Post by Charlie Hall on Dec 21, 2008 5:57:45 GMT
Several people are waiting for me to update my 79 new Q2 programs and then convert them to work in the Q20.
Due to being extremely busy with work and answering emails (of which I receive many every day), and up until very recently trying to keep this site running well (it is now much easier!), I regret that it will not be possible to have these programs ready before Christmas. The last few weeks have seemed like anything and everything was happening to stop me from working to clear things up for this year and that became very stressful. Still, I cannot complain about being busy with work, but there have been other factors such as injuring my shoulder, and trying to make sure this site was running as I wanted it to and not as someone else wanted it to.
I have continually been thinking of new ways to improve the Echomatic 2 programs and these alone are the technical reason for the delay as I want to get them as right as they can be, and better than the old programs if possible.
Some of you may know that I use a flanger effect block in the Q2 and Q20 for "wow" (as in wow and flutter). This idea has been copied by many others who write their own programs. This is always placed as the first block that then continues to the EQ and delay sections. I want to try adding another flanger effect at the output of the echo signal. In theory this would produce exactly the right effect of tape fluctuation. The problem is that the 2 flange effects need to be exactly 180 degrees out of phase. In the Q2 and Q20, the phase difference automatically changes according to the number of times the same flanger effect block is used, and unfortunately it isn't 180 degrees when one is added. I have always resisted trying it because of this but have decided to give in and see what it sounds like anyway, if it can be done at all as there is always a limit to how much can be crammed into the processing. I have based this decision on my programming work with the Magicstomp which while also being not perfect in the pitch department, the results do sound very good.
The other improvement I am planning is to voice the Echomatic 2 echo signal with different EQ settings to more reflect the responses shown in a graph on a thread that I posted on my old msn site, which was taken from an actual clip of Hank using the Echomatic 2 in isolation. I have exact EQ settings for the Meazzi tape echo that have been used in some programs since 1998 and are very well received by users, but the Echomatic 2 is a different circuit and response. What I originally did was to take the Meazzi tape response that I knew, and then adjust that response to take into account the differences in the circuits. I will be using pink noise and a software oscilloscope to view the EQ settings instantaneously. Before, I always took a manual frequency sweep from a signal generator into a real scope.
While it was a large improvement at the time, my Echomatic 2 sounds have also been the subject of some criticism but happily for me these are in the minority. Things like "over processed", "too much reverb" (I'm not so sure about the latter, those who have heard the clip will hear it sounding like reverb when there is in fact none at all). The reference for the final sound tweaking will be the out take version of Wonderful Land, which is practically the same sound as the released take before the orchestra and reverb and extra bass drum were added.
I now intend to keep everyone informed here with updates on progress as they happen. I hope to have the programs ready in January.
Regards,
Charlie
Due to being extremely busy with work and answering emails (of which I receive many every day), and up until very recently trying to keep this site running well (it is now much easier!), I regret that it will not be possible to have these programs ready before Christmas. The last few weeks have seemed like anything and everything was happening to stop me from working to clear things up for this year and that became very stressful. Still, I cannot complain about being busy with work, but there have been other factors such as injuring my shoulder, and trying to make sure this site was running as I wanted it to and not as someone else wanted it to.
I have continually been thinking of new ways to improve the Echomatic 2 programs and these alone are the technical reason for the delay as I want to get them as right as they can be, and better than the old programs if possible.
Some of you may know that I use a flanger effect block in the Q2 and Q20 for "wow" (as in wow and flutter). This idea has been copied by many others who write their own programs. This is always placed as the first block that then continues to the EQ and delay sections. I want to try adding another flanger effect at the output of the echo signal. In theory this would produce exactly the right effect of tape fluctuation. The problem is that the 2 flange effects need to be exactly 180 degrees out of phase. In the Q2 and Q20, the phase difference automatically changes according to the number of times the same flanger effect block is used, and unfortunately it isn't 180 degrees when one is added. I have always resisted trying it because of this but have decided to give in and see what it sounds like anyway, if it can be done at all as there is always a limit to how much can be crammed into the processing. I have based this decision on my programming work with the Magicstomp which while also being not perfect in the pitch department, the results do sound very good.
The other improvement I am planning is to voice the Echomatic 2 echo signal with different EQ settings to more reflect the responses shown in a graph on a thread that I posted on my old msn site, which was taken from an actual clip of Hank using the Echomatic 2 in isolation. I have exact EQ settings for the Meazzi tape echo that have been used in some programs since 1998 and are very well received by users, but the Echomatic 2 is a different circuit and response. What I originally did was to take the Meazzi tape response that I knew, and then adjust that response to take into account the differences in the circuits. I will be using pink noise and a software oscilloscope to view the EQ settings instantaneously. Before, I always took a manual frequency sweep from a signal generator into a real scope.
While it was a large improvement at the time, my Echomatic 2 sounds have also been the subject of some criticism but happily for me these are in the minority. Things like "over processed", "too much reverb" (I'm not so sure about the latter, those who have heard the clip will hear it sounding like reverb when there is in fact none at all). The reference for the final sound tweaking will be the out take version of Wonderful Land, which is practically the same sound as the released take before the orchestra and reverb and extra bass drum were added.
I now intend to keep everyone informed here with updates on progress as they happen. I hope to have the programs ready in January.
Regards,
Charlie
