Audio Fluid User Manual

Fluid User’s Guide

Audio Damage, Inc.
Release 1.0

18 September 2007

The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on
the part of Audio Damage, Inc. The software described by this document is subject to a License Agreement
and may not be copied to other media except as specifically allowed in the License Agreement. No part of this
publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior
written permission by Audio Damage, Inc.

© 2007 Audio Damage, Inc. All rights reserved.

Credits

Software Design and Construction, Documentation

Chris Randall
Adam Schabtach

Field Testing

Dean Dunakin
Steve Hamann

Made Possible By

Tracie Bork
Lisa Randall

Fuzzy Logic

Alex
Chica
Fatty
Pablo
Widget

License Agreement

BY INSTALLING THE SOFTWARE, YOU ARE CONSENTING TO BE BOUND BY THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT
AGREE TO ALL OF THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, THEN RETURN THE PRODUCT TO THE PLACE OF
PURCHASE FOR A FULL REFUND.

Single User License Grant: Audio Damage, Inc. ("Audio Damage") and its suppliers grant to Customer
("Customer") a nonexclusive and nontransferable license to use the Audio Damage software ("Software") in
object code form solely on a single central processing unit owned or leased by Customer.

Customer may make one (1) archival copy of the Software provided Customer affixes to such copy all
copyright, confidentiality, and proprietary notices that appear on the original.

EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY AUTHORIZED ABOVE, CUSTOMER SHALL NOT: COPY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART,
SOFTWARE OR DOCUMENTATION; MODIFY THE SOFTWARE; REVERSE COMPILE OR REVERSE ASSEMBLE ALL
OR ANY PORTION OF THE SOFTWARE; OR RENT, LEASE, DISTRIBUTE, SELL, OR CREATE DERIVATIVE WORKS
OF THE SOFTWARE.

Customer agrees that aspects of the licensed materials, including the specific design and structure of
individual programs, constitute trade secrets and/or copyrighted material of Audio Damage. Customer agrees
not to disclose, provide, or otherwise make available such trade secrets or copyrighted material in any form to
any third party without the prior written consent of Audio Damage. Customer agrees to implement reasonable
security measures to protect such trade secrets and copyrighted material. Title to Software and
documentation shall remain solely with Audio Damage.

LIMITED WARRANTY. Audio Damage warrants that for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of shipment
from Audio Damage: (i) the media on which the Software is furnished will be free of defects in materials and
workmanship under normal use; and (ii) the Software substantially conforms to its published specifications.
Except for the foregoing, the Software is provided AS IS. This limited warranty extends only to Customer as
the original licensee. Customer's exclusive remedy and the entire liability of Audio Damage and its suppliers
under this limited warranty will be, at Audio Damage or its service center's option, repair, replacement, or
refund of the Software if reported (or, upon request, returned) to the party supplying the Software to
Customer. In no event does Audio Damage warrant that the Software is error free or that Customer will be
able to operate the Software without problems or interruptions.

This warranty does not apply if the software (a) has been altered, except by Audio Damage, (b) has not been
installed, operated, repaired, or maintained in accordance with instructions supplied by Audio Damage, (c) has
been subjected to abnormal physical or electrical stress, misuse, negligence, or accident, or (d) is used in
ultrahazardous activities.

DISCLAIMER. EXCEPT AS SPECIFIED IN THIS WARRANTY, ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED CONDITIONS,
REPRESENTATIONS, AND WARRANTIES INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF
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COURSE OF DEALING, USAGE, OR TRADE PRACTICE, ARE HEREBY EXCLUDED TO THE EXTENT ALLOWED BY
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DATA, OR FOR SPECIAL, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES HOWEVER
CAUSED AND REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO
USE THE SOFTWARE EVEN IF AUDIO DAMAGE OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY
OF SUCH DAMAGES. In no event shall Audio Damage's or its suppliers' liability to Customer, whether in
contract, tort (including negligence), or otherwise, exceed the price paid by Customer. The foregoing
limitations shall apply even if the above-stated warranty fails of its essential purpose. SOME STATES DO NOT
ALLOW LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES.

The above warranty DOES NOT apply to any beta software, any software made available for testing or
demonstration purposes, any temporary software modules or any software for which Audio Damage does not
receive a license fee. All such software products are provided AS IS without any warranty whatsoever.

This License is effective until terminated. Customer may terminate this License at any time by destroying all
copies of Software including any documentation. This License will terminate immediately without notice from
Audio Damage if Customer fails to comply with any provision of this License. Upon termination, Customer
must destroy all copies of Software.

Software, including technical data, is subject to U.S. export control laws, including the U.S. Export
Administration Act and its associated regulations, and may be subject to export or import regulations in other
countries. Customer agrees to comply strictly with all such regulations and acknowledges that it has the
responsibility to obtain licenses to export, re-export, or import Software.

This License shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois, United
States of America, as if performed wholly within the state and without giving effect to the principles of conflict
of law. If any portion hereof is found to be void or unenforceable, the remaining provisions of this License
shall remain in full force and effect. This License constitutes the entire License between the parties with
respect to the use of the Software.

Introduction

Thank you for purchasing Fluid, Audio Damage’s stereo chorus plug-in. Fluid creates lush chorusing effects
reminiscent of vintage hardware processors, with depth and richness rarely found in software chorus plug-ins.
Fluid adds stereo width and animation to dull, motionless sounds, and at extreme settings creates unusual
pitch modulations.

Fluid’s design was inspired by the internal workings of studio effects processors, including dedicated “magic
box” analog chorus units and multi-effects DSP hardware. Most vintage chorus processors used only two or
three modulated delays; Fluid uses an elaborate network of five modulated delays and four fixed delays.

Fluid is provided as both a VST and an AudioUnit plug-in for Windows and MacOS X. The MacOS X version is a
Universal Binary, compatible with both Intel- and Motorola-based Macs.

System Requirements

To use Fluid, you'll need a Steinberg VST-compatible host application which conforms to the VST 2.0
specifications, and a computer capable of running it. For the AudioUnit version of Fluid, you’ll need an
application capable of hosting AudioUnit plug-ins, and a computer capable of running it. The following
specifications represent minimum requirements.

For use with Microsoft Windows: For use with Apple Macintosh:

 Windows XP or Vista  Mac OS X version 10.3.9 or newer
 512 MB RAM  512 MB RAM

 Pentium III 600 MHz CPU  Motorola G4/G5 or Intel CPU
 High Color S-VGA Display

 Display capable of “thousands of colors”

Installation

Double-click the Fluid Installer icon and follow the instructions. During the installation process the installer will
ask you to enter your registration code. Your registration code uniquely identifies your purchase, and you will
need it if you need to reinstall your plug-in (for example, after upgrading to a new computer). Keep a copy of
the code in a safe location and please don’t share it with your friends. We’re delighted if you like our products
so much that you want to share them, but please ask your friends to buy their own copy so that we can keep
making new products.

To un-install from OS X, simply delete the plug-in from your VST folder, which is usually located at

/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/, and your AudioUnits folder, which is located at /Library/Audio/Plug­Ins/Components/. To un-install from Windows, simply delete the plug-in from your VST folder, which is
usually located at C:\Program Files\Steinberg\VstPlugins.

Operation

Fluid is designed for creating stereo effects, and as such should be used in a stereo context (i.e., inserted on a
stereo channel) in your host DAW software. It can “stereo-ize” a mono input signal and enhance a stereo
input signal. If you use a stereo input, the left and right channel separation is preserved in the output signal
(assuming that some amount of the unprocessed signal is present in the output; see the description of the
MIX knob below). You can use Fluid in a single-output mono context but to do so misses the point in some
sense. Fluid should usually be used as an insert effect, although there’s no reason you can’t use it as a
send/return effect if you find this useful.

Here is a screenshot of Fluid, followed by detailed descriptions of its controls. Chorusing in general is an effect
that is highly dependent upon both the input signal and the overall musical context, so let your ear be your
guide as you experiment with Fluid.

1. Delay

The DELAY knob sets the lengths of the delays used within Fluid. This knob affects all of Fluid's delays at once.
Turning the knob clockwise increases the delay times and generally makes the effect sound bigger or more
spacious. Longer delay times also can make the individual delays within Fluid more distinct and apparent, which
may or may not be desirable depending on your source material. The DELAY knob has a range of 10 to 40msec,
but those markings are somewhat arbitrary in that the knob affects the different delay elements in different ways.

The delay knob interacts with the LFO DEPTH knob in the sense that at longer delay times the modulation LFOs
change the delays over longer time intervals. In other words, the effect of the LFO modulation will be more audibly
apparent at higher settings of the DELAY knob.

2. LFO Rate

The LFO RATE knob sets the speed with which the delays within Fluid are modulated (changed) by low-frequency
oscillators (LFOs). As you rotate this knob clockwise the modulation rate increases. Use slow rates to create wide
stereo chorusing effects without an obvious modulation, and fast rates for a more “processed” sound. At high
settings of LFO RATE, LFO DEPTH, and DELAY, Fluid can create strange pitch-modulation (vibrato) effects.

The LFO RATE control has a range of 0.05 to 0.5Hz. Note, though, that Fluid’s modulation is designed in part to
hide any obvious periodicity, so the numeric setting of this knob is not particularly significant. In other words, your
ears should be your guide rather than your eyes. Also note that if the LFO DEPTH knob (described next) is set to
zero, you won’t hear any change in the output when you rotate the LFO RATE knob.

3. LFO Depth

The LFO DEPTH knob determines how much the delays within Fluid are modulated. If this knob is rotated fully
counter-clockwise, the delays are not modulated at all and Fluid creates a static-sounding short-delay effect. As
you rotate this knob clockwise—even slightly—Fluid comes to life as the LFOs vary the lengths of its delays. The
further you rotate this knob the more the delays are changed. You will often find that the LFO DEPTH, LFO RATE,
and DELAY knobs all need to be adjusted together since their individual influences over Fluid’s sound are
interdependent to some extent. For instance, you may find that decreasing the LFO RATE when you increase the

LFO DEPTH produces a better sound.

4. Feedback

The FEEDBACK knob causes some amount of Fluid's processed signal to be fed back into its network of delays.
Feedback is not a parameter commonly found on chorus effects but Fluid has one to increase its range of
possibilities. When the knob is rotated fully counter-clockwise, none of the signal is fed back. Rotating the knob
clockwise increases the amount of feedback signal. You may find that the effect of this knob is somewhat subtle,
and usually most noticeable when the delay knob is turned to higher settings.

5. Mix

The MIX knob controls the relative amounts of the original, unprocessed (dry) signal and the processed (wet)
signal in Fluid's output. Use this knob to control the overall amount of the chorusing effect. When the knob is

rotated fully counter-clockwise, you'll hear only the original signal. As you rotate the knob clockwise, the amount
of wet signal increases and the amount of dry signal decreases. At the center "12 o'clock" position, there is an
equal amount of wet and dry signal in the output. If you rotate the knob fully clockwise, you'll hear only the
processed signal. The best setting for this knob will vary widely depending on your source material, the overall
sound character you're trying to achieve, and the settings of the other knobs, so try everything from just a touch to
100% wet.

MIDI Controllers

The VST version of Fluid responds to MIDI continuous controller messages. You can use hardware MIDI
controllers, such as MIDI slider boxes or the knobs found on some MIDI keyboards, to adjust Fluid’s
parameters.

The VST version of Fluid has a simple “MIDI Learn” mode for assigning its controls to MIDI controllers. To
assign a control to a MIDI controller:

 First, hold down the shift and ctrl keys on your PC’s keyboard, or shift and cmd keys if you’re using a

Mac, and click once on the control. A white box will be drawn around the control to indicate that it is
ready to learn which MIDI controller it will be assigned to.

 Next, move the MIDI controller to send a continuous controller message—turn the knob, press the

button, move the slider, whatever is appropriate.

 The white square will disappear. Now the control will move when you manipulate the MIDI controller.

Fluid waits until it has received two consecutive continuous controller messages with the same controller
number before it makes an assignment. This filters out extraneous data sent by some MIDI controllers. If you
are assigning a button or switch on a MIDI controller, you may have to press or move the switch twice before
Fluid recognizes the controller and assigns it to the desired control.

To assign a different MIDI controller to a control, repeat the same procedure using a different controller.

To cancel MIDI Learn mode without assigning a controller, hold down the SHIFT and CTRL keys (SHIFT and
CMD keys on a Mac) and click in any empty area in Fluid’s window (i.e., don’t click on another control). The
white box will disappear.

To remove a MIDI controller assignment from a control, SHIFT and CTRL keys, (SHIFT and CMD keys on a
Mac) click on the control once so that the white box appears, then click again on the same control.

Fluid’s MIDI controller assignments apply to all presets and instances of Fluid, in all host applications that you
use. The MIDI assignments are stored in a special file on your hard drive. The contents of this file are read
when Fluid is loaded by your host. If you have two or more instances of Fluid in use at once, any MIDI

assignments you make will not be propagated to the other instances until the next time that your host loads
the plug-ins.

The AudioUnit version does not provide the same MIDI assignment features as the VST version. Almost all
AudioUnit hosts provide their own mechanism for assigning MIDI controllers to parameters, so it would be
redundant for us to implement MIDI controller assignments in the plug-in itself. Consult the documentation for
your AudioUnit host to learn how to use its MIDI features.

Automation

All of Fluid's parameters can be automated using your host's automation features. Consult your host's
documentation for information on how to use these features.

And Finally…

Thanks again for purchasing Fluid. We make every effort to ensure your satisfaction with our products, and
want you to be happy with your purchase. Please write [e-mail] if you have any questions
or comments.