Steinberg Nuendo 3 Audio Effects And VSTi Manual
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NUENDO The included effect plug-ins 1 – 31 MultibandCompressor The MultibandCompressor allows a signal to be split in up to five fre- quency bands, each with its own freely adjustable compressor char- acteristic. The signal is processed on the basis of the settings that you have made in the Frequency Band and Characteristics editors. You can specify the level, bandwidth and compressor characteristics for each band by using the various controls. The Frequency Band editor The Frequency Band editor is where you set the width of the frequency bands as well as their level before compression. Two value scales and a number of diamond-shaped handles are available. The vertical value scale to the right gives you a clue to the approximate input gain level of each frequency band. The diamond-shaped handles provided in the Frequency Band editor can be dragged with the mouse. You use them to set the corner fre- quencies and the input gain levels for up to five frequency bands. The width of each frequency band can be adjusted by dragging horizontally.
NUENDO 1 – 32 The included effect plug-ins The Level handles can be moved by dragging them up or down. If you click and hold on a handle, its current value is displayed. Depending on the handle type, corner frequency or level is shown. •The diamond-shaped handles at the bottom are used to define the corner fre- quencies of the different frequency bands. •By using the diamond-shaped handles on top of each frequency band you can cut or boost the input gain by +/- 12dB before compression. •To reset a Level handle to 0 dB, hold down the [Shift] key on your computer keyboard and click on the handle. •If you hold down the [Shift] key and click on the corner frequency handles, they will be set to the same bandwidth (in octaves). The exact bandwidth they will be set to is dependent on the number of bands currently used. If you hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] and move a handle, the values will change in smaller steps. Adding and removing frequency bands To add a frequency band, drag the leftmost or rightmost corner fre- quency handle towards the middle of the window, and a new band will automatically appear (given that you have less than the maximum num- ber of five bands active). To remove a frequency band, drag the second leftmost or second rightmost handle out of the left or right edge of the window respectively. About the Frequency scale The horizontal value scale below the Frequency band display indicates frequency. The maximum value on this scale corresponds to half the sample rate of the audio file used. Hence, if a 44.1 kHz soundfile is used, the highest frequency will be 22 kHz. In the digital domain, only frequencies of up to half the sample rate used can be reproduced (Nyquist theorem). The values available in the Fre- quency band display do therefore depend on the sample rate of the au- dio material used.
NUENDO The included effect plug-ins 1 – 33 The Solo button The Solo button in the lower right part of the MultibandCompressor panel can be used to separately monitor each of the frequency bands. This function is useful both when editing bandwidth settings and compressor characteristics. •To select another band while solo is active, click somewhere in the (dark) area of the frequency band that you wish to monitor. Using the Characteristics editor By adding breakpoints and drawing curves you set the compressor characteristic. Before you start using the Characteristics editor, you have to select the frequency band you want to process. This is done in the Frequency Band editor by clicking in the area inside the fre- quency band. •A selected band is highlighted for editing both in the Frequency Band and the Characteristics editors. If you select another frequency band, the previously edited band characteristic is still shown in the Characteristics window, but it is no longer highlighted or editable until you select it again. About breakpoints •Clicking anywhere on the line will add a breakpoint. •To remove a breakpoint, hold down [Shift] and click on it. •The first breakpoint from which the line deviates from the straight diagonal will be the threshold point. •Creating a curve in the area below the diagonal input/output line will cause compression. Compression decreases the output level in relation to the input level. •Creating a curve in the area above the diagonal input/output line will cause expansion. Expansion increases the output level in relation to the input level. About the Compressor type (MODE) •Classic mode works like a standard compressor with fixed attack and release parameters. •Complex mode features a new compression approach with a program adaptive circuit. The program adaptive compression automatically optimizes parameters according to the audio material.
NUENDO 1 – 34 The included effect plug-ins The Output dial The Output dial controls the total output level that the MultibandCom- pressor passes on to Nuendo. The range available is +/- 12 dB. If the SoftClip function (see below) is active, the Output dial instead con- trols the amount of soft clipping. The SoftClip function The SoftClip function is positioned at the very last stage of the internal signal path, right after the Output dial. When active, it will ensure that the total output to Nuendo never exceeds 0 dB. It works by clipping the signal gently, generating harmonics which add a warm, tube-like characteristic to the signal.
NUENDO The included effect plug-ins 1 – 35 VST Dynamics The VST Dynamics plug-in is similar to the Dynamics plug-in (see page 18), but with the following differences: •VST Dynamics has two additional modules: Auto Level and Soft Clip. •The signal flow is fixed, in the order AutoGate-AutoLevel-Compressor- SoftClip-Limiter. Activating the individual processors You activate the individual processors by clicking on their labels. Acti- vated processors have highlighted labels. You can activate as many processors as you want, but remember that not all processors are de- signed to work together. For example, “Limit” and “SoftClip” are both designed to ensure that the output never exceeds 0dB, but achieves this in different ways. To have both of them activated would be unnec- essary. •To turn off all activated VST Dynamics processors, click the lit On but- ton to the right in the panel. Clicking the button again activates the same configuration of processors. Auto Gate section This is exactly the same section as the AutoGate in the Dynamics plug-in. See page 19 for details.
NUENDO 1 – 36 The included effect plug-ins Auto Level section Auto Level reduces signal level differences in audio material. It can be used to process recordings where the level unintentionally varies. It will boost low levels and attenuate high level audio signals. Only levels above the set threshold will be processed, so low level noise or rumble will not be boosted. If the input level is greater than 0dB, Auto Level will react very fast, because it “looks ahead” in the audio material for strong signal levels and can attenuate levels before they occur, thus reducing the risk of signal clipping. Auto Level has the following parameters: Compressor section This is exactly the same section as the Compressor section in the Dynamics plug-in. See page 22 for details. Soft Clip section Soft Clip is designed to ensure that the output level never exceeds 0dB, like a limiter. Soft Clip, however, acts differently compared to a conventional limiter. When the signal level exceeds -6dB, SoftClip starts limiting (or clipping) the signal “softly”, at the same time generat- ing harmonics which add a warm, tubelike characteristic to the audio material. Soft Clip is simplicity itself to use as it has no control param- eters. The meter indicates the input signal level, and thus the amount of “softclipping”. Levels in the green area (weaker than -6dB) are unaf- fected, while levels in the yellow-orange-red area indicate the degree of “softclipping”. The deep red meter area to the right indicates input levels higher than 0dB. •Avoid feeding Soft Clip with excessively high signal levels as audible distortion may occur, although the output level will never exceed 0dB. Limiter section This is exactly the same section as the Limiter in the Dynamics plug-in. See page 23 for details. Parameter Description Threshold Only levels stronger than the set threshold will be processed. Reaction time buttons (Slow, Mid, Fast)Here you can set the amount of time it takes for Auto Level to adjust the gain. Set this according to whether the program level changes suddenly or over a length of time.
NUENDO The included effect plug-ins 1 – 37 Filter plug-ins This section contains descriptions of the plug-ins in the “Filter” cate- gory. NuendoEQ2 The NuendoEQ2 plug-in is identical to the EQ section in the Channel Settings window. As a plug-in, NuendoEQ2 can be applied in different areas than the Channel EQ. For example, you could use it as an insert effect, to EQ the output of another effect plug-in, etc. See the Opera- tion Manual chapter “The mixer” for a description of the EQ parameters. Q Q is a high-quality 4-band parametric stereo equalizer with two fully parametric midrange bands. The low and high bands can act as either standard shelving filters or fixed-gain high/low-cut filters.
NUENDO 1 – 38 The included effect plug-ins Making settings 1.Click the corresponding On button below the EQ curve display to ac- tivate any or all of the Low, Mid 1, Mid 2 or High equalizer bands. When a band is activated, a corresponding eq point appears in the EQ curve display. 2.Set the parameters for an activated EQ band. This can be done in several ways: •By using the knobs. •By clicking a value field and entering values numerically. •By using the mouse to drag points in the EQ curve display window. By using this method, you control both the Gain and Frequency parameters simulta- neously. The knobs turn accordingly when you drag points. In addition, if the Mid 1 and Mid 2 bands (M1 and M2) are activated there will be two points on each side of the Gain/Frequency point that control the width (Q) parameter. If you press [Shift] while dragging, values can be set in finer increments. Parameters Parameter Description Low Freq (20-2000Hz) This sets the frequency of the Low band. Low Gain (-20 to +20 dB) This sets the amount of cut/boost for the Low band. Low Cut If this button is activated for the Low band, it will act as a Low Cut filter. The Gain parameter will be fixed. Mid 1 Freq (20-20000Hz) This sets the center frequency of the Mid 1 band. Mid 1 Gain (+/- 20dB) This sets the amount of cut/boost for the Mid 1 band. Mid 1 Width (0.05-5.00 Octaves)This sets the width of the Mid 1 band, in octaves. The lower this value, the “narrower” the bandwidth. Mid 2 Freq (20-20000Hz) This sets the center frequency of the Mid 2 band. Mid 2 Gain (-20 to +20 dB) This sets the amount of cut/boost for the Mid 2 band. Mid 2 Width (0.05-5.00 Octaves)This sets the width of the Mid 2 band, in octaves. The lower this value, the “narrower” the bandwidth. High Freq (200-20000Hz) This sets the frequency of the High band. High Gain (-20 to +20 dB) This sets the amount of cut/boost for the High band. High Cut If this button is activated for the High band, it will act as a High Cut filter. The Gain parameter will be fixed.
NUENDO The included effect plug-ins 1 – 39 Output (-20 to +20 dB)This parameter allows you to adjust the overall output level. Left/Stereo/Right/Mono ModesFor stereo signals you can set independent curves for the left and right channels by clicking the corresponding but- ton. If the Stereo mode is activated, the curve will be ap- plied to both channels. When channel independent curves have been set, the left/ right channel curves will be colored green and red, respec- tively. The currently non-selected channel is shown with a dotted curve. If you activate Stereo mode after independent curves have been set, the currently active curve will be ap- plied to both channels. Mono mode is automatically activated for mono signals and is otherwise unavailable. Parameter Description
NUENDO 1 – 40 The included effect plug-ins StepFilter StepFilter is a pattern-controlled multimode filter that can create rhythmic, pulsating filter effects. General operation StepFilter can produce two simultaneous 16-step patterns for the fil- ter cutoff and resonance parameters, synchronized to the sequencer tempo. Setting step values •Setting step values is done by clicking in the pattern grid windows. •Individual step entries can be freely dragged up or down the vertical axis, or directly set by clicking in an empty grid box. By click-dragging left or right consecutive step entries will be set to the pointer position. Setting filter cutoff values in the grid window.