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Blue Cat`s Dynamics User Manual

1. If all these parameters are set to 0 you obtain a wave shaper distortion unit We advise you to add a low pass filter after the unit if you wish to keep a pleasant sound and use at least 2x oversampling 1 stage to avoid aliasing envelope Hold time For both the attack and release phases an additional shape parameter is available It changes the shape of the attack and release curves globally preserving the slope of the curve Positive values will basically increase the release time the envelope decreasing slower and slower while negative values will shorten the release time the envelope decreasing faster and faster The behavior is the same for the attack shape Below is an example of the resulting GR curve using a brickwall shape for the dynamics curve Tip you will usually want to first adjust the attack and release time with shape set to 0 and when getting close to the desired effect use the shape parameter to tweak the response to make the dynamics processor sound slightly faster or slower Filters The plug in also includes two filters one for the input signal preamp filter and one for the envelope detection side chain filter Preamnnt PREAMP FILTER PRUSI Lo Cut Hz The input filter is applied to the signal before entering the dynamics processing stage A typical application is to cut lower frequencies before applying compression to minimize distortion lower frequencies will offset the input
2. Zs aN Left Right Stereo Mid Side Stereo From Mid Side Recording to Processing The relationship between L R and M S channel can be computed so that you can transform any Mid Side recording to standard left right stereo for you ears The reverse operation is also possible which means that you can artificially separate mid side information from L R stereo tracks That s what is performed by Blue Cat s Dynamics in Mid Side mode Mid Process amp rearrange Processing separately the mid side channels instead of left right channels offers more control over the stereo character of a sound Reducing the volume of the side channel makes it sound more mono and vice versa Mid Side and Dynamics Applied to dynamics processing this lets you dynamically control how stereo a track may sound depending on its content It offers a much more flexible and intuitive way of managing stereo dynamics processing than the usual left right technique processing separately both channels does not alter the L R balance of the output signal but changes the ratio between the stereo and mono signals instead The result sounds much more natural and is easier to control Signal Flow Blue Cat s Dynamics includes components to perform all the techniques exposed above and more The complete signal flow in the Blue Cat s Dynamics plug in is summarized below iN O CO N O 10 Envelope i Brickwall Detection Limiter Prea
3. signal level You can also use this filter for creative purposes Hi Cut H7 The filter is automatically disabled when low and high cut frequencies are set to their default values Side Chain Filter SIDE CHAIN The side chain filter is used to choose which frequencies in the audio content trigger the effect It is applied to the E Extemal selected side chain signal either after the input filter for internal side chain or to the external side chain signal Lo Cut Hz It is not directly audible because it processes the side chain signal only used to trigger the volume control Adjust the low and high cut frequencies to enable filtering and click on the button next to the SIDE CHAIN title to listen to the filtered signal Hi Cut Hz Side chain filtering can be particularly interesting when working with sounds that have a wide spectrum such as full drums kits you can trigger compression on the kick cymbals or snare drum only by choosing the right cut off frequencies without affecting the input signal Stereo Control The stereo version of the plug in offer multiple ways to process stereo signals This section shows how to fine tune the stereo behavior of the plug in Stereo Mode Choose between mid side and left right processing In the default stereo mode left right left and right channels are processed separately and in mid side mode the plug in processes the mid and side channels instead Mid side processing
4. A very simple and practical example link the Blue Cat s Dynamics output with the gain of an EQ plug in to instantly create a side chain dynamic EQ as shown in this tutorial Possibilities are endless so we encourage you to experiment with your own effects By the way if your host application supports it it is also possible to control MIDI hardware with the plug in for example you can control the dynamics of an external hardware synth with a track inside your Digital Audio Workstation DAW Tips amp Tricks Use Factory Presets The plug in is bundled with a couple of factory presets to help you get started Because dynamics processing is highly dependent on the input signal you will have to tweak the threshold and input gain values to adapt these presets to your own tracks Credits factory presets created by Blue Cat Audio and Sink Yann D www sinkmusic com Tweak the Time Response With the Shape Parameters If you are getting close to what you expect but cannot reach the optimal attack or release setting by changing the attack and release times you should probably start tweaking the attack or shape parameters PEAK ENVELOPE Attack Release 0 1 ms 400 0 ms Hold Use attack and release shape to fine tune the time response Attack seems a bit too short Increase the attack shape parameter Release sounds good but the tail of the effect is a bit too long Decrease the release shape value Use a bit of Opto mode with Extern
5. e Updates e Versions History Note An online version of this user manual is available here Introduction Description Blue Cat s Dynamics is a full featured dynamics processor it can be used as a compressor limiter gate expander waveshaper or all at once The dynamics response of the plug in can be tweaked with a unique two thresholds system and provides detailed visual feedback about its behavior The plug in includes several filters to control the frequencies affected by the compression Its continuous VCA Opto and Peak RMS controls let you smoothly and precisely choose the behavior of the envelope detection like you have never been able to The plug in also provides advanced stereo features with mid side processing capability multiple stereo linking options and the ability to choose the channels affected by the processor An additional brick wall limiter and clipper protects the output for complete control over the dynamics response Three different modes are available for external side chaining using either the external side chain input MIDI control or automation lanes The configurable visual feedback shows every detail of what is going on inside the plug in You can also record this information as automation curves to monitor the modifications applied to the signal on top of the audio representation of your favorite host application All these features can be controlled from a fully configurable and skinnabl
6. It mimics the Voltage Controlled Amplifiers behavior 2 Opto named after opto electronic detectors with feedback basically re injecting the output signal for level detection It uses a feedback loop and basically measures the envelope at the output of the compressor instead of the input The Opto mode is usually smoother than the full VCA mode in many cases it will sound a bit like the VCA mode with a longer release time When you use very low attack and release times you can smoothen the dynamics response by pushing the VCA Opto knob Please note that with some particular dynamics curves the 100 opto mode will not work nicely for example with a very strong gate 100 opto will never let any sound go thru Tip when the plug in is used with an external side chain the opto mode can be a way to blend the detection on the external and internal signals This allows for much more subtle effects that take into account both the external side chain and input signals RMS Envelope Parameters The length time for the RMS envelope can be customized Increasing the RMS time makes it more stable but less reactive to loudness changes Peak Envelope Parameters The Peak envelope detection has the usual attack and decay parameters plus an additional hold time that lets you specify how long the detector waits before it starts decreasing PEAK ENVELOPE Attack Release 0 1 ms 400 0 ms ms Hold 400 0 ms Fa 0 0 ms 140 SHAPE 0
7. Skins Product Dynamics If you don t find a skin that fits your need or if you want a custom one you can choose to create your own skin Choosing the Skin There are two ways to select the skin of your plug in you can change the default or global skin or change the skin for the current preset only either in the preset settings page or from the main menu The global skin applies to all plug in instances choose this one if you want to use the skin used by default regardless of the session or preset whereas the current preset skin only applies to the current preset of the current plug in instance use this one if you want to change only the skin for the current session preset Note in some host applications the plug in window won t resize automatically when you choose a skin with a different size In this case just close the window and re open it it will be displayed with the right size The Skins Menu The skins menu can be opened from the main menu It displays the list of skins available for the plug in as well as commands to manage the skin used by default when no preset skin has been selected Default Light Custom Skins b Other Use Global Skin Load Save As Global Skin e First Section Factory Skins shows the list of factory skins delivered with the plug in Default and Light in this example e Second Section User Skins shows the list of user skins that have been inst
8. and host applications You will find below a list of tutorials that are related to the Blue Cat s Dynamics plug in An updated list is also available online Tutorial Real Time Side Chain Dynamics Processing This tutorial shows how to perform side chain compression ducking or gating with the Dynamics plugin and the Gain Suite free plugins Side Chaining consists in using a track signal to control an ef Read More Tutorial Help your Static Vocals Pop with Blue Cat s MB 5 Dynamix This video by wizprodux shows you how to use the Blue Cat s MB 5 Dynamix plug in to enhance the vocals in a mix Read More Tutorial Dynamics Processing and Monitoring You will learn how to monitor the dynamics processing of an audio track thanks to the automation output capabilities of the Dynamics plugin The interest of monitoring the compression or gating appl Read More Tutorial Mixing Session With Blue Cat Audio Plugins This video tutorial shows how to use Blue Cat Audio plugins in a simple mixing session The gearwire com team demonstrates the use of Blue Cat s Dynamics Parametr EQ and Widening Parametr EQ Read More Tutorial Real Time Side Chain Dynamic Equalizing This tutorial shows how to perform side chain dynamic equalizing with the Dynamics plugin product and the Stereo Parametr EQ stereo equalizer plugin The destination track can of course be the same Read More Th
9. chaining without makeup Total Gain Output Input ratio without the brickwall limter You can use this parameter for side chaining if you want to include makeup gain Gain reduction applied at the brick wall limiter stage Plug in Settings In addition to the controls offered in the main user interface Blue Cat s Dynamics has various settings that let you fine tune the behavior of the plug in You can choose to change these settings either for the current preset or globally for all instances of the plug in The Global Settings Window The settings available in this window apply to all instances of the plug in for all presets if not overridden in the presets settings Consider these settings as default settings General You can change the default skin for all instances of the plug in write the skin file path in the text edit box or click on the button to open a file chooser dialog If you have several instances of the plug in opened in your session you will have to re open the user interfaces of these plug ins to see the skin change Skin file path C Progam Files Blue Cat Audio Skins Default default xml Output data refresh rate 20 Hz The output data refresh rate can also be customized for all instances of the plug in It controls the refresh rate of non audio data produced by the plug in parameters curves It also controls the refresh rate of output MIDI CC messages or output automatio
10. of noisy input signals because it will magnify background noise In this case you should either first apply a gate in your signal chain to get rid of this noise before or use the depth parameter to limit the gain increase Custom Shapes One of the interests of Blue Cat s Dynamics is to create your own shapes that mix these usual behaviors to create custom dynamics effects For example a combination of a gate and a compressor that can be used to increase the loudness of a noisy signal including depth setting to limit the gain Time Response Envelope Parameters Now that the shape of the transfer curve is ready you can adjust the parameters that drive the envelope follower the component that computes the input level Blue Cat s Dynamics offers several envelope detection modes Unlike most dynamics processors it lets you choose to work in intermediate modes using only a bit of opto style envelope detection feedback is possible as well as working with half RMS half peak envelope computation MODE VCA Opto Peak RMS Peak versus RMS The Peak mode will detect transients spikes in the signal whereas the RMS mode will measure the loudness of the incoming signal Peak detection will be used to adjust the shape and dynamics response of the sound while the RMS detection will usually be used to adjust the volume loudness of a track VCA versus Opto For the peak level two modes are available 1 VCA the most common mode
11. output may be louder than OdB though Displayed as Compensate in the user interface This extra compensation gain is added to the makeup gain that can be set manually Amount of wet processed signal compared to the dry input signal Set this value to 0 for MIDI or automation side chaining enable disable the output brick wall limiter Type of the brick wall limiting clipping 0 is for a hard knee limiter and 100 is for a very soft knee limiter When release time is set to O for the brick wall limiter this parameter controls the softness of the saturation clipping Release time for the output limiter Set this value to zero to transform the limiter into a clipper Gain at the output of the plug in after the brick wall limiter Choose between Stereo left right and mid side processing Defines the link between the left right or mid side channels O None 1 Average 2 Min 3 Max 4 Flip 5 Channel 1 6 Channel 2 Enable dynamics processing for channel 1 left or mid Enable Ch2 Output Enable dynamics processing for channel 2 right or side Mono and stereo versions of the plugin have similar output parameters except that the stereo verion duplicates them for both channels left right or mid side Name General GR Total Gain Limiter Gain Unit dB dB dB Description Gain reduction or increase applied not including makeup or compensation gain you can use this parameter for side
12. parameter value Note if you double click on the parameter text control boxes for the max and min values a fine tuning edit box will appear and let you change the min and max values with more precision MIDI and Automation Output Blue Cat s Dynamics can also generate MIDI CC Events or automation curves thanks to its output parameters You have access to the same settings for the output parameters as you have for input parameters using the dropdown menu except that you can also enable or disable automation The output parameters MIDI and Automation Menu MIDI Learn MIDI Unlearn Enable Automation Settings The advanced output parameters MIDI and Automation settings window Param 4 MIDI Automa Enable Enable Channel CC Control Autom MIDI 1 16 0127 Response oot E More Check our online tutorial for more screenshots and more examples of our plug ins user interfaces Blue Cat s Dynamics Parameters All parameters described below can be automated and controlled via MIDI if your host application supports it You can precisely define this behavior in the settings panels described later in this manual Input The input parameters of this plug in are the following Name Unit Description General Bypass Bypass the effect Pre Gain dB Input gain before the dynamics processing stage The input level meter will reflect input gain changes Input Filter Low Cut Hz Low cut frequency for the input
13. recommend using VST over Audio Unit on Mac when both are supported particularly for the plug ins that can output automation or MIDI CC messages Where can find more information about this topic e www steinberg net e www microsoft com e www kvraudio com e www apple com e www digidesign com Installation have installed my software and it is not listed as an application Why What can I do How can launch it Most software you can purchase on this website is plug ins for host applications It means you need another application to use it See the Plug ins Formats section in this FAQ for more information have installed my plug in and it does not show up in my host application What can do First check that you application supports DirectX Audio Unit or VST plug ins If you are using the DirectX version check that your host application supports DXi plug ins MIDI enabled DirectX plug ins If it does not it may remove it from the DirectX plug ins list some applications such as Sony Vegas 5 and Cool Edit Pro are known to do this In this case use our DXi Manager free utility and disable the MIDI capabilities of the plug in You may need to reinstall the software again before it shows up into your host application For more information about this topic please read our DXi in Sony Vegas tutorial it is applicable to other applications than Sony Vegas If you are using the Direct X version and your host application su
14. tweaking the parameters of the plug in and learning how to use the software the output brickwall limiter should be always on This will prevent you from damaging your speakers or your ears You can deactivate it later once you are happy with w v the settings and you can see that the limiter is not triggered Control the Gain With the Depth Parameters If you want to keep control over the maximum range of the gain applied by the processor you should adjust the depth parameter it will ensure that the gain reduction or increase is limited Separate settings are available for the upper or lower parts of the dynamics response Blue Cat Audio Plug Ins Basics This chapter describes the basic features that are common to all our plug ins If you are already familiar with our products you can skip this part User Interface Basics About Skins Like all Blue Cat Audio plug ins Blue Cat s Dynamics uses a skinnable user interface It means that the appearance and behavior of the user interface can be entirely customized Especially with third party skins the experience may be quite different from the one offered by the default skins that we provide However our plug ins and our skinning engine have several standard features that will be available whatever your favorite skin More information about custom skins can be found in the skins section The Main Toolbar In most skins an optional toolbar at the top of the user inter
15. when zoomed also affects the range of the GR curves in the envelope view Zoom can be activate deactivated with the magnifying glass button in the main toolbar 4 Select the duration for the histograms With the histograms you can quickly see how the gain affects the signal over time Increasing the history length will give you an overview of the gain for longer periods whereas with shorter history the histogram will just behave like a meter with additional inertia Li a History 10 s The various elements of the user interface knobs sliders buttons are simple and intuitive to operate but more information about how to interact with them is available in the Plug ins Basics chapter of this manual Operation This section will progressively dive deeper into the details of the plug in explaining the specificity of each module A complete list of the parameters exposed by the plug in is available in the next section Setting Up the Transfer Curve Changing the shape of the curve thresholds ratios and knees At the heart of the dynamics processor is the transfer curve which shape can be controlled by the usual threshold ratio and knee parameters This curve describes the relationship ratio between the desired output level and the detected input level This is where you choose what kind of effect compression limiting gating you want to create The graph displayed in the Blue Cat s Dynamics user interfac
16. Default in the root Presets directory it will override the factory default preset that s what Save As Default does To restore the factory default preset you can just remove this file or use the Reset Default command MIDI Program Change It is possible to load presets remotely using MIDI Bank Select and Program Change messages To enable this feature select a MIDI channel to receive the events from in the MIDI Program Change menu item from the presets menu MIDI Program Change r Disabled All Channels Channel 1 Channel 2 Copy Channel 3 Paste Channel 4 Save As User Default Channel 5 Clear User Default Channel 6 Channel 7 Channel amp Channel 9 Channel 10 Channel 11 Channel 12 Channel 13 Channel 14 Channel 15 Channel 16 Load Save As This setting is a global preference shared accross all instances of the plug in Once activated the plug in menu will display the bank number followed by the preset number for each preset 000 Factory Presets 001 Bank l 002 Bank 003 000 Presetl 003 001 Preset 003 002 Preset3 Every root folder is considered as a new bank starting with the factory presets bank 0 Program and bank numbers may change while you add folders and presets so you should be careful when naming them if bank and program numbers matter to you It is recommended to use folders to make this task simpler As a side note sub folders do not define additional banks all presets cont
17. Global Settings Liser Marapal Check For Updates Tutorial Using MIDI Control in Sonar This tutorial will help you understand how to use parameters MIDI control in Cakewalk Sonar It is applicable to any DXi plug in MIDI enabled DirectX plug in Read More Updates As you can see in the history log below we care about constantly updating our products in order to give you the latest technology available Please visit our website often to check if Blue Cat s Dynamics has been updated or subscribe to our Newsletter to be informed of the latest news about our products You can also follow us on twitter and facebook for almost real time updates notification and subscribe to our YouTube channel to see the latest videos about our software Versions History V4 0 2015 06 18 New Features e Fully redesigned algorithms e External side chain input e Control the attack and release shape of the peak envelope e Improved monitoring with gain reduction and increase histograms and new envelopes view e Brand new fully customizable user interface e New look and feel e Show hide what you need e Meters and curves can now be frozen e Zoomable GR meters and curves e Improved readability e Animated transitions e New integrated presets manager e Load save presets from the plug in s user interface e Organize presets with folders e Customize the default preset e Exchange presets easily e Load Presets using M
18. IDI Bank Select and Program Change e Copy paste the plug in s current state from the presets menu using the system clipboard e Automation range and response curve can now be customized for each parameter in and out e Automation and MIDI settings channel MIDI learn etc are now accessible from the main user interface e Audio Suite support for the AAX version for offline dynamics processing in Pro Tools e Dynamics response curve is now displayed on the AVID S6 control surface when used with Pro Tools Improvements e Limiter and output meter now work in L R mode when the dynamics section is operating in Mid Side mode e New presets to get started faster e Plug in name has been shortened for a clearer display in mixer view for most host applications e Plug in now shows in the Dynamics section of most DAWs e The windows installer now automatically detects the most appropriate VST install path and remembers where the plug in was initially installed to simplify upgrades e License is now shared between plug ins types register only once for all formats e Improved value display in fine edit window e Improved parameters display and response curves on control surfaces Optimizations and Performance Improvements e Improved parameters precision now stored as 64 bit e More compact presets format uses less space and loads faster e Smaller binaries on Mac dropped PowerPC support Bug Fixes e RTAS Fixed parameters control with EUCO
19. INPUT Pre Gain i 0 0 dB PREAMP FILTER Lo Cut Hz Hi Cut Hz SIDE CHAIN E Extemal Lo Cut Hz Hi Cut Hz ADVANCED Oversampling None Stereo R L R PEAK ENVELOPE Attack Release S 400 0 0 1 ms Hold 00 0 ms 0 0 ms SHAPE 0 MODE VCA Opto Peak RMS The most flexible all in one dynamics processor Default Settings UPPER CURVE Threshold Knee Ratio 17 dB 0 dB 2 70 1 Dynamics Response dB Depth 13 0 dB LOWER CURVE Threshold Knee Ratio 41 dB 12 dB 1 2 63 www bluecataudio com PLUE CAT AUDPIO History 10 s ue Cat s Dynamics User Manual Blue Cat s Dynamics amp OUTPUT MAKEUP GAIN i 0 0 dB Compensate Dry Wet 100 M LIMITER Hard Soft 0 Release 600 ms Post Gain l Table Of Content e Introduction e Description e Features e System Requirements e Installation e First Launch e Using Blue Cat s Dynamics e Introduction e The User Interface e Operation e Side Chaining e Tips amp Tricks e Blue Cat Audio Plug ins Basics e User Interface Basics e Controls e Keyboard e Mouse e Presets Management e MIDI amp Automation Control e More e Blue Cat s Dynamics Parameters e Input e Output e Plug in Settings e The Global Settings Window e The Preset Settings Window e About Skins e Changing the Skin e Create a Custom Skin e Frequently Asked Questions e More e Extra Skins e Tutorials
20. Insert Blue Cat s Gain on the destination track mono or stereo e Assign the Total Gain or Total gain 1 and Total Gain 2 output parameter s to a given MIDI channel and CC number e Assign the Gain parameter of the Gain plug in to the same MIDI channel amp CC number as the Total Gain parameter e Route Blue Cat s Dynamics MIDI output to Blue Cat s Gain usually using a MIDI track but this step depends on your host application e Setup the Blue Cat s Dynamics plug in response curve and time constants The source track controls the effect applied to the destination track If you have issues performing the above tasks in your host application please visit our website and check our step by step tutorials Note in this mode the output brickwall limiter is not used Offline Side Chaining Gain Riding If your host application does not support the methods above or if you want to be able to tweak the gain reduction by hand you can use automation generated by the Blue Cat s Dynamics plug in to drive a gain plug in on another track You will simply need to record the gain reduction or increase as an automation curve and apply it to the other track You can either use Blue Cat s Gain Suite freeware plug ins or use your host gain automation feature Control audio signal Unchanged control audio signal Source Track Automation curve side chain control Audio signal Modified audio signal Destination Track The proced
21. N control surfaces in Pro Tools e Fixed user interface issues in Final Cut Pro X e Fixed keyboard stealing issue in Digital Performer 7 on Mac e Fixed version number reported to host application for VST and Audio Unit versions Note this new version can be installed side by side with the previous version for backward compatibility reasons Installing this new version won t break your previous projects V3 12 2014 03 20 e Fixed 64 bit VST MIDI Events not sent for the first output parameter in the list e Windows VST installer now detects the VST plug ins path and remembers previous install location for updates e Fixed Audio Unit validation issue on OSX Mavericks Logic Pro X e Fixed VST plug in window frame not showing in Cubase 7 5 32 bit on Mac e Fixed VST version that could not be loaded in Audio HiJack Pro Mac V3 11 2013 06 27 e 64 bit AAX support for Pro Tools 11 V3 11 2011 02 10 e Fixed keyboard focus stealing issue in Pro Tools and several other host applications e 64 bit Mac VST support V3 1 2010 04 13 e RTAS plugin format support for Pro Tools Mac and Windows e 64 bit applications support for Windows DX and VST under Windows x64 e Mac AU 64 bit format support compatible with 64 bit Logic 9 1 on Snow Leopard e Space bar does not trigger plug in buttons anymore avoids conflict with transport control in most applications e Demo version now displays a nag screen only once per session and
22. User Preset Y User Preset Z MIDI Program Change Load Save As Copy Paste Save As User Default Clear User Default e Factory Presets shows the list of factory presets delivered with the plug in e Folder A to User Preset Z user presets and categories e MIDI Program Change activate MIDI Program Change support see below e Load load preset from file e Save As save current preset to a file e Copy copy preset to the system clipboard e Paste paste preset from the system clipboard if available e Save As Default save the current state as the default preset This preset is used every time a new instance of the plug in is created e Reset Default reset the default preset to its factory state this makes the plug in forgets the custom settings you might have saved as a default preset More about Presets There are two types of presets factory presets read only that are provided with the plug in and user presets that can be created and stored by the user The user presets are stored in a subdirectory of the documents folders of your profile Documents on Mac and My Documents on Windows Blue Cat Audio Plug in Name Presets Each preset is stored as an individual file You can create folders and subfolders in the Presets directory to classify your presets as shown in the example below Folder A b User Presetl Folder B b User Preset User Preset X User Presets If you save a preset named
23. X plug ins are software components than can be used in Host Software such as Blue Cat s PatchWork Pro Tools Cakewalk Sonar Steinberg Cubase or Wavelab Sony Vegas Logic Pro Garage Band Ableton Live in order to perform some MIDI and Or Audio real time Processing tasks To be more precise what we usually call directX plug ins is actually a DirectShow Filter VST is owned by Steinberg DirectX by Microsoft while Audio Units is the property of Apple Computers and RTAS and AAX are owned by AVID How can use your plug ins Download and install a host software then download and install the plug ins from our page They will appear in the host effects menu If you are using a DirectX host with our MIDI controllable plug ins and they do not show up in you host list you might need to use our freeware DXi Manager Note that our plug ins are sometimes shown in the MIDI controllable audio effects or soft synths sections in some host applications Where can I find a host You use Blue Cat s PatchWork standalone application to host any VST or Audio Unit plug in for real time operation There are also many commercial or freeware hosts that will suit your needs You can find a long list of applications here You can also use demos of Cubase Wavelab Ableton Live Tracktion or Sonar software which are usually available on the companies websites On the Mac Garage Band is part of the system and can be also used to host our Audio Unit pl
24. adjust both the channel and CC number as well as the response curve of the control Since some of our plug ins are also capable of creating MIDI CC from the audio signal they can all be connected for real time signal dependent audio effects See our MIDI Control in Sonar tutorial for an example More This manual only covers the basics of Blue Cat s Dynamics Our website offers many additional resources for your Blue Cat s Dynamics plug in and is constantly updated so keep an eye on it You will find below a few examples of available resources Extra Skins We encourage our customers to propose their own skins for our products and we often propose alternative skins to let you choose the one that best suits your needs You can check Blue Cat s Dynamics skins page to get the latest skins Black Baby for V3 Product Dynamics Description An amazing 4 skins package Modeler Compressor Gate Limiter for Blue Cat s Dynamics V3 V4 not supported More screenshots are available in this forum thread Author Stephan Windus Download Skin BlackBaby zip Bronze for V3 Gsp gte Product Dynamics Description A complete redesign of the original Modeler user interface for the stereo version of the plugin V3 Version 4 not supported Author Limeflavour www flavoursoflime blogspot com Download Skin_LimeFlavourBronze zip Tutorials Many Tutorials are available on our website They cover a wide range of topics
25. ained in sub folders are associated with the current bank As specified by MIDI bank select messages are not used until a program is actually selected MIDI Implementation note the software supports all types of Bank Select methods You can use either MIDI CC 0 or MIDI CC 32 to select banks If both are used simultaneously they are combined together so that you can use more banks in this case CCO is LSB and CC32 is MSB and actual bank number is 128 CC0 CC32 MIDI and Automation Control Blue Cat s Dynamics can also be remotely controlled via MIDI using MIDI CC Control Change messages or automation curves if your host application supports it It is possible to customize the channel control numbers range and response curve used for each parameter in the settings panel available from the main menu see the Plug in Settings chapter for more details MIDI and Automation Settings Menu Most skins also provide the ability to change MIDI and automation settings for each parameter directly in the main user interface When this feature is activated using the corresponding title bar button dropdown menu buttons appears next to main controls Clicking on this button shows the MIDI Automation settings menu MIDI Learn MIDI Unlearn Enable Automation Settings e MIDI Learn launches MIDI learn mode for the control touch your MIDI controller and the control will learn from it the MIDI channel and CC number To end the learn mode
26. al Side Chain It can be interesting to use the vca opto blend knob when using an external side chain in order to take into account both the external side chain and input signals Since the opto style signal is computed at the output of the processor it also takes into account the signal being processed Note at 100 opto external side chain signal is not used anymore as it used only for the vca envelope computation Use Output Automation to Tweak the Effect As explained in the Side Chaining chapter it is possible to record the gain output parameter as an automation curve and assign it to the volume of the track This can be used to manually tweak the recorded automation to obtain the desired effect It is a good way to speed up automation writing instead of manually drawing automation curves to perform custom manual dynamics processing gain riding for example the plug in can generate the basic envelope for you which can then be optimized manually Use Output Automation to Monitor the Effect Another application of the output automation capabilities of the plug in is to monitor what exactly happens on a track recording the GR output parameter as an automation curve lets you see directly on a track when the dynamics processor is doing something gain reduction or increase 1 INSERTS A E Monitoring heavy compression on a kick drum track using automation in Pro Tools 12 Protect your Ears with the Brickwall Limiter While
27. alled in the Documents Skins folder for the plug in see below e Use Global Skin use the global skin for the current preset session unloads any custom skin previously selected for the current preset e Load opens a file browser dialog to manually select the skin from the file system e Save As Global Skin use the current preset skin as the global skin loaded by default if no preset skin has been defined Installing User Skins If you want to be able to select user skins directly from the skins menu you simply need to install them in the Skins directory available in the plug in s documents folder Your Documents Folder Blue Cat Audio Plugin Name Skins The skin engine will scan this folder for new skins xml files and display them in the menu The skin files should be in the root skins folder or in a subdirectory inside this folder subdirectories are not scanned recursively Other Methods to Select Skins You can also select the skins in the settings panels available from the main menu The global skin used by default if no preset skin has been selected can be changed in the global settings pane The current preset skin can be changed in the preset settings page Create a Custom Skin You can create custom skins for your plug in in order to adapt it to your exact needs You can change its look and feel and make it completely integrated in your virtual studio Just read the Blue Cat s Skinning Language manual and d
28. arameter sets a limit to the amount of gain applied it is by default set to infinite no limit If you decrease it it sets the largest amount of gain reduction or increase that can be applied by the processor Once this limit is reached the processor stops increasing this amount Makeup and auto gain When the shape of the dynamics response curve is changed the max peak level and perceived volume will increase or decrease That s what the makeup gain is for compensate the gain loss or increase right after the main dynamics processor MAKEUP GAIN l 0 0 dB Compensate To simplify this task you can use the compensate auto gain feature that normalizes the response curve 0dB input produces 0dB output The make up gain is then applied after the normalization occurs So beware that activating deactivating the auto gain feature when make up is used might result in a very large volume increase Be sure to use the output limiter to avoid damaging your speakers or your ears Transfer Curve Shapes Below are example of dynamics response curves for the various dynamics processing techniques described in the previous chapter Upper Curve Changing the upper curve ratio and threshold lets you create a compressor limiter or an expander Lower Curve With the lower curve controls it is possible to create a gate or an upward compressor The upward compressor can create interesting effects but can be problematic in the case
29. can also set the release time to zero In this case the limiter produces clipping You can adjust the softness of saturation using the Hard Soft knob Tip itis strongly recommended to activate the brickwall limiter while experimenting with the parameters of the Blue Cat s Dynamics plug in The plug in gives you great power to modify the dynamics of the incoming signal which may result in huge audio spikes in some rare cases The brickwall limiter protects your monitors and your ears against such mistakes Side Chaining Blue Cat s Dynamics lets you use the signal from a track to control the volume of another This technique is called side chaining as explained in the introduction The plug in offers three ways to do side chaining You can choose the appropriate method depending on the capabilities of your host application and your specific needs Traditional Side Chain The plug in has extra audio inputs that can be fed by a side chain signal in most host applications aka external side chain input Control audio signal Unchanged control audio signal side Chain Source Track side Chain Input Audio signal Modified audio signal Destination Track To use the extra side chain signal activate the external mode in the side chain box SIDE CHAIN Pr External Lo Cut Fiz Hi Cut Hz Note for the VST version it may be necessary to create a quad buss or group to be able to use the side chain input in some host applica
30. ce either with the mouse or the keyboard Setting the keyboard focus on a control so that it responds to key strokes may be automatic when you pass the mouse over it it gets focus or manual you have to click on the control to set the focus on it Note that all host applications behave differently regarding keyboard handling In some applications you may not be able to use all keys described later in this manual to interact with our plug ins It is usually made obvious to you to know the active surfaces of the skin the places where you can click with the mouse the mouse cursor usually changes when you can do something on a control In the default skins delivered with the plug in the cursor changes to a small hand or an arrow to tell you when your mouse is over an active control Mouse Various mouse movements will let you interact with the controls Mouse Interaction Action Left Click Acquire focus and start dragging or push button Left Click Alt Key Set the value to default Acquire focus and launch the fine tuning edit box except button Left Double Click Right Click Set the value to default Mouse Wheel Increment or decrement the position focus required Mouse Drag Change the control position depending on mouse movement except button Keyboard All control widgets support the following keys note that some of them are caught by the host and thus never forwarded to the control For example in Steinberg Cubas
31. cessed signal in order to trigger the dynamics processor For example use the signal of the kick drums to control the dynamics of the bass or vice versa This practice is known as side chaining Blue Cat s Dynamics provides two ways to do this either using the external side chain input that accepts signals routed from the host application or with its advanced MIDI and automation communication features It also provides a way for internal side chaining the incoming signal can be filtered before triggering the dynamics processor A typical application is de essing on vocals using only higher frequencies to trigger the gain reduction Mid Side Processing Blue Cat s Dynamics offers mid side processing capability With this feature you can process the mid center and side sides channels instead of the usual left and right channels Concept Origin Mid Side Recording Mid Side recording is a famous recording technique that is preferred in some cases to traditional left right recording search for mid side recording on the web to find tutorials about this technique The result of such a recording is a pair of mid side M S channels instead of classic left right L R channels The mid channel is also often called Mono and side Stereo the mid channel contains the signal that is in the center of the stereo mix and the side channel contains the rest everything that is on the sides of the mix M S h S i S a
32. e user interface or from any external controller The package includes a mono and a stereo version for optimal CPU usage Credits this plug in includes factory presets created by Sink Yann D www sinkmusic com If you are looking for a multiband dynamics processor check out the Blue Cat s MB 5 Dynamix plug in or Blue Cat s MB 7 Mixer that can host this plug in on multiple bands Features Main Features Blue Cat Audio Standards e Full featured dynamics processor compressor gate limiter e Available as Mac AAX Mac AU Mac RTAS Mac VST Win expander waveshaper with a unique two thresholds system AAX Win DX Win RTAS Win VST Win x64 AAX Win x64 e Total control over the processor continuous peak RMS and DX Win x64 VST Opto VCA modes selection peak envelope shape control depth e Native DSP code for optimal performance control to limit the gain range e Full MIDI control and automation support with silent zipper free e Total control over the signal dry wet control for parallel parameters update advanced response control and MIDI Learn compression input and side chain filters e No CPU load on idle when the plug in is fed with silence the e Stereo or mid side processing with multiple channels linking processing smoothly shuts down to optimize the CPU usage of options your Digital Audio Workstation e Post brickwall limiter or clipper e Skinnable and customizable user interface with transparency e Opt
33. e SX you cannot use the arrow keys to control the plug in Keys Common to All Controls Key Action Up Arrow Small increment of the position up or right Down Arrow Small increment of the position down or left Left Arrow Same as Down Arrow Right Arrow Same as Up Arrow Page Up Large increment of the position up or right Page Down Large decrement of the position down or left Small increment of the value of the control Small decrement of the value of the control d Set to default value Same as mouse right click Opens the fine tuning window to precisely set the parameter F When the key is down the fine tuning mode is on and you can modify the value with SHIFT better precision when moving the mouse the mouse wheel or using the keyboard Just release the key to get back to the normal mode Keys Specific to Buttons Key Action Enter Pushes the button Presets To get started with the plug in and discover its capabilities a couple of factory presets are provided You can also save your own presets and recall them later for other projects Our plug ins propose a full featured preset manager to let you save browse organize and recall its presets The Presets Menu The presets menu can be opened from the main menu or the main toolbar It displays the list of presets available for the plug in as well as commands to load save or organize presets Factory Presets Folder A Folder B User Preset X
34. e shows the ouput level as a function of the input level in dB scale The controls offered to modify the shape of the dynamics response are explained below UPPER CURVE LOWER CURVE Threshold Knee Ratio Threshold Knee Ratio 27 dB 13 dB i 60 dB 12 dB 1 2 82 P l j Fail i gt 4 Depth oo dB Depth oo dB The up threshold and down threshold correspond to the upper part and lower part of the dynamics response curve They let you specify the upper part usually for compression and lower part usually for gating of the curve independently Lynamics Response dB UPPER CURVE Threshold Knee Ratio 18 dB dB 00 1 hy Depth oo dB LOWER CURVE Threshold Knee Ratio 40 dB 0 dB 1 3 00 k Depth oo dB For each part of the curve above the up threshold and below the down threshold you can choose the ratio which corresponds to the ratio between the output and input levels In the example above an infinite to one ratio will be applied to the input signal as soon as it reaches 18 dB hard limiting and a 3 to 1 ratio will be applied as soon as it is below 40 dB gate Once you have chosen the ratio the knee parameter lets you soften the dynamics response The difference between the left and right graphs below is 10 dB up and down knees Dynamics Response dB Dynamics Response dB The effect is applied progressively whereas with no knee the ratio changes as soon as the threshold is reached The depth p
35. elope of the sound to trigger an effect If the volume control is based on the waveform instead of the shape of its envelope the effect is transformed into a waveshaper which produces a great amount of distortion Technically speaking the idea here is to reduce the integration time of the envelope followers attack and release time to reach values that are close to the period of audible sounds 10 ms or below The Effect of Time As described earlier the gain control is triggered by volume changes of the incoming signal using the rule described by the transfer curve which determines the type of the effect limiter gate compressor etc It is possible to choose how fast the dynamics processor reacts to volume changes up attack time down release time This has a major influence on the effect produced on the incoming sound With shorter attack and release times the effect will get closer to waveshaping and will produce more distortion The volume control is however more precise as the effect is triggered faster With longer the time constants the gain control gets smoother When used as a compressor long attack times will also let the transients go thru while shorter attack times will reduce them The shape of the attack and release phases will also greatly affect the sound The Dynamics plug in offer specific shape controls for both attack and release Side Chaining A common practice is to use a different signal than the pro
36. en apply a gain reduction or increase on the input signal depending on the transfer curve set by the user Envelope Detection INPUT Volume Control eee Types of Dynamics Processing Blue Cat s Dynamics can produce several types of dynamics processing Compression A signal is compressed when its dynamic range is reduced it consists in lowering the volume of the louder sections and increasing the volume of quieter sections The main interest is to increase the overal loudness of a track but if overused it may also cause the track to sound flat lacking dynamics Limiting Limiting is the same as compression except that it refers to much higher compression ratios A typical example is brickwall limiting where the compression ratio is such that the volume cannot exceed a given threshold Expansion Expansion is the exact opposite from compression expanding the dynamic range of a sound is making louder the loud passages and quieter the quiet ones Gating When applying a gate effect the idea is to decrease the gain for the sounds with lower volume with a specified ratio A typical application is the noise gate to get rid of background noise during silence the content below a selected threshold will be silenced by the gate making sure no noise can be heard alone When the music comes back with sufficient volume the gate will open and let the music go thru Wave shaping The previous examples use the volume env
37. envelopes generated by our plugins with output parameters in Cakewalk Sonar using groups Other techniques exist using MIDI or Automation curves but this one ha Read More Grouse Manager Wale Gian Coe Tutorial Using DXi plug ins in Sony Vegas i cocomon ote Ag rappi g This tutorial will teach you how to use any DXi plug in in Sony Vegas Sony Vegas does not support MIDI automation so if your plug in supports the MIDI Dxi protocol it is removed from the plug ins l Read More Tutorial Export Plugin Presets to Share them with the Community mypreset This tutorial shows you how to export your presets in order to share them with the community on the Blue Cat Audio website This tutorial uses Blue Cat s Stereo Triple EQ for the demonstration Presets Files preset bu Read More Tutorial Automation Envelopes Generation in MOTU s Digital Performer 7 This tutorial shows how to reuse the envelopes generated by our plugins with output parameters in MOTU s Digital Performer 7 host software As of today Digital Performer does not receive MIDI events f Read More Tutorial Getting Started with Plug ins User Interface Set Preset Skin TORO apace ides Get used to the user interface features of Blue Cat Audio products They have been designed for an optimal workflow so here are the tips and tricks to save time All these features are explained in d Read More
38. ettings for the current preset e Global Settings open the global settings window It lets you change the skin MIDI and automation settings that are used by default in all instances of the plug in if not overridden by the current preset e User Manual open this user manual e Check for Updates opens up our website to let you check if any update for this software is available e Get More Skins get more skins for this software e Legal Information browse licensing and misc legal documents e About displays the about dialog box The Title Bar In most skins an icon bar is located below the main toolbar The first commands are the same for all plug ins From left to right e Smooth Bypass smoothly bypass the plug in just like a power button e Window Opacity reduce the opacity value by turning the knob and make the plug in window transparent the result may depend on the host application e Show Hide MIDI and Automation Control Settings show hide the buttons that give access to direct MIDI Automation setup for each parameter in the user interface This button will show or hide dropdown menu buttons that popup a MIDI Automation setup menu described here Controls Examples Here are a few examples of typical controls you will encounter in the user interface of our plug ins slider slider knob button Text control Interacting with Controls You can interact with the controls of the plug in interfa
39. face gives you access to the main options and settings of the plug in Presets Area At the center of the toolbar you can see the current preset area the Default Settings box It displays the name of the current Wa preset with a at the end if it has been modified since loaded The arrows on the left and right let you navigate thru the factory and user presets available for the plug in Clicking on the preset name opens the presets menu which lets you manage the presets of the plug in Commands The icons in the toolbar give you access the to the following commands that are detailed in the next paragraph Icon Name Function Menu Open the main menu i Undo Undo a Redo Redo Manual User Manual i About About The Main Menu The main menu is available from the main toolbar or if you right click anywhere on the background of the plug in Presets Preset Skin Undo Redo Preset Settings Global Settings User Manual Check for Updates Get More Skins Legal Information About e Presets opens the presets menu to manage presets e Preset Skin opens the skins menu to choose the skin for the current preset and manage alternative skins for the software e Undo Redo undo or redo the latest modifications This includes all changes made to the current preset settings such as MIDI or automation preferences e Presets Settings open the presets settings window It lets you change the skin MIDI and automation s
40. filter Set to minimum value to deactivate the low cut filter High Cut Hz High cut frequency for the input filter Set to maximum value to deactivate the high cut filter Side Chain SC SC Listen Listen to the side chain signal SC Input Select between internal default and external side chain SC Low Cut Low cut frequency for the side chain filter Set to minimum value to deactivate the low cut filter SC High Cut Hz High cut frequency for the side chain filter Set to maximum value to deactivate the high cut filter Advanced Oversample Oversampling for the dynamics processing stage Beware that oversampling may consume a lot of CPU Envelope modes and parameters Attack ms Attack time for the peak detection Hold ms Hold time for the peak detection Release ms Release time for the peak detection Attack Shape ms Attack shape for the peak detection Positive values will slow down the attack while negative values will speed it up see the operation chapter for more details Release Shape ms Release shape for the peak detection Positive values will slow down the release phase while negative values will speed it up see the operation chapter for more details Rms Average ms Time for the RMS average computation VCA Opto Proportion of VCA and Opto feedback envelope detection modes 0 is full VCA and 100 is full Opto Peak RMS Proportion of Peak and RMS envelope detection modes 0 is full Peak and 100 i
41. he host application V2 0 2007 08 30 e Smooth Bypass activate deactivate the plugin with absolutely no noise e Undo Redo e Load Save presets in a host independent format you can now share presets between the directX and VST versions e New toolbar to access main functionalities e Ratio is now displayed in a standard way e Blue Cat s Skinning Language 1 3 4 support V1 4 2007 03 21 e New user interface design e Several ergonomics improvements e Skin loading performance improvement up to 80 faster e Reduced memory consumption when using several instances e Compression graph clarity and rendering performance enhancements e Window Opacity Management make the plugin window transparent and see behind e Blue Cat s Skinning Language 1 3 support e Bug fix on the stereo version the sidechain filter did not work as expected in some situations V1 3 2006 12 19 e Bug fix the frequency and time values were not accurate when using oversampling V1 2 2006 12 11 e Bug fix the preset MIDI output settings were not restored correctly when re opening a project or changing a preset V1 1 2006 11 29 e Bug fix in some plug in adapters such as FxPansion s VST to RTAS adapter the GUI did not display properly when first loaded V1 0 2006 11 15 First release Thanks again for choosing our solutions See you soon on www bluecataudio com BLUE CAT AUDIO
42. imal monitoring dynamics response envelopes and gain management reduction real time display with zooming capability The main e Automation and MIDI output record output parameters as compression information can be recorded as automation curves automation curves or send MIDI CC messages to other plug ins e Best quality up to 4x oversampling for the best sounding quality for powerful side chain effects e Multiple side chaining modes a unique way to perform side chain e Smooth Bypass activate deactivate the plug in with absolutely compression ducking gating and much more no noise e Fully configurable user interface for optimal experience e Undo Redo e No latency e Full featured integrated presets manager e Copy paste the plug in s state between instances using the system clipboard e Any sample rate supported system Requirements Windows Mac OS X e An SSE2 enabled processor Pentium 4 or later e An Intel processor e Microsoft Windows XP Vista Windows 7 or 8 e Mac OS X Yosemite 10 10 Mavericks 10 9 Mountain Lion e Any DirectX VST RTAS AAX compatible host software 32 or 10 8 Lion 10 7 Snow Leopard 10 6 or Leopard 10 5 64 bit e Any VST Audio Unit 32 64 bit RTAS AAX compatible application For more information about supported platforms see our FAQ Installation The plug ins versions cannot be run standalone they require a host application see the System Requirements chapte
43. installed the VST plug in zip file version just delete the corresponding dlls Why do your plug ins need an installer on Windows Do they modify the registry or system settings Why not providing just a dll Our plug ins require several additional files for default settings skins and miscellaneous data We provide an installer for our customers convenience Our installers do not modify the system settings or the Windows registry except for the DirectX versions registration Our installers won t harm your system Software Version How do I know the version of the plug in I am using You can see the version information in the about box right click on the background of the plug in user interface and select About The product version is also available in the Windows Add Remove Programs Window Why do newer versions of a plug in override older ones they have exact same name and IDs Because newer versions improve previous ones When a new version is released older versions are not supported anymore In some cases the new versions may be installed as new products compatibility reasons major changes but it is explicitly documented on the product page A new minor version of a product purchased some time ago is available Where can download the update The new version can be downloaded from the same place where you downloaded the original version All information is contained in the email you received when you purchased the prod
44. is described in the introduction section L Stereo R L R Later in this manual we will refer to channel 1 and channel 2 respectively left and right or mid and side channels depending on the chosen mode Stereo Link In order to keep the stereo balance coherent or on the contrary to modify the stereo perception of a track you can choose to link the effect applied to each channel in several ways Link Mar e none no link Each channel is independent The stereo image may be strongly altered in this mode e average mix the left and right or mid and side envelopes to compute the dynamics response The same gain is applied to both channels e min use the minimum of both envelopes to compute the dynamics response The same gain is applied to both channels e max use the maximum envelope to compute the dynamics response The same gain is applied to both channels default e flip use the opposite channel envelope to compute gain This increases the level differences of each channel e ch 1 compute the gain only with the envelope from the first channel only The same gain is applied to both channels e ch 2 compute the gain only with the envelope from the second channel only The same gain is applied to both channels Channels Activation In addition you can choose to activate or deactivate the dynamics processing chain from post preamp module to the dry wet module for each channel See the little blue buttons on top of the s
45. is provided within the image It will install the software for all users on the machine In case you do not have admin rights on your Mac or if you want to install the software to another directory just copy the files to the appropriate location If required more information is available in the README txt file that is included in the package Upgrade When a new version of the software is released open the new image and copy the files over the previous ones The new version will replace the older one Uninstall To uninstall the software simply remove the component s from the folder where you have copied them during install move them to the trash If you want to completely remove all settings and configuration files you can also remove these additional directories that may have been created on your computer e Library Preferences Blue Cat Audio Plug in name and TYPE where TYPE is VST AU RTAS or AAX global preferences e Library Preferences Blue Cat Audio Plug in name license information e Documents Blue Cat Audio Plug in name user data such as presets additional skins and user created plug in data Just beware that these directories may contain user data that you have created Remove these directories only if you do not want to reuse this data later First Launch Blue Cat Audio plug ins cannot be run standalone they require a host application see the System Requirements chapter for more informatio
46. is tutorial shows how to use our plugins MIDI connectivity within Reaper We use Blue Cat s Dynamics plugin as an example but you can use any other audio plugin which provides output parameters Su Read More This tutorial shows how to use the connectivity capabilities of our plugins within Logic We use Blue Cat s DP Meter Pro plugin DPMP as an example but you can use any other audio plugin which provi Read More Tutorial Using Blue Cat Audio plug ins connectivity in Pro Tools This tutorial shows how to use the MIDI connectivity of our plugins within Pro Tools We use Blue Cat s DP Meter Pro plugin as an example but you can use any other audio plugin which provides output Read More Tutorial How to Use the Free Presets Available on this Website This tutorial shows you how to get and load free presets for your favorite Blue Cat Audio plugin Load Preset TCOON This tutorial uses Blue Cat s Dynamics for the demonstration but is applicable to all our plugins Read More Tutorial Using MIDI Connectivity in a Modular Host Plogue Bidule This tutorial shows you how to use the MIDI connectivity of our plugins in a modular host such as Plogue Bidule We are using the Mac version of Bidule in this tutorial The scenario here is very sim Read More Tutorial Connecting Plug ins with Groups in Cakewalk Sonar in DPoak Motor Pro 3 Edereo 1 This tutorial shows how to reuse the
47. m and the evolution of the gain over time 1 Waveform shape envelope The upper part shows the envelope for the left or mid channel and the lower part the right or side channel For the mono version both parts show the same envelope 2 Gain applied by the dynamics processor pink curve for reduction and green curve for increase for each channel The range of the curve is the same as the range of the GR meter 3 Select the range for the envelope curve when zoom is active zoom can be activated deactivated with the magnifying glass button in the main toolbar 4 Enlarge or reduce the envelope view 5 Enable Disable the dynamics processor for each channel by clicking on the buttons 6 Click on the ruler to select the time scale 2 4 or 8 seconds When 2 or 4 seconds are selected it is possible to drag the envelope view left right with the mouse Right clicking anywhere on the view will revert back to the default value 8 seconds to unzoom The GR Gain Reduction Meter It provides instant visual feedback about the gain applied by the dynamics processor as well as histograms to get a better understanding of its behavior over time 1 GR Meter displays the gain reduction pink or increase green 2 GR histograms the pink histogram displays the distribution of gain reduction values and the green curve the distribution of gain increase values Clicking on the curves reset the histograms 3 Select the range of the meter
48. meter Name Enable Enable Channel CC Autom MIDI 1 16 0127 All Parameters E E 1 Out Param 1 1 G a Out Param 2 5 a Out Param 3 Out Param 4 0 dB Out Param 5 0 dB Out Param 6 0 dB Out Param 7 60 dB Out Param 8 60 dB io Out Param 5 60 dB FoOUOoRBABAAAAaAG FOoRBAAABAAA GA 10101101001 ED ca Out Param 10 No Clip generic screen shot does not correspond to the actual plug in parameters Note if the Min value is higher than the Max value the response curve will be reversed increasing the control value will decrease the parameter value Note if you double click on the parameter text control boxes for the max and min values a fine tuning edit box will appear and let you change the min and max values with more precision The Current Preset Settings Window In this window you can change the settings for the current preset of the current instance of the plug in only Preset Skin You can choose to use the global skin setting or to change the skin for the current preset This way you can have different skins for different instances of the plug in in the same session in order to differentiate them Use global skin Skin file path C Progam Files Blue Cat Audio Skins Default defauk xml Browse Preset Control Input Settings MIDI and Automation Use the global settings or override them for the current preset The parameters are the same as for the global input se
49. meter when MIDI controlled or automated Parameter Name Enable Channel CC MIDI 16 127 All Parameters El 0 Bypass On Param 1 1000 ms PAR Param 500 ms d 4 Param 3 3000 ms Param 4 2000 ms Param 3dB Param 6 S000 ms Param 7 60 dB s Param 3 100 Reversed Param 9 Param 10 x i a 4 Param 11 Param 12 Param 13 ONAN pittt IB BORBeEREEeRaRoRBagRaaaaa JE EG i a8 a ja a O 14 ame Lima generic screen shot does not correspond to the actual plug in parameters Note if the Min value is higher than the Max value the response curve will be reversed increasing the control value will decrease the parameter value Note if you double click on the parameter text control boxes for the max and min values a fine tuning edit box will appear and let you change the min and max values with more precision Global Control Output Settings MIDI and Automation You can set the same properties for the output parameters as for the input parameters in this case they may trigger MIDI CC messages or generate automation curves when modified Since it s output you cannot set the channel to MIDI Omni so you must choose a channel Output parameters can also generate automation curves in most host applications You can enable automation for any output parameters you are interested in see the Enable Autom checkbox Blue Cat s Plugen Gle Control Output Para
50. mp amplifies and filters the input signal This stage also proposes oversampling so that the signal is internally processed at a higher sampling rate to reduce the potential artifacts Side Chain Select choose the signal used to drive envelope detection to select between the internal and external side chain Side Chain Filter filter the signal that is driven to the envelope detection for internal side chain control Envelope Detection detect the envelope of the incoming signal Stereo Link for the stereo version controls how both channels envelopes should be linked together Lets you define the relationship between the effect applied on the left right or mid side channels Curve determines the gain to apply to the signal depending on the incoming envelope and the ratios gains set by the user Volume Control this module applies the gain determined by the transfer curve Dry Wet Mix mix the dry and wet signals to perform parallel compression Brickwall Limiter right after the main dynamics section a brickwall limiter limiter with infinite ratio proposes to limit the output volume to O dB for output protection or creative limiting effects Post Gain controls the final gain after the brickwall limiter When the limiter is on this stage determines the maximum value for the peak level of the output signal For the stereo version mid side splitting and re arranging is performed at the input and output of the
51. n Some host applications will require you to scan the plug ins before they are available in the application If the plug in is not available in the application please check that it has been installed in the appropriate directory with no host application running and that the host application has scanned it Using Blue Cat s Dynamics Introduction Blue Cat s Dynamics is an all in one dynamics processor which lets you modify many aspects of the dynamics of your audio signal It may act as a compressor limiter gate expander or waveshaper Before we go into the details of the plug in let s see what all these words mean Dynamics The dynamics of a sound refers to the variations of its amplitude A track is said to have more dynamics than another if the volume difference between the louder and quieter sections of the track is higher For example classical music is known to have a larger dynamic range than most modern commercial pop music it usually alternates between very quiet sections with very few instruments and much louder sections when the entire orchestra plays at the same time The aim of Blue Cat s Dynamics is to let you alter and precisely control this characteristic in many different ways you can either increase or reduce the amount of dynamics in your signal depending on its content The principle to is to detect the volume of the incoming signal with an envelope follower that computes the current audio level and th
52. n data The higher the refresh rate the better precision but also the higher cpu usage some host applications may also have trouble recording MIDI data at high refresh rates The default value is 50 Hz Global Control Input Settings MIDI and Automation The plug in offers a couple of settings that affect the way it is controlled by MIDI messages or automation While the first settings only apply to MIDI control the Control Response Min and Max settings apply to both automation and MIDI control For each parameter you can define a default MIDI channel and CC number You can then control the plug in with an external MIDI controller or one of our plug ins that generate MIDI messages The settings below are available for each plug in parameter MIDI Settings e Enable MIDI enable disable the MIDI control of the parameter e Channel MIDI Channel for the parameter control If set to 0 the plug ins will accept Control Change Messages from all MIDI Channels MIDI Omni mode e CC Control Change Number e Learn click on this button to activate the MIDI learn functionality When it is activated you can move your MIDI controller and the plug in will automatically set the MIDI Channel and CC Number MIDI and automation settings e Response response curve of the MIDI or automation control from very fast to slow control e Min minimal value of the parameter when MIDI controlled or automated e Max Maximum value of the para
53. only when opening the user interface of the plug in e Fixed MIDI learn issues e Windows 7 fixed hand cursor that displayed a green square under the hand symbol e Mac fixed user interface crashes in some hosts under Snow Leopard e Mac fixed keyboard mouse focus issues in some hosts e Mac fixed multiple screens issue e Mac AU fixed user interface resizing issue when changing skin in some hosts Logic e Mac AU fixed settings lost issue when doing offline rendering in some applications e Mac AU output parameters routing now works for more than one instance in Logic Pro s Environment e Mac AU fixed output parameters that could exceed defined range and not record properly as automation curves V3 01 2009 05 05 Mac VST update fixed incompatibility issues with Cubase 5 on Mac V3 0 2009 04 27 e Mac VST support e Mac Audio Unit support e Mid Side processing capability e New stereo linking options e Enable disable processing on each channel e Customize the range of the meters and zoom navigate in the display e Automation output can now be disabled for hosts that do not propose automated parameters choice e Improved accuracy of MIDI output e New Presets e New installer much faster install improved upgrades e Brand new documentation V2 1 2007 10 18 e Improved skin loading speed e Improved user interface performance e Improved the display of parameters values in the MIDI settings panel and t
54. ownload the samples for the tutorial on http www bluecataudio com Skins You can get ready to create your own skins in a few minutes You can then share your skins on our website FAQ Automation Output When I use the plug in my host application is slowed down and I get audio drop outs How can I solve this problem If your host application does not let you select the parameters for which you want to record automation it might be doing some extra work for handling the output parameters generated by the plug in A solution is to disable the output parameters you do not use in the Preset or Global settings Automation Output pane When I use the plug in my host application draws many automation curves on the current track and yet have not touched any control on the plug in How can avoid that If your host application does not let you select the parameters for which you want to record automation it will record automation for all the output parameters generated by the plug in You can disable the output parameters you do not use in the Preset or Global settings Automation Output pane lam trying to record automation curves as shown in the tutorials but it does not work What do I have to do If your host application lets you select the parameters for which you want to record automation check that the parameters you want to record are enabled You also need to check that the plug in automation output is enabled for these pa
55. plug in so that the entire chain processes mid side signals instead of left right when mid side mode is on The User Interface Note The main toolbar menus and basic features available with all our plug ins are detailed in the Blue Cat Audio Plug ins Basics section Overview The user interface of the Blue Cat s Dynamics plug in is fully modular and can be configured to best fit your needs using the button in the main toolbar By default it opens in the following configuration 2 p PUT PEAK ENVELOPE Dynamics Response dB UPPER CURVE Pra Gain Attack Release Hi2 Threshold Knee Ratio 0 1 ms Hog 400 0 ms 11 dB 8 dB 4 00 1 r Fi A 0 0 dB 0 0m EF ia foal l 0 0 dB PREAMP eee s z an ae Depth oo dB E Compensate Lo Cut Hz l LOWER CURVE Dry Wet RMS MODE f Threshold Knee Ratio Time VCA Opto Peak RMS 60 ft S A E 50 dB dB 1 1 Hi Cut Hz SIDE CHAIN z ESRR 100 F Extemal z B4 72 0 48 36 24 12 12 F LIMITER Lo Gut Hz Hard Soft 0 Hi Cut Hz Release 600 ms ADVANCED 12 3 Post Gain Oversampling j None T ID Steso R L R 7 As you can see on the screen shot above the user interface is structured from left to right top to bottom and follows the signal path see the signal flow in the previous chapter This is the main toolbar to let you configure the user interface show hide elements 2 On the left are the main input preamp gain fil
56. pports DXi check that the plug in does not appear in the virtual synth or synthesizers category If you wish not to use the MIDI capabilities of the plug in and use it as a regular Direct X plug in you can download the freeware DXi Manager and disable the MIDI capabilities of the plug in have installed my plug in on windows 64 bit checked the items above and it still does not show up in my host application What can I do You are probably running a 32 bit application If that s the case you need to install the 32 bit version of the plug in the choice for 32 or 64 bit is not determined by the operating system 64 bit windows can run both 32 and 64 bit applications but by the host application that you are using Why are there two plug ins called xxxx Mono and xxxx Stereo installed Mono effects which are effects that do not make any difference between left and right channels are bundled this way for performance reasons Some developers just deliver a stereo Version which also processes twice mono streams The Mono plug in is to be used with mono streams and the Stereo one with stereo streams The effect itself is the same in both cases but the number of processed channels is different this may drastically improve performance for CPU intensive plug ins How do uninstall my plug ins Open the Windows configuration panel Add Remove Programs and choose Remove on the corresponding plug in If you have
57. r for more information Depending on which host application you use you might need to install the plug ins in different locations Before installing on of the plug in versions you will need to close all your host applications Windows Install All versions of the plug in provide an installation program Follow the steps of the wizard to install the software on your machine During the installation you will be asked where you want the software to be installed For the VST version you should install the plug in inside the VST plug ins folder used by your host application s The default path set in the installer should work for most applications but you should check your host software documentation to know where it looks for VST plug ins For other plug in types you should just use the standard path Some applications will not automatically rescan the new plug ins so you might have to force a refresh of the plug ins list Upgrade When a new version of the software is released just launch the new installer it will update the current installation Uninstall To uninstall the software simply launch the Uninstall program that is available in the start menu or in the configuration panel It will take care of removing all files from your computer Mac Install On Mac the plug ins are available as drive images After download double click on the file to open it You can then drag and drop the file s to the shortcut that
58. rameters Check the Preset or Global settings Automation Output pane and select the parameters you want to record When I use the plug in in a project every time save the project my application shows it as unsaved right away How can solve this issue This plug in produces automation output and some host applications consider that any change to one of the output parameters is a change for the project In order to solve this problem and if you do not use the automation output capability of this plug in you can disable automation output from the plug in settings panel Global or Preset Settings Automation Output pane uncheck all parameters MIDI Output How can enable the MIDI output of the plug in If your host application supports it you can choose to send MIDI CC messages based on the output parameters computed by the plug in The feature is not enabled by default so you need to go to the current preset settings of the global settings if you want to enable this for all instances not recommended and open the MIDI output pane For each parameter you are interested in enable MIDI output and select the appropriate channel and CC number The plug in will then send MIDI messages to the host application Check our tutorials for a detailed explanation of MIDI output routing in your favorite host Plug ins Formats What are DirectX DX Audio Unit AU RTAS AAX and VST plug ins VST Audio Unit RTAS AAX and Direct
59. reopen this menu and deselect the option e MIDI Unlearn deactivates MIDI control for this parameter e Settings launches the advanced settings panel described below This controls the settings for the current preset Advanced MIDI and Automation Settings You can completely customize the way the plug in is controlled by automation and MIDI For a global view of all parameters ata time you can use the Plug in Settings window for the current preset which is available from the main menu Control Control Control Min Max MIDI 16 127 Response qo 5 linear OB 3dB MIDI Settings e Enable MIDI enable disable the MIDI control of the parameter e Channel MIDI Channel for the parameter control If set to 0 the plug ins will accept Control Change Messages from all MIDI Channels MIDI Omni mode e CC Control Change Number e Learn click on this button to activate the MIDI learn functionality When it is activated you can move your MIDI controller and the plug in will automatically set the MIDI Channel and CC Number MIDI and automation settings e Response response curve of the MIDI or automation control from very fast to slow control e Min minimal value of the parameter when MIDI controlled or automated e Max Maximum value of the parameter when MIDI controlled or automated Note if the Min value is higher than the Max value the response curve will be reversed increasing the control value will decrease the
60. s full RMS Response Curve Up Threshold Up Knee Up Ratio Up Depth Down Threshold Down Knee Down Ratio Down Depth History Enable History History Length Reset History Makeup Makeup Gain Auto Gain Dry Wet Limiter On Hard Soft Release Post Gain Stereo version only Stereo Mode Stereo Link Enable Ch dB dB dB dB dB dB seconds dB MS dB Threshold for the upper part of the dynamics response curve Knee for the upper part of the dynamics response curve Compression ratio for the upper part of the dynamics response curve Depth for the upper part of the dynamics response curve Specifies the range maximum value for the gain reduction or increase Threshold for the lower part of the dynamics response curve Knee for the lower part of the dynamics response curve Compression ratio for the lower part of the dynamics response curve Depth for the lower part of the dynamics response curve Specifies the range maximum value for the gain reduction or increase Enable Disable gain reduction or increase histograms Length of the window used for the GR histograms Reset the gain reduction increase histograms triggered by value changes Gain after the dynamics processing stage and before the output brick wall limiter Auto compute gain for the dynamics processing stage so that output is O dB for OdB input due to attack time audio
61. tereo section It is possible for example to apply the effect only to the mid channel and use the side channel as a side chain source the source that triggers the effect Several presets use this technique to modify the stereo image Oversampling You can use Oversampling to reduce the aliasing issues that can be produced by the non linear nature of the dynamics processor It can be particularly useful for audio content with higher frequencies or if you use large compression ratios with short attack and release times It is mainly applicable if you work with lower sample rates such as 44 1 or 48 kHz With higher sampling rates you will usually not need to work with an oversampled signal Beware that each oversampling stage consumes a lot of CPU more than double CPU usage You should use 4x oversampling with the stereo version for mastering purposes only or with very low attack release times in Peak mode This is typically a feature you don t want to activate on every single track of a project Brickwall Limiter The final stage of this plug in is a brick wall limiter soft clipper to avoid hard clipping and overshoot at the output of your host software A common practice is to use a slow attack compression stage and then apply the brick wall limiter for harder limiting on remaining transients The blue meter on the left of the output level meter shows the amount of limiting applied The range of this meter is 60 dB You
62. tering stereo mode and oversampling and side chain selection filtering controls 3 The envelope detection controls to configure the time response of the processor that let you modify how the envelope is computed before it is transformed into gain reduction by the next section 4 The main dynamics processing controls to configure the transfer curve which transforms the computed envelope into volume control The dynamics response can be visualized on the graph next to the controls 5 The envelope view displays the envelope of the incoming waveform as well as the evolution of the gain reduction or increase over time 6 Gain reduction increase includes a GR histogram described below 7 Finally on the right is the output stage post volume control with the makeup gain to compensate the decrease increase of the volume and the dry wet control followed by the brick wall limiter and the output gain 8 input and output level meters are provided to monitor the signal as it enters and exits the plug in The Main Toolbar a AAS i an Q sie 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 Show hide level meters 2 Show hide the dynamics response curve 3 Show hide the envelope view 4 Show hide GR histograms with the GR meter 5 Enable disable zoom mode zooms GR and envelope display based on zoom settings for each view 6 Freeze curves and meters except level meters The Envelope View It displays the shape of the wavefor
63. tion such as Cubase or Nuendo Once the side chain has been connected it is possible to filter it just like when using the internal side chain i e the input signal and listen to it Note for the stereo version using the mid side mode does not affect the side chain signal only the processed signal goes thru the dynamics processor in M S mode Real Time MIDI Side Chaining In addition to traditional side chain using the host application connection capabilities it is also possible to use Blue Cat s Dynamics as a MIDI messages generator to perform real time side chaining In order to use this feature you need a host application that supports MIDI CC routing between plug ins You will also need to download the free Blue Cat s Gain Suite plug ins The idea is that the Blue Cat s Dynamics plug in is used to perform the envelope detection on the source track and sends the volume control change messages to the gain plug in that is instantiated on the destination track Control audio signal Unchanged control audio signal source Track Real time side chain control Audio signal Modified audio signal Destination Track This can be achieved with the following procedure e Insert Blue Cat s Dynamics on the audio source track the audio track used as control signal for the side chain mono or stereo e Setup the dry wet parameter to 0 all dry so that the signal on the source track is not affected by the plug in e
64. ttings Use global setting Parameter Name Enable Channel OC MIDI 16 127 All Parameters 0 Linear Bypass Linear On Param 1 j Linear 1000 ms Param 2 i arm Linear s 500 ms Param 3 3 am Linear 3000 ms Param 4 a Linear E 2000 ms Param 5 i l Linear 3dB Param amp Linear 3000 ms Param 7 F Linear 60 dE s Param amp i l Linear l 100 Param 9 j am Linear Reversed Param 10 am Linear Param 11 a Linear Param 12 i Linear Param 14 3 linear generic screen shot does not correspond to the actual plug in parameters Preset Control Output Settings MIDI and Automation Use the global settings or override them for the current preset The parameters are the same as for the global output settings Use global setting Parameter Name Control Autom MIDI 1 16 All Parameters ao Linear Out Param 1 i i Linear Out Param 2 EE am Linear Out Param 3 i i E 2am Linear Out Param 4 f gaT Linear Qut Param 5 am Linear Out Param 6 E ea Linear Out Param 7 l i i 7 zam Linear Out Param amp d Linear Out Param 9 1 g Linear Out Param 10 a eam Linear generic screen shot does not correspond to the actual plug in parameters About Skins Blue Cat s Dynamics integrates Blue Cat s skinning engine that allows you to customize the user interface You can download alternate skins for your plug in at the following address http www bluecataudio com
65. uct Your registration number has not changed either Upgrade A new minor version of my plug in has been released Where can download it When you purchased the plug in an email containing the information to download and register your software has been sent to you You can download the new version from the exact same location as the first time have downloaded a new version do I need to uninstall the previous version No you don t except if it s specified on the product page in the history section Just run the installer and it will upgrade your software Automation What is Parameters Automation The parameters of an effect can be automated in most host software It means that you can record the changes you do during playback or recording so that it s replayed when playing back again It s a way of sequencing parameters changes the same way you do with Audio or MIDI data What is Smooth Update When changing parameter values in real time or replaying a song where parameters have been automated our plug ins compute intermediate values between parameter changes in order to avoid clicks and pops that may occur otherwise It results in a non audible smooth parameters update and lets you freely use automation or MIDI control to change the effects in a song Do your plug ins support MIDI Control Yes they do They offer precise control over the mapping of MIDI Control Change CC messages to parameter values you can
66. ug ins What are the main differences between DX VST RTAS AAX and Audio Units VST is a protocol that works on several platforms Mainly Windows MacOS BeOS and some Linux platforms use it as well whereas DirectX is Microsoft Windows only and Audio Units are available only on the Mac RTAS and AAX are available on Mac and PC but only for Pro Tools products AVID AAX plug ins are compatible with Pro Tools 10 and higher whereas RTAS versions are compatible for Pro Tools 10 and lower versions What is the difference between DXi and DX effects DXi effects are MIDI controllable DirectX plug ins It s the same as DX effects plus MIDI control Which version VST Audio Unit RTAS or DX should I use in my host application Here is a list of host software and the version we recommend you to use Many other applications are supported check your application user manual to choose the best version AU stands for Audio Unit and DX for DirectX Host Application Plug in Version Cakewalk Products Sonar Project5 VST for Sonar 8 and newer DX for older Sony Products Vegas ACID Soundforge VST Steinberg Products Cubase Nuendo Wavelab VST Mac or PC Ableton Live VST Mac or PC Adobe Audition any EnergyXT VST Magix Samplitude VST Avid Digidesign Pro Tools RTAS for PT 9 and earlier AAX for PT 10 and newer Apple applications Logic Pro Logic Express Garage Band AU Cockos Reaper VST Mac or PC In general we
67. ure if the following e Insert Blue Cat s Dynamics on the audio source track the audio track used as control signal for the side chain mono or stereo e Setup the dry wet parameter to 0 all dry so that the signal on the source track is not affected by the plug in e Setup the Blue Cat s Dynamics plug in response curve and time constants to obtain the desired effect e Insert Blue Cat s Gain on the destination track mono or stereo e Arm the Total Gain or Total gain 1 and Total Gain 2 output parameter s to record it as automation curves e Play the track and record the automation envelope s on the source track e Copy paste the envelopes to the destination track e Assign the envelope s to Blue Cat s Gain plug in gain parameter s or to the destination track volume if provided by the host application e Optional Modify the automation curve to tweak the gain changes if required If you have issues performing the above tasks in your host application please visit our website and check our step by step tutorials Note in this mode the output limiter is not used either Side Chaining Extended The ability to use MIDI or automation for side chaining in Blue Cat s Dynamics lets you extend the traditional usage of side chaining you can control any parameter of any automatable or MIDI controllable effect not just gain As a result you can use the dynamics response of a track to control any kind of effect on any other track

Blue Cat`s Dynamics User Manual

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