Haas effect

C

Calwood

New member
I'm just starting to research this topic. I'd like to know if anyone hear uses this concept in their mixing and also,..could anyone tell me if this is widely used in the pro world?
Also,...say if I apply this technique to a given instrument in a mix,...how,..if at all does it effect the other instruments? How many times can this be applied within a mix?

Like I said I'm just starting to research this,..so,..I may be asking some stupid questions above,..but I really dont understand the concept yet. I have a Haas panner on one of my effects units,..but never have used it.
Any info,..links,..whatever,..would be appreciated.

Take 'er easy,...
Calwood
 
We hear with two ears; whichever ear hears the sound first lets us know where the sound is coming from. The sound arriving later (in our other ear) lets us pinpoint it further, AS LONG AS THAT SECOND SOUND ARRIVES IN UNDER 35 MS OR SO. Any longer delay than that, and we hear that second sound as a new sound.

That's the Haas effect.
 
Hey Harvey,..thanks for the reply and the info. I google'd this for awhile,..looked at link after link,...and I'm pretty sure now that I get the concept,..but I still cant really find anything that leads me into a direction of how exactly its used in mixing. How widely it is used in professional mixing,..what instruments are usually effected/treated by this technique,..etc,..etc.

Also,..on my effects unit that has the Haas panner,..it is a 2 channel effect,..does that mean a stereo signal has to feed it,..or can you achieve this technique with a mono signal. I realize this is a stereo concept,..but I'm wondering if I could send a mono track to the Haas panner and would it somehow treat it in a way to achieve this effect?

Take 'er easy,..
Calwood
 
I brought this up from a different direction a few weeks ago. In my experience, this is normally viewed as more of a negative side effect than something you want to do, so you're perspective (and that of your equipment's designer) surprises me. I had a lead and backup vocal panned to center, and I wanted to get the backup out of the way, so I copied it, and panned one copy each to far left and far right. I then delayed one side 30ms, and the Haas effect resulted. It did however, give me a nice rich backup that blended very well with the lead (which was my intent in the first place). Interestingly (to me, anyway), once the lead vocal was mixed back in, the Haas effect dissapeared. All I've heard are a few guesses as to why...

I THINK you have to use a mono signal to get the Haas effect - the definition entails two identical waves , just delayed on one side. So, it makes sense that your box would do this with a mono signal. What is the box, by the way?


Here are a couple of factoids I gleaned from my post:

To offset the Haas effect, turn up the gain on the side that's being delayed until the effect dissapears. This doesn't sound like an option with the box you're using, but its good knowledge to have.

Always check your mix in mono after applying this - it can result in very ugly comb filtering.
 
Calwood said:
I'm just starting to research this topic. I'd like to know if anyone hear uses this concept in their mixing and also,..could anyone tell me if this is widely used in the pro world?
Also,...say if I apply this technique to a given instrument in a mix,...how,..if at all does it effect the other instruments? How many times can this be applied within a mix?
Click to expand...
While perhaps not widely used, there are occasional situations where the proximity effect (aka Haas effect) can be and has been purposely used to advantage. This usually happens in mixes where other more staightforward solutions are mitigated because of other compleities within the mix.

The key behind it is that it's a psychoacoustic effect that tricks the brain into thinking that the first sound in the sequence is closer and/or louder without actually making any intrinsic changes to the first sound.

When thought of that way, it's not too hard to see it as a way to bring a sound forward in the mix when there isn't headroom or balance to spare to simply bring the sound forward by increasing it's gain.

But it's something to use sparingly, usually as a special effect or last resort "mix fix". It's not something to apply to more than a track or two at the most, not only because there are usually simpler ways of bring a sound forwared in the mix, but because every time you use it you are doubling a channel and adding more sound to the overall soundstage. Do that too many times and you'll ruin your stereo (or surround, FTM) stage and turn everything into mud.

G.
 
I like to Mix Haas avacados in with my salad. The instrument I use is salad tongs, with a gentle technique. Then I generally apply salad dressing. Does that help? :)
 
Robert D said:
I like to Mix Haas avacados in with my salad. The instrument I use is salad tongs, with a gentle technique. Then I generally apply salad dressing. Does that help? :)
Click to expand...

Mmmm. Helps me...
 
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