Target Traces: Garbage or Gospel?

►► Get my target traces found in my audio toolkit:

Are target traces garbage or gospel? Is a predetermined tonal target all you need to get your systems sounding great?

Although they can’t make a bad rig sound amazing, using the right tools to align your system throughout an audience to a target curve definitely helps you get more consistent results.

We'll answer:

- What target traces I use to help me tonally balance my systems
- Why EQ should be the last tool you use when getting your system to bend to a target trace
- How to download and set up the target traces I use in SMAART and OSM

00:00 - Intro
01:26 - What do target traces and target curves help us do as sound system engineers?
04:22 - Target Traces vs Target Curves
05:54 - How do import and use target traces in SMAART and Open Sound Meter?
07:47 - What target traces I use on every show and why
11:22 - How do you align your system's tonal balance to a target curve?
15:30 - Where do you place your measurement microphone for EQ'ing for your target trace?
19:06 - Closing, Caveats, and What to do AFTER you align your system to a target trace

[andrewmennavideo]

This goes without saying but the audio of your videos is the most clean and crisp I’ve ever heard on YouTube. Insane.

[joergfreihe]

great teacher. i follow all the nerds like merlin, nathan etc, but you make it easy to understand. yesterday i start with osm my first target curve measurement in a rehearsal room with old renkus heinz frs152 and boom. fiddeling with some room modes and use the dsp in the inuke6000dsp for target curve. still need a lot of practice. thanks michael.

[livemixpriyan]

Hello Michael, thanks for the great video. I just wanted to download your Festival Target Trace. But it is not there under the given Link. Can you please upload it? Thanks a lot in advance

[danielvenancio]

Hey Michael Which one would be a good curve for a medium sized church.

[javiramallo]

Hi. Thanks for your to share your knowlenge..

Could you suggest a target trace for system optimization of a Home Studio with a 2.1 speaker setup?

Thank you in advance!


Javier.

[digital.wrangler]

@MichaelCurtisAudio Incredible stuff, man! Thank you a lot! Please go on with such videos, they are helping to make system tuning process more conscious and less 'guesswork'-y.

[curly_]

Thanks Michael, i am working now with your Target traces, its intresting to have them. But i cant find your Steady Traces in txt format in your dropbox :(

[garyjenkins]

@MichaelCurtisAudio The HDL6a has a large rise in the high end output. Do you find yourself EQing that out?

[adi.sax.ardelean]

Hello! Is there a goal you need to reach when tuning the system with pink noise or white noise? do I have to flatten or simply respect the slope that pink noise shows, ie louder in the area below the bass and easier in the area of ​​the high ones? thank you

[FreeKeenan]

Wow it worked! I just downloaded then imported your steady +9 .text.
Just waiting on the Evo 8 to arrive. Can't wait to see this stuff in action. I just hope I can get the hang of it to align subs with mains and a nice warm tuning.

[vitaminzeth]

Hey Michael, LOve your stuff. I was wondering, after i got the tool kit, we only get the festival and the Steady +9 - Is it possible to also request the +6?

[g.porter]

What would you do for bluegrass or Orchestral? +9?

[OmegaDerrick]

Target trace txt files don’t load in the iOS version of open sound meter. Someone help 😩😩😩

[nunojorgenjstudio]

Trying to wrap my head around all this. Great content.

[soundman]

I'm unable to import the trace into Smaart LE. It says the text file is in the wrong format. When trying to import a binary trace file, it wants a format other than .trf. What do I need to change to import a target trace in to Smaart LE?

[livemixpriyan]

Hey Michael, i posted a comment requesting "Festival Target Trace" about 3 weeks back. Could you plz get back to it? Thanks!!

[mrquangnguyen]

Hello. how can i enable target in smart v9 thanks

[larshinkel]

Would you use something like These curves for a Home Cinema System 🤔