Podcast Audio and Podcast Gear is HERE! …New Media Gear

The T.C. Electronic Finalizer Express

That final touch. In any form of broadcasting, the final processor plays a big role in creating your ’sound.’

However, a good broadcast processor is synonymous with a big price tag.

As Podcasting and Webcasting become more of a force in broadcasting, a niche needs to be filled. Vocal strips and compressors serve an important purpose in first-line processing, but they can’t (and weren’t designed to) put the final polish on your audio before it hits the airwaves or the net.

Enter the TC Electronic Finalizer series featuring 2 different models. The Express will sample analog and digital up to 48Khz. The Finalizer 96 will sample up to, …96Khz. The Express puts the bare mastering essentials into an easy to use box with minimal setup needed to give you that big sound.

So; what does the Finalizer Express actually do? It offers multi-band compression split into preset bands. You also have separate limiting for each band. Remember that a band is not a channel. In a stereo environment, we have 2 channels. If you were to dissect a single channel, separate it into 3 bands (based on frequency) compress and limit each band, you get the idea. Each band has its own compressor and limiter which makes this a more sophisticated way of maximizing loudness while taming the unwanted pumping, or breathing effect that can become a problem if you don’t split bands.

I like the simplicity of the Express. Simply feed it pro analog or digital, dial in your level and the amount of ‘gain’ or compression you desire using the normalizer knob and the Express does most of the work for you, including providing makeup gain after the compressor does its job and providing ’softclip’ LED’s to let you know when you’re driving input/compression over the top. You also have Emphasis keys and Spectral Balance allow you to adjust just how aggressive the processing algorithms are applied to each band.

The relatively small, but nicely written ring-bound manual explains the basics of every knob and button. A nice addition is a small booklet by Bob Katz called “The Secret of the Mastering Engineer.” This 18 page booklet gives you a brief look into advanced mastering, radio techniques and a brief philosophy into compression, mastering and sonics.

At a street price of $999, the Finalizer Express gives you a lot of power and features that (not all that long ago) would have costed you triple the price, at best.

If you are serious about a ‘radio’ sound, you may want to check out the Finalizer Express.

Best,
MarkJensen

Filed under: Podcasts