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Sonic Studio Mastering EQ Table of Contents

1.0 Sonic Studio Mastering EQ ................................................................ 3

1.1 SonicStudioMasteringEQAudioUnitsPlug-in................................................4

1.1.1 Overview..................................................................................................................................... 4

1.1.2 InstallationandOperation......................................................................................................... 4

1.1.2.1 FrequencyVisualizerScalingindB...............................................................................................................6

1.1.2.2 MasteringEQVisualizer.................................................................................................................................6

1.1.2.3 GainFader......................................................................................................................................................6

1.1.2.4 High-DefinitionMeters..................................................................................................................................6

1.1.2.5 PeakHoldSettings.........................................................................................................................................6

1.1.2.6 EqualizerBandswith17UniqueFilters........................................................................................................6

1.1.2.7 EQGlobalOn/Off............................................................................................................................................7

1.1.2.8 DitherSelectionArea.....................................................................................................................................7

1.1.2.9 EQBandOn/Off..............................................................................................................................................7

1.1.2.10 Hide/ShowFrequencyandMeters...............................................................................................................7

Appendix A Sonic Studio Mastering EQ Filter Specifications and Descriptions 8

Appendix B Sonic Studio Mastering EQ Dither Specifications and Descriptions 16

Appendix A iLok License Installation .................................................................. 17

PermanentLicenseInstallation.....................................................................................................17

TrialLicenseInstallation................................................................................................................17

Sonic Studio Mastering EQ Index ......................................................................... 19

©2006-2013SonicStudio,LLC—Allrightsreserved

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INNOEVENTWILLSONICSTUDIO,LLC,ITSDIRECTORS,OFFICERS,EMPLOYEES,ORAGENTSBELIABLETOYOUFORANYCONSEQUENTIAL,INCIDENTAL, OR INDIRECT DAMAGES (INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OFBUSINESSINFORMATION,ANDTHELIKE)ARISINGOUTOFTHEUSEORINABILITYTOUSETHESONICSTUDIOSOFTWAREEVENIFSONICSTUDIO HAS BEENADVISED OFTHE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. BECAUSE SOME STATES DO NOTALLOWTHE EXCLUSION ORLIMITATIONOFLIABILITYFORCONSEQUENTIALORINCIDENTALDAMAGES,THEABOVELIMITATIONSMAYNOTAPPLYTOYOU.

SonicStudio,SonicStudioMasteringEQ,soundBlade,SonicStudioEngine(SSE),NoNOISEII,ManualDeClickII,DeClick,DeCrackle,AType,BType,CType,DType,ETypeBroadbandDeNoiseIIandtheSonicStudiologoaretrademarksofSonicStudio,LLC.Allothercompanyorproductnamesareeithertrademarksorregisteredtrademarksoftheirrespectiveowners.

1.0 .............................................Sonic Studio Mastering EQ

ThankyouforpurchasingSonicStudioMasteringEQ™!You’vemadeanexcellentchoiceowingtothefactthatthefiltersandalgorithmsfeaturedinthisequalizerhavebeenusedoninnumerabletracks.It’sperfectforeverytypeofmusic-AmbienttoACappella,JazztoJive,SymphonytoSpokenWord,ZydecotoZeitGeist.Youmaynotbeawareofit,butyou’veheardthisEQbefore!

Sonic Studio Mastering EQ is a minimal-phase four band filterAudio Units™ plug-in. Eachbandoffersyourchoiceof17filtertypesortopologieswithsomebestusedforrestorationanddamagecontrolwhileotherareexcellentforchangingcolorortimbre.Itcanbeusedasamono,stereoormultichannelinstantiation.

ThisdocumentcoversSonicStudioMasteringEQ’suseinoursoundBladeproduct.However,sinceit’sanAudioUnitsplug-in,itwilloperateonanyaudiosoftwarethatsupportsAudioUnitsplug-ins,soalltheconceptsandattributesdescribedbelowwillapplyinotherapplications.

soundBlade TV: Viewthe‘SonicStudioMasteringEQ’tutorialbyclickingHERE.

The Sonic Studio Mastering EQ Overview Tutorial.

http://www.sonicstudio.com/tutorials_pro/SSMEQ/sonic_studio_mastering_eq.html

1.1 SonicStudioMasteringEQAudioUnitsPlug-in

1.1.1 Overview

InthesoundBladeenvironment,SonicStudioMasteringEQcanbeinsertedasaplug-ininthreedifferentpointswithinthesignalflowofsoundBlade:

1. AsaDeskEvent.

2. IntheEDLDesk(mixerwindow).

3. IntheMeterswindow.

LEARN: soundBlade offer the option to add“Desk Events” or plug–ins to aProjectorbus.Whenplug–insare instantiatedinaProject, theyprovidetime–based,“snapshot automation.”Also in Projects, plug–ins are constant latencyandareseamlesslycross-faded,evenwithinanindividualsegment.Thismeanssettingschangesmoothly,freeofaudiblediscontinuities,evenforplug–inswithhighlatency.Allplug–ininstantiationsarefullylatencycompensated,unlesstheplug–initselfcannotordoesnotreportlatency.SeethesoundBladeHDorSEusermanualformoreonusingplug-insasDeskEvents.

LEARN: Toinsertaplug–inintooneoftheslots intheEDLDesk,simplyclickontheslotbuttonandadropdownmenuappears,showingallvalidplug–insavailable.Then,selectthedesiredplug–infromthelist.Theplug–inwillbeinsertedintheslotandtheselectedplug–inwillopenformanipulationofitsparameters.Theseinstantiationsaremono,andunlikeotherworkstations,usingplug-insintheEDLDeskisgenerallynotrecommended.UseDeskEventsinstead.SeethesoundBladeHDorSEusermanualformoreonusingtheEDLDesk.

LEARN:TheMeterswindowisagoodplacetousetruestereoplug-ins.Whenaplug-inisinsertedintheMeterssection,thatplug-inisappliedtoallaudiothatisroutedoutthatbus.SeethesoundBladeHDorSEusermanualformoreonusingplug-insintheMeterssection.

1.1.2 InstallationandOperation

ToinstallSonicStudioMasteringEQ,double-clickonthe‘SonicMasteringEQ_Installer.pkg’andfollowtheon-screeninstructions.IfyouareasoundBladeuser,you’llalsoneedtorun‘InstallSonicStudioOptions.mpkg’locatedintheSonicOptionsfolderofyoursoundBladeappfolder,selecting‘SonicMasteringEQ’intheoptionsinstallerdialogbox.

NotethatSonicStudioMasteringEQisiLoklicensed.Whenyoupurchasedthisproduct,youreceivedandActivationCodeandinstallinstructions.Thisdocumentassumesthatyouhaveinstalled your iLok license. SeeAppendix C for more info on installing permanent and triallicenses.

ToenableaSonicStudioMasteringEQplug-inasaDeskEventinsoundBlade,intheEDLDeskorMeterswindow,select ‘SonicMasteringEQ’ fromthecontextualmenu thatappears. TheSonicStudioMasteringEQwindowwillappear.

Select ‘Sonic Mastering EQ’ from the contextual menu. After selection, the Sonic Studio Mastering EQ window will appear:

1)FrequencyVisualizerScalingindB 2)MasteringEQVisualizer

3)GainFader 4)High-DefinitionMeters5)PeakHoldSettings 6)EqualizerBandswith17uniquefilters7)EQGlobalOn/Off 8)DitherSelectionArea9)EQBandOn/Off 10)Hide/ShowFrequencyandMeters

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8

9

10

10

1.1.2.1 Frequency Visualizer Scaling in dB

ThismenusetstheverticalscaleofVisualizerwindowindB.Thevaluesare+24,+12,+6,and+3,withthedefaultscaleat+24.

1.1.2.2 Mastering EQ Visualizer

Thisareadisplaysthecurrentfiltersettingsasavisualrepresentation.Eachcolor-codedfilternodecanbedraggedandadjustedfromwithinthiswindow.

1.1.2.3 Gain Fader

Adjuststheoverallgainoftheplug-in.Parametersare+12to+12dB.Optionclickto(re)settozero.

1.1.2.4 High-Definition Meters

TheMeterssectiongraphicallydisplaysreal-timeindicationsofPeak,RMSandVUvalueswithhyper-ballisticaccuracy.Atthetopofthemeterstrips,PeakandRMSvaluesaredisplayedinnumericrelationtozero;-forunderzero,+foroverzero.Boththemeterstripandthenumbersinthissectionwillturnredwhenanover-zerolevelisdetected.

WhenSonicStudioMasteringEQisusedasamonoinstantiation,onlychannelone,ortheleftchannel,willdisplaylevel.

1.1.2.5 Peak Hold Settings

Inthissection,PeakHoldpreferencescanbesettoreflectyourneeds.ThedefaultvalueisonesecondforPeakHoldand100millisecondsforMeterReleasetiming.ThissettingissavedwiththeEQ.

1.1.2.6 Equalizer Bands with 17 Unique Filters

ThebottomlefthalfoftheSonicStudio Mastering EQ windowcontains the master controlsfor each of the four availablefilter bands. The controls arecontext–sensitive and apply tothe selected filter section andchanges are reflected in theMasteringEQVisualizersection.

Clickingonthetoprevealsalisttheavailablefiltertypes:

Filter Selection Menu.

Select your desired filter from the menu to instantiate. Extra control sections will me enabled depending on filter type.

LEARN: SeeAppendixAbelowforcompletefilterdescriptionsandgraphicalrepresentationsoftheircapabilities.

LEARN:Valuescanbeenteredbykeyboardorbyclick+hold+mouseup/down.

1.1.2.7 EQ Global On/Off

ThisbuttontogglestheSonicMasteringEQonoroffandisusefulforcomparingthesumofallchangesmadewiththisinstanceofEQ.

1.1.2.8 Dither Selection Area

ThissectionselectswhetherditherisenabledonthisinstanceofEQ.ThechoicesareOff,DitherandNoiseShaped.

LEARN:SeeAppendixBbelowforcompleteditherdescriptions.

1.1.2.9 EQ Band On/Off

ThisbuttontogglesindividualbandsofSonicMasteringEQonoroffandisusefulforcomparingthechangeinducedinasinglebandofEQ.

1.1.2.10 Hide/Show Frequency and Meters

Clickingthetoptriangletogglesbetweenhiding/showingtheMeterssection.Clickingthemiddletriangletogglesbetweenhiding/showingtheFrequencysection.Thisisusefulforconservingscreenrealestate.

Appendix A ................... Sonic Studio Mastering EQ Filter Specifications and Descriptions

Theparametricfiltersareclassic,threeparameterversions,withResonantFrequency,gain,andQ.QorQualityFactorisdefinedastheresonantfrequency,orcenterfrequencyinthecaseofasymmetricalfilter,dividedbythebandwidth.Thebandwidthis,inturn,definedastheoneortwofrequenciesatwhichthefilterresponseis3dBupordownfromunitygain.

Expressing thewidthofafilterasaQualityFactor, rather thanbandwidth,providesamoreintuitivesenseofthefilter’ssubjective“sound,”sincethesamevalueofQwillproducedifferentbandwidthsatdifferentfrequencies.Thehigherthefrequency,thewiderthebandwidthwillbeforagivenQvalue,whichroughlycorrespondstoourauditorymechanism’sabilitytoperceiveafilter’saction.Asanexample,aparametricfilterwithaQof1hasabandwidthof100Hzwhenitscenterfrequencyissetto100Hzbut,ithasabandwidthof1000Hzwhenthecenterfrequencyissetto1000Hz.

Theorderorslopeofthefilteriscontrollable,with1stthrough4thorderor6to24dBperoctaveslope, respectively. Each of the four orders are separate menu choices.The family of curvesshownbelowincludeawideQof0.5,amediumQof2.0andanarrowQof10.

Figure 10.2: 1st order parametric with ƒR of 1000 Hz

Figure 10.3: 2nd order parametric with ƒR of 1000 Hz

Figure 10.4: 3rd order parametric with ƒR of 1000 Hz

Figure 10.5: 4th order parametric with ƒR of 1000 Hz

The high and low shelves are also three parameter filters, with Resonant Frequency, gain,andorder.Thefamilyofcurvesbelowinclude1stthrough4thorder.The4thorderresponseispracticallyverticalinthetransitionregion.

Figure 10.6: High shelf with ƒR of 1000 Hz

Thehighandlowpassfiltersalsohavethreeparameters.However,inthiscasestopbandripple,labeledStop,hastakentheplaceofgain.Aswiththeshelvingfilterabove,thefamilyofcurvesbelowinclude1stthrough4thorder.

Figure 10.7: High pass with ƒR of 1000 Hz

Stopbandrippledescribestheamountofamplitudevariationorrippleinafilter’soutofbandresponse.Indirectly,itdescribestwomoreimportantparameters.Oneisoutofbandsuppressionor,howmuch“leakage”ofunwantedsignalyoureceive,andtheotherisphaseshiftandgroupdelay.

Thestopbandrippleparameterprovidesarangeof-12to-108.Atthe-12setting,only12dBoflosswilloccuroutofband,nomuchforafilterofthistype.However,becausethestopbandripple value is so low, the phase response and resultant temporal response of the filter willbeexcellent.Attheotherextremeofitsrange,stopbandripplewillbe108dBdownfromthe(unity)passbandgainbut, thephaseresponsewillsuffer, thegroupdelaywillbesevereandtheresultingtemporalsmearingmaybeunacceptable.Aswithanyfilter,carefullisteningwilldeterminethetradeoffbetweenstopbandsuppressionandsideeffects.

Figure10.8belowshowsantypical3rdorderhighpassfilter.Superimposedonthatcurveisanother3rdorderhighpasswith6dBofpassbandripple&120dBofstopbandattenuation.Noticetherippling“bouncingball”amplituderesponseintheregionabovetheresonantfrequency.Thispassbandripplewouldcreatesomepossiblyundesirableamplitudeeffectsbut,becausetheripplespechasbeenrelaxed,thephaseresponsewouldbeimproved.

Figure 10.8: 3rd order high pass with 6 dB of passband ripple & 120 dB of attenuation

Comparetheresponseinfigure10.8withthenextfigure,whichshowsa3rdorderhighpasswith0.10dBofpassbandripple&10dBofstopbandattenuation.Thistime,thestopbandripplewouldallowsomematerialbelowtheresonantfrequencyto“leak”intothefilter’soutput.Againhowever,becausetheripplespechasbeenrelaxed,thephaseresponsewouldbeimproved.

Figure 10.9: 3rd order high pass with 0.1 dB of passband ripple & 10 dB of attenuation

Thebandpassandbandstopfiltersarestraightforward,threeparameterforms,andthenotchfilterhasonlytwoparametersasthegainisimpliedtobe-∞.Thenexttwofiguresonceagainincludequalityfactors(Q)of0.5,2and10.

Figure 10.10: 1st order bandpass with ƒR of 1000 Hz

Figure 10.11: 3rd order bandpass with ƒR of 1000 Hz

Figure 10.12: Notch filter with ƒR of 1000 Hz

TheRIAAfiltersprovideemphasis,forcreatingcuttingmastersforlacquer,andde–emphasisforcorrectingmaterialthatisdigitizedflatfrom331/3RPMphonographrecord.Thisapproachmeansthattheexcellent,minimalphasecharacteristicsofthisdigitalRIAAde–emphasisimplementationcanbeusedinplaceofanimpreciseandpotentiallycoloredanalogfilternetworkinaphonopreamplifier.

Figure 10.13: RIAA de–emphasis

The“Emph”and“DeEmph”selectionarefor44.1kHzAES/EBUaudio.Thede–emphasistypeisquiteusefulwhenarchivalmaterialwasemphasizedduringrecordingbuttheEmphasisflagwasnotset.

TheNoDCtypeisaspecialformofhighpassfilterdesignedforarchivalrecordingsmadewithEIAJadapters,socalled“F1”recorders,whichwereshortlivedconsumerdigitalaudiorecordersmanufacturedbySony,Matsushitaandothers.Theyemployedverysimple,lowcostconvertersandofteninjectedalargeamountofDCoffsetintothesignaltoovercomecrossoverdistortion.ThisfilterwillremovethatDCoffset.Lastly,the“NoDC/DeEmp”typeis,again,aspecialfilterforrecordingsmadewithanEIAJadapterthatbothremovesDCoffsetandappliesde–emphasis.

Figure 10.14: DC reject plus RIAA de–emphasis, the “NoDC/DeEmp”

Appendix B ..................Sonic Studio Mastering EQ Dither Specifications and Descriptions

Selecting a Dither Type

Ditherisanintentionallyappliedformofnoiseusedtorandomizequantizationerror,preventingaudible artifacts from being induced when calculating sample rate or bit depth changes. Nosingleditherisamagicbullet,sothreedifferentvariationsofditherareavailableinSonicStudioMasteringEQ.

SonicStudioMasteringEQDitherSettings:

Bypass: Disablesalldither,passingallbitsasrendered.

Round(Truncation):Roundstothetargetwordlengthwithoutaddingdither.

Dither(TriangularProbabilityDensityFunction):Shapedtriangulardithercutsthenoiselevelat lowfrequencieswhileboosting itahighfrequencies. Thisresults inthedithernoisebeinglessaudible.Thisshapingorweightingreducestheaudibilityofthenoisetoadegree.Withtriangulardither,theaddednoiselevelisconstantandslightlyhigher.Itisrecommendedforuseonalltypesofmusic.

Noise Shape:Thisdithertypealtersthespectralshapeoftheerrorthatisintroducedbyditheringsuchthatthenoisepowerisatalowerlevelinfrequencybandsatwhichnoiseisperceivedtobemoreundesirableandatacorrespondinglyhigherlevelinbandswhereit isperceivedtobelessundesirable. Sincethisditheris‘packed’atthehigherendofthehearingspectrum,thisshapingorweightingreducestheaudibilityofthenoisetoadegree.Thisditherisrecommendedforgeneraluse.

Note: In general, triangular PDF dither is preferable.That said, LISTEN anddecideforyourself!

Note That witheithertypeofdither,theaddednoiseisverysmallandeachditheroptionactsdifferentlywithdifferenttypesofprogrammaterial.Youshouldexperimentwitheachdithertypetoachievetheresultsthatyoudesire.

Appendix A ................................. iLok License Installation

AllSonicStudiosoftwareisprotectedwithPACEAnti-Piracy’sInterLokcopyprotection.YourSonicStudioProcesssoftwareisauthorizedwithaniLokUSBSmartKey.

PermanentLicenseInstallation

TodownloadyourSonicStudioLicensestoyouriLok:

1)CopytheActivationCodethatwasdeliveredwithyoursoundBladepurchase.

2)LaunchtheiLok License Managerapplicationandfromthe‘Licenses’menuatthetopofthescreen,select‘RedeemActivationCode’.

3)Inthe‘EnterActivationCode’window,pastetheActivationCodeyoucopiedinsteponeandclickon‘Next’

4)SelecttheActivationLocationanddownloadyoursoundBladelicensetotheiLokofyourchoice.

ToregisteryourSonicStudiosoftwareandiLokUSBSmartKey,visit:

http://www.sonicstudio.com/sonic/reg/sonic_register

TrialLicenseInstallation

Toenableafull-function14-daytrialversion.

1)CopythisActivationcode:

2251-1155-0716-9981-7477-9561-7230-09

http://www.ilok.com

http://www.sonicstudio.com/sonic/reg/sonic_register

2)LaunchtheiLokLicenseManagerandfromthe‘Licenses’menuatthetopofthescreen,select‘RedeemActivationCode’.

3)Inthe‘EnterActivationCode’window,pastetheActivationCodeyoucopiedinsteponeandclickon‘Next’

4)Select theActivationLocationanddownloadyoursoundBlade license to the iLokofyourchoice.

5)LaunchSonicStudioProcess.

Sonic Studio Mastering EQ User Manual Index

Symbols1storderbandpass131storderparametric82ndorderparametric83rdorderhighpass11,123rdorderparametric84thorderparametric8

AAudioUnit3,4

CContextualMenu5

DDC15De-emphasis14,15DeskEvent4,5Dither5,7DitherSelectionArea5,7

EEDLDesk4,5Emphasis14,15EQBandOn/Off5,7EQGlobalOn/Off5,6,7Equalizer5EqualizerBands5

FFilter16FilterCurve16

GGainFader5,6

H

High-DefinitionMeters5,6Highpass11Highshelf10

IiLok4,17,18

LLowpass10

MMasteringEQVisualizer6Meter6Meters6Meterswindow4,5minimal-phase3

NNoDC15NoiseShaped16Notchfilter14

Pparametric8,9,10Parametric8,10,11,13passband11,12Peak5,6PeakHold5,6PeakHoldSettings5,6plug-ins4

latency compensation 4Project

Panel 2

QQ

Quality Factor 8QualityFactor8

RRIAA14,15

Ripple10,11,12RMS5,6Round16

SSlope8snapshotautomation4SonicEQ

Bypass 6Group menu 6parameters 6, 7pre-processor 4Q or Quality Factor 8sections 6stopband ripple 11

Stopband11

TTriangularProbabilityDensityFunction16Truncation16

VVU5,6

©2013SonicStudio,LLC•1340MissionStreet•SanFrancisco.,CA94103•1-415-944-7642

soundBlade,SonicStudioMasteringEQ,sonicstudio.com,theSonicStudiologoandtypearetrademarksofSonicStudio,LLCintheUnitedStatesandothercountries.Allothertrademarks,tradenames,servicemarks,andlogosreferencedhereinbelongtotheirrespective

companies.

Comments,correctionsandsuggestionsregardingthismanualarealwayswelcome.Pleasecontactusat<[email protected]>. SonicStudioMasteringEQ_UM_v01r09

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