Sonnox Oxford TransMod Operation Manual Version 1.
1. Introduction The Sonnox Oxford TransMod is an application that allows the dynamic level of signals to be modified, over time, by transients in the programme material. The effect is to bring transient events in the programme forward, or push them to the background, such that the attack of instruments can be accentuated or softened depending on the settings provided.
2. Operation The Sonnox TransMod functions by producing a continuous value that is proportional to the dynamic level encountered at its input (ie. the programme level envelope). This value is then subjected to processing that extracts the rate of change of the programme level envelope, which is used to modify the forward gain of the output signal during periods of dynamic activity in the programme.
2.1 Ratio The ratio value represents the linear dB ratio by which the output gain will be modified by instantaneous changes in the input level. Positive values will increase the gain of the signal during transients.
2.3 Recovery The recovery control modifies the long-term timing of the envelope processing. Small recovery values will allow action to almost each and every transient, even if they repeated very rapidly in the programme material. Longer recovery values will gently and progressively reduce the action depending on the rate at which transients occur in the programme. So, for example, setting a long recovery value can prevent excessive action on small rapid transients in the signal (ie.
2.5 Deadband The deadband value provides a method to exclude less significant transient modifications from the final processing output. For example, if a deadband of 3dB is set, changes resulting from the TransMod processing below a total differential gain change of 3dB are excluded from the process, and the signal is unaffected under these conditions.
2.7 Level Control and Overdrive Although the TransMod process works to maintain constant average signal levels in the programme, the process can produce significantly larger peak levels if positive ratio values are used. With highly percussive sounds and long overshoot settings, the peak levels can potentially increase up to +24dB greater than in the original programme. This effect will be seen on the peak meters provided in the output section of the plug-in.
To achieve this effectively, very small overshoot and recovery values should be used with a minimum rise time setting, in order to catch the fastest transients only. A negative ratio coupled with a suitable dead band setting can be obtained that reduces transients by the required amount, allowing the overall level of the programme to be increased before limiting occurs.
3. Description of Controls Note that the parameter settings provide continuous feedback of settings values, and have type-in fields so you can change values directly from your keyboard. Input Section INPUT meter – displays Input drive levels. GAIN – provides adjustment of gain from –24 to +24dB. THRESHOLD – adjusts the level threshold for the onset of processing. DEADBAND – controls the range of transient programme change that is ignored by the TransMod process, from 0dB to 6dB.
Effect Section RATIO – controls the overall effect of the TransMod process. Positive settings produce transient enhancement and negative settings cause reduction. Effect meter – (above the IN button) displays the peak overall gain and loss of transients in the programme material resulting from the TransMod process between + 24dB and -24dB. IN button – switches effect in and out, maintaining constant delay and gain for comparison purposes.
Options Menu Clicking the Sonnox button produces a drop-down options menu (see right). Clip Lights… – can be set to hold for 2 seconds, 5 seconds, or Indefinitely. Enable Sonnox Toolbar – displays or hides the Sonnox Preset Manager Toolbar. Show Preset Name Path – can display or hide the preset name path in the Preset Manager Toolbar.
4. Preset Manager Toolbar The Oxford TransMod 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 above). 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, GB2310984, GB2354139 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. VST is a Trademark of Steinberg AG.
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.
