DBX, Do I really need you?

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myurbanodyssey

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What do you guys think? I'll go home tonight and record some things without it and compare, but I'd like to have your take on this. My Tascam 234 eats through tape twice as fast, and I don't know how I feel about that.

Steven
 
Higher tape speed = higher fidelity.

With dbx on = less hiss.

Where are the bad points? :D
 
With your format and tape speed, dbx offers more pluses then minuses.

On the good side, it will reduce audible tape hiss by 30 db or more. It will reduce the adjacent channel cross talk...(the leakage from one track to the next). And will increase usable dynamic range by 30 db or more.

On the down side, dbx can produce pumping and breathing sounds on heavily percussive parts with a lot of bass to them and will slightly alter the frequency reasons curve as your signal is going through some extra circuitry with the dbx on.

Generally, successful non-use of noise reduction is best experienced with open reel formats of 15 ips and where each track has an 1/8" track width each or more. Anything below that and you're better off to use noise reduction, in my opinion.

Cheers! :)
 
Yeah, I did notice some of the pumping, Ghost. I'll just have to experiment I guess!

There was another post, a pretty hot one, involving an open-reel recorder and something about enhancers, and running enhancers between the recorder and the mixing board to enhance signal without DBX on. Can you give me more info on this method?
 
I didn't read all of that thread you mentioned but I believe Beck was talking about the benefits of using BBE sonic maximizers. These are devices that add some clarity to the sound but they are not noise reduction devices. They mostly come in handy to bring back some detail to the the mids and highs in mixes that are sounding a bit fuzzy and washed out. They aren't miracle workers though. You still need to make the best sounding mix you can first and then make use of a BBE device to add back a bit of extra focus and detail to the sound.

Cheers! :)
 
myurbanodyssey said:
Yeah, I did notice some of the pumping, Ghost. I'll just have to experiment I guess!

There was another post, a pretty hot one, involving an open-reel recorder and something about enhancers, and running enhancers between the recorder and the mixing board to enhance signal without DBX on. Can you give me more info on this method?
Click to expand...

If it was this thread...

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=249809

I was talking about using the enhancers WITH DBX, not without. It won't help pumping artifacts, but if you have that under control and just feel DBX makes the sound darker than you would like, a BBE or Alesis Micro Enhancer can bring out the high end.

You can minimize pumping and breathing by watching your peak levels. Forget about the VU meters with percussion… they don’t respond quickly enough to tell you how hot the signal really is. Watch the peak LEDs and keep them so they just blink on transients. If you are still having problems bring everything down so they don’t light at all. You don’t have to record hot with DBX because it does such a good job of reducing tape hiss. Bring levels down a bit. And definitely record at the highest speed available with cassette.

:)
 
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