FabFilter PRO-DS Users Manual
Table of contents
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Table of Contents
About FabFilter Pro-DS
Overview
Loading presets
Purchasing FabFilter Pro-DS
Support
2
Introduction
Quick start
Using FabFilter Pro-DS
Knobs
Basic controls
Advanced controls
Metering
Oversampling
Input and output options
MIDI learn
Undo, redo, A/B switch
Presets
Saving presets
How presets are stored
Purchasing FabFilter Pro-DS
Entering your license key
Support
Manual installation
VST plug-in versions
External side chaining
License agreement
About FabFilter
About FabFilter Pro-DS
3
Every mix or mastering engineer often has to deal with over-sibilant vocals. Even when using the best
microphones, pre-amps and converters, 's' and 't' sounds can easily get over-accentuated during postprocessing like compression, saturation or limiting. For all these cases, FabFilter Pro-DS comes to the rescue!
With its highly intelligent 'Single Vocal' detection algorithm, it accurately and transparently attenuates sibilance
in vocal recordings. Plus when using Pro-DS in 'Allround' mode, it's a great tool for high-frequency limiting of
any material, like drums or full mixes. Try it out yourself!
Key features include highly intelligent 'Single Vocal' detection to detect sibilance in vocals, transparent
program-dependent compression/limiting, high-quality 64-bit internal processing, adjustable threshold, range
and detection HP and LP filtering, Wide Band or linear-phase Split Band processing, optional look-ahead time
up to 15 ms, adjustable stereo linking with optional mid-only or side-only processing and up to four times
linear-phase oversampling.
FabFilter Pro-DS is available in VST, VST3, AU (Audio Units), AAX Native and AudioSuite formats (all both 64bit and 32-bit), as well as RTAS (32-bit only), for Mac OS X and Windows.
Windows requirements
32-bit: Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP
64-bit: Windows 10, 8, 7 or Vista (x64)
VST 2/3 host or Pro Tools
Next: Quick start
See Also
Using FabFilter Pro-DS
Mac OS X requirements
OS X 10.6 or higher
AU or VST 2/3 host or Pro Tools
Intel processor
Quick start
4
The installer will copy the FabFilter Pro-DS plug-in into the common VST, VST 3, AU (macOS only) and Pro
Tools plug-in folders on your computer. On macOS, the global plug-in folders in /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins are
used.
In most cases, your host will then recognize the plugin automatically. However, if the instructions below do not
work, see Manual
Cubase
Choose an empty insert slot, for example in the Mixer, and select FabFilter Pro-DS from the menu that
appears. To use the MIDI features in Pro-DS, create a new MIDI track and set its output to the Pro-DS
instance you have just created. (The VST 3 version of Pro-DS can be found in the Dynamics section.)
Logic Pro
Choose an empty insert slot on one of your audio tracks, instrument tracks or buses and select FabFilter
Pro-DS from the pop-up menu. You will find FabFilter Pro-DS in the Audio Units > FabFilter section
(named FF Pro-DS).
Ableton Live
In Session view, select the track you would like to place FabFilter Pro-DS on, for example by clicking the
track name. At the left top of Ableton Live's interface, click on the Plug-in Device Browser icon (third icon
from the top). From the plug-ins list, double-click FabFilter/FabFilter Pro-DS, or drag it onto the track.
Pro Tools
Choose an empty insert slot on one of your audio tracks, instrument tracks or buses and select FabFilter
Pro-DS from the pop-up menu in the Dynamics section.
To begin, just open the plug-in and adjust the Threshold and Range knobs. Enjoy!
Next: FabFilter Pro-DS overview
See Also
About FabFilter Pro-DS
installation instead.
Overview
5
The interface of FabFilter Pro-DS is designed to be easy to use while providing all necessary information and
controls. It consists of the following elements:
Real-time level display
In the top section of the plug-in, the real-time moving level display and the level meters show you at a
glance what's happening to your audio. The unaffected output level is shown in transparent grey, while
affected parts (where gain reduction is applied) are shown in light green. See Metering
Level metering
At the right of the interface, the output level meter, gain reduction meter and their read-outs provide an
immediate overview of the current output and gain reduction levels. See Metering
Basic controls
Using the large yellow Threshold and Range knobs, and the high-pass and low-pass filter sliders, you can
set up basic de-essing functionality. These controls determine the amount of gain reduction and the
frequency range on which the de-esser will trigger. To the right of the large knobs, you can toggle
between the highly intelligent Single Vocal and classic Allround modes. See Basic controls
Advanced controls
Centered in the interface, under the Mode buttons, you can toggle between Wide Band and Split Band
processing, and between using the internal or external input for the side-chain. See Advanced
Stereo linking and lookahead
Next to the level meters, at the right of the interface, you can control the amount of stereo linking (with
optional Mid-only or Side-only processing), and lookahead time. See Advanced controls
MIDI Learn
MIDI Learn lets you easily associate any MIDI controller with any plug-in parameter. See MIDI Learn
Oversampling
The Oversampling setting sets the amount of internal oversampling, which reduces possible aliasing for
fast/aggressive de-essing at the cost of additional CPU usage. See Oversampling
Input and output options
On the far right of the bottom bar, you can bypass the entire plug-in and adjust the initial input and final
output levels. See Input and output
Presets, undo, A/B, help
With the preset buttons, you can easily browse through the factory presets or save your own settings so
you can re-use them in other songs. The Undo, Redo, A/B and Copy buttons at the top of the plug-in
interface enable you to undo your changes and switch between different states of the plug-in. Finally, the
Help menu provides access to help and version information. See Loading presets
switch.
options.
.
.
.
controls.
.
.
.
and Undo, redo, A/B
Next: Knobs
See Also
6
Quick start
Knobs
7
It is easy to control FabFilter Pro-DS's parameters with the large round knobs. They will light up when you
move the mouse cursor around to indicate that you can adjust them. The moment you move the mouse cursor
over a knob, a parameter value display will pop up, which shows the name and the current value of the
parameter.
All knobs support four ways of control:
1. Vertical mode
Click on the center area of a knob and drag up or down to rotate it. The knob reacts to the speed with
which you are dragging, so if you move the mouse slowly, you make precise adjustments.
2. Rotate mode
Grab the arrow of the knob and drag it around. By moving the mouse cursor further away from the
knob while dragging it, you can make precise adjustments.
3. Mouse wheel mode
Perhaps the easiest way to make adjustments is by using the mouse wheel when you hover over a
knob. This mode works for all the knobs and possible panning rings. (On Windows, you might need to
click in the plug-in interface first to make sure it is the active window.)
4. Text entry mode
Double-click a knob to enter an exact value using the keyboard.
Tips
To reset a knob to its default position, hold down the Ctrl key (Windows) or Command key (macOS) and
click the knob once. Note: In Pro Tools, Pro-DS uses the default Pro Tools keyboard shortcut for reset:
Alt+click.
To fine-tune a value when using vertical drag mode or the mouse wheel, hold down the Shift key while
dragging or moving the mouse wheel. Note: In Pro Tools, Pro-DS uses the default Pro Tools keyboard
shortcut for fine tune: Ctrl+drag on Windows or Command+drag on macOS.
There are several handy shortcuts in text entry mode. With frequency values, you can type e.g. '1k'
to set the value to 1000 Hz, and also 'A4' for 440 Hz, or even strings like 'C#3+13'. With dB values, you
can type e.g. '2x' to get +6 dB (the value that corresponds to two times louder). With all values, you can
also type a percentage (e.g. '50%' will put a knob exactly in the middle position).
Sometimes, knobs in our plug-in interfaces are linked: these be adjusted simultaneously by holding
down the Alt key (Shift key in Pro Tools) while dragging on one of them. For example, an output level
and input level setting of a plug-in could be adjusted simultaneously (in the opposite direction) this way.
Next: Basic controls
See Also
Overview
Basic controls
8
The large Threshold and Range knobs, the trigger frequency sliders and the Mode button are the most
important controls in Pro-DS. They greatly affect how Pro-DS reacts and sounds.
Threshold
The Threshold knob sets the threshold of the side-chain level above which the de-esser will trigger and apply
gain reduction. The circular side-chain level meter
and possibly stereo-linked signal that is used for detection. This feedback makes it a lot easier to choose a
proper Threshold setting.
Using the round Audition Triggering button, at the left top of the Threshold button, you can hear on which
parts of the audio Pro-DS is triggering and how much de-essing is taking place. This helps you choose an
appropriate Threshold level as well, making sure Pro-DS is catching all necessary peaks without triggering on
anything else.
Range
The Range knob simply scales the detected gain reduction so that it stays within a desired range, enabling you
to easily change the desired amount of de-essing.
around the Threshold knob shows the level of the filtered
Side-chain filtering
Using the high-pass and low-pass side-chain filter sliders, right under the large Threshold and Range knobs,
you specify the frequency range on which Pro-DS will trigger. You can choose any range between 2 kHz and 20
kHz. (Normal vocal s-sounds are usually have frequencies around 8 to 10 kHz).
Pro-DS's side-chain filtering is tuned in such a way that you can really zoom in on very specific frequencies,
without having to adjust the Threshold knob too much.
Using the Audition Sidechain button right beneath the HP and LP sliders, you can listen to the signal that is
used for triggering. It makes it much easier to find the appropriate frequency of the sound you want to
attenuate.
To help you even more, we have also built in a real-time spectrum
strong frequencies in the signal.
Single Vocal vs. Allround mode
When you want to de-ess a single vocal track, it's best to set the mode to Single Vocal. This enables a highly
intelligent detection algorithm, which splits sibilance from non-sibilance.
analyzer into this control, lighting up the
In Allround mode, triggering only depends on the frequency range, specified by the HP and LP filtering sliders,
in combination with the Threshold setting of course. This is intended for processing entire mixes, for example.
Tips
In Single Vocal mode, you can lower the Treshold all the way to -INF dB. This reduces the dynamic range
of the gain reduction: all sibilance will then be reduced by (roughly) the same amount (specified by
Range).
To brighten up your sound during mastering, you can use Pro-DS as a high-frequency limiter. Choose the
Allround mode and Split Band processing
bring up that frequency range again using a high shelving EQ filter (from FabFilter Pro-Q for example).
, and limit the transients of the high frequency range. Then,
Try it yourself!
Next: Advanced Controls
9
See Also
Overview
Metering
Advanced controls
10
After you have set up the basic working of the de-esser using the basic controls, you can tune the sound even
more using Pro-DS's advanced features.
Processing
Using the processing buttons, you can choose between Full Band processing and Split Band processing. When
Full Band processing is enabled, Pro-DS will lower the overall gain of the audio when sibilance is detected.
When Split Band is chosen, only high frequencies will be attenuated. The split frequency is determined
automatically according to the chosen high-pass sidechain filtering
When working with single vocals, the Wide Band option often gives you great results already, but when deessing full mixes, or more complex audio, it's often best to use the Split Band mode and leave the lower
frequencies untouched. In some cases however, especially with single vocal material, Wide Band sounds more
natural. Note also that split-band processing introduces some additional latency (see Lookahead below).
Split-band processing (in combination with the Allround mode
de-esser functions as a high frequency limiter. The basic trick is to compress transients in the high frequencies
of the music, and bring up that same frequency range again afterwards using a high shelving filter (using
FabFilter Pro-Q for example). This can really brighten up the music, and glue the overall sound, giving it a nice
edge!
Sidechain input signal
At the bottom center of the interface, you can choose whether you would like to use the normal input signal or
the exteral side-chain input signal for triggering. Using an external side-chain signal can be very useful. For
example, when de-essing heavily processed/distorted vocals, you could use the original 'clean' vocal track as a
side-chain input, resulting in better detection results.
Stereo linking and mid-only / side-only processing
Using the single Stereo Link knob and its Stereo Link Mode button (only available in the stereo version of the
plug-in of course), you can both set a variable stereo linking for the trigger input signal, and choose between
normal stereo or mid-only/side-only processing.
setting.
) is also often used during mastering, where the
The first half of the knob's range sets stereo linking from 0% (fully unlinked, channels operate independently)
up to 100% (fully linked, resulting in the same gain reduction for both channels).
When turning the knob even further, you will eventually process only the mid-signal (mono content of the
processed audio), or only the side-signal (stereo content of the processed audio). Using the small Stereo Link
Mode button at the right bottom of the Stereo Link knob, you can toggle between the two.
Mid- or side-only processing can be very useful, for example while mastering. A lead vocal is often placed in the
center of the stereo image, so only de-essing the mid-signal will leave all stereo content untouched, ensuring
the most transparent end result possible. Alternatively, when de-essing backing vocals in a stereo mix (often
panned left or right), you could choose side-only de-essing, ensuring that Pro-DS leaves all mono content
untouced, like the lead vocal.
To better understand the working of these settings, enable the Audition Sidechain button right under the sidechain filtering sliders. You can now directly hear the effect of stereo linking and mid-only or side-only
processing!
Lookahead
With the Lookahead knob, Pro-DS can be set to start de-essing up to 15 ms before the trigger audio level
actually exceeds the threshold. This is an excellent way to catch transients and/or the start of sibilance.
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