Blue Cat`s Widening Parametr`EQ User Manual
Contents
1. Param 6 Param 7 Param amp Param 9 Param 10 Param 11 Param 12 Param 13 PERCE CREE CE EEE MLDS DI ITHOoRBBARBAABARBABAAAGA D arm 14 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 MIDI controller 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 MIDI Output Settings You can set the same properties for the output parameters they may trigger MIDI CC messages when modified Since it s output you cannot set the channel to MIDI Omni you must choose a channel E Global Settings Parameter Name CC Enable 1 16 0127 MIDI Out Param 1 Out Param 2 Out Param 3 Out Param 4 Out Param 5 Out Param 6 Out Param 7 Out Param 8 Out Param 9 FO UeU Ue L Waal Out Param 10 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 MIDI controller value will decrease the parameter value Note if you double click on the parameter text control boxes for the max and min values a2. fine tuning edit box will appear and let you change the min and max values with more precision Global Automation Output Settings If your host application does not let you choose which parameters to record as automation curves you may need to choose the automation enabled parameters in the plugin itself In this pane you can decide which output parameters of the plugin will record automation for all instances of the plugin a Global Settings MIDI Input MIDI Output Automation Output 3 l g m Param 1 Param 2 Param 3 Param 4 Param 5 Param 6 Param 7 Param 8 Param 9 SIE EISSSSSS88 Param 10 generic screen shot does not correspond to the actual plug in parameters All parameters are disabled by default Click on the check box to enable disable automation for a parameter The Current Preset Settings Window This window lets you change the settings for the current preset of the current 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 I Use glabal skin Skin file path C Program Files Blue Cat Audio Plugins My Plugin Skins default xml Browse Preset MIDI Input Settings Use the global settings or override them for the current preset The parameters are the same as for the global MI
3. some sliders did not have the color of the corresponding channel o Bug fix VST in some hosts when a loading a project the parameters where not properly restored and the response curve was flat o Bug fix skinning knobs did not display the disabled state image V3 0 o New audio engine e Non linear behavior with analog compression and distortion at each EQ stage e Output brickwall limiter for output protection or compression effect e Oversampling capability for optimal sound quality even with low sampling rates e New low cut and high cut filters e Smooth bypass activate each band of the EQ with absolutely no noise o New GUI design and Blue Cat s Skinnning language 1 3 2 support e Streamlined user interface with simplified controls for optimal workflow e Zooming adjust the dB range of the EQ and the response curve graph e Frequency response measurement new mouse coordinates display e New output level meter e Window Opacity Management make the plugin window transparent o Less restricted demo version o Performance improvements e Faster skin loading e Reduced memory consumption when several instances are loaded o Note due to the number of changes in this new version it is installed as a new plug in If you have a previous version installed and do not want to keep it just uninstall it manually V2 1 o Now supports Blue Cat s Skinnning language 1 2 4 o Parameters can be fine tuned when the shift key is down whi
4. the type of color added to the EQ With extreme settings and extreme boosts this EQ becomes a powerful distortion unit with different amounts of distortion spread accross various parts of the spectrum When using this capability extensively it is recomended to activate the oversampling function to limit unwanted artefacts especially when boosting high frequencies The Output Limiter In order to prevent from signal overshoot when manipulating the EQ a simple brickwall limiter has been added at the end of the signal chain We advise you to activate it when setting up the EQ It can be deactivated later when you are confident with your settings You can also use the limiter to alter the sound of your track and trigger it on purpose by boosting the input gain even though it does not offer many settings About Oversampling Thanks to oversampling the plug in internally works at a higher sample rate This is particularly useful when working with high frequency content at lower sample rates such as 44 1 kHz Running in oversampled mode has several effects on sound quality 1 Filter curves are identical to analog filters when approaching the upper side of the spectrum 2 Non linear mode potential artifacts are reduced when working in non linear mode with very high settings 100 Non linear and 100 distortion for example the plug in may produce aliasing artifacts on high frequencies Use oversampling to avoid these digital arti
5. VST RTAS 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 is available on Mac and PC but only for Pro Tools products Digidesign VST RTAS and Audio Units are dedicated to Audio processing whereas DirectX DirectShow enables you to manage any kind of streamed media audio video compressed data What is the difference between DXi and DX effects DXi effects are MIDI controllable DirectX plugins It s the same as DX effects plus MIDI control Which version VST Audio Unit RTAS or DX should 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 Projectd DX sony Products Vegas ACID Soundforge DX for old versions VST for new Steinberg Products Cubase Nuendo Wavelab VST Mac or PC Ableton Live VST Mac or PC Adobe Audition any EnergyXT VST Magix Samplitude VST Digidesign Pro Tools RTAS if available any otherwise RTAS adapter required Apple applications Logic Pro Logic Express Garage Band AU In general we recommend using VST over Audio Unit on Mac when both are su
6. 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 a Global gs Skin MIDI input MIDI Output Skin file path C Program Files Blue Cat Audio Flugins My Plugin Skins default xml Global MIDI Input Settings 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 following settings are available for each plug in parameter o 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 o CC Control Change Number o 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 o Enable MIDI enable disable the MIDI control of the parameter o Response response curve of the MIDI control from very fast to slow control o Min minimal value of the parameter when MIDI controlled o Max Maximum value of the parameter when MIDI controlled a Global Setting MIDI Output Parameter Name Channel CC Enable 016 0127 MIDI Bypass Param 1 Param 2 Param 3 Param 4 Param 5
7. filters until band filter 5 General Side Channel dsp input37 Pre gain S Input Gain of the plugin before entering the filtering stages dsp input66 Post gain S Output Gain of the plugin after the filters but before the output limiter Low Side Channel dsp input38 Low Active S ctivate deactivate low filter dsp input39 Low Frequency S Hz ut off frequency of the low filter dsp input40 Low Gain S ain of the low shelf filter dsp input41 Low Mode S O Low shelf 1 Low cut High Side Channel gt dsp input42 High Active S ctivate Deactivate high shelf filter dsp input43 High Frequency S Hz ut off frequency of the high shelf filter dsp input44 High Gain S ain of the low shelf filter dsp input45 High Mode S High shelf 1 High cut Band filters Side Channel gt dsp input46 Mid 1 Active S ctivate Deactivate band filter 1 dsp input47 Mid 1 Frequency S Z ut off frequency of the band filter 1 dsp input48 Mid 1 Bandwidth S Hz ut off frequency of the band filter 1 dsp input49 Mid 1 Gain S Q ain of the band filter 1 Repeated for all band filters until band filter 5 Output The Widening Parametr EQ plug in provides visual feedback and measurement of the equalizer behavior with output parameters Nica canal D Ea dsp output2 Clip M Clip information for the audio signal at the plug in output for the m
8. 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 plugins compute intermediate values between parameter changes in order to avoid clics 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 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 Widening Parametr EQ Our website offers many additional resources for your Blue Cat s Widening Parametr EQ plugin and is constantly updated so keep an ey
9. Blue Cat s Widening Parametr EQ User Manual Window Opscot E 10 dE 20 dE 40 dE Poston S04 Hz 806 Fame Controls Mid Channels Link On Bypass Oversample Limit Renie Hama e Flat Auto G ain Mid Channel EQ Control On Pre Low Band 1 Band 2 Band 5 High Post 5 0 06 10 0 0B 0 0 dB 0 0 dB 0 0 dA 19 0 dB 0 0 dA 0 0 dB Freq 200 Hz Freg 400 Hz BW 1 00 Oc kh Ti Freq 00 Hz BW 1 00 Oc Z Freq a200 Hz Freg i rn r000 Hz Non Linear 1003 Comp 30 Dist A powerful multi band processor for stereo widening and narrowing i BY yea CZO RTAS 0 DX wi YU U GUONI wu wo s Table Of Content o Introduction e Description e Main Features e System Requirements e Installation o Using Blue Cat s Widening Parametr EQ e The User Interface e Operation o Blue Cat Audio Plugins Basics e User Interface Basics e Controls e Keyboard e Mouse e More o Blue Cat s Widening Parametr EQ Parameters e Input e Output o Blue Cat s Widening Parametr EQ Curves o Plugin Settings e The Global Settings Window e The Preset Settings Window o About Skins e Changing the Skin e Create a Custom Skin o Frequently Asked Questions o More e Extra Skins e Tutorials e Updates e Versions History Note An html version of this user manual is available online here Introduction Description Blue Cat s Widening Parametr EQ is a 7 band
10. DI input settings Use global setting Parameter Name Channel 0 16 All Parameters F Linear Linear Bypass Param 1 Linear Param 2 Linear Param 3 Linear Param 4 Linear Param 5 Linear Param 6 Param 7 Linear Param amp Linear Param 9 Linear Param 10 Linear Param 11 Linear Param 12 Linear o p o p p p p In al ll al aai ail O bem 1S az O al al al O O a Param 14 q linear generic screen shot does not correspond to the actual plug in parameters Preset MIDI Output Settings Use the global settings or override them for the current preset The parameters are the same as for the global MIDI output settings Use global setting Parameter Name Channel OC Enable Response 1 16 0127 MIDI All Parameters Fi Linear Out Param 1 Leam Linear Out Param 2 Leam Linear Out Param 3 Leam Linear Out Param 4 Leam Linear Out Param 5 D B Leam Linear Out Param 6 mm Leam Linear Qut Param 7 Leam Linear Leam Linear Leam Linear ka Out Param 8 Out Param 9 Out Param 10 FROROoORaAAaAAaAB a GB i i i i i i Leam Linear generic screen shot does not correspond to the actual plug in parameters Preset Automation Output Settings Use the global settings or override them for the current preset The parameters are the same as for the global automation output settings Us
11. Formats What are DirectX DX Audio Unit AU RTAS and VST plugins VST Audio Unit RTAS and DirectX plugins are software components than can be used in Host Software such as Cakewalk Sonar Steinberg Cubase or Wavelab Sony Vegas Logic Pro Garage Band Ableton Live Pro Tools in order to perform some MIDI and Or Audio real time Processing tasks To be more precise what we usually call directX plugins is actually a DirectShow Filter VST is owned by Steinberg DirectX by Microsoft while Audio Units is the property of Apple Computers and RTAS is owned by Digidesign How can I use your plugins Download and install a host software then download and install the plugins from our page They will appear in the host effects menu If you are using a DirectX host with our MIDI controllable plugins 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 There are 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 plugins What are the main differences between DX
12. and MIDI settings that are used by default in all instances of the plugin o User Manual open this user manual o Check Updates check the updates for this software on our website o Get More Skins get more skins for this software o About displays the about dialog box MIDI control Blue Cat s Widening Parametr EQ can also be remotely controlled via MIDI using MIDI CC Control Change messages if your host application supports it It is possible to customize the channel control numbers and range used for each parameter in the MIDI settings panel available from the main menu see the Plugin Settings chapter for more details Controls Examples Here are a few examples of typical controls you will encounter in the user interface of our plugins slider slider knob button Text control Interacting with Controls You can interact with the controls of the plug in interface either with the mouse or the keyboard Setting the keyboard focus on a control so that it reponds 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 plugins It is usually made obvious to you to know the active surfaces of the skin the places where you can click with the
13. armth or analog distortion to each EQ stage o Output brickwall limiter o Output peak meter o Oversampling for optimal sound quality whatever your sampling rate o 40 dB range for each band with customizable effective range o Automatic gain compensation o No latency o Real time display of the frequency response with precise measurement and zooming capabilities o Window Opacity Control make the plugin window transparent o Smooth Bypass activate deactivate the plugin with absolutely no noise o Undo Redo o Import Export presets and share them between the directX and VST versions Blue Cat Audio Standards o Supported platforms Mac AU Mac RTAS Mac VST Windows DX Windows RTAS Windows VST Win x64 DX Win x64 VST o Native DSP code for optimal performance o Skinnable user interface o Smooth Update silent zipper free parameters update o Full automation support all parameters can be automated with smooth and continuous update o No CPU load on idle when the plugin is fed with silence the processing smoothly shuts down to optimize the CPU usage of your Digital Audio Workstation o Real time MIDI control with advanced settings MIDI channel and CC numbers with complete response curve control and MIDI learn o Automation and MIDI output record output parameters as automation curves or send MIDI CC messages to other plugins for powerful side chain effects o Smooth Bypass activate deactivate the plugin wit
14. ce bass on the center of a mix and boost the highs on the sides to make it feel wider without yet making it too artifical Single Channel When the M S link is enabled and its mode set to absolute the plugin behaves just like a single channel EQ both channels are processed with the exact same settings Multi Bands Widener Narrower If you enable the Mid Side link in absolute mode and use the Mirror function the plugin will behave as a multiple bands widening narrowing balance In this case you can choose to mask the side band controls and only use the mid controls Pushing the cursor up will push the sound to the mid channel narrowing the sound whereas moving down will widen the stereo signal Apply the effect at a chosen position in the stereo field If you use only the mid EQ you will by default modify the center of the stereo field Thanks to the center parameter it is possible to adjust exactly where in the stereo field you want the effect to occur and not only in the middle Non Linear Mode This EQ offers the ability to introduce non linearities in the signal chain by default the EQ Is transparent and operates as shown on the upper graph but it is possible to activate the non linear behavior by increasing the Non Linear parameter value It controls the amount of non linearity of each filter Once this is activated you can choose the balance of distortion versus compression applied in every filter This lets you control
15. ch offers a 1 dB gain resolution o CPU efficiency improvement no processing occurs when input Is silent o Settings window now loads faster o Bug fix in some plug in adapters such as FxPansion s VST to RTAS adapter the GUI did not display properly when first loaded o Bug fix when reinstalling the software in another directory the skin not found message was displayed V2 0 o Brand new skinnable graphic user interface using Blue Cat s skinning language v1 2 3 o Advanced MIDI control with customizable parameters curve response and MIDI learn o Performance and precision improvement of the filters algorithms o All parameters can now be fine tuned thanks to a text edit popup window that appears when double clicking on user interface widgets o User Manual accessible from plug in Ul o DX version the factory presets are now available from the host standard presets view for hosts that support static presets o Warning because it now supports MIDI events the DirectX plug in may appear in the Synth or DXi category instead of effects in some hosts such as Cakewalk Sonar If it does not appear in you host you might want to use our DXi Manager to de activate MIDI features o Warning this new version breaks the presets compatibility and is thus installed as a new plug in If you have a previous version installed and do not want to keep it just uninstall it manually V1 1 Brand new GUI based on customer feedba
16. ck V1 0 First release Thanks again for choosing our solutions See you soon on www bluecataudio com 00 Qo BLUE CAT AUDIO
17. d Non Linear set to a non zero value this parameter controls the non linear behavior of the filters When set to 0 the filters have a compression like behavior and when set to 100 they sound more like tube distortion Reset output meter clip information Input Gain of the plugin before entering the filtering stages aS dsp input6 Clip Reset M General Mid Channel dsp input7 Pre gain M dsp input36 Post gain M Output Gain of the plugin after the filters but before the output limiter Low Mid Channel gt dsp input8 Low Active M ctivate deactivate low filter O dsp input9 Low Frequency M Hz ut off frequency of the low filter dsp input10 Low Gain M ain of the low shelf filter dsp input11 Low Mode M 0 Low shelf 1 Low cut High Mid Channel dsp input12 High Active M Activate Deactivate high shelf filter dsp input13 High Frequency M Hz Cut off frequency of the high shelf filter dsp input14 High Gain M Gain of the low shelf filter dsp input15 High Mode M High shelf 1 High cut Band filters Mid Channel dsp input16 Mid 1 Active M Activate Deactivate band filter 1 dsp input17 Mid 1 Frequency M Hz Cut off frequency of the band filter 1 dsp input18 Mid 1 Bandwidth M Z ut off frequency of the band filter 1 dsp input19 Mid 1 Gain M Gain of the band filter 1 Repeated for all band
18. e global setting Parameter Name Enable Automation Al Parameters Out Param 1 Out Param 2 Out Param 3 Out Param 4 Out Param 5 Out Param 6 Out Param 7 Out Param amp Out Param 9 Out Param 10 generic screen shot does not correspond to the actual plug in parameters About Skins Blue Cat s Widening Parametr EQ integrates Blue Cat s skinning engine that allows you to customize the user interface You can download new skins for your plug in at the following address http www bluecataudio com Skins Product_WideningParametrEQ If you don t find a skin that fits your need or if you want a really custom one you can choose to create your own skin Changing the Skin You have two ways to change the skin of your plug in you can change the default or global skin in the global settings 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 whereas the current preset skin only applies to the current preset of the current plug in instance See the main menu for more information abour how to access these options On some hosts 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 Create a Custom Skin You can create custom skins for your plug in in order to adapt it to your exact needs Yo
19. e 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 Widening Parametr EQ skins page to get the latest skins Copper Product Widening ParametrEQ Description A completely re designed layout for the Widening Parametr EQ Note this skin is not compatible with Blue Cat s Widening Parametr EQ 3 Author Stefan Windus Download Skin Copper zipo Product Widening Parametr EQ Description New layout and silver color for the Widening Parametr EQ Note this skin is not compatible with Blue Cat s Widening Parametr EQ 3 Author Stefan Windus Download Skin Silver zip Tutorials Many Tutorials are available on our website They cover a wide range of topics and host applications You will find below a list of tutorials that are related to the Blue Cat s Widening Parametr EQ plugin An updated list is also available online Tutorial Customize the Colors of your Plugins This tutorial shows how to customize the FreqAnalyst Pro plugin s user interface by changing the color of the displayed curves It is a very basic skinning tutorial All you need to know is how to exp Read More Tutorial Using DXi plug ins in Sony Vegas E This tutorial will teach you how to use any DXi plug in in Sony Vegas Sony Ve
20. eck that the parameters you want to record are enabled You also need to check that the plugin automation output is enabled for these parameters Check the Preset or Global settings Automation Output pane and select the parameters you want to record When I use the plugin in a project every time save the project my application shows it as unsaved right away How can solve this issue This plugin produces automation output and some host applications consier 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 plugin you can disable automation output from the plugin settings panel Global or Preset Settings Automation Output pane uncheck all parameters MIDI Output How can I enable the MIDI output of the plugin If your host application supports it you can choose to send MIDI CC messages based on the output parameters computed by the plugin 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 enbale 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 plugin 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
21. facts and produce a warmer sound Note that the produced digital distortion can be interesting as well in some cases The drawback of oversampling is of course CPU hit since the plug in will have to convert audio data and process much more samples Note that if your host is already running at 96 kHz you may not need to use the oversampling functionality Tip Use Automation Since this plugin integrates the smooth update technology you can use and abuse of automation to create time varying widening or narrowing filter effects It is also possible to control these variations in real time thanks to the ability of the plugin to be controlled via MIDI as shown in our MIDI Wah tutorials see the tutorials section Blue Cat Audio Plugins Basics This chapter describes the basic features that are common to all our plugins If you are already familiar with our products you can skip this part User Interface Basics About Skins Like all Blue Cat Audio plugins Blue Cat s Widening Parametr EQ 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 very different from the one offered by the default skins that we provide and which are described later in this manual Our plugins and our skinning engine however have several standard features that will be available whatever your favorite skin This is what this chapter will desc
22. gas 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 peccern of E DA J TEA Li E Tutorial Real Time Side Chain Dynamic Equalizing m 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 Tutorial Export Plugin Presets to Share them with the Community 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 miypreset Tutorial Analyze and Enhance the Spectrum of your Mix This video tutorial shows how to use Blue Cat s FreqAnalyst Pro plugin to check the spectrum of your mix and help you modify it The gearwire com team demonstrates some of the functionalities of the 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 Getting Started with Plugins User Interface Set Preset Skin Get used to the user interface features of Blue Ca
23. h absolutely no noise o Undo Redo o Import Export presets in a host independent format o Any sample rate supported System Requirements PC o Microsoft Windows XP Vista or Windows 7 o Any DirectX VST RTAS compatible host software 32 or 64 bit Mac o An Intel or PowerPC processor o Mac OS X Leopard 10 5 or Snow Leopard 10 6 o Any VST Audio Unit 82 64 bit RTAS compatible application For more information about supported platforms see our FAQ Installation Blue Cat Audio plugins cannot be run standalone they require a host application see the System Requiremenis chapter for more information Depending on which host application you use you might need to install the plugins in different locations Windows Install Both DirectX and VST versions provide an install program Follow the steps of the wizard to install the plugin on your machine During the installation you will be asked where you want the plugin s to be installed For the VST version you should install the plugin inside the VST plugins 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 plugins Some applications will not automatically rescan the new plugins so you might have to force a refresh of the plugins list Upgrade When a new version of the plugin is released just launch the new installe
24. harm your system Software Version How do know the version of the plug in 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 I 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 product Your registration number has not changed either Upgrade A new minor version of my plugin has been released Where can I download it When you purchased the plugin 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
25. ich pro Read More This tutorial shows how to use the MIDI connectivity of our plugins within Pro Tools We use Blue Cat s Peak Meter Pro plugin as an example but you can use any other audio plugin which provides outpu Read More This tutorial shows you how to get and load free presets for your favorite Blue Cat Audio plugin This tutorial uses Blue Cat s Dynamics for the demonstration but is applicable to all our plugins Read More T Load Freset pipmras Updates As you can see in the history log below we care about constantly updating our products in order to provide you with the latest technology available Please visit often our website to check if Blue Cat s Widening Parametr EQ has been updated or subscribe to our Newsletter to keep you informed with the latest news about our products Versions History 2010 05 04 V3 5 o RTAS plugin format support for Pro Tools Mac and Windows o 64 bit applications support for Windows DX and VST under Windows x64 o Mac AU 64 bit format support compatible with 64 bit Logic 9 1 on Snow Leopard o Space bar does not trigger plug in buttons anymore avoids conflict with transport control in most applications o Demo version now displays a nag screen only once per session and only when opening the user interface of the plug in o Fixed MIDI learn issues o Mac fixed user interface crashes in some hosts under Snow Leopard o Mac fixed keyboard mouse focus i
26. id channel i E Compression of the output limiter for the mid channel Output peak value of the audio signal at the plug in output for the mid channel dsp output5 Clip S Note the param id field is used when designing a new skin See the skins section of this manual for more information Compression of the output limiter for the side channel Output peak value of the audio signal at the plug in output for the side channel Clip information for the audio signal at the plug in output for the side channel Blue Cat s Widening Parametr EQ Curves The Widening Parametr EQ plug in also provides visual feedback about the response curve of the equalizer with output curves a Global frequency response of the equalizer Note the curve id field is used when designing a new skin See the skins section section for more information Plugin Settings In addition to the controls offered in the main user interface Blue Cat s Widening Parametr EQ has various settings that let you fine tune the behavior of the plugin You can choose to change these settings either for the current preset or globally for all instances of the plugin The Global Settings Window The settings available in this window apply to all instances of the plug in for all presets Consider these settings as default settings Global Skin You can change the default skin for all instances of the plug in write the skin file path in the text edit
27. ior heavily depends on your host application 8 Misc per channel controls o Auto Gain the user interface automatically adjusts the input gain to prevent distortion for the current channel o EQ control shortcuts for all bands 9 When moving the mouse over the graph the position of the mouse is displayed at this place so that you can exactly measure the EQ curve you are applying 10 Misc general controls o Bypass bypass the plug in with smooth bypass transition as opposed to most host bypass functionality o Oversample activate deactivate oversampling o Limit enable disable the output limiter 11 Channel switch choose which channels controls you want to display Mid or Side This switch does not exist in the skins which display both channels at the same time 12 Channels link control o the on switch enables disables the link between channels o Absolute Relative in absolute mode the values of the controls for both channels are identical whereas in relative mode only controls variations are reported on the other channel letting you setup a different EQ on each channel and then apply linked modifications for example o Normal Mirror in mirror mode the gain value for both channels are reversed It is very handy when you want to use the EQ as a balance between channels 13 Center Position this control lets you choose the position of the virtual center for the M S matrix It corresponds to the positi
28. l Pre Low Band 1 Band 2 Band 3 Band 4 Band 5 High Pos sal 0 0 dB 5 0 dA 410 005 0 0 dB 8 0 di 0 0 dB 0 0 dB 19 0 dB 0 0 dA Freq Freq Freg Freg 200 Hz 400 Hz 1600 Hz rogo Hz Pur OVW 1 00 ict x i Non Linear 100 Comp 30 1 Activate each filter separately on the current channel This enables you to lower CPU consumption if you do not activate all filters 2 Controls for the filters and in out gain You can select the shape of the filter cut or shelf for the low and high filters 3 EQ response graph this graph shows the global response curve of the EQ for each channel blue curve for mid red for side and the response curve for the current filter you are manipulating white curve 4 Output Meters the meters in the center green red show the output level of the plugin for the mid and side channels and the blue meters on the left and right show the compression amount for each channel when the output limiter is activated 5 Zoom you can zoom the graph and sliders change their range by using either the blue slider on the left or clicking on the predefined range values 10 20 or 40 dB This allows you to precisely manage the range of your EQ 6 Non linear behavior these two sliders let you control the linear behavior of the filters See the parameters section for more information 7 Window Opacity management use this slider to make the plugin window transparent this behav
29. lt value same as mouse right click Opens the fine tuning window to precisely set the parameter When the key is down the fine tuning mode is on and you can modify the value with better precision when moving the mouse the mouse wheel or using the keyboard Just release the key to get back to the normal mode Action Pushes the button Check our online tutorial for more screenshots and more examples of our plugins user interfaces Blue Cat s Widening Parametr EQ 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 EQ settings can be controlled by the following input parameters aramid name unt peserpton O General dsp inputi Center Center position in the stereo field for the Mid Side matrix 100 is full left 100 is full right Activate the output brickwall limiter Activate oversampling When on the audio signal is oversampled for the internal computation This makes filter curves symmetric for high frequencies even if you use low sample rates and reduces artifacts when using very high non linear and distortion settings dsp input2 Limiter On dsp input3 Oversample dsp input4 Non Linear When non zero selects the amount of non linearity of the filters oS dsp inputS Comp Dist When non linearity is enable
30. 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 m 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 Cubase SX you cannot use the arrow keys to control the plugin Keys Common to All Controls Key Up Arrow Down Arrow Left Arrow Right Arrow Page Up Page Down SHIFT Keys Specific to Buttons Key Enter More Action Small increment of the position up or right Small increment of the position down or left Same as Down Arrow Same as Up Arrow Large increment of the position up or right Large decrement of the position down or left Small increment of the value of the control Small decrement of the value of the control Set to defau
31. on of the mid channel in the stereo field For more explanations about this control please read this Mid Side processing article The various elements of the user interface Knobs sliders button are simple and intuitive to operate but more information about how to interact with them is available in the Plugins Basics chapter of this manual Operation The EQ To operate the EQ you just need to activate the band you are interested in and move the slider and knobs to adjust the parameters of the filter The EQ graph above is updated in real time It is also possible to first adjust the filter curve visually with the filter disabled and apply the filter once it s setup It is particularly useful in live situations where you may want the filter to be applied only when it s close to its final position The activation of the filters is smooth and will not produce any artefact in the output This plugin offers independent settings for both channels You can apply different EQ settings to the mid and side channels see this mid side processing paper for more information about what the mid and side channels mean for this particular EQ It is however possible to link both channels in various way and thus control both channels from a single slider Dual channels With no link between the mid and side channels you can use the plugin to shape the spectrum of the center and sides of a stereo track independenily You can for example choose to reinfor
32. pported particularly for the plugins that can output automation or MIDI CC messages Where can find more information about this topic o www steinberg net o WWW microsoft com o wWww kvraudio com o WWW apple com o WWwW digidesign com Installation have installed my software and it is not listed as an application Why What can do How can I launch it Most software you can purchase on this website is plugins 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 I 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 supports DXi check that the plug in does not appear in the vi
33. r it will update the current installation Mac Install On Mac the plugins are available as drive images After download double click on the file to open it You can then drag and drop the plugin file s to the shortcut that is provided within the image It will install the plugin s for all users on the machine In case you do not have admin rights on your Mac or if you want to install the plugin s 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 plugin is released open the new image and copy the files over the previous ones The new version will replace the older one Dlia Ont a ALiAannincr The Widening Parametr EQ effect is delivered with several skins Some of them display the controls for a given channel at a time you need to manually switch to the other channel and some other skins display the controls for both channels at the same time We will have a closer look to the default single channel at a time skin since the other ones provide the same controls but with a slightly different layout re CO mtu C Window Opacity 10 dE 20 dE 40 dB Position S04 Hz 806 L R Controls Mid Channels Link On Oversamp le Limit Absolute Relstve Normal Mirror Off Auto G6 ain On Mid Channel EQ Contro
34. ribe More information about custom skins can be found in the skins section Main Toolbar and Menu Menu If you right click on the background of the plug in the following pop up menu appears Set Preset Skin Use Global Skin Undo Redo Load Preset Save Preset Preset Settings Global Settings Check for Updates Get More Skins About The description of the commands associated to each menu item are available below Toolbar In some skins an optional toolbar gives you access to the some of the functionalities of the main menu Icon Name Function Menu Open the main menu a Undo Undo at Redo Redo Load Load Preset j Save Save Preset Manual User Manual i About About a Website Opens our website Commands The Commands available from the main menu or the toolbar are o Set Preset Skin change the skin for the current preset o Use Global Skin use the skin defined in the global settings for the current preset This item is enabled only if a skin has been defined for the current preset o Undo Redo undo or redo the latest modifications This includes all changes made to the current preset settings o Load Preset load preset from file o Save Preset save current preset to file o Presets Settings open the presets settings window It enables you to change the skin and MIDI settings for the current preset o Global Settings open the global settings window It enables you to change the skin
35. rtual 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 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 installed the VST plug in zip file version just delete the corresponding dlls Why do your plugins need an installer on Windows Do they modify the registry or system settings Why not providing just a dll Our plugins require several additional files for default settings skins and miscalleanous data We provide an installer for our customers convinience Our installers do not modify the system settings settings or the Windows registry except for the DirectX versions registration Our installers won t
36. s parametric Mid Side equalizer based on Blue Cat s Parametr EQ algorithms enabling you to widen or narrow the frequencies of your choice This special widening version offers two independent equalizers for the mid and side channels with instant frequency response display But Blue Cat s Widening Parametr EQ is much more than a standard mid side equalizer since it lets you choose the position of the virtual center for the Mid Side matrix you can really control where you want the equalization to take place in the stereo field You can thus use this parametric mid side equalizer for many purposes from simple standard equalizing anywhere in the stereo field to advanced multi band stereo widening or narrowing The new non linear behavior and the included M S output brickwall limiter will also let you modify the dynamics response of this very special plugin For more information about the Parametr EQ technology please read Blue Cat s Parametr EQ plugin s description Additional information about stereo widening with mid side processing can be found in this paper Main Features o True WYSIWYG 7 bands parametric equalizer with independent mid side channels o Filters designed after analog circuits o The equalizer can be placed with great precision in the stereo field thanks to the center parameter o Separate center sides equalizing for a precise customized multi band stereo widening narrowing effects o Non linear modeling add some w
37. ssues in some hosts o Mac fixed multiple screens issue o Mac AU fixed settings lost issue when doing offline rendering in some applications o Mac AU output parameters routing now works for more than one instance in Logic Pro s Environment o Mac AU fixed output parameters that could exceed defined range and not record properly as automation curves 2009 05 05 V3 41 Mac VST update fixed incompatibility issues with Cubase 5 on Mac 2009 03 09 V3 4 o Mac Audio Unit support o Mac VST Support o New Windows installer you should uninstall any previous version before installing this new one o New documentation o Minor user interfaces changes 2008 03 28 V3 3 o Skins loading performance improvement o Misc user interface performance enhancements o Improved parameters display in host application and settings window o Fixed a crash on certain configurations while opening the global settings window o Settings window is now faster to open o Installer now registers the VST plugin to avoid registration issues in some host applications 2007 09 17 V3 2 o Undo Redo o Load Save presets in a host independent format you can now share presets between the directX and VST versions o New toolbar to access main functionalities o Blue Cat s Skinning Language 1 3 4 support 2007 06 04 2007 05 21 2006 11 29 2006 10 18 2005 06 13 2005 05 19 V3 1 o Frequency ranges have been enlarged o Skins update
38. t Audio products They have been designed for an optimal workflow so here are the tips and tricks to save time All these functionalities are explain Read More Preset Settings Global Settings Liter Marial 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 Tutorial Mid Side Processing aera soe Mid Side processing explained Download this tutorial as a pdf file 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 Using Blue Cat Audio plugins connectivity in Reaper This 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 Tutorial Connecting plug ins together in Logic for advanced side chain effects This tutorial shows how to use the connectivity capabilities of our plugins within Logic We use Blue Cat s Peak Meter Pro plugin DPMP as an example but you can use any other audio plugin wh
39. u 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 download 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 plugin 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 plugin 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 plugin my host application draws many automation curves on the current track and yet I have not touched any control on the plugin How can I 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 plugin You can disable the output parameters you do not use in the Preset or Global settings Automation Output pane am 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 ch
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