TC Electronic MD3 NATIVE User Manual

User Manual

MD3 NATIVE MULTIBAND DYNAMICS

EQ, 3-band Compressor/Expander and True-Peak Limiter Based on the
Legendary and Award-Winning System 6000 as a Native DAW
Plug-in for Mixing, Mastering and Post-Production

2021-03-12, Rev. 2

2 MD3 NATIVE User Manual

Table of Contents

Important Safety Instructions ...................................... 3

Legal Disclaimer ............................................................. 3

Limited warranty ............................................................ 3

1. Introduction ............................................................... 4

2. Plug-in Installation .................................................... 4

2.1 Installation on a PC ............................................................. 4

2.2 Installation on a Mac ......................................................... 5

3. Activate the MD3 NATIVE iLok license .................... 5

3.1 Activation............................................................................... 5

3.2 Get a Free Demo License ................................................. 5

4. Connection and Setup .............................................. 6

4.1 Inserting the MD3 NATIVE plug-in in your DAW

project ............................................................................................ 6

4.2 Operating the MD3 NATIVE ............................................ 6

4.3 Signal ow through the algorithm:.............................. 6

5. User Interface ............................................................. 7

5.1 Overv iew ................................................................................ 7

5.2 Main Page .............................................................................. 8

5.3 EQ Page ................................................................................ 10

5.4 Expander Page ................................................................... 12

5.5 Compressor Page..............................................................14

5.6 Output Page ....................................................................... 16

6. Dynamics Processing In-Depth .............................. 18

6.1 Compressor ......................................................................... 18

6.2 Limiter ................................................................................... 19

6.3 Gate/Expander .................................................................. 19

6.4 Modern Mastering, Loudness and True-Peaks ...... 19

7. Presets .......................................................................21

7.1 Factory Presets ................................................................... 21

7.2 User Presets ......................................................................... 21

7.3 Favorite Presets ..................................................................22

7.4 Make Current Preset Default ......................................... 22

7.5 Reveal User Preset Folder in Explorer ........................ 22

8. Software Updates ................................................... 23

9. Specications ...........................................................23

3 MD3 NATIVE User Manual

9. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized

20. Please keep the environmental aspects of battery

This apparatus may be used in tropical and moderate

Microphones and Coolaudio are trademarks or registered

Important Safety
Instructions

Terminals marked with this symbol carry
electrical current of sucient magnitude

to constitute risk of electric shock.
Use only high-quality professional speaker cables with
¼" TS or twist-locking plugs pre-installed. Allother
installation or modication should be performed only
by qualiedpersonnel.

This symbol, wherever it appears,

alertsyou to the presence of uninsulated

dangerous voltage inside the
enclosure-voltage that may be sucient to constitute a
risk ofshock.

This symbol, wherever it appears,

alertsyou to important operating and

maintenance instructions in the
accompanying literature. Please read the manual.

Caution

To reduce the risk of electric shock, donot

remove the top cover (or the rear section).
No user serviceable parts inside. Refer servicing to
qualied personnel.

Caution

To reduce the risk of re or electric shock,

do not expose this appliance to rain and
moisture. The apparatus shall not be exposed to dripping
or splashing liquids and no objects lled with liquids,
suchas vases, shall be placed on the apparatus.

Caution

These service instructions are for use

by qualied service personnel only.
Toreduce the risk of electric shock do not perform any
servicing other than that contained in the operation
instructions. Repairs have to be performed by qualied
servicepersonnel.

1. Read these instructions.

2. Keep these instructions.

3. Heed all warnings.

4. Follow all instructions.

5. Do not use this apparatus near water.

6. Clean only with dry cloth.

7. Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in

accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

8. Do not install near any heat sources such as
radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus
(including ampliers) that produce heat.

or grounding-type plug. A polarized plug has two blades
with one wider than the other. A grounding-type plug
has two blades and a third grounding prong. The wide
blade or the third prong are provided for your safety. Ifthe
provided plug does not t into your outlet, consult an
electrician for replacement of the obsolete outlet.

10. Protect the power cord from being walked on or
pinched particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles,
and the point where they exit from the apparatus.

11. Use only attachments/accessories specied by
themanufacturer.

12. Use only with the
cart, stand, tripod, bracket,
or table specied by the
manufacturer, orsold with
the apparatus. When a cart
is used, use caution when
moving the cart/apparatus
combination to avoid

injury from tip-over.

13. Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or
when unused for long periods of time.

14. Refer all servicing to qualied service personnel.
Servicing is required when the apparatus has been
damaged in any way, such as power supply cord or plug
is damaged, liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen
into the apparatus, the apparatus has been exposed
to rain or moisture, does not operate normally, or has
beendropped.

15. The apparatus shall be connected to a MAINS socket
outlet with a protective earthing connection.

16. Where the MAINS plug or an appliance coupler is
used as the disconnect device, the disconnect device shall
remain readily operable.

17. Correct disposal of this
product: This symbol indicates
that this product must not be
disposed of with household
waste, according to the WEEE
Directive (2012/19/EU) and

your national law. This product
should be taken to a collection center licensed for the
recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment
(EEE). The mishandling of this type of waste could have
a possible negative impact on the environment and
human health due to potentially hazardous substances
that are generally associated with EEE. At the same time,
your cooperation in the correct disposal of this product
will contribute to the ecient use of natural resources.
For more information about where you can take your
waste equipment for recycling, please contact your local
city oce, or your household waste collection service.

18. Do not install in a conned space, such as a book
case or similar unit.

19. Do not place naked ame sources, such as lighted
candles, on the apparatus.

disposal in mind. Batteries must be disposed-of at a
battery collection point.

21.

climates up to 45°C.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER

Music Tribe accepts no liability for any loss which may
be suered by any person who relies either wholly or in
part upon any description, photograph, or statement
contained herein. Technical specications, appearances
and other information are subject to change without
notice. All trademarks are the property of their
respective owners. Midas, Klark Teknik, Lab Gruppen,
Lake, Tannoy, Turbosound, TC Electronic, TC Helicon,
Behringer, Bugera, Oberheim, Auratone, Aston

trademarks of Music Tribe Global Brands Ltd. © Music
Tribe Global Brands Ltd. 2021 All rights reserved.

LIMITED WARRANTY

For the applicable warranty terms and conditions
and additional information regarding Music Tribe’s
Limited Warranty, please see complete details online at
musictribe.com/warranty.

4 MD3 NATIVE User Manual

1. Introduction

Congratulations on the purchase of your MD3 NATIVE Multiband Dynamics
Processor.

Originally launched in 1999 and available in Music, Mastering, Broadcast and
Film variants, TC Electronic's Flagship System 6000 processor is recognized as
an industry standard for mix, mastering and post-production applications. You
will nd System 6000 in literally thousands of world-leading recording, lm,
post and mastering studios all over the world, and in quite a few OB vans and
broadcast production studios as well. The platform has won no less than three of
the prestigious TEC Awards over the years: in 2000 for the original System 6000,
in 2005 for Mastering 6000 and in 2010 for System 6000 MKII. No longer the
preserve of the recording elite, these native DAW plugins will deliver all of the
performance of the iconic original unit combined with modern day convenience.

TC Electronic set about re-imagining the legendary System 6000 as native DAW
plug-ins without sacricing any performance, character or useability. The Danish
engineers, including many from the original System 6000 team, rened audio
quality whilst staying faithful to the original hardware version. The development
team fastidiously re-engineered these new native plug-ins to oer full support
for standard DAW automation and project recall with new optimized user
interface ergonomics.

MD3 NATIVE Main Features

• Four band Parametric EQ (Dual Mono capability)

• Normalizer with softclipper

• Full featured Three band Exp/Comp

• MS Encode/Decode for operating EQ and Exp/Comp in Mid/Side mode

• Updated True-Peak BrickWall Limiter with legacy sample peak option

If you still have questions about your TC Electronic product after reading its
manual, please get in touch with TC Suppor t:

www.tcelectronic.com/brand/tcelectronic/support

2. Plug-in Installation

The MD3 NATIVE plug-in installer can be downloaded from the following page:

https://www.tcelectronic.com/p/P0ED5

The MD3 NATIVE plug-in requires an active PACE iLok license to work.
See Chapter 3 for more details.

Save the installer le (.pkg or .msi le) in a convenient location on your hard
drive.

2.1 Installation on a PC

Double click the installer (.msi le). If you get a security warning, click ‘Run’.

The MD3 algorithm is a renement of our legendary MD2 dynamics algorithm
from the award-winning M5000 eects processor. The MD3 NATIVE plug-in
is tailor-made for music production in all forms. It uses a multi-band, high­resolution oating-point structure, and features high-denition 4-band EQ,
3-band compressor/expander, soft clipping and a newly-designed transparent
peak/true-peak limiter.

The MD3 NATIVE parametric equalizer features a natural and well-dened band­width behavior at all gain and width settings, making it suitable for surgical
as well as broad spectral adjustments. MD3 features four bands, switchable
between Notch, Parametric, Shelving and Cut Filters.

MD3 NATIVE is known for its musical and dynamic behavior. The multi-band
section features full dynamics control of each of the 3 bands, with or without
automatic makeup gain, and with ability to choose compression of RMS, Peak
or anything in between. Further, it gives you the advantage of adjustable look­ahead delay for gentle processing of transients, while the limiter lets you use its
own overshoot-proof micro-delay to prevent output samples above the either
peak or True-Peak dened threshold.

MD3 NATIVE operates in stereo and true mid/side processing with rare artifact­free split and recombination crossover lter banks and includes EQ unlinking.
MD3 NATIVE is the perfect tool for use for a wide variety of content material, ideal
for single sources, buses and master mixes.

TC Electronic wish you all the best, and hope that you will enjoy using the
MD3 NATIVE in your audio projects.

Accept the license agreement and click ‘Next’.

Select which VST and/or AAX components you want to install. Pro Tools uses AAX
and most other DAW programs use VST. The installer will oer a default location
to save the le, but you can choose another location by clicking
the ‘Browse’ button.

About this manual

Read this manual to learn how to install and use your TC Electronic MD3 NATIVE
plug-in. This manual is only available in PDF format from the TC Electronic
website. To get the most from this manual, please read it from start to nish, or
you may miss important information.

To download the most current version of this manual, visit the web page:

www.tcelectronic.com/Categories/c/Tcelectronic/Downloads

Click ‘Next ’ to begin the installation. When installation is complete, click ‘Finish’.

5 MD3 NATIVE User Manual

Note: If your DAW fails to detect the newly installed plugin, this can often be
xed by adding the following paths to the Plug-in Manager (or similar) of the
DAW. The default paths on a PC are "C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST2" and
"C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3" for VST2 and VST3, respectively.

2.2 Installation on a Mac

Double click the installer (.pkg) le.

Proceed through the prompts to begin installation.

3. Activate the MD3 NATIVE iLok
license

3.1 Activation

Step 1: Install iLok

The rst step is to create an iLok user account at www.iLok.com and install the
PACE iLok License Manager on your computer if it’s your rst time using iLok.

Step 2: Activation

In the received mail when buying the MD3 NATIVE, you will nd your personal
Activation Code. To activate your software, please use the "Redeem an Activation
Code" feature in the PACE iLok License Manager.

Click ‘Continue.'

A default location will be selected for installation, or you can select another
folder manually. If you have administrator authorization in place, you will need to
enter your password before beginning installation.

3.2 Get a Free Demo License

Make use of this hassle-free oer to try out our plug-ins before you buy.

• 14-Day Trial Period

• Fully Functional

• No Feature Limitations

• No Physical iLok Key Needed

Step 1: Install iLok

The rst step is to create a free iLok user account at www.iLok.com and install the
PACE iLok License Manager on your computer if it is your rst time using iLok.

Step 2: Get your free trial license

Go to:

https://www.tcelectronic.com/brand/tcelectronic/free-trial-md3-native

and enter your iLok User ID.

Step 3: Activation

Activate your software in the PACE iLok License Manager.

Click 'Close' when done.

6 MD3 NATIVE User Manual

4. Connection and Setup

4.1 Inserting the MD3 NATIVE plug-in in your
DAW project

Once you have downloaded the plug-in, you can now apply it to a channel in your
DAW to begin using the eect. This process may vary slightly depending on your
software, but generally should require these steps:

• Select a channel or bus in your DAW to which you would like to add the eec t.
Access the mixer page where you should see a section dedicated to eect slots.

• Open the menu where you can select from a list of eect types, which
probably includes many stock plug-ins that are included with the DAW.
There should be submenu to view general VST/AU/AAX options.

• The plug-in will likely be found in a dedicated TC Electronic folder. Select the
MD3 NATIVE and it will now be added to the signal chain.

Double click on the eect slot that contains MD3 NATIVE to view the plug-in UI.

4.2 Operating the MD3 NATIVE

After you have installed the plug-in, and activated the iLok license, you can begin
working with the plug-in on your tracks.

Adjustments to the eect are done using the plug-in user interface:

4.2.3 Bypass

Press the BYPASS button at the top to bypass or engage the MD3 NATIVE.

4.2.4 Automation

Please be aware that automation of cer tain parameters, can cause audible
artifacts.

In case you need to automate these parameters, you should take care that
changes only take place in parts where no audio is sent to the plug-in.

4.2.5 Parameter Overview

The MD3 NATIVE is a 3-band 2-Channel Dynamics processing algorithm. The
algorithm contains:

• • Stereo four band precision EQ (linked, left/right, or mid/side operation)

• • Stereo 3-band compression/expansion (stereo or mid/side operation)

• • The MD3 NATIVE will run at sample rates up to 192kHz

4.3 Signal ow through the algorithm:

NORMALIZER

GAIN

EXP/COMP

Most DAWs oer the ability to move or drag plug-ins from one track/bus to
another, and MD3 NATIVE supports this as well.

Most DAWs also feature an on/o switch for plug-ins, accessible inside the plug-in
window and/or the track itself.

Note that some DAWs don’t oer smooth on/o switching. Use the Global Bypass
button on the MD3 HD plug-in inter face for a smooth and latency-compensated
bypass.

4.2 .1 Insert vs Aux Eect

The MD3 NATIVE is intended for insertion directly into an eect slot on a single
channel, sub mix bus or master bus, which passes the entire signal through the
eect.

Be careful if using MD3 NATIVE on an auxiliary bus, as mixing the output of MD3
NATIVE with the original track sound will potentially create a phasing issue
depending on your DAW's ability to correc tly compensate for latency in plug-ins.

MS ENCODER

EQ

TRIM GAIN L/R

NORMALIZER

SOFT CLIPPER

MS DECODER

SOFT CLIPPER

LIMITER

OUT GAIN

4.2.2 Mono/Stereo Operation

The MD3 NATIVE can be used both as a mono instance on mono tracks and a
stereo instance on stereo tracks.

In the case of a mono out instance, the output signal is made by outputting the
left plug-in channel only. In this case, panning should not be used.

7 MD3 NATIVE User Manual

Global Bypass

5. User Interface

5.1 Overview

There are ve tabs along the left edge of the interface, that bring up various
pages of controls. As a general note, the parameters, controls, and graphs are
color-coded as shown below:

The top part of the display:

• • Bypass: Press this to bypass or engage the MD3 NATIVE. This makes it

easy for you to listen and compare the overall eect of your awesome
work.

• • The EQ, expander, compressor, and limiter can be individually bypassed

using the ON button in each of their control pages

Tabs on the Left

• • Main: This brings up controls for the normalizer gain and soft clip, trim

gain left, right (purple), and controls (yellow) for initial setup of the
compressor and expander

• • EQ: The parametric equalizer, with controls for adjusting the frequency,

gain, EQ type, low and high cut, EQ bypass. The color coding is as
follows: Low (red), low mid (yellow), high mid (green), and high (blue)

• • Expander: Controls (purple) for expander threshold, range, ratio, attack,

and release

• • Compressor: Controls (yellow) for compressor threshold, range, ratio,

attack, and release, with compressor bypass

Meters

• • Gain reduction meters for compressor and expander: these show the

low, mid, and high for left/mid and right/side. The range (+/- 18 dB) can
be changed (+/- 9 dB) using the G/R Zoom button in the expander and
compressor pages

• • Input L/R meters (0 to -60 dB range with peak indication)

• • Output L/R meter (0 to -60 dB range with peak indication and limiter

action)

• • Use the input and output gain/trim controls in the MAIN and OUTPUT

pages to adjust the levels if required.

Near the Bottom

• • Assign Focus Fields: You can place your own favorite set of parameters in

the 6 focus elds. (See section 5.2.1 for more details)

• • The EQ, expander, and compressor (see the following pages), each

have a horizontal row of parameters just below their controls, such as
threshold, gain, etc. If you click on any of these, the parameters are
shown in this focus elds area for low, mid, high, and All. Click again to
return the focus elds to your assigned elds.

Along the Bottom Lef t

• • Preset number, preset name, factory or user, favorite, preset up/down

Along the Bottom Middle:

• • Tool Tips shows useful information about the current selection

• • Output: Limiter controls (purple) for gain, soft clip threshold, threshold,

ceiling, release, and mode, with limiter bypass. Output controls (yellow)
for output gain, balance, compare enable, and compare gain

Controls

• • Any of the circular controls can be adjusted either by dragging on the

dials or numeric value in the box, or by double-clicking and entering a
numeric value.

Main Tab

Normalizer

EQ Tab

Expander/Compressor Setup Controls

Expander

Compressor

Output

and Limiter

Bottom Right Corner:

• • Setup

• • Shopping cart

• • User Interface size adjustment

The controls and features are described in more detail in the following pages.

Input
Controls

Gain
Reduction
Meters
Left/Mid
Right/Side

Low Mid
High

Input
Meter
L/R

Output
Meter
L/R

Assign

Focus
Fields

Preset Up/Down Preset Name Preset Type

Preset Number Preset Favorite

Tool Tips Window

Setup and

Cart

Focus
Fields
1-6

Window Size

Adjustment

8 MD3 NATIVE User Manual

5.2 Main Page

Input (purple controls)

Normalizer Gain

Range: -18 to +18 dB in 0.1 dB steps

The Normalizer Gain is the rst gain stage in the plugin, used to adjust the overall
level of the input signal.

Norm Soft Clip

Range: +5 dB; O

The Soft clipper is placed between the Trim Gain and Exp/Comp section. By
enabling the Soft clipper you are able to reduce potential overshoots relative to
0dBFS.

Trim Gain (L/R or M/S)

Range: -12 to +12 dB in 0.1 dB steps

Trim the gain level for the two input channels to the Exp/Comp section.

When using the EQ section, the gain might have been increased or decreased. The
Trim Gains are used to optimize the gain before hitting the Expander/Compressor
section.

Expander/Compressor Setup (yellow controls)

Conguration

Options: Stereo, Mid/Side

Stereo

In Stereo Mode, the Expander/Compressor section of the algorithm uses by
default one common Sidechain for both Left and Right channels, and the EQ
section is linked. It can be unlinked.

Mid/Side (MS)

In this mode, the MS encoder is activated. The Expander/Compressor section of
the algorithm uses Sidechains as follows:

• • When DYN LINK is enabled there is only one Sidechain.

• • When DYN LINK is disabled there is a separate Sidechain for the Mid and

Side channel.

EQ can be linked or unlinked.

In Mid/Side mode, the left meter shows the Mid channel, and the right meter
shows the Side channel.

NOTE : When a mono signal is processed, only the left channel of the algorithm
is active

DC Block

Range: O, On

The DC block is a Low Cut lter at 2 Hz which is used to remove potential DC noise.

Detector Crest

Range: Peak, 6, 10, 12, 14, 16, 20, 24, RMS

Select the Sidechain level detection method of the compressor between RMS and
PEAK for all three bands. The dB steps between RMS and Peak are the number
of dBs needed for a peak-value to override the RMS measurement, and can be
perceived as a Threshold setting.

Example:

If the Crest parameter is set to 6dB, the Compressor will respond to RMS values
and to peaks 6dB higher than the current RMS value.

In Stereo mode, the gain reduction meters show the left and right channels.