DigiRack Plug-ins ™ Version 8.
Legal Notices This guide is copyrighted ©2008 by Digidesign, a division of Avid Technology, Inc. (hereafter “Digidesign”), with all rights reserved. Under copyright laws, this guide may not be duplicated in whole or in part without the written consent of Digidesign.
contents Chapter 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Plug-in Formats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 System Requirements and Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Plug-ins for Pro Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 6. Dynamics III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Shared Compressor/Limiter and Expander/Gate Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Compressor/Limiter III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Expander/Gate III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 13. Signal Generator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Signal Generator Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 AudioSuite Processing with Signal Generator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Chapter 14. SignalTools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Appendix A. DSP Requirements for TDM Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 DSP Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Appendix B. DSP Delays Incurred by TDM Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
chapter 1 Introduction Plug-ins are special-purpose software components that provide additional signal processing and other functionality to Pro Tools®. The DigiRack™ plug-ins included with Pro Tools provide a comprehensive suite of digital signal processing effects that include EQ, dynamics, delay, and other essential functions. References to Pro Tools LE® in this guide are usually interchangeable with Pro Tools M-Powered™, except as noted in the Pro Tools M-Powered Setup Guide.
• Other DigiRack AudioSuite Plug-ins • DC Offset Removal • Duplicate • Gain • Invert • Normalize • Reverse Plug-in Formats There are three plug-in formats used in Pro Tools: • TDM plug-ins (real-time, DSP-based) • RTAS® plug-ins (real-time, host-based) • AudioSuite™ plug-ins (non-real-time, filebased processing) TDM Plug-ins RTAS Plug-ins RTAS (Real-Time AudioSuite) plug-ins provide features and functionality similar to their TDM counterparts, but unlike TDM plug-ins, they rely on and are limited by the
System Requirements and Compatibility To use DigiRack plug-ins you need any the following: • A Digidesign-qualified Pro Tools system running Pro Tools • A Digidesign-qualified Pro Tools system and a third-party software application that supports the Digidesign TDM, RTAS, or AudioSuite plug-in standards • A qualified Avid® Xpress®, Avid Xpress DV, or Avid DNA™ system (AudioSuite only) • A qualified Digidesign VENUE system (TDM only) If installing multiple packages of plug-ins, do so in the following order:
Conventions Used in This Guide All Digidesign guides use the following conventions to indicate menu choices and key commands: Convention Action File > Save Choose Save from the File menu Control+N Hold down the Control key and press the N key Control-click Hold down the Control key and click the mouse button Right-click Click with the right mouse button The names of Commands, Options, and Settings that appear on-screen are in a different font.
chapter 2 Click (TDM and RTAS) The Click plug-in creates an audio click during session playback that you can use as a tempo reference when performing and recording. The Click plug-in receives its tempo and meter data from the Pro Tools application, enabling it to follow any changes in tempo and meter in a session. The Click plug-in is a mono-only plug-in. Several click sound presets are included.
Creating a Click Track To create a click track with the Click plug-in: 1 Ensure that the Options > Click is enabled. 2 Choose Track > Create Click Track. Pro Tools creates a new Auxiliary Input track named “Click” with the Click plug-in already inserted. In the Edit window, the track’s Track Height is set to Mini. To manually create a click track with the Click plug-in: 1 Select Options > Click to enable the Click op- tion (or enable the Metronome button in the Transport).
chapter 3 DigiRack D-Fx Plug-ins (AudioSuite Only) D-Fx provides four modules: • Chorus • Flanger • Multi-Tap Delay • Pin-Pong Delay Chorus (AudioSuite Only) Chorus adds a shimmering quality to audio material by combining a time-delayed, pitchshifted copy of an audio signal with itself. Gain Adjusts the input volume of the chorus to prevent clipping or increase the level of the processed signal. This slider is set to a default of +3 dB.
The range of the Low-Pass Filter is 20 Hz to 19.86 kHz, with a maximum value of Off (which effectively means bypass). Delay Sets the delay time between the original signal and the chorused signal. The higher the setting, the longer the delay and the wider the chorusing effect. Delay is adjustable from 0–20 milliseconds. LFO Rate Adjusts the rate of the LFO (low frequency oscillator) applied to the delayed signal as modulation. The higher the setting, the more rapid the modulation.
When the Sum Inputs button is selected, the LFO waveform on the right channel is phase inverted to enhance the mono-stereo effect. Mix Adjusts the balance between the effected signal and the original signal and controls the depth of the effect. Mix is adjustable from 0% to 100%. High-Pass Filter Controls the cutoff frequency of the high-pass filter. Use this to attenuate the frequency content of the feedback signal and the frequency response of the flanging.
Gain Provides individual control of the input level for each of the four delay lines (or “taps”). Individually adjust the Gain for each of the four taps, either to prevent clipping or to increase the level of the processed signal. Selecting the Sum Inputs button sums the dry input signals (mono or stereo) before processing them. The dry signal then appears in the center of the stereo field and the wet, effected signal will be output in stereo.
The range of the Low-Pass Filter is 20 Hz to 19.86 kHz, with a maximum value of Off (which effectively means bypass). Feedback Controls the amount of feedback applied from the output of the delay into its input. It also controls the number of repetitions of the delayed signal. Cross-Feedback Cross-Feedback feeds the delayed signals to their opposite channel: The left channel delay is fed to the right channel input and vice-versa.
12 DigiRack Plug-ins Guide
chapter 4 Dither (TDM and RTAS) The Dither plug-in minimizes quantization artifacts when reducing the bit depth of an audio signal to 16-, 18-, or 20-bit resolution. For more advanced dithering, use the DigiRack POW-r Dither plug-in. See Chapter 11, “POW-r Dither.” Using a dither plug-in on a Master Fader is preferable to an Auxiliary Input because Master Fader inserts are post-fader. As a post-fader insert, the dither plug-in can process changes in Master Fader level.
Dither Controls Bit Resolution Use this pop-up menu to choose one of three possible resolutions for the Dither processing. Set this control to the maximum bit resolution of your destination. 16-bit Recommended for output to digital devices with a maximum resolution of 16 bits, such as DAT and CD recorders. 18-bit Recommended for output to digital devices with a maximum resolution of 18 bits.
chapter 5 D-Verb (TDM, RTAS, and AudioSuite) D-Verb is a studio-quality reverb provided in TDM, RTAS, and AudioSuite formats. The TDM version of the D-Verb plug-in is not supported at 192 kHz; use the RTAS version instead. D-Verb Controls level. If this meter clips, it is possible that the signal clipped on input before it reached D-Verb. Monitor your send or insert signal levels closely to help prevent this from happening. Clip Indicator The Clip indicator shows if clipping has occurred.
Algorithm This control selects one of seven reverb algorithms: Hall, Church, Plate, Room 1, Room 2, Ambience, or Nonlinear. Selecting an algorithm changes the preset provided for it. Switching the Size setting changes characteristics of the algorithm that are not altered by adjusting the decay time and other user-adjustable controls. Each of the seven algorithms has a distinctly different character: Hall A good general purpose concert hall with a natural character.
Pre-Delay Pre-Delay determines the amount of time that elapses between the original audio event and the onset of reverberation. Under natural conditions, the amount of pre-delay depends on the size and construction of the acoustic space, and the relative position of the sound source and the listener. Pre-Delay attempts to duplicate this phenomenon and is used to create a sense of distance and volume within an acoustic space.
18 DigiRack Plug-ins Guide
chapter 6 Dynamics III (TDM, RTAS, and AudioSuite) Dynamics III provides three modules: • Compressor/Limiter • Expander/Gate • De-Esser All Dynamics III modules are available in TDM, RTAS, and AudioSuite formats. Dynamics III supports 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz and 192 kHz sample rates. Compressor/Limiter and Expander/Gate modules work with mono, stereo, and greater-than-stereo multichannel formats up to 7.1. The De-Esser module works with mono and stereo formats only.
Input and Output Meters Gain Reduction Meter The Input (In) and Output (Out) meters show peak signal levels before and after dynamics processing: The Gain Reduction (GR) meter indicates the amount the input signal is attenuated (in dB) and shows different colors during dynamics processing: Green Indicates nominal levels. Yellow Indicates pre-clipping levels, starting at –6 dB below full scale. Red Indicates full scale levels (clipping).
LFE Enable (Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools LE with Complete Production Toolkit Only) The LFE Enable button (located in the Options section) is on by default, and enables plug-in processing of the LFE (low frequency effects) channel on a multichannel track formatted for 5.1, 6.1, or 7.1 surround formats. To disable LFE processing, deselect this button. Use this graph as a visual guideline to see how much dynamics processing you are applying.
To indicate overshoots (when an incoming signal peak is too fast for the current compression setting) the cursor temporarily leaves the gain transfer curve. The cursor changes color to indicate the amount of compression applied, as follows: Compressor/Limiter III The Compressor/Limiter plug-in applies either compression or limiting to audio material, depending on the ratio of compression used.
About Limiting Compressor/Limiter III Controls Limiting prevents signal peaks from ever exceeding a chosen threshold, and is generally used to prevent short-term peaks from reaching their full amplitude. Used judiciously, limiting produces higher average levels, while avoiding overload (clipping or distortion), by limiting only some short-term transients in the source audio. To prevent the ear from hearing the gain changes, extremely short attack and release times are used.
An orange arrow on the Input meter indicates the current threshold, and can also be dragged up or down to adjust the threshold setting. Attack The Attack control sets the attack time, or the rate at which gain is reduced after the input signal crosses the threshold. The smaller the value, the faster the attack. The faster the attack, the more rapidly the Compressor/Limiter applies attenuation to the signal.
Knee Gain The Knee control sets the rate at which the compressor reaches full compression once the threshold has been exceeded. The Gain control lets you boost overall output gain to compensate for heavily compressed or limited signals. As you increase this control, it goes from applying “hard-knee” compression to “soft-knee” compression: This control ranges from 0 dB (no gain boost) to +40 dB (loudest gain boost), with the default value at 0 dB.
Expander/Gate III The Expander/Gate plug-in applies expansion or gating to audio material, depending on the ratio setting. Expander/Gate III Controls This section describes controls for the Expander/Gate plug-in. Input/Output Level Meters The Input and Output meters show peak signal levels before and after dynamics processing. See “Levels Section” on page 19 for more information.
Threshold Ratio The Threshold (Thresh) control sets the level below which an input signal must fall to trigger expansion or gating. Signals that fall below the threshold will be reduced in gain. Signals that are above it will be unaffected. The Ratio control sets the amount of expansion. For example, if this is set to 2:1, it will lower signals below the threshold by one half.
Release De-Esser III The Release control sets how long it takes for the gate to close after the input signal falls below the threshold level and the hold time has passed. This control ranges from 5 ms (fastest release time) to 4 seconds (slowest release time). Range The Range control sets the depth of the Expander/Gate when closed. Setting the gate to higher range levels allows more and more of the gated audio that falls below the threshold to peek through the gate at all times.
Using De-Essing Effectively De-Esser III Controls To use de-essing most effectively, insert the DeEsser after compressor or limiter plug-ins. This section describes controls for the De-Esser plug-in. The Frequency control should be set to remove sibilants (typically the 4–10 kHz range) and not other parts of the signal. This helps prevent deessing from changing the original character of the audio material in an undesired manner.
Gain Reduction Meter Listen The Gain Reduction meter indicates the amount the input signal is attenuated, in dB. This meter shows different colors during de-essing: When enabled, the Listen button lets you monitor the sibilant peaks used by the De-Esser as a side-chain to trigger compression. This is useful for listening only to the sibilance for fine-tuning De-Esser controls. To monitor the whole output signal without this filtering, deselect the Listen button.
Using the Side-Chain Input in Dynamics III (Compressor/Limiter and Expander/Gate Only) Dynamics processors typically use the detected amplitude of their input signal to trigger gain reduction. This split-off signal is known as the side-chain. The Compressor/Limiter and Expander/Gate plug-ins feature external key capabilities and filters for the side-chain.
HF and LF Filter Enable Buttons HF Frequency Control The HF Filter Enable and LF Filter Enable buttons toggle the corresponding filter in or out of the side-chain. When this button is highlighted, the filter is applied to the side-chain signal. When this button is dark gray, the filter is bypassed and available for activation. The Frequency control sets the frequency position for the Band-Pass or Low-Pass filter, and ranges from 80 Hz to 20 kHz.
Using an External Key Input for Side-Chain Processing Using a Filtered Input Signal for Side-Chain Processing To use a filtered or unfiltered external key input to trigger dynamics processing: To use the filtered input signal to trigger dynamics processing: 1 Click the Key Input selector and select the in- 1 Ensure the Key Input selector is set to No Key Input. put or bus carrying the audio from the reference track or external audio source.
34 DigiRack Plug-ins Guide
chapter 7 EQ III (TDM, RTAS, and AudioSuite) The EQ III plug-in provides a high-quality 7 Band, 2–4 Band, or 1 Band EQ for adjusting the frequency spectrum of audio material. EQ III is available in the following formats: • 7 Band: TDM, RTAS, and AudioSuite • 2–4 Band: TDM and RTAS only • 1 Band: TDM, RTAS, and AudioSuite EQ III has a Frequency Graph display that shows the response curve for the current EQ settings on a two-dimensional graph of frequency and gain.
1 Band EQ The 1 Band EQ is available in TDM, RTAS, and AudioSuite formats. The 1 Band EQ has its own window, with six selectable filter types. EQ III Controls Adjusting EQ III Controls You can adjust the EQ III plug-in controls by any of the following methods: Dragging Plug-in Controls The rotary controls on the EQ III plug-in can be adjusted by dragging over them horizontally or vertically. Dragging up or to the right increments the control. Dragging down or to the left decrements the control.
Dragging in the Frequency Graph Display You can adjust the following by dragging the control points directly in the Frequency Graph display: Frequency Dragging a control point to the right increases the Frequency setting. Dragging a control point to the left decreases the Frequency setting. Gain Dragging a control point up increases the Gain setting. Dragging a control point down decreases the Gain setting. Q Start-dragging (Windows) or Control-dragging (Mac) a control point up increases the Q setting.
Q Sets the width of the narrow band of midrange frequencies centered around the Frequency setting. To switch an EQ III control out of Band-Pass mode: Release Start+Shift (Windows) or Control+Shift (Mac). Input Gain Control The Input Gain control sets the input gain of the plug-in before EQ processing, letting you make up gain or prevent clipping at the plug-in input stage.
EQ Band Controls Band Gain Control The individual EQ bands on each EQ III configuration have some combination of the following controls, as noted below. Each Peak and Shelf EQ band has a Gain control for boosting or cutting the corresponding frequencies. Gain controls are not used on HighPass, Low-Pass, or Notch filters.
Frequency Graph Display (7 Band EQ and 2–4 Band EQ Only) The Frequency Graph display in the 7 Band EQ and the 2–4 Band EQ shows a color-coded control dot that corresponds to the color of the Gain control for each band. The filter shape of each band is similarly color-coded. The white frequency response curve shows the contribution of each of the enabled filters to the overall EQ curve.
7 Band EQ Input/Output Level meters Input/Output Level and Polarity controls Frequency Graph Display High-Pass/ Low Notch Low-Pass/ High Notch Low Shelf/Peak Mid Peak Low-Mid Peak High Shelf/Peak High-Mid Peak 7 Band EQ and 2–4 Band EQ window High-Pass/Low Notch The 7 Band EQ has the following available bands: High-Pass/Low Notch, Low-Pass/High Notch, Low Shelf/Low Peak, Low-Mid Peak, Mid Peak, High-Mid Peak, and High Shelf/High Peak. All seven bands are available for simultaneous use.
The High-Pass/Notch band is switchable between high-pass filter and notch EQ functions. By default, this band is set to High-Pass Filter. High-Pass Filter Attenuates all frequencies below the Frequency setting at the selected slope while letting all frequencies above pass through. Low-Notch EQ Attenuates a narrow band of frequencies centered around the Frequency setting. The width of the attenuated band is determined by the Q setting.
Low Shelf/Low Peak The Low Shelf/Peak band is switchable between low shelf EQ and low peak EQ functions. By default, this band is set to Low Shelf. Low-Shelf EQ Boosts or cuts frequencies at and below the Frequency setting. The amount of boost or cut is determined by the Gain setting. The Q setting determines the shape of the shelving curve. Low Peak EQ Boosts or cuts a band of frequencies centered around the Frequency setting. The width of the affected band is determined by the Q setting.
Low-Mid Peak Mid Peak The Low-Mid Peak band boosts or cuts frequencies centered around the Frequency setting. The width of the band is determined by the Q setting. The Mid Peak band boosts or cuts frequencies centered around the Frequency setting. The width of the band is determined by the Q setting.
High-Mid Peak High Shelf/High Peak The High-Mid Peak band boosts or cuts frequencies centered around the Frequency setting. The width of the band is determined by the Q setting. The High Shelf/Peak band is switchable between high shelf EQ and high peak EQ functions. By default, this band is set to High Shelf. Q control Band Enable button Frequency control Gain control High-Shelf EQ Boosts or cuts frequencies at and above the Frequency setting.
The High Shelf and High Peak Gain controls and their corresponding graph elements are displayed on-screen in blue. Additional EQ bands can then be enabled to add them to the settings inherited from the 2–4 Band plug-in. High Shelf EQ and High Peak EQ control values Control Value Frequency Range 1.8 kHz to 20 kHz Frequency Default 6 kHz High Shelf Q Range 0.1 to 2.0 High Peak Q Range 0.1 to 10.0 Q Default 1.
Band Controls 1 Band EQ The Frequency Graph display in the 1 Band EQ shows a control dot that indicates the center frequency (Peak, Shelf and Notch Filters) or the cutoff frequency (High-Pass and Low-Pass filters) for the currently selected filter type. Control dot Frequency response curve The individual EQ types have some combination of the following controls, as noted below.
Notch Filter Low-Shelf EQ The Notch Filter attenuates a narrow band of frequencies centered around the Frequency setting. No gain control is available for this EQ type. The width of the attenuated band is determined by the Q setting. The Low-Shelf EQ boosts or cuts frequencies at and below the Frequency setting. The amount of boost or cut is determined by the Gain setting. The Q setting determines the shape of the shelving curve.
Low-Pass Filter The Low-Pass filter attenuates all frequencies above the cutoff frequency setting at the selected rate (6 dB, 12 dB, 18 dB, or 24 dB per octave) while letting all frequencies below pass through. No gain control is available for this filter type.
50 DigiRack Plug-ins Guide
chapter 8 Mod Delay II (TDM, RTAS, and AudioSuite) There are six different Mod Delay II plug-ins, capable of different maximum delay times: Mod Delay II Controls • The AudioSuite only version of the Delay plug-in provides up to 10.9 seconds of delay at all sample rates. • The Short Delay provides 43 ms of delay at all sample rates. • The Slap Delay provides 171 ms of delay at all sample rates. Short Delay and Slap Delay do not have Tempo, Meter, Duration, and Groove controls.
LPF (Low-Pass Filter) Controls the cutoff frequency of the Low-Pass Filter. Use the LPF setting to attenuate the high frequency content of the feedback signal. The lower the setting, the more high frequencies are attenuated. The maximum value for LPF is Off. This lets the signal pass through without limiting the bandwidth of the plug-in. To enable Tempo Sync: Click the Tempo Sync icon. The tempo shown changes to match the current session tempo and the meter changes to match the current meter.
Duration Specifies a desired delay from a musical perspective. Enter the desired delay by selecting appropriate note value (whole note, half note, quarter note, eight note, or sixteenth note). Select the Dot or Triplet modifier buttons to dot the selected note value or make it a triplet. For example, selecting a quarter note and then selecting the dot indicates a dotted quarter note, and selecting an eighth note and then selecting the triplet indicates a triplet eight note.
54 DigiRack Plug-ins Guide
chapter 9 Pitch (TDM Only) The Pitch plug-in is designed for a variety of audio production applications ranging from pitch correction of musical material to sound design. Pitch Controls Pitch processing uses the technique of varying sample playback rate to achieve pitch transposition. Because changing audio sample playback rate results in the digital equivalent of varispeeding with tape, this is an unsatisfactory method since it changes the overall duration of the material.
Mix Adjusts the ratio of dry signal to effected signal in the output. In general, this control should be set to 100% wet, unless you are using the Pitch plug-in in-line on an Insert for an individual track or element in a mix. This control can be adjusted over its entire range with little or no change in output level. Delay Sets the delay time between the original signal and the pitch-shifted signal. It has a maximum setting of 125 milliseconds.
In general, small, narrow-range pitch shifts require longer crossfades and large shifts require smaller ones. The disadvantage of a long crossfade time is that it will smooth the signal, including any transients. While this is sometimes desirable for audio material such as vocals, it is not appropriate for material with sharp transients such as drums or percussion. The default setting for this control is Auto.
58 DigiRack Plug-ins Guide
chapter 10 Pitch Shift (AudioSuite Only) The Pitch Shift plug-in adjusts the pitch of any source audio file with or without a change in its duration. This is a very powerful function that transposes audio a full octave up or down in pitch with or without altering playback speed. Time Correction Disabling this option has the effect of “permanently varispeeding” your audio file. The file’s duration will be compressed or extended according to the settings of the Coarse and Fine pitch controls.
Use the Crossfade slider to adjust and optimize crossfade times. For audio material with sharper attack transients, use smaller crossfade times. For audio material with softer attack transients, use longer crossfade times. To use the Reference Pitch: 1 Select the audio material you want to use as a pitch reference. Click the preview button to begin playback of the selected audio. 2 Click the Reference Pitch button to activate Min Pitch Sets the lowest pitch used in the plugin’s Pitch Shift processing.
chapter 11 POW-r Dither (TDM and RTAS, Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools LE Only) The POW-r Dither plug-in is an advanced type of dither that provides optimized bit depth reduction. It is designed for final-stage critical mixdown and mastering tasks where the highest possible fidelity is desired when reducing bit depth. For more information on dithering, see Chapter 4, “Dither.” POW-r Dither Controls Bit Resolution Use this pop-up menu to choose either 16- or 20-bit resolutions for POW-r Dither processing.
The POW-r Dither plug-in provides three types of noise shaping, each with its own characteristics. Try each noise shaping type and choose the one that adds the least amount of coloration to the audio being processed. Type 1 Has the flattest frequency spectrum in the audible range of frequencies, modulating and accumulating the dither noise just below the Nyquist frequency. Recommended for less stereophonically complex material such as solo instrument recordings.
chapter 12 ReWire (RTAS Only) Pro Tools supports ReWire version 2.0 technology developed by Propellerheads Software. ReWire is available using the DigiRack ReWire RTAS plug-in. ReWire provides real-time audio and MIDI streaming between applications, with sampleaccurate synchronization and common transport functionality. Compatible ReWire client applications are automatically detected by Pro Tools and are available in the RTAS Plug-ins Insert menus in Pro Tools.
MIDI from Pro Tools to ReWire client (Reason) Audio from ReWire client (Reason) to Pro Tools MIDI from ReWire client (Reason) to Pro Tools Figure 1.
ReWire Requirements To use the ReWire plug-in, you will need: • A Digidesign-qualified Pro Tools system • ReWire-compatible client software (such as Reason from Propellerheads Software) Client software must support the same sample rate as the session using ReWire. For example, third-party client software that does not support sample rates beyond 48 kHz cannot be used in 96 kHz Pro Tools sessions. ReWire support is also under development for other third-party companies.
Using ReWire The ReWire plug-in is installed when you install Pro Tools. All inter-application communications between Pro Tools and ReWire client software is handled automatically. 5 In Pro Tools, set the output of the client appli- cation in the ReWire plug-in window. This is the audio output of the ReWire client to Pro Tools. To use a ReWire client application with Pro Tools: 1 Make sure that the ReWire client application is installed properly and that you have restarted your computer.
If your ReWire client application is a sequencer and you want to begin synchronized playback with Pro Tools, press the Spacebar or click the Play button on the Pro Tools Transport. To record MIDI from a ReWire client application in Pro Tools: 1 In Pro Tools, create a new MIDI track. 2 From the track’s MIDI Input selector, select the If you experience system performance problems while using Pro Tools with ReWire client applications, you may need to increase the Pro Tools CPU Usage Limit.
6 Adjust the parameter for which you want to record MIDI CC data. Parameter changes are recorded to the Pro Tools MIDI track as CC data. Playing Back MIDI Continuous Controller Data Over ReWire Once you have recorded MIDI CC data from the ReWire client application to a MIDI track, configure the MIDI track to play the ReWire client application. You can also edit the MIDI CC data in Pro Tools until you achieve the best results.
Tempo and Meter Changes Looping Playback Pro Tools transmits both Tempo and Meter data to ReWire client applications, allowing ReWirecompatible sequencers to follow any tempo and meter changes in a Pro Tools session.
Automating ReWire Input Switching ReWire supports automation for switching inputs during playback. To automate switching inputs during playback: 1 Set the track’s automation to write. 2 Do one of the following: • Change the input link pop-up menu manually. – or – • Draw the automation in the Edit window. For information on drawing automation, see the Pro Tools Reference Guide.
chapter 13 Signal Generator (TDM, RTAS, and AudioSuite) The Signal Generator plug-in produces audio test tones in a variety of frequencies, waveforms, and amplitudes. It is particularly useful for generating reference signals with which to calibrate Pro Tools|HD interfaces (such as the 192 I/O) and other elements of your studio. Signal Generator Controls Frequency Sets the frequency of the signal in hertz. Values range from a low of 20 Hz to a high of 20 kHz in a 44.1 kHz session.
AudioSuite Processing with Signal Generator To create an audio region using the Signal Generator plug-in: 1 Make a selection in the Edit window. 2 Choose AudioSuite > Signal Generator. 3 Enter values for the Frequency, Level, and Signal controls. 4 Click Process in the Signal Generator plug-in. Select the Create Continuous File option for greater flexibility in making audio selections for use with the Signal Generator plugin.
chapter 14 SignalTools (TDM and RTAS) DigiRack SignalTools metering plug-ins provide two metering modules: Meters Surround Display • SurroundScope • PhaseScope The SignalTools plug-ins support TDM and RTAS plug-in formats at all sample rates. SurroundScope (Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools LE with Complete Production Toolkit Only) SurroundScope is a plug-in that provides surround metering for multichannel track types from 3 channels (LCR) to 8 channels (7.1 surround).
Surround Display SurroundScope detects the multi-channel format of the track and displays each channel in the signal in a circle around the Surround Display. PhaseScope (TDM and RTAS) PhaseScope is a multichannel metering plug-in that provides signal level and phase information for stereo tracks only. (Mono and LCR or greater multichannel tracks are not supported.) Meters Lissajous Meter Display SurroundScope Surround Display (5.
Lissajous Meter Display The PhaseScope Lissajous Meter displays the relationship between the amplitude and phase of a stereo signal, enabling you to monitor stereo imaging graphically. A “Lissajous curve” (also known as a Lissajous figure or Bowditch curve) is a type of graph that is able to describe complex harmonic motion. To learn more, search the Web or your local library for information on its origins and its two principal developers, Jules Antoine Lissajous, and Nathaniel Bowditch.
SurroundScope With SurroundScope you can select the two channels to compare by clicking the channel buttons around the Surround Display. Selected channels are indicated in blue. Selecting Channels for Leq(A) Metering SurroundScope With SurroundScope, you can select any combination of channels for Leq(A) metering by clicking the channel buttons around the Surround Display. Selected channels are indicated in green.
Auto Reset When enabled, causes the start time of the Leq(A) measurement window to be automatically reset whenever playback starts in Pro Tools. Hold on Stop When enabled, causes the Leq(A) measurement window timer to pause when playback stops, and resume when playback begins again. In any of the Loop Transport modes, the measurement start time is automatically reset each time playback goes back to the beginning of the loop.
VENUE Provides Peak metering behavior with a meter scale calibrated specifically for Digidesign VENUE systems. Reference calibration (0 dB) is –20 dBFS. Meter values are always displayed on control surfaces in dBFS values, regardless of the Meter Type setting. Meter Peak Hold Options Each of the SignalTools plug-ins lets you choose the style of peak hold when peaks are shown in the plug-in meters.
chapter 15 TimeAdjuster (TDM and RTAS) The TimeAdjuster plug-in provides three functions: TimeAdjuster Controls • Compensation for delays due to TDM- or RTAS-based routing • Gain compensation (+/– 24 dB) • Phase inversion for correcting out-of-phase signals For special information on Delay Compensation and Time Adjuster, see the Pro Tools Reference Guide. TimeAdjuster plug-in The TimeAdjuster plug-in is an efficient way to compensate for DSP or host-based processing delays in your Pro Tools system.
Delay Provides up to 8192 samples of delay compensation adjustment, or general adjustment of phase relationships of audio recorded with multiple microphones, depending on which version of TimeAdjuster is used. It defaults to a minimum delay of four samples, which is the delay created by use of the TimeAdjuster plug-in itself. Alternatively, look up the delay in samples for the plug-ins you want to compensate for, then apply the appropriate amount of delay.
5 Change the polarity back to normal. 4 Test the delay values by duplicating an audio 6 Save the TimeAdjuster setting for later use. track and reversing its phase while compensating for delay. Comb-Filter Effect Cancellation Adjust the delay with the signal in phase until any comb-filter effects cancel out.
82 DigiRack Plug-ins Guide
chapter 16 Time Compression/Expansion (AudioSuite Only) The Time Compression/Expansion plug-in adjusts the duration of selected regions, increasing or decreasing their length without changing pitch. Source and Destination The Source fields display the length of the current selection before processing in each of the listed formats. All fields are always active; a change made to one value is immediately reflected in the others.
Crossfade length affects the amount of smoothing performed on audio material. This prevents audio artifacts such as clicks from occurring. Long crossfade times may over-smooth a signal and its transients. This may not be desirable on drums and other material with sharp transients. Use the Crossfade slider to manually adjust and optimize crossfade times if necessary. For audio material with sharper attack transients, use smaller crossfade times.
chapter 17 Time Shift (AudioSuite Only) Time Shift provides high quality time compression and expansion (TCE) algorithms and formant correct pitch-shifting. Time Shift is ideal for music production, sound design, and post production applications. Use it to manipulate audio loops for tempo matching or to transpose vocal tracks using formant correct pitch shifting.
Audio Range The Audio section of Time Shift provides controls for specifying the type of audio you want to process and gain attenuation of the processed signal to avoid clipping. The Audio Range pop-up menu determines the frequency range for analysis: Low, Mid, High, or Wide. For low-range material, such as a bass guitar, select Low. For mid-range material, such as male vocals, select Mid. The high range control is for material with a high fundamental frequency, such as female vocals.
Time The Time section of Time Shift provides controls for specifying the amount of time compression or expansion as well as the timebase used for calculating TCE. Adjust the Time control to change the target duration for the processed audio. Time Shift plug-in, Time section Original Displays the Start and End times, and Length of the edit selection. Times are displayed in units of the timebase selected in the Units pop-up menu. Processed Displays the target End time and Length of the processed signal.
by –24.00 semitones (–2 octaves) to +24.00 semitones (+2 octaves), with fine resolution in cents. Adjust the Formant Shift control or click the Shift field and type the desired value. When Polyphonic is selected as the Audio Type, the Transient section provides controls for setting the transient detection threshold and for adjusting the analysis window length for processing audio.
change its content quickly in time, as opposed to parts of the sound which are more sustained. Adjust the Threshold control or click the Threshold field and type the desired value. The default value for Threshold is –6.0 dB. For highly percussive material, lower the threshold for better transient detection, especially with the Rhythmic audio setting. For less percussive material, and for shifting with the Polyphonic audio setting, a higher setting can yield better results.
Post Production Pull Up and Pull Down Tasks Table 1 on page 90 provides information on TCE settings for common post production tasks. Type the corresponding TCE% (represented to 10 decimal places in Table 1) in the Time Shift field for the corresponding post production task and the process the selected audio. Use the corresponding Time Shift Plug-in Setting for the desired post production task. Table 1.
AudioSuite Input Modes Time Shift supports the Pro Tools AudioSuite Input Mode selector for use on mono or multi-input processing. Mono Mode Processes each audio region as a mono file with no phase coherency maintained with any other simultaneously selected regions. AudioSuite TCE Plug-in Preference The Time Shift plug-in’s high quality time compression and expansion algorithms that can be used with the Pro Tools TCE Trim tool.
Processing Audio Time Shift lets you change the time and pitch of selected audio independently or concurrently. Normalizing a selection before using Time Shift may produce better results. To change the time of a selected audio region: 1 Select AudioSuite > Pitch Shift > Time Shift. To change the pitch of a selected audio region: 1 Select AudioSuite > Pitch Shift > Time Shift. 2 Select the Audio Mode appropriate to the type of material you are processing (Monophonic, Polyphonic, or Rhythmic).
chapter 18 Trim (TDM and RTAS) The Trim plug-in can be used to attenuate an audio signal from –∞ (Infinity) dB to +6 dB or –∞ (Infinity) dB to +12 dB. For example, using a multi-mono Trim plug-in on a multi-channel track provides simple, DSP-efficient muting control over the individual channels of the track. This capability is useful, since Track Mute buttons mute all channels of a multi-channel track and do not allow muting of individual channels within the track.
94 DigiRack Plug-ins Guide
chapter 19 Other AudioSuite Plug-ins (AudioSuite Only) DC Offset Removal Duplicate The DC Offset Removal plug-in removes DC offset from audio files. DC offset is a type of audio artifact (typically caused by miscalibrated analog-to-digital convertors) that can cause pops and clicks in edited material. The Duplicate plug-in duplicates the selected audio in place. Depending on how its controls are configured, the new region will appear in either the Regions List or playlist.
To duplicate an audio selection: To change the gain of an audio region: 1 Select the audio you want to duplicate. 1 Select the region whose gain you want to 2 Choose AudioSuite > Other > Duplicate. 3 Ensure that Use In Playlist is enabled. 4 Click Process. change. 2 Choose AudioSuite > Other > Gain. 3 Adjust the Gain slider as desired. 4 Click Preview to audition your changes. 5 Ensure that Use In Playlist is enabled.
Normalize The Normalize plug-in optimizes the volume level of an audio selection. Use it on material recorded with too little amplitude, or on material whose volume levels are inconsistent (as in a poorly recorded narration). Unlike compression and limiting, which modify the dynamics of audio material, normalization preserves dynamics by uniformly increasing (or decreasing) amplitude. To prevent clipping during sample rate conversion, Normalize to no greater than the range between –2 dB to –0.5 dB.
Reverse The Reverse plug-in replaces the audio with a reversed version of the selection. This is useful for creating reverse envelope effects for foley, special effects, or musical effects (for example, the reverse piano attack at the end of the Beatles’ song A Day in the Life). Reverse plug-in To reverse an audio region (or selection): 1 Select the region you want to reverse. 2 Choose AudioSuite > Other > Reverse. 3 Ensure that Use In Playlist is enabled. 4 Click Process.
appendix a DSP Requirements for TDM Plug-ins The number of TDM plug-ins you can use at one time depends on how much DSP power is available in your system. Since the TDM hardware on Pro Tools cards provide dedicated DSP for plugins, plug-in performance is not limited by CPU processing power. The DSP tables on the following pages show the theoretical total number of instances of each DigiRack TDM plug-in that can be powered by a single DSP chip on Pro Tools|HD-series cards.
DSP Requirements DSP requirements for DigiRack TDM plug-ins are provided on the following pages. Mono and Stereo DigiRack Plug-ins on HD Cards The following table compares the maximum number of instances of each DigiRack TDM plug-in that can be powered by a single DSP chip on an HD Accel card to that of HD Core and HD Process cards. Maximum instances of real-time TDM plug-ins per DSP chip for Pro Tools|HD cards at 44.
Maximum instances of real-time TDM plug-ins per DSP chip for Pro Tools|HD cards at 44.1 and 48 kHz HD Accel HD Core and HD Process mono/stereo mono/stereo Plug-in Time Adjuster (short) 146 72 117 58 Time Adjuster (medium) 32 16 114 56 Time Adjuster (long) 72 36 32 16 Trim 145 n/a 119 n/a Maximum instances are approximately half at 88.2 kHz and 96 kHz, and approximately a quarter at 176.4 and 192 kHz. Actual results will likely be less due to system and session variables.
Table 1. (Continued) Theoretical maximum instances of real-time TDM plug-ins per DSP chip for a Pro Tools HD Core and HD Process card at 48 kHz** Plug-in LCR Quad & LCRS 5.0 5.1 & 6.0 6.1 & 7.0 7.
appendix b DSP Delays Incurred by TDM Plug-ins Virtually all TDM plug-ins incur some amount of signal delay. If you are working with mono tracks, or are processing all channels with the same plug-in, the signal delays are not long enough to be significant and should not be a concern. This signal delay is significant only if you use a plug-in on one channel of a stereo or multichannel signal but not the others, since this can cause the channels to be slightly out of phase.
Table 2.
index Numerics D 7 Band, 2–4 Band, or 1 Band (EQ III) 35 DC Offset Removal plug-in 95 Decay control 16 delay DSP induced 80, 81 Delay control 8, 10, 56 Delay plug-in 51 destination fields 83 Diffusion control 16 DIN (metering) 77 Dither plug-in 13, 61 DSP and EQ III 46 DSP delay compensation 80, 81 DSP delays 103 DSP delays inherent in plug-ins 103 Duplicate plug-in 95 D-Verb 15 Dynamics II plug-ins 19 A Accuracy control 60, 84 Algorithm control 16 AudioSuite Input Mode selector 91 plug-ins 2 Preview 9
G M Gain control 10 Gain plug-in 96 Max Peak At control 97 Maximum Pitch control 57 Medium Delay 51 metering BBC 77 DIN 77 for VENUE 78 Leq(A) 76 level meters 77 Lissajous in PhaseScope 75 multichannel SurroundScope 73 Nordic 77 Peak 77 Peak + RMS 77 peak hold options 78 Phase Meter 75 PhaseScope 74 reference mark 78 RMS 77 VU 77 MIDI Beat Clock 52 MIDI Output selector 66 Minimum Pitch control 57, 60, 84 Mix control 7, 10 Mod Delay II plug-ins 51 H Hall algorithm 16 HD-series cards DSP delays 103 Hi Fre
P Pan control 10 Peak 77 Peak + RMS 77 peak hold 78 Peak On All Tracks mode 97 Peak On Each Track mode 97 phase cancellation 80 Phase Invert button 79 Phase Meter 75 PhaseScope 74 pink noise 71 Pitch plug-in 55 Pitch Shift plug-in 59 Pitch transposition 55 plug-ins working with 3 POW-r Dither plug-in 61 Pre-delay control 17 R Ratio control 56, 59, 83 reference mark in SignalTools 78 Reference Pitch control 60 Relative Pitch Entry 56 Reset Leq(A) 76 Reverse plug-in 98 ReWire 63 and voices 65 automating inpu
Time Shift 85 Audio Gain control 86 Audio Mode pop-up menu 86 Audio Range pop-up menu 86 Audio section 86 changing pitch 92 changing time 92 changing time and pitch 92 Clip indicator 86 Decay Rate 89 displays and controls 85 Follow button 88 Formant section 87 Level indicator 86 Monophonic mode 86 Original time 87 Pitch section 89 Pitch Shift 89 Polyphonic mode 86 post production workflow 90 Processed time 87 pull up/pull down TCE percentages 90 Rhythmic mode 86 Speed 87 Tempo displays 87 Threshold control
www.digidesign.com DIGIDESIGN 2001 Junipero Serra Boulevard Daly City, CA 94014-3886 USA Tel: 650.731.6300 Fax: 650.731.6399 TECHNICAL SUPPORT (USA) Tel: 650.731.6100 Fax: 650.731.6375 PRODUCT INFORMATION (USA) Tel: 800.333.
