Harbal Intuit Q

Ok, and as usual, let’s get the company promo out of the way and analyze if it holds true.

“Har-Bal has caused a paradigm shift in the recording industry and is an award winning outstanding technical achievement. This superior method of EQ'ing and harmonic balancing gives Har-Bal it's distinction as the premiere spectrum analyzer for the most important step in the CD mastering process. It truly separates an amateur recording from a professional recording and removes the need to test your CD's on different systems and environments.

In addition, unlike a typical digital equalizer, Har-Bal leaves the initial volume level unchanged even after performing spectral correction thanks to its "loudness compensation" technology.

Har-Bal allows you to easily tidy up the sound quality of mastered or un-mastered recordings while preserving the original intent of the producer and/or recording engineer. Our newly created algorithm named IntuitQ allows Har-Bal to predict Optimal EQ without using any reference files. It analyzes your track and designs a harbalized filter that is near perfect.”

I have decided to only review the sections within Harbal 2.2 called IntuitQ and HB Air as I feel that reviews of Harbal have already covered all the necessary functions of the software quite well. Whereas these 2 sections are still the mainstay of what the software is designed for, they are actually very relevant and are the most current tools available within Harbal.

What is it that IntuitQ is meant to do?

It is meant as an instant gratification tool used to iron out EQ issues and to offer the user a master file that can then be tuned to taste.
However, instant gratification implies that it is simply there to please and affords very little in terms of deep editing. This is far from the truth. IntuitQ is a detailed and thought out tool that not only allows a diverse range of tasks to be performed on the any audio file (albeit Mp3), but also allows the user to use reference material to reshape the frequency content of the audio file being processed.

Let us look at how the whole thing works.

IntuitQ analyzes the frequency content of an audio file and then compensates by smoothing out peaks and filling in troughs based on the information it derives from the frequency content of the file, or by referencing external material. It allows for all sounds to be heard in their respective frequencies by not only accenting individual bands (minimizing masking) but by smoothing aggressive peaks which translate into a brittle ‘colour’ (a crucial part of the ME’s practice). It does this through analyzing the frequency content of the entire audio track and then offering a number of ‘enhancements’ to augment/attenuate the dynamics even further.

This may sound a touch aggressive but it is not. IntuitQ does not attempt to change the tonal colour of the audio file into something completely different (unless the user desires it) but to enhance it by treating problematic frequencies and compensating for frequency troughs. This is great news as some EQ s/ware tools try to work off a pre determined set of templates usually encoded to certain ‘mastering standards’. IntuitQ does not try to conform to rigid practices by using pre-defined EQ curves but affords the user a plethora of tools to shape the resultant file into a pre-mastering grade stereo file.

How it does this is quite intuitive and not limited by preconceived notions of what a good master is. It allows the user to define bands and limits and to either reshape these bands or to tame them. This kind of frequency transient control is usually reserved for fine tuning hardware units.
Where IntuitQ scores heavily is in it’s approach to referencing an audio file’s own frequency content and deriving a new set of parameters to incorporate. It can also use any form of reference material that is desired. This is another great option as the user can use an already mastered commercial release and use this for referencing. The reference file is then used to create a new template that can then be used to reshape the audio file that needs treating.

I do not want to go into defining menu options here or how the programming works. What I want to explore are the results attained and how they benefit non mastering engineers.

IntuitQ can attain results that are admirable. The subtle changes applied to an existing well mixed track afford the user options that might usually be amiss when handling EQ tasks. The ability to have a number of suggested options makes for a diverse, yet professional, approach to how a final stereo master should sound. Of course, this is all reliant on the material being used and how well it is mixed/produced. But even if the user has very little idea in how to manage the frequencies in a given track, IntuitQ also allows for big changes. From taming booming low ends to filling out dipped mids, IntuitQ can handle any frequency management task.

IntuitQ offers some nice little tools within the software, notably the ‘tips popup’ which gives you..er..tips on how best to utilise the filters, the different forms of viewing the frequency data (graph options), the amount of tool customization options, and a ton of referencing data notably before, after and average ‘traces’. Add all that to it’s suggestive tips through the help section and tutorials, and you are left with all the tools you need to get you going, both in-depth or cursory.
Ok, so I am veering a little bit away from IntuitQ and HB Air and crossing into Harbal proper territory, but these are crucial interface functions that make the whole process so easy and intuitive, and integral to the new update.

BUT, the tool that I think you will all come to love is the HB Air. The reason I like this function so much is because I am old school, and us old school folk like to use old school methods. HB Air’s function is simple. It gives you ‘space’.

It uses the old school (in fact not that old as many still use this technique today as do vst manufacturers) stereo widening technique of mixing the 'Left minus Right (channels)' difference signal back into the mix. This results in providing a wider stereo width and therefore making the audio sound more spacious.
Try loading one of your projects into Harbal. Click on the Air icon and move the dry air slider to 10% and listen to your mix open up.

I must say that I did find that if this function was used beyond 10-15% dry/wet, then it did create some anomalies mainly in the integrity of the stereo field.
I think that this particular software addresses most of today’s problems in an all in one solution to frequency management tasks. I have not touched on the assumption that it is a final mastering solution as I do not believe that this is what was intended for. I believe this is a supplemental tool that goes a long way in handling a lot of the problems faced by today’s pre-master projects.

It is also a great educational tool and does provide instant, yet professional, results. I commend the programmers of this piece of software, and having a notable ME on board (Earle Holder) can only help in conveying how well thought out this product is for the end user.

Let us also not forget Harbal’s customer support, online user forum and tutorials, which all go towards helping the user as opposed to ‘hogging’ the secrets way of thinking that some manufacturers employ.

I could go on about Harbal 2.2, or rather the new functions introduced into an already competent piece of software, but then I would have to end up supplying you with a ton of screen captures and long winded explanations. I suggest, as Harbal do, to try the software. Actually, I suggest you just buy the damn thing and explore the huge potential of this wonderful tool.

Harbal 2.2 is $95 (or £51 at today’s exchange) from www.har-bal.com

Existing users using the older versions can upgrade for free from the Harbal site.

Eddie Bazil (Zukan)

www.samplecraze.com