CYCLONE © soundspotC)Contents Introduction Stereo Made Mid/Side Mode Saturation Solo Buttons Channel Linking Main Compression Parameters Metering Bypass Is Cyclone just for mastering? Presets. Overview Page 1 Page 2 Page 2 Page 3 Page 3 Page 3 Page 4 Page 4 Page 5 Page 5 Page 5 Page 6 Page7Introduction In music production, compression is arguably ane of the most important processing techniques to master. Carrect use of compression will bring yaur music to life and add a professional sheen making your productions stand out in this highly competitive industry. As always, the SoundSpot® team wanted to create a truly diverse product that could be used across the board fram mixing through to mastering, whilst also adding a distinct character to the sound if required With this in mind, the Cyclone was barn... A compressor diverse enough to glue sub groups, add groove to percussion, warm up synths and guitars, and add the final touch of magic at the mas- tering stage. Also our algorithm and code are so precise and specific to the task at hand, that the Cyclone is super light on your CPU, meaning you can run multiple instances with ease Stereo Mode When you insert the Cyclone onto a channel strip far the first time, the Stereo mode will be automatically loaded as the default setting. (See Fig 1) Stereo mode allows you to quickly monitor if the mix is balanced by checking that the left and the right metering bars are bouncing to the same autaut level The Stereo made is also linked by default (See fig 2), and in most Ex cases you will not need unlink the channels to process the left and right signals individually unless the particular mixdown that you are Fip2 working with is skewed and requires adjustment. When using Cyclone to add a glue effect ta a sub graup, it makes sense to keep the plugin in stereo mode to preserve the stereo image of the mix. Conversely, if you are using the Cyclone to enhance the stereo image, you may want to flip over to Mid/Side mode. When you are mastering a full track, it is wise to begin your processing in Stereo mode to pre serve transparency, then should you feel that any additional processing to the stereo field is needed, flip into Mid/Side made and unlink the channels. Page 2Mid/Side Mode Fig3 The Mid/Side Functionality of the Cyclone allows you to pracess the stereo information independently from the mono information. This is useful when a mixdown requires a wider feel ta the stereo image, or the mid (mono) information greater definition from the sides, to achieve a better result during playback an mono sound systems. The Mid/Side function is perfect for adding additional sparkle to a well mixed track, and also gives the user great contral to correct any irregularities in the stereo image. As with the Stereo mode, the Mid/Side made will be linked by default, but can be easily unlinked bby clicking on the link button, Saturation Fig 4 The saturation is tape style soft clipping with 100% stereo linking, when applied equally to bath channels. This preserves the stereo image making the Cyclone perfect for mastering. The intensity of the saturation is dependent on the threshold and ratio of the compressor, or to the potential gain reduction of the compressor, with the saturation knab itself being responsible far mixing in the saturation. As the saturation effect is dependent on the compressors threshold and ratio settings. This means that the harder the ratio and threshold parameters are pushed, the more pronounced the saturation effect will be. You can then use the saturation control to dial in a value that works with your mix. When the saturation parameter is set to zero, there will be no saturation. Conversely when the parameter is set to full, the maximum saturation will be added based on the positioning of the threshold and ratio controls. In addition, the saturation is smoothed out in a way it mimics "tape hysterisis" Solo buttons When creating the Cyclone, we realised that a solo function much the same as you wil find in your DAW, is actually much more useful when making changes than a simple bypass button, although a anti click global bypass parameter has been added to the unit as well The solo buttons will allow you to singularly monitor the left or right side channel whilst you are in Stereo mode, or monitor the mid information ar the side information independently when in Mid/Side mode, This results in a quicker, more precise work Flow when compressing the mix. Page 3Channel Linking The channel linking is set up as default when the plugin is first opened which makes the editing process quicker. iF however you unlink the channels and make amends, but then later decide to link the channels, the first control amended will cause the opposite side contral to reflect the changes. Many compressors will make a direct copy from left to right when the channel link button is pressed. When linking is set up in this way, it provides a very rigid user experience, with users often finding they lose the settings they wanted to keep. Our intelligent linking system makes linked editing much more flexible and intuitive for the user. The gain reduction caused by the compression will be equal in both channels if the settings are the same, whether the controls are linked or not. This prevents the center of the stereo image moving around if the signals differ from each other. That being said, iF you apply aifferent settings to the two channels, the gain reduction will be different, but because of the hidden stereo linking function, the center af the stereo image will move in a predictable and controlled manner, which is essential when mastering, Main Compression Parameters The Cyclone includes controls that will be familiar if you have used compression befare. However, if you are new to compression, belaw are short explanations of the parameters do. Threshold - How loud the signal has ta be befare campression is applied. Ratio - How much compression is applied. For example, if the compression ratio is set for 6:1, the input signal will have to cross the threshold by 6 dB for the output level to increase by 108. Attack - The time it takes for the compression to reach it’s target gain reduction. Release - The time it takes for the gain reduction to return to zero when the signal falls below the threshold Soft Knee - Sets how gently the compressian kicks in as the signal approaches the threshold Parallel - Allows a highly compressed signal to be mixed in with the original signal. This process is often referred to as “New York Compression” Make-Up Gain - Allows yau to boost the comaressed signal, as compression will attenuate the signal, so Make Up enables you to bring the overall level back to the original level before com- pression was added Peak/RMS - With the Peak setting selected, the compressor will react to the peak volume of the signal. With the RMS signal selected hawever, the compressor will react to the average valume of the signal taken over 30ms, which resembles the way we perceive loudness Page 4Metering There are a total of four meter bars on the Cyclone which display different settings depending on the how the plugin is set up. For example, if the plugin is set to sterea made, the blue meter bars will display the output signal oF the left and right channel, However, once the unit is switched into Mid/Side rnode, the left meter will display the output gain of the mid signal, with the right bar displaying the output gain of the side signal In the center there are 2 red/orange reduction meters which work in the same way as the output gain metering, depending on which mode the plugin is set to. Above these meters are useful numerical displays allowing you to see exactly how much reduction is happening in db. The autaut meters have clip lights which will be displayed once you exceed a Odb digital signal. These clip lights will remain an until the signal is brought back under Odb and the clip lights are clicked to reset In the center is a tube display which shows how much saturation is being apolied. The tube will glow brighter the higher the saturation level. Below the tube is a db meter that displays how much gain reduction is occurring From the saturation effect. Bypass Our anti click bypass control allows you to easily make A/B comparisons without the usual clicking or crackling that often happens when activating and deactivating the plugin through the main DAW control. Fig? The anti click bypass allows you to apply super smooth pop free transitions when you need to autamate the effect between an active and deactive state My Page 5Is Cyclone just for mastering? Whilst the Cyclone was predominantly created with mastering in mind, the plugin is extremely diverse and can be used with great results across the board, As the Cyclone is incredibly light on the CPU, you can afford to use the unit for tasks such as gluing sub groups tagether, or even adding dynamics to drum loops. It’s so light in Fact, that you can use the plugin on individual channels multiple times without bringing your system to it's knees. The diversity and power of the Cyclone provides a one stop solution for all of your single band compression needs. Presets Fig Whilst fantastic compression results are totally dependent on the source material, we understand that many producers will reach for presets to get the settings quickly into the ballpark so they can make final tweaks to fit with the track or stem, so we have created 20 varied presets that include a variety of musical genres. You can use these professionally designed presets as a quick starting point, however we do recommend that you get into the habit of compressing ona track by track basis to get the best results. The presets can be found in the system folder which will vary depending on which DAW you are using, so please refer to your DAW's user anual, which will indicate where these presets can be located To the right is an example of the system preset folder in Logic Pro X. Please note that system presets are not currently supported in Pro Tools. Page 6Overview 1. Attack Control 7. Reduction Meter 13. Solo - Left/Right - Mid/Side 2. Threshold Control 8 Saturation Metering 14, Stereo Mid/Side switch 3. Release Control 9. Peak/RMS Switch 15. Plugin Bypass 4, Ratio Control 10, Saturation Control 16. Channel Link/Unlink 5, Soft Knee Control 11. Parallel Control 6. Clip Light 12, Make Up Control soundspotQ) www.soundspot audio Page?