction to my enjoyment of the game in question. But that doesn't stop the pros from using them for that purpose, because many people tend to like like nice shiny distractions.

I never needed one for music recording myself.

G.
 
SouthSIDE Glen said:
Have used them in the past for the stereo crowd noise in sports broadcasts/recordings, which was interesting for about 10 minutes until (for me) I realized I didn't want such an interestingly processed crowd to be a distraction to my enjoyment of the game in question. But that doesn't stop the pros from using them for that purpose, because many people tend to like like nice shiny distractions.

I never needed one for music recording myself.

G.
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They use exciters on crowd noise??? sheesh....

I tried using the BBE SonicMaximizer plug-in today and it only produced lots of noise and static. It used to work several years ago. Not sure why it is not compatible with Cubase SE3 anymore. :rolleyes: What a waste of money.
 
Yeah, I agree with you guys. It works some of the time. I find that my mixes aren't shiny enough sometimes. As for the crowd noise, that's kind of funny. They need to excite the crowd. :laughings::p
 
squibble94 said:
They need to excite the crowd.
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Especially here in the land of the Cubs :p.

I don't know how prevalent it is these days; it's been some time since I was involved at all in that stuff. But back when stereo hi-fidelity TV was still kinda new, the stereo crowd noise of a big stadium was one of the "wow factor" things that seemed to wow people a lot, making them feel like they were in the stadium, and "exciting" the crowd noise was a popular trick for emphasizing that wow factor.

I have a feeling that it's still around, especially on ESPN. Half the times I can barely hear the announcers over the crowd, especially when listening in mono or 2-channel and not in surround with a separate center channel I can control, so the crowd noise still seems to be a rather popular part of the audio program.

G.
 
I sometimes use one when i get the mix how I want it, but it just needs a little top end sparkle, rather then try to get it by turning up the top end of various channels and upsetting the mix I add a little exciter, usually above 6k. I did say a little as it is always tempting to add too much. And if you are adding low end watch out even more.

Cheers

Alan.
 
SouthSIDE Glen said:
Have used them in the past for the stereo crowd noise in sports broadcasts/recordings, which was interesting for about 10 minutes until (for me) I realized I didn't want such an interestingly processed crowd to be a distraction to my enjoyment of the game in question. But that doesn't stop the pros from using them for that purpose, because many people tend to like like nice shiny distractions.

I never needed one for music recording myself.

G.
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Bah! Next time you should follow the exciter with a flanger with feedback cranked up!
 
When Aphex introduced the Aural Exciter, it got quite a few people excited. I have used both the Aural Exciter, the BBE and a few plugin versions. I tend to add just a dash of harmonic excitement as an aux send, but just a bit on bass, kick and vocals. Used to use harmonic exciters more before, not so much lately.
 
I prefer to use digital waveshapers as exciters. Even a simple sine waveshaper obliterates anything put through it when cranked up! D:

But used in moderation they sound more exciting than exciters.
 
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