Stereo Tool

Welcome,

Have you tried the Vamprecords presets (under "Generic", or if you want a loud sound, under "We b Radio")?

Depending on what you want to achieve, very different solutions are needed. From what I read I suppose you just want to listen to music on your own PC with a lot of bass? If so, then make sure that Loudness is turned off (set it to 1.00). Loudness often has difficulties handling really loud bass sounds.

I'm working on a new version of Stereo Tool, that will among others include a new "Bass Boost" filter that can be used to increase the bass level a lot (even if Loudness is used).

Thanks...
I have been starting with a preset that I like, then I tweak it from there and save it to another filename. Well, I am surprised that Loudness interferes with Bass?
I thought that they would help each other! I don't need big thumping bass, but I do want it Balanced with Treble and distinct, which I am having trouble getting now. I know my speakers are capable of it.

Hm, I might need to clarify that in the interface. Loudness in Stereo Tool is NOT a filter to boost bass and treble. Instead it increases the output volume. Which comes at a cost. (Basically that sounds that are already very loud are decreased in volume. And bass is often already very loud).

Well, I thought that loudness makes everything louder including Bass.
I have tried the new bass filter and I thought it helped, but if you go past the middle part HZ and Harmonics I think it starts to distort the other sounds.
HANS, this a perfect example of why you should RE-LABEL and Explain all the settings on the interface, in the interface, even if you need to make it bigger.
It's so intimidating that people download it and then don't know what to do with it and uninstall it, and they don't buy the PRO version and you Hans, end up losing Money!
I am not an audio engineer, I kept going back 3 times and downloading it and deleting it and then I gave in and bought it, because it sounded better than any of the other Winamp Plug-ins.
But it is very frustrating and there is a Steep learning curve. EXAMPLE: Hertz and Harmonics...upspeed attack, limit, compress.... I have a Vague idea what all these mean but I am never Quite sure. And I certainly cannot anticipate that One setting will do to another setting. Yes, I have read the material on the website and even printed it out, however it too is difficult to understand as the language is too technical. Now, you could make an interface with simple labels and the complex ones along side OR make an Engineers version and one for the rest of us Dummies! Hans, it's a great product but you need to make it more friendly...

Audio processing is a complex topic.
And like all complex topics it is not possible to understand it by reading short descriptions to become an expert in a few days.
You have to learn !
Learning by doing !
Trial and error.
It takes time.
Not hours or days.
You need months or years (starting as a novice) until you understand everything.

For people who don't have the time or don't want to learn every detail, there is a simple solution:
Try all presets and than tweak your favorites to see (or better hear) what a special parameter changing does to the sound.
Then investigate to the theory behind it.
Step by step.
From my experience:
It's 30 percent reading (theory) and 70 percent trial and error.

And (you have done it right)
use this forum to get detailed information and help.

You can make simple labels for simple tasks.
But it is impossible to "make an interface with simple labels"
for complex tasks.

If it would be that simple, than everyone would do it (use Stereo Tool).
So from this point of view you are already on the way to become a (little) expert.
But not in a few days.

Even Hans is still learning by doing (trial and error) with every new (beta)
version of Stereo Tool.

The same thing for me:
Presets (processing) I have used a year ago and thought they were perfect, are now lousy in my ears.
So it is an illusion to find the definitive preset (sound processing) over night.

WELL, let me clarify... My first download of Stereo Tool was 2 years ago and I have looked at it, become frustrated and uninstalled it about 2 times, and installed again and I bought it in December, and struggled to understand that things like Loudness is NOT what I thought it was! So I have studied it on and off. AND I do use the preset I like and then tweak it and save it to another filename. I have a hard time believing that there isn't more simple terms to use, to explain things!

At the very least I do agree that Loudness is a confusing term, because it's used on amplifiers with a very different meaning. So I'll definitely clarify that.

If there are other terms or things that are confusing, please let me know. Especially if you have an idea for a better description

Note about the help texts: They are really getting out-of-date. So I'll have to rewrite a lot of things to match the latest versions of Stereo Tool - especially the new version that's coming very soon.

Thanks...
Also the numbers in the compresser. Up and down I know that the sound changes but I don't understand what soft limit is and what the numbers are doing. I would also like to know what the 2 bass sliders mean? IF I know what things mean, then I can customize more effectively.
Hans, you must like all this Teaching cause' there's gonna be a lot of it!

Soft Limit is the maximum output level of a frequency band. Setting it higher means that the volume is lowered less. And that the output of Multiband is louder.


Edit: After reading this question and my answer I have just replaced "amplitude threshold" by "maximum output level"...