How it Works
tc electronic
Loading...
MD4 HD
User Manual
22 pgs3.71 Mb0

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
2.1 Installation on a PC .............................................................. 4
2.2 Installation on a Mac .......................................................... 5
3.1 Activation ................................................................................ 5
3.2 Get a Free Demo License .................................................. 5
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
5.1 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
Loading...
+ 15 hidden pages
Buy Points How it Works FAQ Contact Us Questions and Suggestions Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Terms of Use