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• Hold slider and field: Determines the duration for which the music mix channel strip
volume is reduced. This control prevents a chattering effect that can be caused by a
rapidly changing side-chain level. If the side-chain level hovers around the threshold
value rather than clearly exceeding or falling short of it, set the Hold parameter to a
high value to compensate for any rapid volume reductions.
• Release slider and field: Controls how quickly the volume returns to the original level.
Set it to a high value if you want the music mix to slowly fade up after the
announcement.
Using the Ducker
The steps below show how to use the Ducker on existing recordings.
Note: For technical reasons, the Ducker plug-in can be inserted only in output and aux
channel strips.
To use the Ducker plug-in
1 Insert the plug-in into an aux channel strip.
2 Assign all channel strip outputs that are supposed to “duck” (dynamically lower the volume
of the mix) to a bus—the aux channel strip chosen in step 1.
3 Choose the bus that carries the ducking (vocal) signal in the Side Chain menu of the
Ducker plug-in.
Note: Unlike all other side-chain-capable plug-ins, the Ducker side chain is mixed with
the output signal after passing through the plug-in. This ensures that the ducking
side-chain signal—the voice-over—is heard at the output.
4 Adjust the Ducker parameters.
76 Chapter 4 Dynamics Processors