Sonnox Oxford Reverb Operation Manual Version 1.
1. Introduction The Sonnox Oxford Reverb plug-in is a highly flexible artificial reverberation generator, designed to complement existing Sonnox Oxford applications in providing the professional user with highest technical and sonic performance, coupled with high levels of artistic and creative capability.
2. Operation 2.1 Principles of Reverberation Artificial reverberation models tend to fall into two main types, which can best be described as convolution and reflection simulation modelling. Both processes seek to achieve a degree of realism and virtual space by modelling room characteristics.
2.2 Overview Generally speaking, simulation models employ two sections to generate spatial effects. The first section produces the Early Reflections (see above) that we use to perceive the dimensional space of environments, and a Reverb Tail section is used to produce the longer term diffuse tails that occur in real environments, when the reflection complexity has become so dense that it is no longer possible to discern discrete events.
2.3 Adjustment Procedure The Sonnox Oxford reverb provides for a very large degree of parameter control so that the professional user has the facility to produce reverberation ranging from subtle ambience and dry spaces, all the way up to the creation of dramatic sound effects. To achieve this degree of user facility, a significant number of controls need to be present on the ‘front panel’.
2.4.1 Early Reflection Setup A good method to achieve the correct balance is to listen to the Early Reflections first by setting the REVERB MIX fader to its ER position, and adjusting the WET /DRY fader for a comfortable mix (both these controls are in the plug-in’s OUTPUT section). Start with a neutral setting, with WIDTH and TAPER in their mid position, FEED ALONG and FEEDBACK at minimum, and LF ROLL-OFF (in the INPUT section) at minimum (mostly HF content).
At this point the FEED ALONG setting can be increased, noting the effect it has on overall complexity in the reflections and the timbre of the space. For realistic spaces, settings around the mid position are often best, but experimentation of the full range is encouraged.
Finally, it’s a good idea to run through all the settings, making final adjustments by offsetting one parameter against another in order to get precisely the result that sounds best with the programme material. Bear in mind that very often very small changes can make the difference between something stunningly good or just average! At this point you should have an early reflection sound that produces a realistic perception of space, but may lack long-term reverberation and complexity. 2.4.1.
2.4.3 Reverb Tail Setup The major difference between the early reflection processing and the Reverb Tail is that the latter contains no geometrically based dimensional information. Being constructed of mutually unrelated terms, it is designed to generate almost characterless spectral diffusion and spatial dispersion.
2.4.3.2 Suggested Setup for the Reverb Tail Set the ER MIX fader to its DRY position, the TAIL INPUT fader to its DLY INP position, and the COMP DELAY fader to its mid position. This ensures that the input drive to the tail section is the compensated version of the input signal. This is a good starting point as it is the character of the input that we need to address first.
Set the OVERALL SIZE, DISPERSION and PHASE DIFF faders to their mid position. Set the PHASE MOD and ABSORPTION faders to their minimum position and DIVERSITY to its maximum position. This sets up a neutral starting point where the effect of controls will be most easily heard when we get to adjust them. By increasing the REVERB TIME, the tail can be heard to extend to the period set on the control. Set this to something that matches the sound you are aiming for.
To give the space a realistic high frequency profile over time, ABSORPTION should be applied in the same manner as in the ‘early reflection’ settings. In general, larger spaces require greater absorption, however some larger spaces can reflect considerable HF from the their back extremities.
Throughout the blending process it is a good idea to go back periodically and adjust the Reverb Tail OVERALL SIZE parameter in order to get the best timbral blending between the sections. The overall size parameter can be adjusted all the way from what sounds like a ‘cymbal resonating’ to a wide open space — without affecting the decay time, so there is great deal of latitude in what can be achieved.
2.5 Equalisation Equalisation of the reverb signal contribution is included in this comprehensive plug-in to effect changes in the overall character of the simulation, either in response to artistic need or to enhance the realism of real space simulations. Almost all real environments exhibit complex frequency response characteristics that are generated by the reflection timing of the room spaces and objects within the area.
2.5.1 Equalisation Setup Because the response of the reverb section is more unpredictable and fragile than the EQ, it is generally better to achieve a convincing setup for the main reverb before starting out on any equalisation. Once you are ready, simply click on the EQUALISER tab to reveal the EQ controls (see above). 2.5.1.1 Reverb EQ in Music Production For music production, the role of the EQ is mainly that of subtle modification to the overall sound.
2.5.1.2 Reverb EQ in Post-Production For post-production effects and simulation of real spaces, the EQ serves to accentuate or even insert tonal aberrations that we associate with particular spaces. Often we don’t notice these aberrations when we are actually in the spaces, but when adding simulations to dry sounds in a post-production environment, their absence can be a real limitation to effectiveness.
Very large spaces may exhibit a reverberation that focuses mainly in the mid ranges. A combination of high ABSORPTION settings and LF ROLL-OFF can often simulate this effect. A small rise of around 1 or 2dB in the mid ranges may also be appropriate. There is a high degree of response interplay between the resonances produced in the reverb and the EQ.
3. Description of Controls The control functions are arranged in logical operational sections, comprising the Early Reflection settings, Reverb Tail settings and a number of contribution mixing functions. These latter functions are also conveniently split into separate sections, for internal signal contribution to the Reverb Tail section and overall level control and mixing functions. A separate Equalisation control area is accessible from the Early Reflections area of plug-in.
SIZE — sets the overall size of the simulated space, as measured between front and back walls. Room shapes remain in proportion with this size. WIDTH — controls the stereo separation of the room reflections depending on their particular direction within the stereo field. Normal position placement occurs with the control at its minimum setting. Increasing the control setting provides wider separation.
3.2 Reverb Tail 3.2.1 Reverb Tail Input Mixing The facility is provided to drive the input of the Reverb Tail processor with a combination of signals comprising of; the untreated input signal, the delay compensated input signal and the output of the Early Reflections processing.
3.2.2 Reverb Tail Effect Modification All parameters in the Reverb Tail section are fully compensated, so that they may be adjusted in isolation without mutual interaction with other control settings. This means that settings such as REVERB TIME or LF ROLL-OFF will produce constant results even if other factors such as DISPERSION or OVERALL SIZE are varied. REVERB TIME — sets the overall reverberation time in seconds as referred to a decay of –60dB ref. the input stimulus.
PHASE MOD — controls the application of internal phase modulation to the reverb algorithm. This adds a very slight variance to the reverb character over time, which enhances realism and presence under many conditions. ABSORPTION — controls the high frequency absorption effect within the reverb section.
3.3 Equaliser Section The Equaliser section (click on the EQUALISER tab to reveal) comprises five bands with the upper and lower sections selectable between band-pass, shelving and 12dB/octave filtering functions. The EQ processing precedes the reverb processing, so the dry signal remains unaffected by Equalisation settings. Note that the EARLY REFLECTIONS path display is removed when the Equaliser section is brought to the foreground.
Frequency Response Display — an interactive frequency response display is superimposed on the reverb display area when the equaliser is active. Colour coded grab points on the graph provide full mouse drag control: Gain is adjusted by vertical movement, and lateral movement controls frequency. Pressing the keyboard Alt key prior to dragging the control point vertically provides Q control. Sections can be switched in or out by clicking on the drag point while holding down the Cmd (Apple) key.
LF ROLL-OFF — this provides the means to reduce the level of LF signal entering the reverb processing. The control is continuously variable from its minimum position where no LF roll-off occurs to the maximum LF cut at its highest setting. The frequency response of the input signal at the WET/DRY mix stage (see below) is unaffected. 3.4.2 Output Controls REVERB MIX — provides a crossfade between the Early Reflections and Reverb Tail sections for the final output.
3.5 Options Menu Clicking the Sonnox button produces a drop-down options menu (see right). Clip Lights — these options determine the approximate time that an overload indicator will stay on for when the plug-in has detected a full-level sample at either its input or output. Enable Sonnox Toolbar — displays or hides the Sonnox Preset Manager Toolbar (see Section 4). Show Preset Name Path — shows the hierarchical directory path for Presets that are stored in sub-folders of the default Preset folder.
Linear Knob Mode increases or decreases a control’s value with up and down mouse movements respectively. Fine adjustments to any control setting can be achieved by pressing the ‘Apple command’ (Macintosh version) or ‘Shift’ (PC version) key before clicking on the control to be adjusted and holding this key down during the operation. This rescales the control rate with the mouse movement, so that very fine adjustments can be made.
4. Preset Manager Toolbar The Oxford Reverb plug-in comes equipped with its own onboard Preset Manager, which is displayed as a toolbar at the top of the plug-in window, just as if the host created it (see right). The reasoning behind this is to allow increased portability of your presets across all the host applications, while also providing a consistent and versatile interface.
5. Copyright and Acknowledgements Trademarks and content copyright © 2007-Present Sonnox Ltd. All rights reserved. This Product is manufactured and supplied by Sonnox Ltd. under licence from Sony UK Ltd. The following patents protect this Product: GB2330747. DIGIDESIGN, AVID, and PRO TOOLS are trademarks or registered trademarks of Digidesign and / or Avid Technology, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Platform Specific Supplement S1. Supported Platforms Avid Pro Tools (LE, RTAS, M-Powered, Pro Tools HD) and Pro Tools 10 (HDX & Native) VST Native Audio Units Native S2. System Requirements These requirements are current at this revision of manual. For latest system requirements, please see the website www.sonnox.com Pro Tools Pro Tools 7, 8, 9 & 10 Approved Pro Tools CPU, OS and hardware configuration (see www.avid.com) Mac OSX 10.
