This week Jon reviews ValhallaRoom reverb plugin.
In RapidFire we answer: super cheap diffusion?; What do you say to help move a session along?; How often do upgrade/update your software?;
Our guest host this week is Jesse Zoller
LINKS
ValhallaDSP
Show 147 – ValhallaRoom reviewed and more!
Another great show. It was good to hear from Jessie again. I was thinking of purchasing ValhallaRoom so the timing on Jon’s review was great. Keep up the good work.
Diffusion ideas. This is one for Jon.. (actually al you guys) because it is cheap as it uses all your leftovers & trash.
OK so maybe my idea it will add a little “bright” sounding or glassy sheen to the sound in the room but what the hell!!
Now the “silly” idea…
But get all your old beer and other booze bottles.. Lay them down flat on their sides against the wall and stack them up on top of each other (like stacking wood).
Put them open end out (some could be capped & some not). All the shapes and lengths etc will give a cool effect. And the hollows between them adds to the diffusion effect.
And adding liquid such as water etc in some will add mass and “fluid” to change the deflective/absorption content of the wall of bottles and so to the sounds that make it into and through the glass.
You can also put the odd light bulb in or behind some and add lighting effects to the room.
The big advantage.. You get to get drunk while creating your diffusion wall.. And what can be bad about that, Right!! LOL
OK maybe a crazy idea but hell I am into crazy.
Steve
Bugger forgot to say.. HAPPY FESTIVE SEASON!!
JESSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So glad to hear back from Jesse again, and super excited for when he’s back for good, and congratz on the job.
Jon, thanks for what might be my new favorite ‘verb plugin. I really liked what I heard in your examples and am very excited to loose hours tweaking with the new toy. Definitely keep doing segments on awesome plugins you find in the future because I hold a very high opinion of your critical ear and mixing abilities.
Guys, I was thinking today how you have the best sounding podcast I’ve heard (or at least tied with the professional level shows I listen to) and I was thinking a cool segment would be for you guys to discuss how you produce the show in detail. What end DB levels do you shoot for? How much compression do you use and where do you apply it? Etc. I’ve mixed produced a number of podcasts ranging from 2 dudes using USB headsets all the way up to recordings from my church and I’m always getting hit with “I wanna start a podcast, what should I do” questions. It would be great to be able to respond with “check out HRS episode ###, and do whatever they tell you to”. Just a thought.
Still Loving the show, Ride the lightning
Great to here Jessie back, thanks for the review of Valhallaroom, I am always insearch of quality yet inexpensive plugins and this one looks like a good investment. Donating now!
Great show gentlemen!
I enjoyed Jon’s review on the reverb plug-in, not so much because of the plug-in itself, but the fact that a popular subject (plugins) to most of us listeners that was affordable in price was discussed & shared on the show.
Keep up the good work gents!
Merry X Mas Guys Guuys Guuyys Guuyyss Guuuyyss Guuuyyyss Guuuyyysss….
Damn this reverb !
Hi guys !
a really great show with a nice review. The sound examples were excellent. Thanks !
Good to hear that Jessie is back. Now even my wife ( non-recordist ) is listening to HRS because of his voice !
I just discovered your show 2 weeks ago & liked it so much I took it upon myself to start from episode 1. I work 12 hours a day plus a 1 hour commute.
I started at 6:30am December 12th it is now 7:14pm on December 23 & I am now officially caught up! That was more then overkill, the good news for you is I have no questions, but am ready to answer any you may have about the show. lol
Thank you for a wonderful & informative experience and I can’t wait for all your future episodes. Next time I won’t come so late to the party!!!
Signed,
Your new truly dedicated fan, who thinks all Newbies to the show need to due their first….As in episode 1!
Kevin Mack of HitRECordStudios.com
Hmm thinking about my silly idea above, in fact it has a twofold value.
1. As a diffuser surface
2/ As a Bass Trap “wall” (if set up right – ala a Helmholz resonator)
So maybe not quite as sily as I originally thought..
đŸ™‚
Steve
Yet another plugin I am going to have to buy thanks to Jon. The tails on these reverbs are so damn smooth, and the roominess of some of the longer settings have a weird vibe (in a good way)that sound really thick yet fluid. I don’t really know how else to put it (yea, my analogies suck, sorry). I don’t care if it’s psychoacoustic vs. vs capturing real spaces or modeling plate/spring/whatever reverbs. It sounds freaking good.
The interface is great too. While I can appreciate the time and effort people put into designing interfaces that look analog, I much prefer digital 2d design that has all the information I need, without much else.
Valhalla reminds me a lot of Microsoft’s Metro design aesthetic. I am not a Windows Phone user (Android guy), but I definitely appreciate the no-nonsense approach they are taking to design. No fake glass bubbles and gradients, no hints of analog surfaces. Just pure digital look and feel, which is what Valhalla does as well. It’s efficient and attractive without looking like everyone else. Thumbs up to the devs, and thanks guys for another informative show.
Happy Holidays, Christmas, Solstice, whatever!
…almost caught up… 15 more shows to go!
Once again, thank you all for providing us with all this content. I would be a far worse mixer, and musician for that matter, without the information provided by the HRS.
Two things: Jon, I remember you saying that you purchased the HS50ms and were thinking of getting a second set of bigger monitors for comparison. I have had a pair since they were introduced as a replacement for the NS10s, but never purchased the HS10w. If you were looking for a comparison set of monitors because of the small bass response of the HS50s, spend your money on the HS10w if you haven’t already. I cannot believe that I waited this long to pull the trigger on this purchase and could not be more happy with the result. No more do I need to bounce, quick master, itunes, iphone, car / living room speakers, to fine tune the bass levels. The purchase would have paid for itself a hundred times over by now with the time saved from this mundane and time consuming process.
Ryan, You mentioned that you’ve heard the original 24 track masters of Bohemian Rhapsody. I re-mixed that track for my mom’s Christmas gift. After organizing all the different parts to their own tracks, I was left with 86 audio tracks and 12 buses (44 tracks of just various vocal tracks). The coolest engineering spark of ingeniousness happens during the “Anywhere the wind blows” lyric at around 40 seconds in to the track. To create wind sound you hear in the background, they recorded two cymbal rolls with soft mallets using two microphones on each track, moving one of the mics in and out of phase, and roughly matching the chords being played. I mixed one of the phased rolls hard left, and the other hard right. It sounds awesome. I would have never thought of using phase as it’s own musical instrument, but also would have never been able to figure out what they did to create this effect. Or I could be way off, who knows?
Either way, I love the show, love the segments, and love life a little bit more because of you guys.
Cheers,
TheEJM3
I too just finished the HRS marathon. Started at episode 1 and just finished today. I didnt do it as fast as Kevin but i am now saddled with the fact that my commute will suck again. Keep up the great work. Ive learned enough to gain the confidence to D112 up my next release.
Till then
Hey guys awesome show. you guy’s should try this out I really like it and, its free.
http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/programs/AmbienceWin/