What Should My SPAN Look Like?

[wagtunes]

You're probably better off just getting a spectrum matcher like Melda Auto EQ or I think Fab ProQ3 does it too. Just take the curves from an already mastered song and apply it to yours.

Me I personally don't care how my reading matchup because I'm going for a different sound anyway. If will all you know about audio engineering it sounds good to you then it's going to sound good to the 99% of people who know nothing about it.

Applying eq curves from different songs to yours might be tricky as each song is a little different. Maybe one is more bassline focused, or other has a melody in a different octave or what not. Thats why I just stick to matching the highs/lows with the general starting slope in SPAN, then go from there and work everything in the middle to sit in nicely, then go back and do minor tweaks. Think matching the slope on SPAN gives you the general idea, and is less likely to make you commit to a wrong EQ curve.

I dont care about an exact matchup, but I do reference the low/high matchup for the slope, and the general “W” shape (when using 5.5 master slope, give or take .5)

Could you post a screen print of what you consider a proper SPAN for say one of your Trance or Techno tracks? Just so I get a general ball park idea.

[Butwug]

I use the default slope.

Could you post a screen print of what you consider a proper SPAN for say one of your Trance or Techno tracks? Just so I get a general ball park idea.

Maybe thats why people have said your high end is a little harsh? Load up a song, go to a busy part, go to master setting on span, and move slope so your low end and high end are bouncing at same level, and save the setting. When I referenced several songs I noticed the default span slope was making me emphasize the high end, if I matched high/low end. Average was 5.5. Techno was closer to 6. House was closer to 5. It’s a good starting point.

I love SPAN.

Not on my comp, but I have 5.5 as starting point for the master read out (the slower one) and 5.0 for the high res readout (the one that shows detailed readout.)

[wagtunes]

I use the default slope.

Maybe thats why people have said your high end is a little harsh? Load up a song, go to a busy part, go to master setting on span, and move slope so your low end and high end are bouncing at same level, and save the setting. When I referenced several songs I noticed the default span slope was making me emphasize the high end, if I matched high/low end. Average was 5.5. Techno was closer to 6. House was closer to 5. It’s a good starting point.

I love SPAN.

To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what you mean here but I'll play around with it and see if people think the levels are better.

Like I said, I'm really swimming in uncharted waters here.

[Butwug]

From that screenshot on first page, look at the little cog wheel near where it says “mode” on top right. There youll see a setting knob for the slope. Play a song and move the knob/slope around.

Think if it this way.

-Extremely low numbered slope, lets say 3. A flat song on this slope, will be high end heavy. (Deemphasizes the high, so you give it more high to be flat)

- High numbered slope. Lets say 7. A flat song on here, will be low end heavy. (Deemphasizes the low, so you give it more low to be flat.)

5.5 on master slope(click mode, select master, change slope) seems to be the middle ground in the music I like. It’s a good starting point. This same slope is roughly equivalent to 5.0 slope on the high resolution setting, if matching the peaks. The low end peak is strong and rounded, while high end peaks are little lines reaching up for the sky. The master settings tend to average out the few high showed in the high res mode.

Theres no “correct” slope, so just match it to the music you like, and use it as a starting point!

[Frantz]

Generally I use EQ sparingly to fix issues. However, it sounds like you want to match the EQ curves of reference tracks. In which, case plenty of plugins can do that automatically for you.

For example: https://www.fabfilter.com/help/pro-q/using/eqmatch

[wagtunes]

Generally I use EQ sparingly to fix issues. However, it sounds like you want to match the EQ curves of reference tracks. In which, case plenty of plugins can do that automatically for you.

For example: https://www.fabfilter.com/help/pro-q/using/eqmatch

Is that new in Q3 or does Q2 do that as well?

[Frantz]

Is that new in Q3 or does Q2 do that as well?

Q2 does it as well:

https://youtu.be/LnfzYjFEzmE

[wagtunes]

Is that new in Q3 or does Q2 do that as well?

Q2 does it as well:

https://youtu.be/LnfzYjFEzmE

So I just run the reference track through it and that's it? It'll set the EQ for my master to the same EQ curve?

[Frantz]

So I just run the reference track through it and that's it? It'll set the EQ for my master to the same EQ curve?

It's supposed to be used as a starting point which you can tweak further if it gives useful results. If you just do it blindly, it may do more harm than good.

Watch the second half of the video where he demonstrates how to use this feature.

[wagtunes]

So I just run the reference track through it and that's it? It'll set the EQ for my master to the same EQ curve?

It's supposed to be used as a starting point which you can tweak further if it gives useful results. If you just do it blindly, it may do more harm than good.

Watch the second half of the video where he demonstrates how to use this feature.

Will do. Thanks.

[Frantz]

If you are looking for a completely automatic solution, you could try this: https://www.hornetplugins.com/plugins/hornet-thirtyone/

It operates on the theory that big bumps or dips in the EQ curve are bad and attempts to makes things smoother. You first run your master through with Auto EQ Static enabled so that it learns your song and makes adjustments. Then you shut off Auto EQ and leave the curve alone. There was a big thread on Gearslutz that went into a lot of detail about this plugin.

[The Noodlist]

I would try something like Seven Phase's free spectrum meter with Span, just for comparison.
https://www.kvraudio.com/product/spectr ... es/details

There's also EQ matching like Melda's MFreeformEqualizer and TDR Nova – Gentleman’s Edition , Et al.
With TDR Nova GE allowing for dynamic EQ matching.
You have Fabfilter Pro Q2 listed in your October song submission, doesn't this have some extra features that could help?

[acYm]

sonograms are superior at "reading audio" to spectrum analyzers in just about every way I can think of. if I ever lose my ears, WaveCandy will be my new monitors.

[wagtunes]

sonograms are superior at "reading audio" to spectrum analyzers in just about every way I can think of. if I ever lose my ears, WaveCandy will be my new monitors.

And what is that?

[acYm]

what, WaveCandy? a vst by image-line, with various visualizers, including my favourite sonogram, with the colors and everything customized it's the one that feels right to me