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46 Chapter 4 Dynamic
Emphasizing the release also boosts the amount of any reverb on the affected track.
Conversely, when you tone down the release phase, tracks originally drenched in
reverb end up sounding drier. This effect is particularly useful when you’re working
with drumloops, but there are, of course, many other applications. Let your imagination
be your guide.
When using the Enveloper, you should set the Threshold to the minimum value and
leave it there. Only when you seriously crank the release phase, thus boosting the noise
level of the original recording, should you turn the Threshold slider up a little. This limits
the Enveloper to only influencing the useful signal.
Drastic boosting or cutting of the release or attack phase may change the overall level
of the signal. The Out Level slider allows you to compensate for this effect.
The Time parameters for the attack and release phase (2 knobs below the graphic
display) enable you to access the time-based intervals that the plug-in interprets as the
attack and release phases. Generally, you’ll find values of around 20 ms (attack) and
1500 ms (release) are fine to start with. Adjust them accordingly for the type of signal
that you’re processing.
Similar to its Noise Gate counterpart, the Lookahead slider allows you to define values
that tell the Enveloper to anticipate what the signal will do in the very near future.
Normally, you won’t need to use this feature, except possibly for signals with extremely
sensitive transients. If you do decide to use Lookahead, you may need to adjust the
attack time accordingly.
To give you a better insight into the true nature of the Enveloper, here’s a quick look at
how it works: It is equipped with two internal envelope followers. One follows the
amplitude of the input signal directly, whereas the other follows all changes generated
by the variable delays (individually adjustable for attack and release). The difference
between the two envelope followers is used to boost or cut the original signal by way
of the corresponding Gain sliders (also individually adjustable for attack and release).
In contrast to a compressor or expander, the Enveloper operates independently of the
absolute level of the input signal—provided the Threshold slider is set to the lowest
possible value.