KVR Audio

TheStorm · Post by **TheStorm** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 10:18 pm

Why do some of my songs sound better and some of them sound - um, not? What, exactly is it doing? (Or am I better off not knowing?)

cptgone · Post by **cptgone** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 10:23 pm

Exciters do tricks to enliven master mixes - but there's nothing like good mixing and mastering. Try your hand at that first.

SleepyP · Post by **SleepyP** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 10:37 pm

i thought exciters added 2nd order harmonics to the processed signal, making it sound "better" and "brighter".

A_Gruesome_Discovery · Thu Aug 25, 2005 10:49 pm

I think they may also play around with phase , because summing a mix to mono when there's an exciter on the buss really seems to reveal some odd shifts here and about.

Frippertronix · Post by **Frippertronix** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 11:16 pm

My understanding is they were impletmented to add high harmonics without the noise of high shelf boosting. They use transistor distortion (or an emulation of it) to do it.

Hink · Post by **Hink** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 12:09 am

they are like taking a wet blanket off of your speakers...

PeterL · Post by **PeterL** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 5:43 am

An exciter generates harmonic frequencies based on the audio material.
The acoustic perception of an exciter is similar to boosting frequencies with an equalizer.

HanafiH · Post by **HanafiH** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 6:43 am

There are two basic kinds of exciters: the Aphex method and the BBE method, although in some ways the results are similar.

The Aphex method takes a portion of the high end and uses it to synthesise additional harmonics – usually even hamonics (valve type) or an equal mix of even and odd (transistor type) harmonics.

The BBE method goes one step further by dicking about with phase relationships between the bass and high ends of the signal so that high-end transients are output the merest snit ahead of time, making them seem clearer and more present.

Excitation used to be the most expensive and sought after sound during the eighties – you know that hard glassy sheen that seems dolloped over Duran Duran’s music. Nowadays it’s usually the preserve of rescuing badly tracked acoustic instruments, and sugaring up badly mixed Techno descended music.

Hink · Post by **Hink** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 6:48 am

The Aphex method takes a portion of the high end and uses it to synthesise additional harmonics – usually even hamonics (valve type) or an equal mix of even and odd (transistor type) harmonics.

The aphex also processes the low end, or girth as they call it, it brings out the bass too, without increasing the volume...the Aphex is harder to use, bbut when used propery is awesome....

HanafiH · Post by **HanafiH** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 7:18 am

Hink wrote:
The Aphex method takes a portion of the high end and uses it to synthesise additional harmonics – usually even hamonics (valve type) or an equal mix of even and odd (transistor type) harmonics.
The aphex also processes the low end, or girth as they call it, it brings out the bass too, without increasing the volume...the Aphex is harder to use, bbut when used propery is awesome....

Yes indeedy. I guess it's all a matter of taste and genre. I have an Aphex circuit in two of my offboards, but I can't ever remember using them. But I don't make 'exciting' music.

Excitation is like salt in cooking - when you need it, you need exactly the right amount. The BBE thingie in particular tempts you to put too much on. Krim used to be a BIG fan of the BBE. He seemed to get it about right on his tracks.

BobYordan · Post by **BobYordan** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 2:01 pm

The motown guys started the exiter thing by adding heavy compression on the high frequencies sliced out from the mix. The blended it with the original mix sound.

Kind of the poor mans aphex exiter.

Try it you might like it?

butter · Post by **butter** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 2:18 pm

I read a CM "tutorial" on mixing a while back and that guy was using an exciter on everything. I had suspicions that the magazine was totally full of crap and that confirmed it for me. A person shouldn't use one on everything.

TheStorm · Post by **TheStorm** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 9:33 pm

Well, I don't use it on everything, but I do use it on my upbeat tracks, and it really seems to make the mix more .... er ... exciting. But it also seems to do some sort of limiting - the waveform isn't clipped, but it's definitely a lot flatter. It also does appear to bring forward parts that I hadn't realized were mixed so low. The whole mix sounds better (if it's a driving tune, that is), but I usually wind up doing some master EQ to add some mids back in (bass and treble are kicked up a little). I'm using the free X-Cita plug (http://www.kvraudio.com/get/712.html) and I'm really happy with it, but I keep wondering if I shouldn't learn to do what the plugin is doing, manually, with EQ.

Just as an aside, I've tried it on some slower, orchestral-type stuff and all it seems to do is make my crummy mix even muddier; it appears to accentuate the parts I really didn't feel like drawing attention to. But maybe I just haven't figured out how to work it properly.

Frippertronix · Post by **Frippertronix** » Sat Aug 27, 2005 1:14 am

I can't necessarily recommend the BEE plug (though I got it for free in a promo and I use it occasionally) but hardware BBE's are great. I think they are essential in mastering, personally.

metamorphosis · Post by **metamorphosis** » Sat Aug 27, 2005 1:42 am

All of these methods of excitaiton can be used to great effect in mastering, and are not just the refuge of those seeking to 'fix badly mastered tracks'...
Izotope Ozone has one, for example, and if used sparingly, can add a huge amount of clarity to a mix...
The main point is the 'sparingly' part. More and it can start to sound plastic.

What, exactly, is an "exciter?"