tc electronic MD4 HD User Manual

User Manual

MD4 HD NATIVE MULTIBAND DYNAMICS

EQ, versatile 5-band Compressor 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 MD4 HD 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 MD4 HD 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 MD4 HD NATIVE plug-in in

your DAW project ....................................................................... 6

4.2 Operating the MD4 HD NATIVE ...................................... 6

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

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

5.1 Overview ................................................................................. 7

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

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

5.4 Compressor Page ............................................................... 12

5.5 Output Page ........................................................................ 14

6. Dynamics Processing In-Depth ............................... 15

6.1 Compressor .......................................................................... 15

6.2 Limiter .................................................................................... 16

6.3 Modern Mastering, Loudness and True-Peaks ....... 16

7. Presets ....................................................................... 18

7.1 Factory Presets .................................................................... 18

7.2 User Presets .......................................................................... 18

7.3 Favorite Presets ................................................................... 19

7.4 Make Current Preset Default .......................................... 19

7.5 Reveal User Preset Folder in Explorer ......................... 19

8. Software Updates .................................................... 20

9. Specications ............................................................20

3 MD4 HD 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 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

1. Introduction

Congratulations on the purchase of your MD4 HD 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-produc tion applications. You
will nd the 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.

MD4 HD NATIVE Main Features

• Six band Parametric EQ (Dual Mono capability)

• Normalizer with softclipper

• Full featured 5-band Compressor

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

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

2. Plug-in Installation

The MD4 HD NATIVE plug-in installer can be downloaded from the following
page:

https://www.tcelectronic.com/p/P0ED6

The MD4 HD NATIVE plug-in requires an active PACE iLok license to work. See
Chapter 3.

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’.

Accept the license agreement and click ‘Next’.

Available for the rst time as a plugin for DAW based productions, the TC
Electronic MD4 HD NATIVE plug-in is tailormade for music and sound production
in all forms. The MD4 HD NATIVE is the most transparent high-denition
dynamics processor ever made for your DAW, featuring a exible 6-band EQ,
5-band compressor, soft clipping, and a newly optimized true-peak limiter.

MD4 HD NATIVE features four dierent highly versatile compression types –
normal/downward, parallel/upward, the truly-unique parallel stereo-unlinked
mode, and details-focused DXP mode that allows you to lift up low-level detail
individually in each band, without touching precious transients. MD4 HD NATIVE
oers full dynamics control of each of the 5 bands and with the ability to choose
compression of RMS, Peak or anything in between.

MD4 HD NATIVE operates in stereo and true mid/side processing, includes EQ
unlinking, dual mono rare artifact-free split and recombination crossover lter
banks. MD4 HD NATIVE is for the highly critical ear. It is perfectly suited for any
demanding mastering job and is also equally suitable for use for a wide variety of
content material in music and post-production, ideal for single sources, buses and
master mixes.

TC Electronic wishes you all the best, and we hope that you will enjoy the
MD4 HD NATIVE in your audio projects.

About this manual

Read this manual to learn how to install and use your TC Electronic MD4 HD
NATIVE multi-band dynamics processor 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.

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.

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

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

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

5 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

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

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 MD4 HD 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 MD4 HD 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-md4hd-native

and enter your iLok User ID.

Step 3: Activation

Activate your software in the PACE iLok License Manager.

Click 'Close' when done.

6 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

4. Connection and Setup

4.1 Inserting the MD4 HD 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ect.
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
MD4 HD NATIVE and it will now be added to the signal chain.

Double click on the eect slot that contains MD4 HD NATIVE to view the plug-in
UI.

4.2 Operating the MD4 HD 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 MD4 HD 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 MD4 HD NATIVE is a 5-band, 2-Channel Dynamics processing algorithm. The
algorithm contains:

• • Stereo 6-band precision EQ (linked, left/right, or mid/side operation)

• • Stereo 5-band compressor (stereo or mid/side operation)

• • The MD4 HD NATIVE will run at sample rates up to 192kHz

4.3 Signal ow through the algorithm:

NORMALIZER

GAIN

MS DECODER

Most DAWs oer the ability to move or drag plug-ins from one track/bus to
another, and MD4 HD 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 hosts don’t oer smooth on/o
switching. Use the Global Bypass button on the MD4 HD plug-in interface for a
smooth and latency-compensated bypass.

4.2.1 Insert vs Aux Eect

The MD4 HD 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.

LOW CUT

MS ENCODER

TRIM GAIN

EQ (6 BAND)

5-BAND DYNAMICS

(COMPRESSOR

WITH DEFEAT)

LIMITER GAIN

SOFT CLIPPER

LIMITER

OUTPUT GAIN

(+ COMPARE GAIN)

Be careful if using MD4 HD NATIVE on an auxiliary bus, as mixing the output of
MD4 HD NATIVE with the original track sound will potentially create a phasing
issue depending on your DAW's ability to correctly compensate for latency in
plug-ins.

4.2.2 Mono/Stereo Operation

The MD4 HD 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 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

Global Bypass

5. User Interface

5.1 Overview

There are four tabs along the left edge of the interface, that bring up various
pages of controls. The controls and features are described in more detail in the
following pages. 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 MD4 HD NATIVE. This makes it

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

• • The EQ and compressor can be individually bypassed using the ON

button (at top right) in each of their control pages

Tabs on the Left

• • Main: This brings up controls for the normalizer gain, trim gain lef t,

right (orange), and controls (green) for initial setup of the compressor

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

gain, EQ type, low, mid and high, EQ bypass. The bands are color coded

• • Compressor: Controls (green) for compressor threshold, ratio, makeup

gain, attack, release, defeat threshold, defeat ratio, with compressor
bypass

• • Output: Limiter controls (orange) for gain, soft clip L/R, threshold L/R.

Output controls (green) for output gain, compare enable, and compare
gain

Meters

• • Gain reduction meters for compressor: these show the low, low-mid,

mid, high-mid, and high for lef t/mid and right/side. The meter range
is (+/- 15 dB). Note The horizontal orange line on the gain reduction
meters indicates the oset of each band. In Normal, Parallel and Parallel
UL mode, the GR meters are oset by the Makeup Gain of each band.
This gives an indication of the overall eect of the Compressor gain
reduction and the Makeup Gains. In DXP mode, the osets indicate the
boost that is applied to signals below the threshold. This depends on the
settings of Threshold, Steer and Makeup Gain.

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

• • Output L/R meter (0 to -60 dB range with limiter soft clip indication)

• • Output Limiter meters (0 to -12 dB range)

• • 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 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. Click again to return the focus elds to your assigned elds.

Along the Bottom Lef t

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

EQ Tab

5 Band

Output

and Limiter

Compressor Controls

Normalizer

• • Preset number, preset name, preset type, preset favorite, preset up/

Along the Bottom Middle:

• • Tool Tips shows useful information about the current selection

Bottom Right Corner:

• • Setup, shopping cart, user interface size adjustment

Input Trim

Controls

down

Gain
Reduction
Meters
Left/Mid
Right/Side

5 Bands

Limiter
Soft Clip

Input
Meter
L/R

Output
Meter
L/R

Focus Fields

Pin

Assign

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 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

5.2 Main Page

Input (orange controls)

Normalizer Gain

Range: -18 dB 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.

Trim Gain (L/R or M/S)

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

Trim the gain level for the two input channels to the EQ.

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

5 Band Compressor Setup (green controls)

Conguration

Options: Stereo, Mid/Side

Stereo

In Stereo Mode, the 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.

The gain reduction meters show the left and right channels.

Mid/Side (MS)

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

• • When COM LINK is enabled, there is only one Sidechain.

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

Mode

Range: Normal, Parallel, Parallel Unlinked, DXP

Select Normal for downward compression

Select Parallel for upward compression. By default (Wet Gain 0 dB), the dry and
compressed signals are added in equal parts and then compensated by -6 dB.
This results in a neutral gain when the compressor is not actively reducing the
signal. The contribution of the Compressor signal can be adjusted using Wet Gain
(see the Compressor Page).

Select Parallel UL for upward compression with unlinked compressor. This works
just like Parallel, except that the two channels (L/R or M/S) are compressed
independently, so peaks on one channel don't lead to gain reduction on the other
channel. Beware that this can lead to changing the stereo image, although this
is not as noticable in Parallel mode, because the dry signal still preserves the
original stereo image.

NOTE: in M/S Unlinked conguration, Parallel and Parallel UL are identical.

Select DXP compression for lifting up low levels without touching transients. This
mode introduces a new parameter on each band: Steer, instead of Threshold.
Steer determines the slope and boost of that particular band. Bands hit unity gain
(0 dB gain) at the Reference Level, so low-level boosting only takes place below
that level, and is at the max below each band’s Threshold.

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

Side channel.

9 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

Lo Cut

Range: O, 2 Hz to 200 Hz, with increasing step width as frequency increases.

This Low Cut lter is used to remove potential noise at low frequencies

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 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 6 dB, the Compressor will respond to RMS values
and to peaks 6 dB higher than the current RMS value.

Reference Level

Range: -24 dBFS to 0 dBFS in 0.5 dB steps

This parameter sets the reference level in the algorithm.

The reference level is the level at which the Compressor Threshold parameters
will start operating when set to 0 dB.

For example, in order to keep “unity gain,” it can be benecial to set the reference
level close to the RMS level you are aiming for, and then use the Threshold
parameter to set the amount of compression.

Click on the PIN Icon inside the ASSIGN button, and the Assigned Focus Fields will
remain when presets are changed. The numeric values within the Focus Fields
will change to the new preset values.

In the example below, Focus Field 1 has become Trim Gain Left by dragging the
control down and releasing it over the Focus Field 1 button. It will stay like this,
even when you move to the EQ page or Output page. Note that Focus Field 1 is
highlighted in color while it is being assigned, as is the Trim Gain L control

Look-ahead Delay

Range: 0 to 15ms

<2ms in 0.1ms steps

>2ms in 0.5 ms steps

Sets the look ahead Delay of the signal compared to the Sidechain signal. This
enables the compressor section to become more responsive to the incoming
signal, thereby performing a more precise compression.

5. 2.1 Focus Fields

Each of the six Focus Fields along the bottom can be assigned to any of the
available controls. These useful assignments remain visible when you switch to
dierent pages. For example, you can adjust the Compressor Threshold while you
are on the EQ page.

Click on ASSIGN in the lower left, and you will notice that the control knobs will
become blank. (This is a good reminder that you are in ASSIGN mode.) Click and
drag any of the controls and drop it down onto the desired Focus Field 1 to 6.
You can also click the desired focus eld and then click the control to assign to it.
When nished assigning, select the ASSIGN button again.

In the EQ and 5 Band Compressor pages, the Focus Fields will show other
parameters if any of the buttons are selected in the lower area of each page. For
example, here are the Focus Fields when GAIN has been selec ted in the row of
buttons below the EQ graph. To return to your assigned Focus Fields, deselect
GAIN by pressing it again.

10 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

5.3 EQ Page

Introduction

This page features a 6-band parametric EQ, switchable between Notch and
Parametric lters. The outer bands can also be changed to Low/High Cut or Low/
High Shelving.

• • The needle-sharp notch lter has a range down to 0.02 octave

• • The parametric equalizer features a natural and well dened bandwidth

behavior at all gain and width set tings

• • The shelving lters have a variable slope, with options of 3, 6, 9, and

12 dB/oct

• • The low-cut and high-cut lters are switchable between 12 dB/oct

maximum at amplitude (Butterworth) or at group delay (Bessel)
types

Basic Operation

• • Press the colored but tons LO1, LO2, MID1, MID2, HI1, HI2 at the top of the

graph, to activate or deactivate the EQ bands. Alternatively, double-click
on the colored handles in the graph

• • Click and drag left/right the colored handles in the graph to adjust the

frequency and drag them up/down to adjust the gain. Use CTRL+Drag
(or CMD+Drag on a Mac) to change the bandwidth

• • Press the ON button at the graph's top right, to bypass all bands

• • Below the graph, select Freq, Gain, Type/BW or Low, Mid, High to access

all parameters on individual bands.

• • Press FREQ again, and the Focus Fields will return to their assigned elds

• • Select GAIN, and the Focus Fields show the gain in dB for each band.

Adjust the values in the Focus Fields as desired

• • Select LOW, and the frequency, gain, and type of the LO1 and LO2 bands

are shown. Adjust the values in the Focus Fields as desired

• • Select MID, and the freqency, gain, and type of the Mid1 and Mid2

bands are shown. Adjust the values in the Focus Fields as desired

• • Select HIGH, and the freqency, gain, and type of the High1 and High2

bands are shown. Adjust the values in the Focus Fields as desired

• • For example, if you press the FREQ button, the Focus Field below it

shows the frequency in Hz of all bands.

• • Click and drag the value in the Focus Field to adjust it, or double-click on

the value and manually enter a valid value

11 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

Type /BW Selector

• • Select TYPE/BW and use the Focus Fields to select lter types and vary

the parameters. Click and drag on the numeric value to scroll through
the types and their available values

• • LO1 and HI2 lter options: Notch, Parametric, Shelve, and Cut

• • LO2, MID1, MID2, HI1 lters options: Parametric and Notch

• • Typical graphs of the dierent lter types are shown below:

Parametric Filter - Broad type

Notch Filter - Narrow Type

• • Bandwidth Range: 0.02 octave to 1 octave

• • Frequency Range: 20 Hz to 20 kHz

• • Gain Range 0 dB to -100 dB

Cut Filter - Bessel type

• • Bandwidth Range: 0.1 octave to 4 octave

• • Frequency Range: 20 Hz to 20 kHz

• • Gain Range -12 dB to +12 dB

Shelving Filter

• • Bandwidth Range 3, 6, 9, or 12 dB/octave

• • Frequency Range: 20 Hz to 20 kHz

• • Frequency Range: 20 Hz to 20 kHz

Cut Filter - Butterworth type

• • Frequency Range: 20 Hz to 20 kHz

• • Gain Range -12 dB to +12 dB

12 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

5.4 Compressor Page

Stereo or Mid/Side

The conguration control in the MAIN page allows you to select Stereo or MID/
SIDE for the compressor setup (as well as the EQ, Trim Gains and Meters).

Stereo Conguration

Mid/Side (MS) Conguration

Stereo Operation

If Stereo conguration is selected in the MAIN page, then the top section of the
Compressor page shows STEREO, and the gain reduction meters are shown as
LEFT and RIGHT.

If Mid/Side conguration is selected in the MAIN page, then the top section of
the Compressor page shows STEREO initially, and the gain reduction meters are
shown as MID and SIDE. The COM LINK selection allows the compressor controls
to be linked between the stereo and mid/side.

13 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

Turn o COM LINK to allow separate compressor control of the Mid and Side.

Select SIDE, and the Compressor controls will aect the Side instead of MID.

If at any time you want the SIDE control set tings to be the same as the MID
settings, press the COPY button. (It will not copy from SIDE to MID).

X Over

The compressor operates in 5 bands, using a low crossover, low-mid, high­mid, and high crossover. The Gain Reduction meters show these 5 bands, with
markings for L, M, and H.

Select X OVER and the crossover frequencies can be viewed and adjusted in the
rst 4 Focus Fields.

Threshold

Range: -25 dB to 20 dB in 0.5 dB steps

Relative to the Ref.Level setting (Main page).

When the Input signal exceeds the Threshold value, the Compressor starts to
reduce the dynamic content of the signal according to the set Ratio.

Makeup Gain

Range: O, and -12 dB to 12 dB in 0.1 dB steps.

Manual Makeup-gain for each compression band.

Where the Gain controls in the Main page compensate for the total gain
reduction caused by the Compressor, the Makeup Gain in the Compressor page is
used as additional gain control on the individual bands.

Ratio

Range: O to Innity

Species the Ratio of the performed compression.

Example: With a Ratio setting of 2:1 the compressor will reduce every 2 dB above
the Threshold point to only 1 dB. This changes to STEER when in DXP mode.

Attack

Range: 0.3 to 100ms

The Attack time is the time the Compressor uses to reach the gain reduction
specied by the Ratio parameter.

The 4 crossover frequencies can be set to OFF (turn all the way down) in order to
run MD4 HD NATIVE as a 4-band, 3-band, 2-band, or full band compressor.

Controls

Use the rotary Compressor control knobs to adjust the overall Threshold, Makeup
Gain, Ratio, Attack and Release. The knob values correspond to the Comp All
values you will see in the 6th Focus Field shown below.

If you select from the row of Threshold, Gain, Ratio, Attack and Release buttons,
or if you just click on any rotary control, the Focus Fields will show the Com
Lo, Com LoMi, Com Mi, Com HiMi, Com Hi and Com All values for the selected
parameter. This allows you to adjust the compressor parameters for the each
of the ve bands. Adjusting the Com All value in the 6th Focus Feild adjusts the
value of all bands. However, the Com Mid value only adjusts itself and the Com
All value.

The example below shows RATIO selected, showing the separate ratio values in
the Focus Fields for each band, and the "Com All" parameter in the 6th Field. In
this example, the Lo band ratio is 3.20:1 and the Mid and Hi are 2.00:1.

The Mid Band value follows the Com All value, and is the same value as the rotar y
knob. If you vary Com All, then all ve bands will change, but keeping in the same
relative distances from each other.

Example: If the Input signal increases by 4 dB above the set Threshold, with a
Ratio set to 2:1 and the Attack time is set to 20ms, then the Compressor will use
20ms to reach a Gain reduction of 2 dB.

Release

Range: 20ms to 7s

The fallback time. This is the time it takes for the Compressor to release the
attenuation of the signal.

Defeat Threshold

Range: -30 dB to -3 dB in 0.5 dB steps

The Defeat Threshold is used in combination with the Defeat Ratio to expand
lower levels

Defeat Ratio

Range: O to 1: Innity

Species the Ratio of the performed compression.

The Defeat Ratio is used in combination with the Defeat Threshold to expand
lower levels

Steer (DXP mode only, it takes the place of the Ratio control)

Range: O, -11 to +10, NORMAL in center position

DXP processing enables boost of only low level material, without aecting
material that is already loud enough. The boost is applied to levels below the
Reference level, and reaches its max at Threshold. The more Steer, the more audio
is steered towards the Ref Level. For more information about this parameter, see
the previous description of DXP Mode.

Wet Gain (Parallel or Parallel UL mode only)

Range: O, -40 dB to 6 dB in 0.5 dB steps

Only active in Parallel or Parallel UL mode.

Use this to adjust the compressed signal's contribution to the parallel mix. "0 dB"
means there is an equal amount of dr y and compressed signal.

14 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

5.5 Output Page

The Limiter

The limiter cannot prevent destruction of dynamic range from happening at
earlier stages in the production process, but it can get rid of the signals we
know are going to get distor ted in consumer CD players, radio processors or data
reduction codecs.

The limiter operates with extended precision in both level and time. Double­precision calculations are always used.

The Limiter employs adaptive time constants to combat distortion at low
frequencies, while maintaining quick adoption to occasional peaks.

Limiter Gain

Range: -6 dB to +12 dB in 0.1 dB steps

The Limiter Gain is used to control the output loudness (sits between the
compressor and the limiter soft clipper)

Limiter Prole

Limiter Soft Clip L/R

Range: -6 dB to +6 dB in 1 dB steps; OFF

Soft clipper threshold (sits after the Limiter Gain).

The softclip threshold is relative to 0 dBFS - not to the Ref Level.

Limiter Threshold L/R

Threshold is relative to 0 dBFS - not to the Ref Level.

Range: -12 dB to 0 dB in 0.1 dB increments, OFF

Limiter Link

Range: On=Stereo, O= Left/Right

This links the Limiter in Stereo, or unlinks it in Left and Right

Output Gain

Range: O to 0 dB (<-40 dB: in 3 dB steps, >-40 in 0.5 dB steps)

Output level adjustment for both channels.

Compare Enable

Click to activate the compare function, and activate these controls. Due to the
dierence in level, "in-circuit" and "out-of-circuit" comparisons are often dicult
to make using the BYPASS key. Use the Compare Gain parameter to compensate.

Compare Gain

Range: Dynamic, Soft, Universal, Loud, Voice

Dynamic: Gentle adaptive prole for sensitive dynamic/acoustic content

Soft: Gentle adaptive prole for sof t audio content

Universal: Adaptive prole for universal use and general audio content

Loud: Fast adaptive prole for loud/agressive rock/pop/electric content

Voice: Adaptive prole for voice/asymmetric content

Range: -20 dB to 0 dB in 0.1 dB steps

Processing with MD4 HD NATIVE will most of ten also mean raising the level of the
signal.

To make a realistic comparison of processed and unprocessed signal, it is
important to compare at equal levels. Use the Compare level to set a level for the
processed signal.

15 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

6. Dynamics Processing In-Depth

After the Normalizer Gain, the signal is gently split into 5 overlapping bands - the
low, low-mid, mid, high-mid, and high frequencies. It will then compress each
band somewhat independently. Thereby, for example, a powerful kick-drum will
not modulate the processing of the lead vocals. After compression, the 5 bands
are combined again.

6.1 Compressor

The very basis of compression can be reduced to "controlling the dynamic
content" of an audio signal. This basically means turning down the loudest parts
of the source material and raising the volume of the parts with low level content.
But how this is done, and how this is applied in audio production, is slightly more
elaborate.

Keep an eye on the illustration below and let us look at the basic compression
parameters:

Examples of Compressor Threshold and Ratio

Let us look into setting the Threshold and Ratio. In many cases, you would use a
low threshold, in combination with a small ratio and vice-versa. Let us choose a
low threshold of -23 dB and a small compression ratio of 2.5:1.

We have now set the compressor – but with identical settings for all 5 bands.
With identical settings, we are not taking full advantage of the multiband
capabilities. This is where the individual band controls come in. For example,
click on the Thresh control knob once, or the Thresh button in the row below the
controls, and the Focus Fields change to show the Threshold settings for each
band. To return to the Assigned Focus Fields, select Thresh again.

The controls allow you to create dierent settings for each of the 5 bands and All.

Threshold

The Threshold parameter sets the limit where the compressor kicks-in/
releases its grip of the signal. As soon as the level is above the set threshold the
compressor is active. When below - it is not.

Ratio

The Ratio sets the amount of gain reduction applied when the signal exceeds the
threshold. In the illustration above, the Ratio is the steepness of the curve af ter
the compressor threshold.

Attack

The Attack time is the time it takes for the compressor to reach the compression
amount specied by the set ratio.

Release

The Release time is the time it takes for the compressor to release the signal
after the input signal is below the threshold point again. How each of these
parameters are set is very important, and only the correc t combination gives the
desired result.

Examples of Attack, Release and Crossover Frequencies

Let us look into how to set the Attack and Release Times.

We start with small values for both parameters. If the attack time is too short,
we may remove some nice transients or “kick” from the material. This may not
be what we want, so we could try a greater value instead. Heavy peaks can be
smoothed using the limiter section.

If the release-time is too fast, it may result in a “pumping” eect, because the
compressor returns to the uncompressed signal immediately whenever the signal
falls below the compressor’s threshold setting. If so, we could increase the value
of the release time until we are satised with the result.

You could start with an Attack time of 1 ms and a Release time of 200 ms.

16 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

If you do not get the desired result, you could also try some dierent crossover
frequencies. Keep in mind that you have 5 independent bands – why should a
bass drum signal aect the mid and high bands when its peak is in the low end?
Click on the XOVERS button in the row below the control knobs, and the Focus
Fields will show the 4 crossover frequencies. You could start out by using 100 Hz,
400 Hz, 1.6 kHz and 6.3 kHz if applied on drums, or 125 Hz, 500 Hz, 2 kHz and 8
kHz, if applied on a full range mix.

Click the XOVER button again to return to the Assigned Focus Fields.

Note: Sometimes it is easier to adjust the Attack and Release times and the
Crossover frequencies by using extreme values for Threshold and Ratio during
setup. This will make the eec t of your settings much easier to hear.

6.2 Limiter

The Limiter is actually yet another compressor. It uses a very fast attack time and
has a ratio of 1 to innity. But why is the Limiter necessary?

6.3 Modern Mastering, Loudness and True­Peaks

The MD4 HD NATIVE is a multi-band dynamics-multi-tool, highly suitable for the
mastering process, with many ways to make your mix sound better, but if not
used wisely, there are many ways of making it sound worse!

There is a risk of becoming speed-blind in the tuning process, and at rst prefer
an over-compressed and loud-sounding track. This is a situation that can be
avoided by:

• • Knowing your music genre deeply

• • Using relevant reference tracks for comparison

• • Ensuring calibrated monitoring levels

• • Using an optimized monitoring environment

The resulting Loudness and Dynamic Compression are two of the most impor tant
properties of a track, adjusted nally in mastering. These two properties can be
regarded as counterparts to each other. In other words, it is important to:

• • Decide how loud your tracks should be

• • Design the dynamic prole of your music

Due to the xed 0 dBFS ceiling in digital audio, louder tracks have less dynamics,
and “weaker” tracks will potentially have more dynamics.

We recommend that you do not hyper-compress and limit your tracks to the
extreme in the mastering process, in order to achieve a loud track. If you overdo
it, it will potentially reduce the audio quality of your work. And often, there
is even a penalty in playback stages so your loud track may end up sounding
weaker, rather than louder.

6.3.1 Loudness

For the compressor to be used as a musical tool, the set at tack times are relatively
long (from 1 to 100 ms). This gives the disadvantage that certain peaks can pass.
Therefore a limiter with an attack time of as little as 0.1 ms and a ratio of 1 to
innity prevents nearly all overshoots.

You may want to use the Limiter carefully, as a limiter is always a somewhat
“drastic” tool to apply to your audio. If on a full mix, just a couple of dB should be
enough to limit strong peaks. If on a channel, feel free to sculpt your sound but
beware that the more compressed and limited it is, then the less “life” and more
“ear-fatiguing” it will most likely sound.

The Loudness approach to music mastering is based upon similar methods
introduced more than a decade ago by the industr y producing audio for TV.

Loudness measures how loud we actually hear audio, which is dierent from
“level” PPM meters that look at transients only. The Loudness method includes
K-ltering that emulates human hearing, where bass aects the perceived
loudness level less, and where frequencies from approximately 2 kHz and up
aect the perceived loudness level more.

Loudness is a modern, but still well-rehearsed reference method, which is
standardized in BS-1770, and many music streaming services refer to this
standard, or similar proprietary methods.

Loudness is measured on the LUFS metering scale. LUFS stands for "Loudness
Units Full Scale." The scale does not measure sound as a dB meter or a VU meter
would. Rather, it accounts for how the human ear (and brain) perceives the
loudness of a track. That is also why there is only one loudness value or level,
instead of one per channel.

Loudness examples: Some Streaming Services will aim for -16 LUFS loudness
when they play back music tracks with “Sound Check” enabled. The AES
community recommend streaming music between -20 and -16 LUFS. Often
you will see songs that measure -14, -12, -10 or even -8 LUFS and it will vary for
example by music genre.

17 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

6.3.2 True Pe ak

Often, there can be small peaks of sound in-between digital samples,
intersample peaks, that go undetected in most digital tools. Where traditional
peak meters and conventional peak limiters fail to read those true peaks of
sound, a True Peak meter will provide the mastering engineer with the actual
reading.

Without a True-Peak Limiter, a mastered track could go into digital clipping when
converted to a lossy format like MP3 or AAC or when being Digital-to-Analog
converted in normal playback systems. This can happen, even if no distortion is
heard when monitoring the nal master.

Although it doesn't have a True-Peak meter, the MD4 HD features a True-Peak
Limiter, which ensures that there are no intersample peaks above the level the
limiter threshold is set to. Be aware that further processing after the MD4 HD
might introduce intersample peaks again.

6.3.3 Beware of The Loudness Wars

An important note on loudness, is that there has been a trend in mastering
toward making songs appear louder and louder. Since you can never exceed
the 0 dBFS digital ceiling, applying a brickwall Limiter at the nal stage, the
result often has been to apply very aggressive settings on dynamics tools such
as multiband compressors, so-called ‘loudness optimizers’, as well as the nal
Brickwall Limiter itself. This phenomenon has been referred to as ‘The Loudness
Wa rs ’.

This escalated because we naturally perceive a louder version of a song to be
better than a sof ter version, when you compare them directly. Another cause is
that record industry people would compare an ‘airplay’ version of one track to a
newly mastered CD track, where the former tended to sound louder and fat ter
due to FM broadcast processing – leading to a request to make the master louder,
with more cowbell. Well, the ‘wars’ may have peaked, but it is still something
that you should be aware of and pay attention to. And while we say that they
may have peaked, they are not completely over…

Further, if you apply extreme amounts of compression, distortion occurs, which
may lead to listening fatigue for you as well as your audience. Of course, the
amount of compression that you can use in order to t a certain music genre can
vary, but just stay aware of how it aects your music, and act accordingly.

It is also very important that you always listen to your own mastering project and
your reference library at the same loudness level when you compare them. There
is no doubt that while a heavily compressed song – dynamically speaking – may
sound more impactful at rst, you will sacrice detail and nuance.

Finally and as mentioned above, keep in mind that the current trend in music
streaming is a target loudness of approximately -16 LUFS, so if you deliver a
signicantly louder song, it will get turned down automatically if the listener
chooses to apply the ‘normalization’ feature such as ‘SoundCheck’ or ‘Same Level’
that aligns the loudness of the songs in the library. And if that happens, your very
loud song may well end up sounding much less impressive than the competition!

6.3.4 Compress-O-Meter - Master Analyser

TC Electronic has launched a free on-line ser vice at the following address:

https://nalizer.com/analyzer

This analyzer can help you investigate and decide the suitable loudness level
and amount of dynamics processing for your music, when you compare it to your
preferred reference tracks, or pre-analyzed giant hits through the history.

A central part of this service is the Compress-O-Meter:

The X-axis is the amount of Dynamic Compression. It is unit-less, so you should
not add “dB”, “ratio”, or similar, when thinking about it.

The Dynamic Compression is based on the track’s Peak-to-Loudness (PLR) value
and a measurement of the micro-dynamics of the track.

• • Very dynamic music with lots of transients and loud and soft passages,

will have a low Dynamic Compression value, to the left in the Compress­O-Meter.

• • Very dense music with little transients, will have a high Dynamic

Compression value and show up to the right.

The Y-axis is the full track Loudness value, shown in LUFS (Loudness Units Full
Scale).

6.3.5 Additional tools

We recommend using the Icon Series BRICKWALL HD for adding detailed True
Peak limiting and loudness awareness to your chain, which will ensure a solid
master audio le that will comply with any play back system or streaming
service.

18 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

7. Presets

The MD4 HD NATIVE oers a collection of factory presets, as well as the option to
create and save your own custom settings as user presets and favourites.

Note that most DAWs have a built-in preset function that appears on every plug­in, which is often found at the top of the plug-in window.

It is not recommended to use this as your primary method of saving presets, as it
has limited functionality and does not allow the saved presets to be transferred
easily to other DAWs. Instead, we suggest using the Preset section at the bot tom
corner of the user interface window:

A single click on this PRESET window brings up a menu with several preset­related options. You can recall a fac tory or user preset from the libraries, save the
current preset, or create a new user preset with the 'Save as' option.

Note: the following illustrations are from a dierent plug-in, but the main
features are the same.

7. 2 User Presets

If you make an alteration to any of the parameters in the current preset, the
preset name changes to italics as a reminder that something has changed from
the original factory preset.

To save this new setting as a User preset, click in the PRESET window, then select
the Save As option. Save it with an appropriate name.

To discard the changes without saving, simply navigate away from that preset.

The presets menu is divided into Factory Presets and User Presets.

7.1 Factory Presets

Factory presets are built into the plug-in and cannot be overwritten, so if a
factory preset is modied and you want to keep the changes, you need to save it
as a User preset. User presets can be edited and organized as you like.

When recalling a Factory preset or saved User preset, the name will appear in
plain text as shown below.

It will have a number to the left of the title, if it has been assigned as a favourite
(see later), otherwise it will show "--" next to it. Do not be alarmed.

The altered preset will be saved as a user preset, with your new name for it, and
its name will appear in the presets window.

If you modify a saved user preset, you have the option to "Save" (overwriting over
the existing user preset) or "Save As" (save as a new user preset).

If you modify a factory preset, then only "Save As" is available (to save as a new
user preset). Factory presets cannot be overwritten.

User presets are not given a number unless you assign them as favourites. (See
Favourite Presets below.)

19 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

7. 3 Favorite Presets

Creating your own presets will make them accessible from the Preset menu,
but they will only appear in the list of 100 favorite presets in the plug-in if you set
them as a favorite. This is done by assigning a favorite slot number to the preset
using the Favorite menu.

Click the FAVORITE (heart-shaped) button at the right edge of the preset window,
then select one of the 10 banks. Assign one of your custom presets to a favorite
slot, then save the preset.

7.3 .1 Browse Favorites Only

The 'Browse Favorites Only' option in the preset menu allows the UP/DOWN
arrows in the bottom bar of the plug-in. Otherwise, scrolling goes through all
presets.

7.4 Make Current Preset Default

Selecting 'Make current preset default' will cause this preset to appear every time
a new instance of the plug-in is created.

7. 5 Reveal User Preset Folder in Explorer

To change the name of a preset, select 'Reveal User Preset Folder in Explorer'
and modify the le name. This will open a Finder (Mac) or Explorer (PC) window
where the user presets are stored. You can rename as well as delete, copy and
paste presets. This allows you to share presets with other users online, simply
pasting the new ones in this folder.

When a preset is assigned a favorite slot number:

• • The preset is part of the 100 presets that can be recalled

• • The favorite number will be locked so that two presets cannot be

assigned to the same favorite slot number. This is shown in the Favorite
menu by graying-out the number in question

• • The favorite number will be displayed in brackets when you browse the

presets menu

You can remove the favorite assignment by selecting the “Remove Assignment”
feature in the Favorite menu, then saving the preset.

20 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual

8. Software Updates

New versions of the sof tware may be released to add new features and improve
performance. Updates can be detected from the plug-in directly and can be
installed after download from the website. See Chapter 2 for plug-in installation.

If the ’Automatically check for updates’ option is checked inside the update
menu, the red dot will appear on the settings icon when a new plug-in
is available.

Click the gear icon and select “Check for Updates” to perform a scan.

9. Specications

Sound

Processing 5 Band compression/limiting, softclip

Sample rates 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192 kHz

Software Support

Operating systems Mac OS X 10.13 High Sierra or above,

Windows 7 or above

Plugin formats AAX-native, Audio Units, VST2.4,

VST3. 64 bit

21 MD4 HD NATIVE User Manual