Spectrum Analyzer Pro Live

Nowadays, almost every software music player has some sort of spectrum analyzer; Winamp has one, WMP has some visuals which act like one and so on, the list can go on forever. People seem to rather enjoy watching the lines and bars going up and down or lots of small dots swirling around in a somehow-orderly manner, but few of them know what all these are about and what do they stand for.

In the music production business, especially when it comes to recording, mixing/mastering and radio/TV use, the spectrum analysis sometimes plays a crucial role: whether used as a control/monitoring method or strictly for comparison with certain standards. Spectral analysis is so widely used because it can offer a huge amount of info to the trained eye, without the need to even hear the sample which was tested. It simply strips the sound source of all its data and displays information "as it is" without possibility to hide or alter parts of it.

Good spectrum analysis software is always a thing both pros and enthusiasts are running after and features such as accuracy, fast response, multiple display options and data-saving are the strongest points producers should be concerned about. Spectrum Analyzer Pro Live seems to have accomplished its mission to bring them all together, so let's see what spectral analysis stands for.

The Looks

Funny thing, but in this case, the spectrum-analysis software must look its best since looking at it is the job of the music/sound producer and he/she expects good and clear looks, easy to read and ease of result interpretation. Therefore, a software which aspires to be a good spectral-analysis one must be developed very carefully in what graphic design is concerned.

Spectrum Analyzer Pro Live combines the sleek and stylish design with the professional exigencies of readability and ease of use, reserving the most space for the most important two things: the VU-meters and the spectrum-display. While the VU-meters have been placed in the right side of the main screen, the spectrum display occupies most of the whole remaining area. When in fullscreen mode, it really becomes huge and also extremely readable from a large distance and providing very accurate info to the human eye.

The Spectrum Analyzer Pro Live's GUI offers some color schemes which don't differ that much one from the other: they all have the same shady aspect and the thing which makes them different is the particular hue each has. Nevertheless, it is obvious that Spectrum Analyzer Pro Live is really a pro software: it does not sport any "cool" tools for making it look nicer; it just looks very sober and tidy and I confess I love this. The user can easily change almost every color for each of the graphic elements the Spectrum Analyzer Pro Live consists of such as to make it more visible or just highlight some things needed for a specific job. For me, the default schemes worked just fine but for other people, even visually impaired, some "radical" colors may be the only method available if using this software; and I am glad the developers thought of this as well.

Various methods of displaying the spectrum data are available: bars, lines, dots, peaks only and so on, depending on each user's needs and habits. As a professional issue, I must note the very handy options the Spectrum Analyzer Pro Live offers when it comes to band: from FFT to 1/3 octave-display, so from the basic smaller needs up to the huge number of bands, everything is possible.

As for the rest, the Spectrum Analyzer Pro Live features the same sober graphic design: large and clean buttons, rather the XP-style, very concise and easy-to-understand menus, guiding the user exactly to the section he/she is looking for, without "detours" and hints. After all, I have already said that Spectrum Analyzer Pro Live is really a professional-grade software so these things should not be present any more: and they aren't :).

No matter which module you happen to work with, the main spectrum window remains the biggest and most visible "object" in the program's screen. The rest of the modules (MP3/WAVE player, EQ, Sound check, Generator, Tap Delay and Compare) are look-alikes: the same neat and tidy look, task and data-providing-oriented but without becoming sure traps for the inexperienced user. As a matter of fact, Spectrum Analyzer Pro Live's main purpose is not really found at the fingertips of inexperienced users, since it can render them rather confuse sometimes.

Overall, the Spectrum Analyzer Pro Live's looks are highly professional indeed and for the (at least) advanced user, it is a truly helpful sidekick, whether in the studio or the home studio.

The Works

There is not much to talk about the works of the Spectrum Analyzer Pro Live since it is a very pro and strictly dedicated software that does quite a few things but does them best. Mainly, the purpose is analysis (I think you have already guessed by now). Yes, analysis, since the professional audio must pass lots of tests and inspections before it hits the market and then rules for a pro-graded audio are rather strict: one mistake or forgotten thing can mean bad things at almost any time. This is why software dedicated to spectrum analysis has been developed and is now sold.

Depending on each user's habits and likes, the Spectrum Analyzer Pro Live can provide a multitude of ways to display the spectrum data: numerous combinations can be achieved by combining the display-modes (lines, v-lines, bars, peaks and scroll) and the spectral coverage (FFT, 1/3, 1/6, 1/12 and 1/24 octaves). You can easily imagine that almost any user who has at least heard and seen once a spectrum analyzer, can tweak the Spectrum Analyzer Pro Live just perfect to suit his own preferences and start working if needed.

A very nice feature is that the program automatically displays the frequency of the highest peak so the sound producer knows where to act should need be without losing time looking for the troublemaking band. Peaks hold-off can be set with various parameters (even completely shut down), so you can benefit from it or decide to leave them aside. Besides the fact that you can easily analyze sound being played in your fav media player, for a pro analysis, you will need to load them in the special MP3-WAV player and have the read from there. All ID3 data of your MP3 will be displayed along with a separate VU-meter, whose red zone starts at -15 dB...just to make sure :) Three start and stoptimes are available, all loopable, and everything works hand in hand with the very handy EQ Suggestion module which (obviously) suggests various almost real-time settings for the 28-bands equalizer, with three modes: hard, middle and soft, having the possibility to save presets and load them later.

Another interesting module is the Sound Check one which can come in very useful when preparing to analyze sound before "setting foot" in proper production. It basically displays patterns commonly met in sound industry (bass drum, snare, toms, e-drums, user presets and so on), so one can get a better idea on what must be done to achieve a particular sound. If not everyone knows, this is why spectrum analysis is so popular in the industry: it shows the frequencies with very good accuracy so the producer/sound engineer can correct in no time the eventual mishaps. For example, if I was to record a snare sample for a particular techno song, I would first choose a snare sound as close to what I have in mind, see "how it looks like" in the spectral realm and then, keeping its shape in mind, begin working on the sound which must be recorded. Spectrum Analyzer Pro Live works just perfect in real-time, so there is no problem routing the sound from the mixing console in the PC for "dissection". Provided I don't simply sample that snare, ha-ha-ha!

The Generator module will allow you to generate various types of sound waves such as sine, square, triangle, negative or positive saw tooth or white noise and will also display an oscilloscope screen so you actually see the waveforms and how they behave. I can't help noticing how accurate the pink and white noises are displayed in the Spectrum Analyzer Pro Live.

Needless to speak too much on the Tap Delay module except that I must say it is very well organized and highly readable, with .5 grade accuracy and ranges from 1 to 9 beats-measures, comprising lengths from ½ to 5/4 beats. Finally, the Compare module will help you get readings from the input and output signals and will display separate VU-meters for each, as well as levels expressed in dBs, all simultaneously.

Overall, my final impression in the Spectrum Analyzer Pro Live is that it's a damn good analysis software, well worth its money, loaded with pro-grade features and fit also for the medium-to-advanced users as well as the highly-skilled sound engineers/producers.

The Good

There are lots of nice and good things in the Spectrum Analyzer Pro Live but I'll just mention some of them such as the exceptional readability of the spectrum-screen, the sound check module and the very good-looking GUI.

The Bad

The only bad thing I can say about the Spectrum Analyzer Pro Live is that sometimes, it can confuse the user as it will play the last thing (noise, sweep and the likes). Being sure that this will be mended soon, I'll just end it here. Ah, one more thing: the developers could really build a better help-file :).

The Truth

Another professional software which has passed under my fingers and through my ears and I must admit I liked what I have seen and heard. A very "direct" yet precise program, at the boundary between the technological high-complexity and usable simplicity. Definitely one piece of code you'd like to have in your studio!

Feel free to browse through the 15 screenshots I have prepared just for you, below: