H3000D-SE that sounds “thin”..

[Foster]

Hello Everybody,

I’m new here and this is my first post.

Today I was in the studio comparing my hardware H3000D-SE with the H3000 Factory plugin and I sadly discovered

that my hardware sounded “thin” compared to the H3000 factory plugin, the plugin sounded “full range” and the hardware lacked of basses/mid basses and had a kind of a

treble boost..

For the comparison I used a power guitar mono track and send the signal in parallel to both units and return to a stereo Aux.

At first I thought at some kind of internal cut, or eq doing the “low cut and the high boost” but navigating thru the menu, I didn’t find any EQ or CUT parameter.

The unit was connected to my Protools Converters with high quality balanced xlr cables..

Can anyone please help me to understand if this is a normal thing or if there’s any kind of adjustment I can do to let the unit sounds fuller?

Thanks in advance.

Foster

 

[tmoravan]

Note that the H3000 series has the XLR wired as pin 3 hot compared to other audio products (and the eventual de facto standard of pin 2 in the US).  So if you connections eventually get unbalanced and you’re mixing in the effected audio with the dry signal then you’ll thin out the sound and hear something similar to what you describe.

Try running a 100% wet into both and do not mix any dry signal in direct from the source and compare.

[Foster]

tmoravan wrote:

Note that the H3000 series has the XLR wired as pin 3 hot compared to other audio products (and the eventual de facto standard of pin 2 in the US).  So if you connections eventually get unbalanced and you’re mixing in the effected audio with the dry signal then you’ll thin out the sound and hear something similar to what you describe.

Try running a 100% wet into both and do not mix any dry signal in direct from the source and compare.

Hello tmoravan and thank you for your reply!

I didn’t know about the different XLR wiring, so I’ve modified my cables to the correct specs and tried it again,  but the tone of my D-SE it’s still very bright. compared to the H3000 factory plugin that it’s better balanced (a full range closer to the source tone), so bright that I have to EQ it to let it sound more warm in the mix..

I’m start thinking that maybe this is not an issue with my unit, but it’s own tone?

Do you confirm that the unit sounds on the brighter side?

 

THX

[tmoravan]

It’s been years since I had any H3000’s in my rack, but the H8000FW and 9000 definitely do not sound overly bright to me.

Also, I tend not to use a DAW/plugins, so I am not the best person to ask for a comparison.  Are you sure both the plugin and the hardware are set to the same values and same I/O levels and same signal path through your system?

[Foster]

tmoravan wrote:

It’s been years since I had any H3000’s in my rack, but the H8000FW and 9000 definitely do not sound overly bright to me.

Also, I tend not to use a DAW/plugins, so I am not the best person to ask for a comparison.  Are you sure both the plugin and the hardware are set to the same values and same I/O levels and same signal path through your system?

 

I’m “old school” too and where possible I use the hardware.. 

Yes, the settings are the same and the levels too, the D-SE sounds with less bass and a boost on the mid highs side where the plugin sounds more balanced, let’s say more similiar to the original source (in this case I’m referring to a distorted typical guitar track).

Maybe there’s an internal kind of “master EQ” on the H3000? Maybe hidden somewhere..

Or maybe they’re it’s own converters that make the unit sounds a little “grainy/acid”?

THX

[DGillespie]

I don't have an H3000 in front of me at the moment, but from my work on the H3000 plug-ins we did there's no noticible tonal difference with any of the H3000's I tested against.  It might be important to make sure you've got the levels set correctly on your H3000, there's a level setting guide in the original manual here: https://www.eventideaudio.com/support/downloads/h3000-series-user-manual

I also don't recall if the H3000 had a pre-emphasis setting, but if so this could explain what you're hearing.  Try turning that off if there is one (though I don't think there is).

If it's none of these things, and if the tonal difference is significant, I think it's most likely your H3000 needs calibration or repair.  There is a calibration procedure in the service manual here: https://www.eventideaudio.com/support/downloads/h3000-service-manual, or the Eventide support folks can help refer you to a qualified repair tech.

Good luck,

Dan

[Foster]

DGillespie wrote:

I don’t have an H3000 in front of me at the moment, but from my work on the H3000 plug-ins we did there’s no noticible tonal difference with any of the H3000’s I tested against.  It might be important to make sure you’ve got the levels set correctly on your H3000, there’s a level setting guide in the original manual here: https://www.eventideaudio.com/support/downloads/h3000-series-user-manual

I also don’t recall if the H3000 had a pre-emphasis setting, but if so this could explain what you’re hearing.  Try turning that off if there is one (though I don’t think there is).

If it’s none of these things, and if the tonal difference is significant, I think it’s most likely your H3000 needs calibration or repair.  There is a calibration procedure in the service manual here: https://www.eventideaudio.com/support/downloads/h3000-service-manual, or the Eventide support folks can help refer you to a qualified repair tech.

Good luck,

Dan

Hi Dan,

thank you for your reply, I didn’t find a pre emphasis to switch off on the H3000..  and I’ve paid attention to use the correct levels too, so I’m thinking that maybe my H3000 needs a recalibration as you suggested.. I’ll ask my tech to do this procedure and hope to solve this problem.

I’ll let you know ..

Thx

Foster

 

[skywriter]

I dont use plugins, only hardware. My H3000-D/SE doesn’t sound overly bright 50-100% mix. If it hasn’t been done, I would suggest listening to a 50/50 mix directly out of the H3000 without recombining with the original signal. Then there won’t be any phasing issues with the sound. If it sounds fuller, then suspect a phasing issue somewhere.

[Foster]

skywriter wrote:

I dont use plugins, only hardware. My H3000-D/SE doesn’t sound overly bright 50-100% mix. If it hasn’t been done, I would suggest listening to a 50/50 mix directly out of the H3000 without recombining with the original signal. Then there won’t be any phasing issues with the sound. If it sounds fuller, then suspect a phasing issue somewhere.

Tomorrow I’ll do this test too, thank you for your suggestion!

Foster

[Foster]

Foster wrote:

skywriter wrote:

I dont use plugins, only hardware. My H3000-D/SE doesn’t sound overly bright 50-100% mix. If it hasn’t been done, I would suggest listening to a 50/50 mix directly out of the H3000 without recombining with the original signal. Then there won’t be any phasing issues with the sound. If it sounds fuller, then suspect a phasing issue somewhere.

Tomorrow I’ll do this test too, thank you for your suggestion!

Foster

Hi Skywriter, I did the test that you suggested me, but the tone coming out from my H3000 sounds always Hrash, like it was digitally oversaturated.. even with the mix 50/50 dry wet or 100% wet or 100% dry.. and the input levels levels are correct.. and even if I attenuate the input it sounds the same..

Does this tell you something?

Thx

Foster

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