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Post by gravesnumber9 on Jun 7, 2024 10:08:51 GMT -6
Maybe gimmicks is putting it harshly.
I'm doing the demo of MTM REFERENCE 2 (what's the with the all-caps guys?) and it's pretty cool. Still not sure if it's going to replace Metric A/B which I already own but the reason it's a contender is surprising.
I thought I would be more excited about the Track Align feature but I can't get it to work right so I'm still doing it manually (this was the reason for downloading the trial). And the info on the "Trinity Display" (hello Neo) is useful but really just a different format of what A/B already has.
But the killer feature is REF SEND.
You can very quickly do blind testing on tracks by dropping the REF SEND ancillary plugin on the beginning of any change and an instance of REFERENCE 2 on the back end. It then sees everything between those as a reference track. Very, very cool. I've done two mixes since downloading this and I'm finding more and more places where I want to this. I can see it quickly becoming a standard part of my process to remove plugins that aren't doing enough to justify further alteration of the signal, something that often happens to me as I start falling into the deadly trap of endless tweaking.
"Is this actually doing anything significant? REF SEND says.... nope. Off it goes."
Is it worth the price of the plugin just for this one differentiation? Maybe. Is there another way to do this for free?
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Jun 7, 2024 10:09:43 GMT -6
Also, MIXROOM is a great concept but it feels like I need a video game controller to make the boxes go where I want them to. Gave up after 5 minutes.
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Post by mcirish on Jun 7, 2024 10:37:11 GMT -6
That ref send feature looks interesting. Sort of like Ian's Perception plugin. I have not used either, so I can't say if I'd find it useful or just another thing to slow down my workflow. I have Metric AB and use that when I'm mastering. It does come in very handy. During mixing, I never use it. I only find it useful after I have the mix done and just want to check EQ against other masters.
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Post by Johnkenn on Jun 7, 2024 10:49:41 GMT -6
This is awesome. Thanks for the heads up!
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Post by Johnkenn on Jun 7, 2024 14:13:36 GMT -6
Trying it now. Using it to match a track I think sounds pretty good. I had to make way more EQ changes than I would have even thought to make to match this track...so, I'm dubious. About to go check it in the car.
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Post by bossanova on Jun 7, 2024 14:37:38 GMT -6
Trying it now. Using it to match a track I think sounds pretty good. I had to make way more EQ changes than I would have even thought to make to match this track...so, I'm dubious. About to go check it in the car. I've noticed that, much like how AI can still be oblivious to things that are obvious to a human, the EQ matching/comparison component of most referencing plugins doesn't account for differences in source recordings or orchestration. So it will suggest large boosts to the low and high end, for example, that don't match the basic sonic footprint of your mix. One of the reasons I like Tonal Balance Control is that I have at least 30 different track and averaged genre curves in there, and I can pick one that's in the same ballpark as what I'm working with and then identify areas where I have dips and build-ups. |
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Post by Johnkenn on Jun 7, 2024 15:18:58 GMT -6
Trying it now. Using it to match a track I think sounds pretty good. I had to make way more EQ changes than I would have even thought to make to match this track...so, I'm dubious. About to go check it in the car. I've noticed that, much like how AI can still be oblivious to things that are obvious to a human, the EQ matching/comparison component of most referencing plugins doesn't account for differences in source recordings or orchestration. So it will suggest large boosts to the low and high end, for example, that don't match the basic sonic footprint of your mix. One of the reasons I like Tonal Balance Control is that I have at least 30 different track and averaged genre curves in there, and I can pick one that's in the same ballpark as what I'm working with and then identify areas where I have dips and build-ups. I've used Tonal Balance 2 for years now and it hasn't messed me up...always looking for something even better... I'm about to go listen to this thing. |
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Jun 7, 2024 15:26:59 GMT -6
Trying it now. Using it to match a track I think sounds pretty good. I had to make way more EQ changes than I would have even thought to make to match this track...so, I'm dubious. About to go check it in the car. I've noticed that, much like how AI can still be oblivious to things that are obvious to a human, the EQ matching/comparison component of most referencing plugins doesn't account for differences in source recordings or orchestration. So it will suggest large boosts to the low and high end, for example, that don't match the basic sonic footprint of your mix. One of the reasons I like Tonal Balance Control is that I have at least 30 different track and averaged genre curves in there, and I can pick one that's in the same ballpark as what I'm working with and then identify areas where I have dips and build-ups. I haven't done it yet but REF allows you to load up curves and such. Don't forget to the try the REF SEND feature. It's very easy and (as far as I know) pretty unique. |
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Post by Johnkenn on Jun 7, 2024 16:37:29 GMT -6
I've noticed that, much like how AI can still be oblivious to things that are obvious to a human, the EQ matching/comparison component of most referencing plugins doesn't account for differences in source recordings or orchestration. So it will suggest large boosts to the low and high end, for example, that don't match the basic sonic footprint of your mix. One of the reasons I like Tonal Balance Control is that I have at least 30 different track and averaged genre curves in there, and I can pick one that's in the same ballpark as what I'm working with and then identify areas where I have dips and build-ups. I haven't done it yet but REF allows you to load up curves and such. Don't forget to the try the REF SEND feature. It's very easy and (as far as I know) pretty unique. Haven’t used the ref send because I don’t understand it. Need to read. But man, the other did not work for me. Worse results. |
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Post by Johnkenn on Jun 7, 2024 17:00:57 GMT -6
Does the level line not jump around all during the song for you guys?
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Jun 8, 2024 14:01:23 GMT -6
Does the level line not jump around all during the song for you guys? There's a way to change the sensitivity on it I think. I don't really use the level line except generally. |
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Post by Johnkenn on Jun 8, 2024 18:57:08 GMT -6
Have you tried Expose? I bought that instead.
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Jun 10, 2024 21:28:15 GMT -6
Have you tried Expose? I bought that instead. Interesting. I have the demo along with the others. Haven't tried it. Assumed it was kinda of a gimmick. Color me interested... |
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Jun 11, 2024 11:40:18 GMT -6
I am sad to report that REFERENCE 2 is definitely causing weird crashing problems for me in Studio One. And it is definitely the plugin. Sometimes it loses the reference track (bug?) and then when I try to reload it the plugin freezes. Close the plug-in and S1 crashes.
So now the search is on for something that does what REF SEND does.
Also, I tried Expose on a mix I hated and Expose was like "yeah, you pretty much nailed this one." So yeah, not for me!
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Post by Johnkenn on Jun 11, 2024 18:42:11 GMT -6
Not sure any of this shit is trustworthy
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