Thoughts on Static Cling Optic vs Span

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BlkRd
Posts: 26
Joined: 23 Apr 2020

03 Jun 2020

Hello,

So obv SPAN is free, which is awsome. I have it installed and like it, but ive always wanted something similar in the rack. I have tried a few of the other ones in the shop (signal etc) but recently I came across Optic. I like how it has several ins. It seems to do what span does really well, and arguably easier, with the easy rack inputs for multiple ins.

What are your thoughts on Optic vs SPAN as sound design, mixing and mastering aids in terms of their functionalities. I am interested to hear folks thoughts on the two side by side.

Cheers

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Loque
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Joined: 28 Dec 2015

03 Jun 2020

I speculate that Optic might have a problem with the refresh rate or to be more precise with fast drawings through the Reason RE API. If that isnt a problem, i would clearly go with the RE.

Personally i have FabFilter which does the job pretty well and its f*cking fast and efficient.
Reason12, Win10

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mjxl
Posts: 600
Joined: 23 Nov 2018

03 Jun 2020

What about this one, might suite your needs?

https://www.reasonstudios.com/shop/rack ... ec-effect/

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guitfnky
Posts: 4408
Joined: 19 Jan 2015

03 Jun 2020

Span is useful, but as you say, it’s a bit more work to set up. on paper, I would choose Optic, because it’s simple to set up, but I’ve stayed away from it because I think I recall some people saying that it was oddly CPU-hungry.

as Loque stated, there are other good options out there that might suit you better. I use Izotope Neutron 2 standard, which doesn’t show you multiple overlays of 3 or more tracks simultaneously, but it does have a handy masking feature that shows you exactly where you may have problems between two tracks. it’s way easier to set up too—you just add Neutron to both the tracks you want to compare, and in one of the Neutron windows, you select the other track in a drop-down menu. no manual wiring necessary. I’m guessing Fabfilter probably has a similarly-easy workflow.

obviously those are a couple of more expensive plugins, but if you keep an eye out for deals, you can get Neutron for a pretty good price (I want to say it cost me $100—full price was $250 at the time).
I write good music for good people

https://slowrobot.bandcamp.com/

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selig
RE Developer
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Joined: 15 Jan 2015
Location: The NorthWoods, CT, USA

03 Jun 2020

As far as showing "conflicts", that's a very difficult thing to do. For example if I had two "conflicting" sounds but they were alternating 16ths such that neither one played at the same time (thus no conflict), I would imagine all of these solutions would show a conflict. Also not sure they take panning into consideration. Also not sure if they take RMS into consideration.
Unless there is additional "behind the scenes" algorithms used to intelligently determine these things, they basically ignore the time domain and focus only on the frequency domain - someone please correct me if I'm wrong on this. And even with some level of intelligence, there will still be oversights because mixing is a complex and personal thing - there can be no "perfect mix" algorithm because there is no single perfect mix!
Selig Audio, LLC

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guitfnky
Posts: 4408
Joined: 19 Jan 2015

03 Jun 2020

selig wrote:
03 Jun 2020
As far as showing "conflicts", that's a very difficult thing to do. For example if I had two "conflicting" sounds but they were alternating 16ths such that neither one played at the same time (thus no conflict), I would imagine all of these solutions would show a conflict. Also not sure they take panning into consideration. Also not sure if they take RMS into consideration.
Unless there is additional "behind the scenes" algorithms used to intelligently determine these things, they basically ignore the time domain and focus only on the frequency domain - someone please correct me if I'm wrong on this. And even with some level of intelligence, there will still be oversights because mixing is a complex and personal thing - there can be no "perfect mix" algorithm because there is no single perfect mix!
the Span and Optic routes would show time-domain okay, as long as the user is paying close enough attention (i.e. is aware that there isn’t really much chance for masking if the sources are playing staccato rhythms that aren’t ever playing on the same part of the beat). but if you had that awareness, presumably, you wouldn’t bother hooking all that up to see if there’s a conflict, when you know there can’t be one.

Neutron’s works *I think* on a time based average, analyzing whether the two sources are masking one another simultaneously. if they are, you see little indicator bars begin to rise, showing you the potential problem frequencies. presumably (there’s that word again), in your scenario, the two sources aren’t ever playing at the same time, so there would be no indication of masking.

now if Neutron holds each track’s frequency info in some kind of buffer to do the analysis, that could throw things off. but again, not sure why you would bother in that particular scenario.

and of course none of this is a replacement for good mixing skills. they’re merely tools meant to help you make informed decisions. no one has to use a frequency analyzer either, but we all do—because it’s helpful.
I write good music for good people

https://slowrobot.bandcamp.com/

BlkRd
Posts: 26
Joined: 23 Apr 2020

04 Jun 2020

Thanks for the responses. I like to mix and create with my ears but also enjoy visualsing all the sounds. After testing I can confrim that when you run a fx chain through Optic the analyser display lags and struggles when filtering, for example. I had an instance of Reason Drum Kits then Selig colour EQ on the mix chanel. I fed the out from the fx through the Optic and back into the back of the mic chanel. When i flip round and filter the drums using the Colour EQ the visuals on the Optic lag and stutter which makes it unuasable. Could be my computer? Im on a Surface Pro6 i5. Ill need to test it on my desktop.Its a shame as id like to use Optic but was unuasble in this scenario, and that was with only one channel being fed in. I dont recall having that issue with Span.

I have tried the rob papen one too. Very good and free! Im not keen on the GUI, but maybe im just so used to Span..

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