Audio effects and transitions

Amplify effect boosts or attenuates an audio signal. Since the effect operates in real time, you can combine it with other effects in the Effects Rack.

• Gain Sliders: Boost or attenuate individual audio channels.
• Link Sliders: Moves the channel sliders together.

The Channel Mixer effect alters the balance of stereo or surround channels. You can change the apparent position of sounds, correct mismatched levels, or address phasing issues.

• Channel tabs: Select the output channel. 
• Input channel sliders: To mix into the output channel, determine the percentage of the current channels. 
• Invert: Inverts a channel’s phase. Inverting all channels causes no perceived difference in sound. Inverting only one channel, however, can greatly change the sound.

The Channel Volume effect lets you independently control the volume of each channel in a stereo or 5.1 clip or track. Each channel’s level is measured in decibels.

The DeEsser effect removes sibilance and other high frequency “SSS”-type sounds. These sounds are often created when a narrator or vocalist pronounces the letters “s” and “t.” This effect is available for 5.1, stereo, or mono clip.

• Mode: Choose Broadband to uniformly compress all frequencies or Multiband to only compress the sibilance range. Multiband is best for most audio content but slightly increases processing time.
• Threshold: Sets the amplitude above which compression occurs.
• Center Frequency: Specifies the frequency at which sibilance is most intense. To verify, adjust this setting while playing audio.
• Bandwidth: Determines the frequency range that triggers the compressor.
• Output Sibilance Only: Lets you hear detected sibilance. Start playback, and fine-tune settings above.
• Gain Reduction: Shows the compression level of the processed frequencies.
  

Dynamics Effects consist of four sections. They are Auto Gate, Compressor, Expander, and Limiter. You can individually control each one of the sections. The LED and gain reduction meters helps you get the overview about how the audio signal is processed.

The different parameters under Dynamic Effects are as follows:

• Auto Gate: Removes noise below a certain amplitude threshold. The LED meter is green when audio passes through the gate. The meter turns red when there is no audio passing, and yellow during the attack, release, and hold times.
• Compressor: Reduces the dynamic range of the audio signal by attenuating audio that exceeds a specific threshold. The Ratio parameter can be used control the change in dynamic range while Attack and Release parameter changes the temporal behavior. Use the Gain parameter to increase the audio level after compressing the signal. The Gain Reduction meter shows how much the audio level is reduced.
• Expander: Increases the dynamic range of the audio signal by attenuating audio below the specified threshold. The ratio parameter can be used to control the change in dynamic range. The Gain Reduction meter shows the level of reduction in audio level.
• Limiter: Attenuate audio that exceeds a specified threshold. The meter LED turns on when the signal is limited.

Dynamics Processing effect can be used as a compressor, limiter, or expander. As a compressor and limiter, this effect reduces dynamic range, producing consistent volume levels. As an expander, it increases dynamic range by reducing the level of low‑level signals. (With extreme expander settings, you can create a noise gate that totally eliminates noise below a specific amplitude threshold.)

Dynamics

• Graph: Depicts input level along the horizontal ruler (x‑axis) and the new output level along the vertical ruler (y‑axis). The default graph, with a straight line from the lower left to the upper right, depicts a signal that has been left untouched. Every input level has the same output level. Adjusting the graph changes the relationship between input and output levels, altering dynamic range. For example, if a desirable sonic element occurs around ‑20 dB, you can boost the input signal at that level, but leave everything else unchanged. You can also draw an inverse line (from the upper left to the lower right) that boosts quiet sounds and suppress loud ones.
• Add point: Adds control point in graph using numerical input and output levels you specify. This method is more precise than clicking the graph to add points.
• Delete point: Removes selected point from the graph.
• Invert: Flips the graph, converting compression into expansion, or the other way around.
• Reset: Resets the graph to its default state.
• Spline Curves: Creates smoother, curved transitions between control points, rather than more abrupt, linear transitions. For more information, see About spline curves for graphs.
• Make-up Gain: Boosts the processed signal.

Settings 

General: Provides overall settings.

• Look Ahead Time: Addresses transient spikes that can occur at the onset of loud signals that extend beyond the compressor’s Attack Time settings. Extending Look-Ahead Time causes compression to attack before the audio gets loud, ensuring that amplitude never exceeds a certain level. Conversely, reducing Look-Ahead Time is desirable to enhance the impact of percussive music like drum hits. 
• Noise Gating: Completely silences signals that are expanded below a 50-to-1 ratio.

Level Detector: Determines the original input amplitude. 

• Input Gain: Applies gain to the signal before it enters the Level Detector.
• Attack Time: Determines how many milliseconds it takes for the input signal to register a changed amplitude level. For example, if audio suddenly drops 30 dB, the specified attack time passes before the input registers an amplitude change. This selection avoids erroneous amplitude readings due to temporary changes. 
• Release Time: Determines how many milliseconds the current amplitude level is maintained before another amplitude change can register. 
• Peak mode: Determines levels based on amplitude peaks. This mode is a bit more difficult to use than RMS, because peaks aren’t precisely reflected in the Dynamics graph. However, it can be helpful when audio has loud transient peaks you want to subdue.
• RMS mode: Determines levels based on the root-mean-square formula, an averaging method that more closely matches the way people perceive volume. This mode precisely reflects amplitudes in the Dynamics graph. For example, a limiter (flat horizontal line) at ‑10 dB reflects an average RMS amplitude of ‑10 dB.

Gain Processor: Amplifies or attenuates the signal depending on the amplitude detected. 

• Output Gain: Applies gain to the output signal after all dynamics processing.
• Attack Time: Determines how many milliseconds it takes for the output signal to reach the specified level. For example, if audio suddenly drops 30 dB, the specified attack time passes before the output level changes.
• Release Time: Determines how many milliseconds the current output level is maintained.
• Link Channels: Processes all channels equally, preserving the stereo or surround balance. For example, a compressed drum beat on the left channel reduces the right channel level by an equal amount.

Band Limiting: Restricts dynamics processing to a specific frequency range. 

• Low Cutoff: Is the lowest frequency that dynamics processing affects.
• High Cutoff: Is the highest frequency that dynamics processing affects.

Hard Limiter effect greatly attenuates audio that rises above a specified threshold. Typically, limiting is applied with an input boost, a technique that increases overall volume while avoiding distortion.

• Maximum Amplitude: Sets the maximum sample amplitude allowed.
  
• Input Boost: Preamplifies audio before you limit it, making a selection louder without clipping it. As you increase this level, compression increases. Try extreme settings to achieve the loud, high‑impact audio heard in contemporary pop music.
• Look Ahead Time: Sets the amount of time (in milliseconds) for the audio to be attenuated before the loudest peak is hit.
• Release Time: Sets the time (in milliseconds) for the attenuation to rebound back 12 dB. In general, a setting of around 100 (the default) works well and preserves low bass frequencies.
• Link Channels: Links the loudness of all channels together, preserving the stereo or surround balance.

Multiband Compressor effect lets you independently compress four different frequency bands. Because each band typically contains unique dynamic content, multiband compression is a powerful tool for audio mastering.

• Crossover: Sets the crossover frequencies, which determine the width of each band. Either enter specific Low, Midrange, and High frequencies, or drag the crossover markers above the graph.
• Solo Buttons: Let you hear specific frequency bands. Enable one Solo button at a time to hear bands in isolation, or enable multiple buttons to hear two or more bands together.
• Bypass Buttons: Bypass individual bands so they pass through without processing.
• Thresh: Set the input level at which compression begins. Possible values range from ‑60 dB to 0 dB. The best setting depends on audio content and musical style. To compress only extreme peaks and retain more dynamic range, try thresholds around 5 dB below the peak input level. To highly compress audio and greatly reduce dynamic range, try settings around 15 dB below the peak input level.
• Gain: Boosts or cuts amplitude after compression. Possible values range from ‑18 dB to +18 dB, where 0 is unity gain.
• Ratio: Sets a compression ratio between 1‑to‑1 and 30‑to‑1. For example, a setting of 3.0 outputs 1 dB for every 3-dB increase above the compression threshold. Typical settings range from 2.0 to 5.0; higher settings produce the compressed sound often heard in pop music.
• Attack: Determines how quickly compression is applied when audio exceeds the threshold. Possible values range from 0 milliseconds to 500 milliseconds. The default, 10 milliseconds, works well for a wide range of audio. Faster settings work better for audio with fast transients, but such settings sound unnatural for less percussive audio.
• Release: Determines how quickly compression stops after audio drops below the threshold. Possible values range from 0 milliseconds to 5000 milliseconds. The default, 100 milliseconds, works well for a wide range of audio. Try faster settings for audio with fast transients, and slower settings for less percussive audio.
• Output Gain: Boosts or cuts overall output level after compression. Possible values range from ‑18 dB to +18 dB, where 0 is unity gain. To reset peak and clip indicators, double‑click the meters.
• Gain: Boosts or cuts amplitude after compression. Possible values range from ‑18 dB to +18 dB, where 0 is unity gain.
• Limiter: Applies limiting after Output Gain, at the end of the signal path, optimizing overall levels. Specify Threshold, Attack, and Release settings that are less aggressive than similar band‑specific settings. Then specify a Margin setting to determine the absolute ceiling relative to 0 dBFS.

Options

• Spectrum On Input: Displays the frequency spectrum of the input signal, rather than the output signal, in the multiband graph. To quickly see the amount of compression applied to each band, toggle this option on and off.
• Brickwall Limiter: Applies immediate, hard limiting at the current Margin setting. (Deselect this option to apply slower soft limiting, which sounds less compressed but can exceed the Margin setting.) Note: The maximum Attack time for brickwall limiting is 5 ms.
• Link Band Controls: Lets you globally adjust the compression settings for all bands, while retaining relative differences between bands.

Single-band Compressor effect reduces dynamic range, producing consistent volume levels and increasing perceived loudness. Single-band compression is effective for voiceovers, because it helps the speaker stand out over musical soundtracks and background audio.

• Threshold: Sets the input level at which compression begins. The best setting depends on audio content and style. To compress only extreme peaks and retain more dynamic range, try thresholds around 5 dB below the peak input level. To highly compress audio and greatly reduce dynamic range, try settings around 15 dB below the peak input level.
• Ratio: Sets a compression ratio between 1‑to‑1 and 30‑to‑1. For example, a setting of three outputs 1 dB for every 3-dB increase above the threshold. Typical settings range from 2 to 5; higher settings produce the compressed sound often heard in pop music.
• Attack: Determines how quickly compression starts after audio exceeds the Threshold setting. The default, 10 milliseconds, works well for a wide range of source material. Use faster settings only for audio with quick transients, such as percussion recordings.
• Release: Determines how quickly compression stops when audio drops below the Threshold setting. The default, 100 milliseconds, works well for a wide range of audio. Try faster settings for audio with fast transients, and slower settings for less percussive audio.
• Output Gain: Boosts or cuts amplitude after compression. Possible values range from ‑30 dB to +30 dB, where 0 is unity gain.

Tube-modeled Compressor effect simulates the warmth of vintage hardware compressors. Use this effect to add subtle distortion that pleasantly colors audio.

• Threshold: Sets the input level at which compression begins. Possible values range from ‑60 dB to 0 dB. The best setting depends on audio content and musical style. To compress only extreme peaks and retain more dynamic range, try thresholds around 5 dB below the peak input level. To highly compress audio and greatly reduce dynamic range, try settings around 15 dB below the peak input level.
• Output Gain: Boosts or cuts overall output level after compression. Possible values range from ‑18 dB to +18 dB, where 0 is unity gain. To reset peak and clip indicators, double‑click the meters.
• Ratio: Sets a compression ratio between 1‑to‑1 and 30‑to‑1. For example, a setting of 3.0 outputs 1 dB for every 3-dB increase above the compression threshold. Typical settings range from 2.0 to 5.0; higher settings produce the compressed sound often heard in pop music.
• Attack: Determines how quickly compression is applied when audio exceeds the threshold. Possible values range from 0 milliseconds to 500 milliseconds. The default, 10 milliseconds, works well for a wide range of audio. Faster settings work better for audio with fast transients, but such settings sound unnatural for less percussive audio.
• Release: Determines how quickly compression stops after audio drops below the threshold. Possible values range from 0 milliseconds to 5000 milliseconds. The default, 100 milliseconds, works well for a wide range of audio. Try faster settings for audio with fast transients, and slower settings for less percussive audio.