Happy New Years Eve !

[meriam]

Greetings my friends, and a happy new years eve !
im Ecstatic to share with you my new trax recorded on the Genos
that has now been accepted by an Independant Record Label.

Wishing everyone Best Wishes & Good Luck for 2019
Meriam x

https://vimeo.com/290990091

[KeyboardByBiggs]

Congratulations, completely awesome! 

[meriam]

Congratulations, completely awesome! 

Happy New Years Day ! Mr Biggs.
many thanx for your comment, but i have a question after
watching your amazing Genos-Unboxing-Live video

DID YOU ROB A BANK ?

Hey iv never seen so much Yamaha equipment in a residential Facility 

[KeyboardByBiggs]

LOL Thanks for noticing!

I've been playing all sorts of keyboards for nearly 50 years now. I started playing professionally at the ripe old age of 13. My main instruments were organ and piano during that time. The value of all that Yamaha gear is nothing compared to buying a B3 and/or a baby grand. Plus, I've had my recording studio up and running for about 20 years, so that allows me to use all my gear for business as well as pleasure.

I'm sorry there isn't more content on that channel yet. A couple of weeks after I filmed that unboxing video I injured my neck and my hands started to go numb. Not a great thing for a keyboard player. Getting lots of therapy and hoping to get back to the videos soon!

I actually played on a charting Ibiza chill song a couple of years ago. The artist was Villablue and the song was One Step Away, It was on the Cafe Del Mar 15 album. I was brought in as a studio musician to do all of the flamenco guitar parts on the keyboard, including the pinch harmonics you hear pinging up high throughout the song. Here's a link to the officially licensed video on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCAlnT8BSr4

When your next album calls for a searing B3 part or any other cool keyboard parts, keep me in mind.

[meriam]

Hey Biggs
thats fantastic to be involved in a mainstream commercial project
that can reach Millions of people.

i can hear you playing the flamenco guitar, in the trax
its sounds really professional, and reminds of a group called SHAKATAK.

The Cafe-Del-Mar Record label, is Highly Respected in the Music Business
i found the original online Album that you were involved in too
https://goo.gl/FMDG1C

Wishing you a speedy recovery with your Neck Injury
Get well soon
Meriam x

[KeyboardByBiggs]

thats fantastic to be involved in a mainstream commercial project that can reach Millions of people.

Yes, LOADS of fun. One of the other cool trivia facts is that Villablue is a husband and wife team that live outside of Paris, and I did my parts from my studio in Spokane, Washington. Gotta' love the Internet!

i can hear you playing the flamenco guitar, in the trax its sounds really professional, and reminds of a group called SHAKATAK.

Just went and listened to a few tracks. Same feel! How about that! Putting them in my playlist, thanks!

The Cafe-Del-Mar Record label, is Highly Respected in the Music Business
i found the original online Album that you were involved in too
https://goo.gl/FMDG1C

Awesome, thank you for finding that, I didn't know it was there!

Wishing you a speedy recovery with your Neck Injury

Thanks, Meriam, the faster the better as far as I'm concerned! Keep us in the loop on your journey with the new album. I can't wait to see what happens for you!

[meriam]

did my parts from my studio in Spokane, Washington. Gotta' love the Internet!

Hi Biggs
With your extensive experience of musical equipment via your Studio,
perhaps you could check somethin out for us.

One of the Audio engineers i do trax with , and another mixer engineer
at the studio ,both suspected that the genos master comppressor is Faulty ?

They had to Bypass it, and use their own comppressor for the final mix down
using the Broadcast ,Optimod 8600.

https://youtu.be/I3UNqr4-BYY?t=5

They told me they think the genos master comp, isnt adding any comppression
at all, all its adding is more volume.
they said comppression reduces volume, it doesnt add it,
which is why comps have a seperate volume control

what do you think about this biggs ?
Meriam x

[panos]

Just to help those who are reading this topic

What is compression:
https://music.tutsplus.com/tutorials/the-beginners-guide-to-compression--audio-953

What is the Orban Optimod 8600 and how much it costs.
https://broadcaststoreeurope.com/shop/288-on-air-broadcast-processors/2728-orban-optimod-8600-fmhd-digital--rdsrbds/

A video about the Orban Optimod 8500 (Couldn't find one better video for the 8600)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWTlXT362pw&t=603s

I know nothing about the subject, but if I was a composer and gave a sheet music to a violin player I wouldn't have asked him to play the composition with a violin he is touching for the first time.
They are the sound engineers, shouldn't they use their own tools to have the best results?

Happy new year Meriam and Biggs and good luck with your project Meriam,sounds nice!

[KeyboardByBiggs]

They had to Bypass it, and use their own compressor for the final mix down

I tried to give the short answer and failed.   Here we go...

For any pro project, I would almost never use the compressor in the Genos. The effects software and hardware in a top-notch studio dwarf just about anything in the Genos, even if it's just flexibility and not sound quality. Many of the effects in the Genos are pretty laughable from a pro studio perspective. That's not to say they're not workable, as they certainly can be. I've done (and heard) some impressive recordings that were done with nothing but the Genos.

However, if I sat you down in the producer's chair in the control room and demonstrated comparisons, in many cases you'd be blown away by the difference. I'm not talking esoteric, audiophile-only, barely-perceptible differences either.

That doesn't make the Genos bad by ANY means, as the internal effects are one of the big reasons I got one. It's super convenient and I don't want to haul around heavy and expensive racks of effects gear. But, when I take it into a studio, look out!   (Many studio hardware effects and audio processors cost more than a Genos and are only  19" wide and easily fit in two hands.)

As for the compressor, I've heard the issue with it. I haven't had time to dig into it very deeply yet. However, I suspect it's either more of a limiter or contains a limiter stage in the output. It may even be a multi-band limiter. Either way, this type of effect does something similar to compression but also increases perceived loudness as it pushes the softer sounds up towards a set output ceiling.

Picture an upside down espresso press. As you push the coffee up it compresses against the top of the press but can never go higher than the top of the press. In the process, the coffee simply gets squishier and squishier (complicated pro terminology).

So, technically there is some compression going on but it's also pushing up the overall loudness. If you push it far enough you suck out all the dynamics of the music and potentially introduce distortion. Try turning up the Master Compressor to its maximums and I'll bet you run into this.*

At it's most basic, a compressor both increases the volume of softer sounds and turns down the volume of louder ones bringing each of them closer to each other. (There's more to a compressor but this is the pertinent point at the moment.) The initial result is typically a drop in overall volume, which you then need to compensate for by adding more overall volume, known as makeup gain.

So, it's easy to see how your engineers would see that it's supposed to be a master compressor but only hear the results of what's likely a limiter and chose to go with the house gear. Good choice too.


*The overuse of limiters has done a lot of damage to music over the last several years, giving rise to what is known as The Loudness Wars. I co-founded an organization to help educate consumers and give engineers a platform to reform the industry. If you're interested in more info please visit http://www.turnmeup.org There's a great video there demonstrating a lot of this in easy to understand terms.

[meriam]

For any pro project, I would almost never use the compressor in the Genos.

However, if I sat you down in the producer's chair in the control room and demonstrated comparisons, in many cases you'd be blown away by the difference. I'm not talking esoteric, audiophile-only, barely-perceptible differences either

Hi Biggs
Since hearing the before & after comparison,on my trax from the studio guys
i have to agree with you, so i decided to buy the same thing their using as a final mix down comppressor,but its way out of my price range.
https://goo.gl/JYkQXS

At it's most basic, a compressor both increases the volume of softer The initial result is typically a drop in overall volume, which you then need to compensate for by adding more overall volume, known as makeup gain.

yes but the genos master comp,does not function this way
have you noticed that when you increase the master comppressor -slider
it adds volume ?
yet the MIC settings comppressor reduces volume, like a normal comp does.
so somthin aint right hunny 

*The overuse of limiters has done a lot of damage to music over the last several years, giving rise to what is known as The Loudness Wars.

Yes your right , i spoke to the studio guys about this, and they confirmed that
They master to the LKFS Standard:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LKFS

Meriam x

[KeyboardByBiggs]

Since hearing the before & after comparison,on my trax from the studio guys
i have to agree with you, so i decided to buy the same thing their using as a final mix down comppressor,but its way out of my price range.

There are a few really good software options out there now and that's what I use most of the time.

yes but the genos master comp,does not function this way
have you noticed that when you increase the master comppressor -slider
it adds volume ?

Did you catch what I said right above that, about how the master comp is probably more of a limiter, not a compressor based on its behavior?

Yes your right , i spoke to the studio guys about this, and they confirmed that
They master to the LKFS Standard

Hey, good for them, and for you!

[meriam]

Just to help those who are reading this topic

What is compression:
https://music.tutsplus.com/tutorials/the-beginners-guide-to-compression--audio-953

What is the Orban Optimod 8600 and how much it costs.
https://broadcaststoreeurope.com/shop/288-on-air-broadcast-processors/2728-orban-optimod-8600-fmhd-digital--rdsrbds/

A video about the Orban Optimod 8500 (Couldn't find one better video for the 8600)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWTlXT362pw&t=603s

I know nothing about the subject, but if I was a composer and gave a sheet music to a violin player I wouldn't have asked him to play the composition with a violin he is touching for the first time.
They are the sound engineers, shouldn't they use their own tools to have the best results?

Happy new year Meriam and Biggs and good luck with your project Meriam,sounds nice!

Thanx Panos for the info and links
Meriam X

[meriam]

Did you catch what I said right above that, about how the
master comp is probably more of a limiter, not a compressor based on its behavior?

Hi Biggs thanx for your reply
Yes im familiar with limiters and how they operate

But once you start to investigate the genos master comp
you'll notice immediately, that its not even functioning as a Brick-Wall limiter,
as the engineers at the studio pointed out
the Metering display,via their Mixing-Desk, showed that it could'nt be Capped
its was off the scale.

Meriam X

[KeyboardByBiggs]

its not even functioning as a Brick-Wall limiter,
as the engineers at the studio pointed out
the Metering display,via their Mixing-Desk, showed that it could'nt be Capped
its was off the scale.

Yes, it's definitely a janky implementation for something called a Master Compressor, and yes it's not acting like a brickwall limiter exactly either. It could be a hybrid of a few things thrown together, for example, parallel compression may be employed, which can exhibit some of the things we're observing.

Either way, I don't much attention to it.