Pinnacle Systems Pro Tools M-Powered Essential - 8.0.2 User Manual
Essential Plug-ins
Pro Tools® M-Powered™ Essential
Version 8.0.2
Legal Notices
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contents
Chapter 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Plug-in Formats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
System Requirements and Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Installing and Using Plug-ins for Pro Tools M-Powered Essential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Conventions Used in This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
About www.digidesign.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Chapter 2. Click . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Click Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Creating a Click Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Chapter 3. AIR Chorus, Flanger, and Phaser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
AIR Chorus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
AIR Flanger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
AIR Phaser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Chapter 4. D-Verb. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
D-Verb Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Chapter 5. Dynamics III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Shared Compressor/Limiter and Expander/Gate Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Compressor/Limiter III. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Expander/Gate III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
De-Esser III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Using the Side-Chain Input in Dynamics III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Contents iii
Chapter 6. EQ III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
EQ III Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
7Band EQ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
2–4 Band EQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
1Band EQ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Chapter 7. Mod Delay II. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Mod Delay II Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Multichannel Mod Delay II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Selections for ModDelay II AudioSuite Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Chapter 8. ReWire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
ReWire Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Using ReWire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Quitting ReWire Client Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Tempo and Meter Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Looping Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Automating ReWire Input Switching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Chapter 9. SansAmp PSA-1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
PSA-1 Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Tips and Tricks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Chapter 10. Structure Essential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Structure Essential Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Patch List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Main Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Patch Edit Sub-Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Browser Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Chapter 11. Other AudioSuite Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Reverse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Essential Plug-Ins Guideiv
chapter 1
Introduction
Plug-ins are special-purpose software components that provide signal processing and other
functionality to Pro Tools
tial.
The plug-ins included with Essential provide a
comprehensive suite of effects processing (such
as EQ, reverb, and delay) as well as the Structure
Essential virtual instrument.
References to Pro Tools LE® or Pro Tools
M-Powered™ in this guide are usually interchangeable with Pro Tools M-Powered
Essential, except as noted in the Pro Tools
M-Powered Essential User Guide.
The Essential plug-ins installed with Pro Tools
M-Powered Essential include:
• Click
• AIR Chorus
• AIR Flanger
• AIR Phaser
•D-Verb
• Dynamics III
• Compressor/Limiter
• Expander/Gate
•De-Esser
®
M-Powered™ Essen-
•EQ III
•7Band
•2–4Band
•1Band
•ModDelay II
•Extra Long
•Long
• Medium
•Short
•Slap
•ReWire
• Sans Amp PSA-1
• Structure Essential
• Other DigiRack AudioSuite Plug-ins
•Multi-Tap Delay
• Ping-Pong Delay
• Reverse
Plug-in Formats
There are two plug-in formats used in Pro Tools
M-Powered Essential:
®
•RTAS
• AudioSuite™ plug-ins (non-real-time, file-
plug-ins (real-time, host-based)
based processing)
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
RTAS Plug--ins
Insert (A)
Selector
RTAS (Real-Time AudioSuite) plug-ins are applied as track inserts, are applied to audio during
playback, and process audio non-destructively
in real-time. RTAS plug-ins rely on and are limited by the processing power of your computer.
The more powerful your computer, the greater
the number and variety of RTAS plug-ins that
you can use simultaneously.
Because of this dependence on the CPU or host
processing, the more RTAS plug-ins you use concurrently in a session, the greater the impact it
will have on other aspects of your system’s performance, such as maximum track count, number of available voices, the density of edits possible, and latency in automation and recording.
AudioSuite Plug-ins
AudioSuite plug-ins are used to process and
modify audio files on disk, rather than non-destructively in real time. Depending on how you
configure a non-real-time AudioSuite plug-in, it
either creates an entirely new audio file, or alters
the original source audio file.
Installing and Using Plug-ins for Pro Tools M-Powered Essential
Installing Plug-ins
The Essential plug-ins are installed when you install Pro Tools M-Powered Essential. For more
information, see the Essential User Guide.
Using Plug-ins in Pro Tools
Plug-ins are used in sessions by inserting them
onto tracks. Essential lets you insert as many as
three plug-ins per track using insert slots A–C.
To insert a plug-in:
1 Click the track Insert selector. Plug-ins are
listed by category (or, the type of processing
they perform) such as Delay, Dynamics, and EQ.
System Requirements and Compatibility
Essential Plug-ins can only be used on Pro Tools
M-Powered Essential systems.
For complete system requirements and a list of
computers, operating systems, hard drives, and
third-party devices, refer to the latest information on the Digidesign website:
www.digidesign.com/compatibility
Essential Plug-ins Guide2
Inserting a plug-in on a track
2 Choose a plug-in from one of the sub-menus.
See the Intro to Pro Tools M-Powered Essential
Guide for more information about how to use
plug-ins as track inserts or as bus processors.
See the Pro Tools Reference Guide for complete information on working with plug-ins, including:
• Plug-in Window controls
• Adjusting plug-in controls
• Automating plug-ins
• Using side-chain inputs
• Using plug-in presets
• Clip indicators
Conventions Used in This Guide
All Digidesign guides use the following conventions to indicate menu choices and key commands:
Convention Action
File > Save Choose Save from the
File menu
Control+N Hold down the Control
key and press the N key
Control-click Hold down the Control
key and click the mouse
button
Right-click Click with the right
mouse button
The names of Commands, Options, and Settings
that appear on-screen are in a different font.
The following symbols are used to highlight important information:
User Tips are helpful hints for getting the
most from your system.
About www.digidesign.com
The Digidesign website (www.digidesign.com) is
your best online source for information to help
you get the most out of your Pro Tools system.
The following are just a few of the services and
features available.
Product Registration Register your purchase online.
Support and Downloads Contact Digidesign
Technical Support or Customer Service; download software updates and the latest online
manuals; browse the Compatibility documents
for system requirements; search the online Answerbase; or join the worldwide Pro Tools community on the Digidesign User Conference.
Training and Education Study on your own using
courses available online or find out how you can
learn in a classroom setting at a certified
Pro Tools training center.
Products and Developers Learn about Digidesign
products; download demo software or learn
about our Development Partners and their plugins, applications, and hardware.
Important Notices include information that
could affect your Pro Tools session data or
the performance of your Pro Tools system.
Shortcuts show you useful keyboard or
mouse shortcuts.
Cross References point to related sections in
this guide and other Essential guides.
News and Events Get the latest news from
Digidesign or sign up for a Pro Tools demo.
Pro Tools Accelerated Videos Watch the series of
free tutorial videos. Accelerated Videos are designed to help you get up and running with
Pro Tools and its plug-ins quickly.
Chapter 1: Introduction 3
Essential Plug-ins Guide4
chapter 2
Click
(RTAS)
The Click plug-in creates an audio click during
session playback that you can use as a tempo reference when performing and recording. The
Click plug-in receives its tempo and meter data
from the Pro Tools application, enabling it to
follow any changes in tempo and meter in a session. The Click plug-in is a mono-only plug-in.
Several click sound presets are included.
Click plug-in
Click Controls
MIDI In LED Illuminates each time the Click
plug-in receives a click message from the
Pro Tools application, indicating the click
tempo.
Accented Controls the output level of the accent
beat (beat 1 of each bar) of the audio click.
Unaccented Controls the output level of the unaccented beats of the audio click.
Chapter 2: Click 5
Creating a Click Track
To create a click track with the Click plug-in:
1 Ensure that the Options > Click menu com-
mand is enabled.
2 Choose Track > Create Click Track.
Pro Tools creates a new Auxiliary Input track
named “Click” with the Click plug-in already inserted.
To manually create a click track with the Click
plug-in:
1 Select Options > Click to enable the Click op-
tion (or enable the Metronome button in the
Transport).
2 Create new a mono Auxiliary Input track and
insert the Click plug-in.
3 Select a click sound preset.
4 Choose Setup > Click/Countoff and set the
Click and Countoff options as desired.
The Note, Velocity, Duration, and Output
options in this dialog are for use with MIDI
instrument-based clicks and do not affect
the Click plug-in.
Click Options dialog
5 Begin playback. A click is generated according
to the tempo and meter of the current session
and the settings in the Click/Countoff Options
dialog.
Refer to the Pro Tools Reference Guide for
more
information on configuring Click op-
tions.
Essential Plug-ins Guide6
chapter 3
AIR Chorus, Flanger, and Phaser
This chapter describes three modulation plug-ins
included with Pro Tools M-Powered Essential:
• AIR Chorus
• AIR Flanger
• AIR Phaser
See the Pro Tools Reference Guide for information on using plug-in effect controls.
AIR Chorus
Use the Chorus plug-in to apply a short modulated delay to give depth and space to the audio
signal.
Chorus Section
Feedback Sets the Feedback amount.
Pre-Delay Delays the chorused signal, in milli-
seconds.
LFO Section
The LFO section’s controls let you select the
waveform, phase, rate, and depth of modulation.
Wave form Selects either a Sine wave or a Triangle
wave for the LFO.
L/R Phase Sets the relative phase of the LFO’s
modulation in the left and right channels.
Mix
This control adjusts the Mix between the “wet”
(processed) and “dry” (unprocessed) signal. 0%
is all dry, and 100% is all wet, while 50% is an
equal mix of both.
Figure 1. Chorus plug-in window
Rate
This controls sets the rate for the oscillation of
the LFO in Hertz.
Depth
This control sets the depth of LFO modulation
of the audio signal.
AIR Chorus, Flanger, and Phaser 7
AIR Flanger
Use the Flanger plug-in to apply a short modulating delay to the audio signal.
Figure 2. Flanger plug-in window
Sync
When Sync is enabled, the Flanger Rate control
synchronizes to the Pro Tools session tempo.
When Sync is disabled, you can set the delay
time in milliseconds independently of the
Pro Tools session tempo. The Sync button is lit
when it is enabled.
Rate
When Sync is enabled, the Rate control lets you
select a rhythmic subdivision or multiple of the
beat for the Flanger Modulation Rate. Select
from the following rhythmic values:
• 16 (sixteenth note)
• 8T (eighth-note triplet)
• 16D (dotted sixteenth-note)
• 8 (eighth note)
• 4T (quarter-note triplet)
• 8D (dotted eighth-note)
•4 (quarter note)
• 2T (half-note triplet)
• 4D (dotted quarter-note)
• 2 (half note)
• 1T (whole-note triplet)
• 3/4 (dotted half note)
• 4/4 (whole note)
• 5/4 (five tied quarter notes)
• 6/4 (dotted whole note)
• 8/4 (double whole note)
When Sync is disabled, the Rate control lets you
the modulation rate in independently of the
Pro Tools session tempo.
Depth
The Depth control lets you adjust the amount of
modulation applied to the Delay time.
Pre-Delay
The Pre-Delay control sets the minimum delay
time in milliseconds.
Essential Plug-ins Guide8
LFO Section
Feedback
The LFO section provides controls for the Low
Frequency Oscillator (LFO) used to modulate
the Delay time.
Wave
The Wave control lets you interpolate between a
triangle wave and a sine wave for the
modulating LFO.
L/R Offset
The L/R Offset control lets you adjust the phase
offset for the LFO waveform applied to the left
and right channels.
Retrigger
Click the Retrigger button to reset the LFO
phase. This lets you manually start the filter
sweep from that specific point in time (or using
automation, at a specific point in your arrangement). Clicking the Trig button also forces the
Mix control up if it is too low while the button is
held; this ensures that the sweep is audible.
The Feedback control lets you adjust the
amount of delay feedback for the Flanger. At
0%, the delay repeats only once. At +/–100%,
the Flanger feeds back on itself.
Mix
The Mix control lets you balance the amount of
dry signal with the amount of wet (flanged) signal. At 50%, there are equal amounts of dry and
wet signal. At 0%, the output is all dry and at
100% it is all wet.
The Mix control can be used to create an “infinite phaser” effect between the dry and shifted
signals, which is always rising or always falling
(depending on the direction of shift)
EQ Section
The EQ section provides controls for cutting
lows from the Flanger signal, and inverting
phase.
Low Cut
The Low Cut control lets you adjust the Low Cut
frequency for the Flanger, to limit the Flanger
effects to higher frequencies.
Phase Invert
When Phase Invert is enabled, the wet signal’s
polarity is flipped, which changes the harmonic
structure of the effect.
AIR Chorus, Flanger, and Phaser 9
AIR Phaser
Use the Phaser plug-in to apply a phaser to the
audio signal for that wonderful “wooshy,”
“squishy” sound.
Figure 3. Phaser plug-in window
Sync
When Sync is enabled, the Phaser Rate control
synchronizes to the Pro Tools session tempo.
When Sync is disabled, you can set the Rate in
milliseconds independently of the Pro Tools session tempo. The Sync button is lit when it is enabled.
Rate
When Sync is enabled, the Rate control lets you
select a rhythmic subdivision or multiple of the
beat for the Phaser Modulation Rate. Select from
the following rhythmic values:
• 16 (sixteenth note)
• 8T (eighth-note triplet)
• 16D (dotted sixteenth-note)
• 8 (eighth note)
• 4T (quarter-note triplet)
• 8D (dotted eighth-note)
•4 (quarter note)
• 2T (half-note triplet)
• 4D (dotted quarter-note)
• 2 (half note)
• 1T (whole-note triplet)
• 3/4 (dotted half note)
• 4/4 (whole note)
• 5/4 (five tied quarter notes)
• 6/4 (dotted whole note)
• 8/4 (double whole note)
When Sync is disabled, the Rate control lets you
the rate of the Phaser in independently of the
Pro Tools session tempo.
Depth
The Depth control lets you adjust the depth of
modulation, which in turn affects the amount
of phasing applied to the audio signal.
Essential Plug-ins Guide10
Phaser Section
Low Cut
The Phaser section provides control over the effect’s center frequency and number of phaser
stages (or Poles).
Center
The Center control lets you change the frequency center (100 Hz to 10.0 kHz) for the
phaser poles.
Poles
Select the number of phaser poles (stages): 2, 4,
6, or 8. The number of poles changes the character of the sound. The greater the number of
poles, the thicker and squishier the sound.
LFO Section
The LFO section provides control over the waveform and stereo offset of the LFO.
Wave
The Wave control lets you interpolate between a
triangle wave and a sine wave for modulating
the Phaser.
The Low Cut control lets you adjust the
frequency of the Low Cut Filter in the phaser’s
feedback loop. This can be useful for taming low
frequency “thumping” at high feedback
settings.
Feedback
The Feedback control feeds the output signal of
Phaser back into the input, creating a resonant
or singing tone in the phaser when set to its
maximum.
Mix
The Mix control lets you adjust the Mix between
the “wet” (effected) and “dry” (unprocessed) signal. 0% is all dry, and 100% is all wet, while 50%
is an equal mix of both.
L/R Phase
The L/R Phase control lets you adjust the relative
phase of the LFO modulation applied to the left
and right channels.
AIR Chorus, Flanger, and Phaser 11
Essential Plug-ins Guide12
chapter 4
D-Verb
(RTAS and AudioSuite)
D-Verb is a studio-quality reverb provided in
RTAS and AudioSuite formats.
D-Verb Controls
D-Verb plug-in
Output Meter
The Output meter indicates the output level of
the processed signal. With the stereo version of
D-verb, it represents the summed stereo output.
It is important to note that this meter indicates
the output level of the signal—not the input
level. If this meter clips, it is possible that the
signal clipped on input before it reached
D-Verb. Monitor your send or insert signal levels
closely to help prevent this from happening.
Clip Indicator
The Clip indicator shows if clipping has occurred. It is a clip-hold indicator. If clipping occurs at any time during audio playback, the clip
lights remain on. To clear the clip indicator,
click it. With longer reverb times there is a
greater likelihood of clipping occurring as the
feedback element of the reverb builds up and approaches a high output level.
Input Level
The Input Level slider adjusts the input volume
of the reverb to prevent the possibility of clipping and/or increase the level of the processed
signal.
Mix
The Mix slider adjusts the balance between the
dry signal and the effected signal, giving you
control over the depth of the effect. This control
is adjustable from 100% to 0%.
Chapter 4: D-Verb 13
Algorithm
This control selects one of seven reverb algorithms: Hall, Church, Plate, Room 1, Room 2,
Ambience, or Nonlinear. Selecting an algorithm
changes the preset provided for it. Switching the
Size setting changes characteristics of the algorithm that are not altered by adjusting the decay
time and other user-adjustable controls. Each of
the seven algorithms has a distinctly different
character:
Hall A good general purpose concert hall with a
natural character. It is useful over a large range
of size and decay times and with a wide range of
program material. Setting Decay to its maximum value will produce infinite reverberation.
Church A dense, diffuse space simulating a
church or cathedral with a long decay time,
high diffusion, and some pre-delay.
Nonlinear Produces a reverberation with a natural buildup and an abrupt cutoff similar to a
gate. This unnatural decay characteristic is particularly useful on percussion, since it can add
an aggressive characteristic to sounds with
strong attacks.
Size
The Size control, in conjunction with the Algorithm control, adjusts the overall size of the reverberant space. There are three sizes: Small, Medium, and Large. The character of the
reverberation changes with each of these settings (as does the relative value of the Decay setting). The Size buttons can be used to vary the
range of a reverb from large to small. Generally,
you should select an algorithm first, and then
choose the size that approximates the size of the
acoustic space that you are trying to create.
Plate Simulates the acoustic character of a
metal plate-based reverb. This type of reverb
typically has high initial diffusion and a relatively bright sound, making it particularly good
for certain percussive signals and vocal processing. Plate reverb has the general effect of thickening the initial sound itself.
Room 1 A medium-sized, natural, rich-sounding
room that can be effectively varied in size between very small and large, with good results.
Room 2 A smaller, brighter reverberant characteristic than Room 1, with a useful adjustment
range that extends to “very small.”
Ambient A transparent response that is useful for
adding a sense of space without adding a lot of
depth or density. Extreme settings can create interesting results.
Essential Plug-ins Guide14
Diffusion
Diffusion sets the degree to which initial echo
density increases over time. High settings result
in high initial build-up of echo density. Low settings cause low initial buildup. This control interacts with the Size and Decay controls to affect
the overall reverb density. High settings of diffusion can be used to enhance percussion. Use low
or moderate settings for clearer and more natural-sounding vocals and mixes.
Decay
Decay controls the rate at which the reverb decays after the original direct signal stops. The
value of the Decay setting is affected by the Size
and Algorithm controls. This control can be set
to infinity on most algorithms for infinite reverb times.
Pre-Delay
Pre-Delay determines the amount of time that
elapses between the original audio event and
the onset of reverberation. Under natural conditions, the amount of pre-delay depends on the
size and construction of the acoustic space, and
the relative position of the sound source and the
listener. Pre-Delay attempts to duplicate this
phenomenon and is used to create a sense of distance and volume within an acoustic space.
Long Pre-Delay settings place the reverberant
field behind rather than on top of the original
audio signal.
Hi Frequency Cut
Hi Frequency Cut controls the decay characteristic of the high frequency components of the
reverb. It acts in conjunction with the Low-Pass
Filter control to create the overall high frequency contour of the reverb. When set relatively low, high frequencies decay more quickly
than low frequencies, simulating the effect of air
absorption in a hall. The maximum value of this
control is Off (which effectively means bypass).
Low-Pass Filter
Low-Pass Filter controls the overall high frequency content of the reverb by setting the frequency above which a 6 dB per octave filter attenuates the processed signal. The maximum
value of this control is Off (which effectively
means bypass).
Chapter 4: D-Verb 15
Essential Plug-ins Guide16
chapter 5
Gain
Reduction
meter
Threshold
arrow
Phase
Invert
Input
meter
Output meter
Peak hold
indicators
Peak hold
indicators
Dynamics III
(RTAS and AudioSuite)
Dynamics III provides three modules:
• Compressor/Limiter
• Expander/Gate
•De-Esser
All Dynamics III modules are available in RTAS
and AudioSuite formats.
Shared Compressor/Limiter and Expander/Gate Features
The following parts of the user interface are
shared between the Compressor/Limiter and Expander/Gate Dynamics III plug-ins.
Dynamics III supports 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz,
88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz and 192 kHz sample rates as available on your system. All modules work with mono and stereo formats.
In addition to standard controls in each module, Dynamics III also provides a graph to track
the gain transfer curve in the Compressor/Limiter and Expander/Gate plug-ins, and a frequency graph to display which frequencies trigger the De-Esser and which frequencies will be
gain reduced.
Levels Section
The indicators and controls in the Levels section
let you track input, output, and gain reduction
levels, as well as work with phase invert and the
threshold setting.
See “De-Esser Levels Section” on page 27
for more information on De-Esser III Input/Output Level controls.
I/O Meter display (stereo instance shown)
Chapter 5: Dynamics III 17
Input and Output Meters
Input and
Output Meter
buttons
Gain Reduction Meter
The Input (In) and Output (Out) meters show
peak signal levels before and after dynamics processing:
Green Indicates nominal levels.
Yellow Indicates pre-clipping levels, starting at
–6 dB below full scale.
Red Indicates full scale levels (clipping).
The clip indicators at the top of the Output meters indicate clipping at the input or output
stage of the plug-in. Clip indicators can be
cleared by clicking the indicator.
The Input and Output meters display differently depending on the type of track (mono,
stereo, or multichannel) on which the plugin has been inserted.
When Side-Chain Listen is enabled, the
Output meter only displays the levels of the
side-chain signal. See “Side-Chain Listen”
on page 29.
Toggling Multichannel Input and Output Meters
With multichannel track types LCRS and
higher, both Input and Output meters cannot
be shown at the same time. Click either the Input or Output button to display the appropriate
level meter. The Input/Output meters display is
toggled to Output by default.
The Gain Reduction (GR) meter indicates the
amount the input signal is attenuated (in dB)
and shows different colors during dynamics processing:
Light Orange Indicates that gain reduction is
within the “knee” and has not reached the full
ratio of compression.
Dark Orange Indicates that gain reduction is being applied at the full ratio (for example, 2:1).
Threshold Arrow
The orange Threshold arrow next to the Input
meter indicates the current threshold, and can
be dragged up or down to adjust the threshold.
When a multichannel instance of the plug-in
has been configured to show only the Output
meter, the Threshold arrow is not displayed.
Phase Invert
The Phase Invert button inverts the phase (polarity) of the input signal, to help compensate
for phase anomalies that can occur either in
multi-microphone environments or because of
mis-wired balanced connections.
Input and Output meter buttons
Essential Plug-ins Guide18
LFE Enable
Input signal
level (x-axis)
Output signal
level (y-axis)
Threshold
(Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools LE with Complete
Production Toolkit Only)
The LFE Enable button (located in the Options
section) is on by default, and enables plug-in
processing of the LFE (low frequency effects)
channel on a multichannel track formatted for
5.1, 6.1, or 7.1 surround formats. To disable LFE
processing, deselect this button.
Use this graph as a visual guideline to see how
much dynamics processing you are applying.
LFE Enable button (Compressor/Limiter III shown)
The LFE Enable button is not available if
the plug-in is not inserted on an applicable
track.
Dynamics Graph Display
The Dynamics Graph display—used with the
Compressor/Limiter and Expander/Gate plugins—shows a curve that represents the level of
the input signal (on the x–axis) and the level of
the output signal (on the y–axis). The orange
vertical line represents the threshold.
Dynamics graph display
The Compressor/Limiter and Expander/Gate
plug-ins also feature an animated, multi-color
cursor in their gain transfer curve displays.
The gain transfer curve of the Compressor/Limiter and Expander/Gate plug-ins shows a moving ball cursor that shows the amount of input
gain (x-axis) and gain reduction (y-axis) being
applied to the incoming signal.
Gain transfer curve and cursor showing amount of
compression
Chapter 5: Dynamics III 19
To indicate overshoots (when an incoming signal peak is too fast for the current compression
setting) the cursor temporarily leaves the gain
transfer curve.
The cursor changes color to indicate the amount
of compression applied, as follows:
Dynamics III Plug-in Compression Amount
Cursor Color Compression Amount
white no compression
light orange below full ratio
dark orange full ratio amount
See “De-Esser Frequency Graph Display” on
page 28 for information on using the De-Esser’s graph display.
Side-Chain Section
For information on using the Side-Chain section
of the Compressor/Limiter or Expander/Gate,
see “Using the Side-Chain Input in Dynamics
III” on page 29.
Compressor/Limiter III
The Compressor/Limiter plug-in applies either
compression or limiting to audio material, depending on the ratio of compression used.
Compressor/Limiter III
About Compression
Compression reduces the dynamic range of signals that exceed a chosen threshold by a specific
amount. The Threshold control sets the level
that the signal must exceed to trigger compression. The Attack control sets how quickly the
compressor responds to the “front” of an audio
signal once it crosses the selected threshold. The
Release control sets the amount of time that it
takes for the compressor’s gain to return to its
original level after the input signal drops below
the selected threshold.
To use compression most effectively, the attack
time should be set so that signals exceed the
threshold level long enough to cause an increase
in the average level. This helps ensure that gain
reduction does not decrease the overall volume
too drastically, or eliminate desired attack transients in the program material.
Of course, compression has many creative uses
that break these rules.
Essential Plug-ins Guide20
About Limiting
Compressor/Limiter III Controls
Limiting prevents signal peaks from ever exceeding a chosen threshold, and is generally
used to prevent short-term peaks from reaching
their full amplitude. Used judiciously, limiting
produces higher average levels, while avoiding
overload (clipping or distortion), by limiting
only some short-term transients in the source
audio. To prevent the ear from hearing the gain
changes, extremely short attack and release
times are used.
Limiting is used to remove only occasional
peaks because gain reduction on successive
peaks would be noticeable. If audio material
contains many peaks, the threshold should be
raised and the gain manually reduced so that
only occasional, extreme peaks are limited.
Limiting generally begins with the ratio set at
10:1 and higher. Large ratios effectively limit the
dynamic range of the signal to a specific value
by setting an absolute ceiling for the dynamic
range.
This section describes controls for the Compressor/Limiter plug-in.
Input/Output Level Meters
The Input and Output meters show peak signal
levels before and after dynamics processing. See
“Levels Section” on page 17 for more information.
Unlike scales on analog compressors, metering
scales on a digital device reflect a 0 dB value that
indicates full scale (fs)—the full-code signal
level. There is no headroom above 0 dB.
Compressor/Limiter Graph Display
The Dynamics Graph display lets you visually
see how much expansion or gating you are applying to your audio material. See “Dynamics
Graph Display” on page 19.
Threshold
The Threshold (Thresh) control sets the level
that an input signal must exceed to trigger compression or limiting. Signals that exceed this
level will be compressed. Signals that are below
it will be unaffected.
This control has an approximate range of –60 dB
to 0 dB, with a setting of 0 dB equivalent to no
compression or limiting. The default value for
the Threshold control is –24 dB.
Chapter 5: Dynamics III 21
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