D U E ND E P CI e User Guide 82S6MC120A
Contents 1. Introduction 2. System Requirements Windows/PC Apple Macintosh 3. Installation Software & Hardware Installation (PC) Software & Hardware Installation (Mac) 4. Operational Overview 4.1 Duende PCIe Preferences/Control Panel 4.2 Launching a Duende PCIe plug-in 4.3 DSP Resource Management 4.4 Guidelines for Plug-in Delay Compensation 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 5. Duende PCIe EQ and Dynamics Channel Strip 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Input Section 5.3 Filter Section 5.4 Equaliser Section 5.
Printing History February 2008:: First Edition
1. Introduction Congratulations on your purchase of Duende PCIe – the SSL processing solution for your audio workstation. As you’re sat here reading this, the chances are that you have a pretty good understanding of who we are and our outstanding reputation in audio recording technology.
2. System Requirements • • • • • • • • Windows/PC Minimum of Intel Pentium IV 1GHz or equivalent 512MB RAM (1GB recommended) Windows XP Service Pack 1 or higher Windows Vista 80MB of free hard disk space Apple Macintosh • • 512MB RAM (1GB recommended) • 60MB of free hard disk space • Approved VST or RTAS* compatible host application • 17" or larger colour monitor with screen resolution of 1024 x 768 or higher recommended • One available PCIe (PCI Express) slot. Please visit www.
3. Installation Software & Hardware Installation (PC) 1) Power down the computer and remove the power lead. Software & Hardware Installation (Mac) 1) Power down the computer and remove the power lead. 2) Remove the cover(s) to gain access to the PCIe sockets. 2) Remove the cover(s) to gain access to the PCIe sockets.
4. Operational Overview Once your Duende PCIe hardware and software has been properly installed, Duende PCIe plug-ins are accessed and used just like any host-based plug-in. You can run Duende PCIe plug-ins simultaneously with your other host based plug-ins in any combination. All Duende PCIe plug-ins support up to 40bit 96kHz operation. Please note that Duende PCIe plug-ins use twice as much DSP resources at 96kHz.
4.1 Duende PCIe Preferences/Control Panel Windows XP OS X The Duende PCIe Preferences/Control Panel shows information about your Duende PCIe(s) such as serial number (Authentication ID), firmware version and driver version. It also displays DSP resource information and allows you to easily see how much DSP you have available at any time. Windows XP: The panel can be found in ‘Start Menu>Programs>Solid State Logic>Duende’ or in the Windows control panel.
4.2 Launching a Duende PCIe plug-in Each host application has its own particular methods for instantiating (launching) a plug-in. Consult the host application documentation for specific instructions on loading and using plug-ins within the application.
4.3 DSP Resource Management Due to the Duende PCIe having multiple DSP chips, a minimal amount of resource management should be done when running Duende PCIe at high load. If there are, for example 2 slots free and you wish to load a stereo plug-in, Duende PCIe will under certain conditions notify you that you are out of DSP resources. This will only happen if the two slots are on different DSP chips as Duende PCIe is not able to load a stereo plug-in across 2 chips.
4.4 Guidelines for Plug-in Delay Compensation When Duende PCIe plug-ins are used, the audio data to be processed by Duende PCIe is sent to the Duende PCIe DSP engine by the host application. The audio is then processed by the DSPs and sent back to the host application. This transfer of audio data produces latency (delay) in the audio signal being processed. Latency time is dependant on the sample rate, type of plug-in(s) loaded and the audio interface buffer setting.
PDC Steinberg Cubase 4 Steinberg Cubase SX 2 & 3 Steinberg Nuendo 2, 3 & 4 Logic Pro 7.1 or higher Digital Performer 4.5 & higher No PDC Final Cut Pro Soundtracks Pro Garageband Pro Tools LE and M-Powered Pro Tools HD 7 or higher Ableton Live 5 or higher Cakewalk Sonar 5 or higher Depending on the host application implementation, the delay compensation feature may not provide automatic compensation when Duende PCIe plug-ins are inserted on sends, groups, or buses.
To turn on ADC, go to ‘Setup>Playback Engine’ whilst Pro Tools is stopped and you will see a box labeled ‘Delay Compensation Engine’. Change the setting here to ‘Long (4095 Samples per channel)’. Pro Tools will then tell you that it will close and re-open your session after clicking the OK button in the dialogue box; therefore make sure you have saved your session prior to doing this. Also put the CPU usage limit to 85%.
This means that you can generally use up to 2 Duende PCIe plug-ins per channel without considering latency issues, but this will depend on the buffer size set in Pro Tools, the sample rate and which Duende PCIe plug-ins are loaded. Note that if an audio track with 1 Duende PCIe plug-in is routed to an aux channel with 2 Duende PCIe plug-ins the total latency for that audio getting to the mix bus will equal 3 plug-ins; this will however be clearly shown by Pro Tools.
5. Duende PCIe EQ and Dynamics Channel Strip 5.1 Introduction The Duende PCIe EQ and Dynamics Channel Strip plug-in is based on the EQ and compressor sections of the XL 9000 K Series console. SSL were the first manufacturer to feature dynamics and EQ on every channel on an in-line console with the SL 4000 B Series in 1977.
5.3 Filter Section The Filter Section includes a 12dB/Octave low pass filter and an 18dB/Octave high pass filter. The low pass filter operates from 3kHz to 22kHz and the high pass filter operates from 20Hz to 500Hz. In addition, each filter has an OUT position which bypasses the filter. There are three positions where the Filter Section can be placed: after the equalizer, before the equalizer or in the sidechain of the dynamics section.
5.4 Equaliser Section Operation Freq Hz E ±dB ±dB Freq kHz Q ±dB Freq kHz BELL ±dB Freq kHz BELL LF INPUT Q LMF HMF HF OUTPUT The equalizer included with the Duende PCIe EQ and Dynamics Channel Strip plug-in is a four band parametric EQ with filters. Based on the XL 9000 K Series EQ circuit, this plug-in includes two distinct EQ curves, one based on the SSL G Series EQ and another based on the latest version of SSL’s classic E Series EQ.
The plug-in includes high and low frequency shelving equalizers (which can be switched to peaking curves via the BELL button) and two overlapping equalizers with adjustable Q. • • • • The LF section operates over a frequency range of 40Hz to 600Hz and is capable of up to 16.5dB of cut or boost. Selecting BELL in this mode switches the equaliser to a peaking curve. The LMF section operates over a frequency range of 200Hz to 2 kHz and is capable of ±20dB of gain with a continuously variable Q from 0.
25.0 Channel Equaliser Curves Amplitude (dBr) v Frequency (Hz) 'E type' 20.0 10.0 0.0 0.0 'G type' Both 5.0 5.0 -5.0 -5.0 -10.0 -10.0 -20.0 -20.0 -15.0 -15.0 20 100 1k 10k 100k When the EQ is switched to ‘E’ operation (by pressing the ‘E’ button in the GUI), the bandwidth of the HMF and LMF sections remains constant at all gains, so at lower gains the EQ curves are comparatively narrower for a given Q setting.
5.5 Dynamics Section The Dynamics Section comprises a compressor/limiter and an expander/gate. Both sections work independently, but can be operational at the same time, providing sophisticated control of signal levels. The filter and/or the equaliser section can be assigned to the dynamics sidechain allowing for advanced processes like de-essing etc. The Dynamics Section has a few routing buttons ssociated with it. DYN IN: Switches the Dynamics Section into the signal path, post EQ.
Compressor/Limiter – Introduction The Channel Compressor/Limiter Section has a number of key features including a variable compression ratio from 1:1 to ∞:1, a variable threshold from –20dB to +10dB, auto sensing attack time (or selectable 1ms attack time), and a variable release from 0.1 to 4 seconds. The Compressor/Limiter has two modes of signal detection, Peak and RMS. As their names suggest these modes of detection either act on peaks of the incoming signals or on their RMS or average levels.
Detailed Parameter Description RANGE: Determines the depth of gating or expansion. When turned fully anticlockwise (RANGE = 0), this section is inactive. When turned fully clockwise, a range of 40dB can be obtained. THRESHOLD: A Variable hysteresis is incorporated in the threshold circuitry. For any given ‘open’ setting, the Expander/Gate will have a lower ‘close’ threshold. The hysteresis value is increased as the threshold is lowered.
5.6 Advanced Signal Routing Options Channel Processing Order There are two switches that control the order of the signal processing elements. These are the INPUT switchs in the Filter Section and PRE EQ in the Dynamics Section.
6. Duende PCIe Stereo Bus Compressor Introduction The Stereo Bus Compressor plug-in is a stereo version of the legendary centre section stereo bus compressor found on the XL 9000 K Series console. It provides high quality stereo compression, giving you critical control over the dynamic range of audio signals. Uses may include inserting the bus compressor over a stereo mix which has the effect of ‘gluing’ the mix together whilst still maintaining a big sound.
7. Duende PCIe Support Support FAQs To access the latest support information on Duende PCIe, please visit our online support site. The information there is kept up to date by our support staff to make sure all information is accurate. All information is available to you 24/7. If you can’t find your answer or a solution to your issue, you can submit a question via the site to our support staff for resolution. URL: http://solid-state-logic-en.custhelp.
Steinberg VSTGUI License Duende PCIe plug-ins were developed party or totally using Steinberg VSTGUI technology which is covered by the following License Agreement Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met: • • • Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
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