tc electronics finalizer plus

[mrdazobee]

anyone had any experience or heard anything about this bit of kit.I have been offerd one at a good price and I'm tempted......

[Al]

Have not heard that one,but i've used the T.C Finalizer often and it's a good bit of gear!...i think it would be a safe bet if your looking for something to master with,especially if your getting it for a good price!.

There stuff aint shit,by any means!!

[Rodgre]

I've used one since they came out back in the late 90s.

I like the box, but over the years, I've learned that the best way to use it is to not use it much.

It has decent A/D converters to get you to your DAT or DAW. There is a parametric EQ, multiband compressor, limiter and a few other goodies.

It's great for making slamming sounding rough mixes at the end of the session, but if I'm using it for a final mix, I have to be really careful not to slam things too much.... I've gotten a few dirty looks from mastering engineers when I first started using it.

Try not to rely on it for too much and use the compression/limiting subtly. It can make pre-mastering a breeze, but it's too easy to overdo it.

Also, do not be fooled. The "Wizard" mode isn't really listening to your music and adjusting the EQ to suit it. It is listening to the peak level and adjusting the normalizer level to not clip, but that's all it's Wizarding. The EQ is a set preset that doesn't always sound great, so be sure to tweak the EQ manually if you need it.

Roger

[cornsound]

I've gotten a few dirty looks from mastering engineers when I first started using it.

yeah, we got one when it first came out and I gave it a few sidelong glances too. it doesn't sound horrible, and it's a somewhat useful box, but I agree that it's really easy to overdo it with the limiting/compression on that thing. right now ours collecting dust along with our ADATs.

[mrdazobee]

The seller has given me the choice of the finalzer,or the focusrite mixmaster.I was under the asumption the finalizer is considerd the better of the two?

[cornsound]

I'd prefer the Focusrite only for ease of use...I've never actually used one or listened to one, but the idea of having dedicated knobs/switches for each function is a better design IMO. I hated navigating the small LCD screen on the Finalizer and only having that one data/value jog wheel - it was pretty non-intuitive at first.

It's a Focusrite so I don't think it would sound that bad or anything.