Spectrum Analysers

[sureno]

So what are you guys using, i used to use SPAN by voxengo but now being on Mac use Logics in built EQ one but am looking for something different

[modz1]

Call me old fashioned.. (quiet at the back!).. I use an old Behringer 8024 Ultracurve hardware unit for one reason, and one reason alone.. its real-time Spectrum Analyser facility - it can be configured to be fast and accurate and gives me a great visual 2nd opinion to what my ears are telling me..

[sureno]

Originally Posted by modz1

Call me old fashioned.. (quiet at the back!).. I use an old Behringer 8024 Ultracurve hardware unit for one reason, and one reason alone.. its real-time Spectrum Analyser facility - it can be configured to be fast and accurate and gives me a great visual 2nd opinion to what my ears are telling me..

ok then, "old fashioned" neeeeexxxxxtttttttt
seriosly though i take it's been dicontinued as DV dont hold it, i do prefer a graph display how ever and can you take "stills" on it?

[modz1]

Originally Posted by sureno

.. i do prefer a graph display how ever and can you take "stills" on it?

Well, it will show a peak hold indication of each frequency (making that lovely 'sports car' curve), though no way to take a still image - unless you get a camera on macro setting and physically shoot it
Modz1: Specialist subject - The bleedin' obvious'

[terminal3]

I use this:

Audiofile Engineering - Spectre

on a set of outputs

and

this:

RNDigital | INSPECTOR XL

in the daw.

There's a free 'lite' stereo-only version of the 2nd one, available here:

RNDigital | INSPECTOR FREE

[sureno]

Originally Posted by modz1

Well, it will show a peak hold indication of each frequency (making that lovely 'sports car' curve), though no way to take a still image - unless you get a camera on macro setting and physically shoot it
Modz1: Specialist subject - The bleedin' obvious'

Happy snappin then

Originally Posted by terminal3

I use this:

Audiofile Engineering - Spectre

on a set of outputs

and

this:

RNDigital | INSPECTOR XL

in the daw.

There's a free 'lite' stereo-only version of the 2nd one, available here:

RNDigital | INSPECTOR FREE

I do like the look of the Roger nichols Analyser thanks guys for the input

[terminal3]

I try not to rely too heavily on them though. after all, you don't look at sounds.

[sureno]

Originally Posted by terminal3

I try not to rely too heavily on them though. after all, you don't look at sounds.

yes totally agree to begin with i was sucked into the seeing sound flaw but i like to have the spectrum as an aid to a certain extent, say if there's something im not quite finding immediately if that makes sense, im only really learning myself still so am no expert at picking out dodgey frequencies yet so the spectrum will normally indicate to me where there "might" be a problem

[TrevCircleStudios]

Call me old fashioned (this may be predictable)... I use my ears. (Though admittedly have in the past used both RN and spectrafoo)

[sureno]

Originally Posted by modz1

Call me old fashioned.. (quiet at the back!).. I use an old Behringer 8024 Ultracurve hardware unit for one reason, and one reason alone.. its real-time Spectrum Analyser facility - it can be configured to be fast and accurate and gives me a great visual 2nd opinion to what my ears are telling me..

Originally Posted by TrevCircleStudios

Call me old fashioned (this may be predictable)... I use my ears. (Though admittedly have in the past used both RN and spectrafoo)

How old are you guys yes metric halo's spectrafoo is nice but $$$

[EdRyan]

If you want to make the Logic analyser more accurate..

Underneath the button where you turn the analyser on, there are two buttons. One selects which side of the eq plugin the analyser looks at. Either before the eq circuit, or afterwards. Below this, is a button that controls the resolution of the analyser. The basic function of this control is that is dictates how many sample points logic uses to create the FFT display. that represents the signal

If you then click the little arrow in the bottom left of the eq plug in, you'll get further options to select absolute or RMS monitoring. For individual tracks and insts, use peak. For checking on groups and the main output, i'd recommend using RMS.

Now, the real trick is to up the decay rate to 30dB. This makes the display appear to update quicker. It's actually altering the response time of the analyser, not the display rate. By falling quicker, the analyser shows a more accurate representation of whats happening; because it's not holding and displaying older information.

A word of warning though. If you turn up the resolution and turn down the decay, it can seriously up the load on your cpu...

[sureno]

Originally Posted by EdRyan

If you want to make the Logic analyser more accurate..

Underneath the button where you turn the analyser on, there are two buttons. One selects which side of the eq plugin the analyser looks at. Either before the eq circuit, or afterwards. Below this, is a button that controls the resolution of the analyser. The basic function of this control is that is dictates how many sample points logic uses to create the FFT display. that represents the signal

If you then click the little arrow in the bottom left of the eq plug in, you'll get further options to select absolute or RMS monitoring. For individual tracks and insts, use peak. For checking on groups and the main output, i'd recommend using RMS.

Now, the real trick is to up the decay rate to 30dB. This makes the display appear to update quicker. It's actually altering the response time of the analyser, not the display rate. By falling quicker, the analyser shows a more accurate representation of whats happening; because it's not holding and displaying older information.

A word of warning though. If you turn up the resolution and turn down the decay, it can seriously up the load on your cpu...

thanks ed, can you enlarge the display, im familiar with the response rates, i like to have a fairly large view, can you change this in logic?

[mrfracas]

Originally Posted by sureno

ok then, "old fashioned" neeeeexxxxxtttttttt
seriosly though i take it's been dicontinued as DV dont hold it, i do prefer a graph display how ever and can you take "stills" on it?

Here's one Buy-It-Now on EvilBay (as Trev calls it ):

Behringer Ultra-Curve Pro 24 Bit DSP 8024 W/Case. N/R

I haven't found any spectrum analyser plugins that compare to SPAN; but maybe it's time to use those Jedi skills and hear the dynamics!

[EdRyan]

Nope. I do believe that the plug in windows are fixed in size. So you can't make the display bigger. to be fair though, it's detailed enough imo.

[sureno]

Originally Posted by EdRyan

Nope. I do believe that the plug in windows are fixed in size. So you can't make the display bigger. to be fair though, it's detailed enough imo.

are we talking about the eq + analyser?