Smart:Comp Manual -8Db Threshold the Spectro-Dynamic 4:1 Compressor Ratio

smart:comp manual -8dB Threshold The spectro-dynamic 4:1 compressor Ratio

15ms Attack

120ms Release

Spectral Compression

70% Strength

sidechain ducking 2 smart:comp contents manual overview welcome tosmart:comp contents settings 13 outputsection stateshandling global parameters sidechain ducking spectral compression automaticparametrization shape&detectionfocus time-domain compression user interface authorization 5 install 4

12 12 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 3 3 smart:comp welcome to smart:comp manual and masteringprofessionals andaspiringtalentsalike. delivers resultswith greaterprecisionthanever,making itavaluableassistantformixing sion time-consuming andtedious.smart:compsignificantly speedsuptheprocessand The interrelatednatureofcompression parameterscanmakethecrucialtaskofcompres- keeps aneyeonthetonalbalanceof the inputsignal. ratio, attackandreleasewithasingle click,whilethespectralcompressiondynamically The time-domaincompressorrecommends themostappropriatesettingsforthreshold, basis ofpsychoacousticprinciplesaswellextensivehands-onmixingexperience. plug-in, runsthesmart:engine–anA.I.-based,content-awaresystemdesigned onthe blazing spectralcompression.Behindtheuser-friendlyandintuitiveinterface ofthenew smart:comp isthesynergyofintelligentlyenhancedtime-domaincompression andtrail- dimensional approach, compression hasevolvedtothenextlevel. tive processing, smart:compalsoensures unparalleledtransparency. With thismulti- well-balanced compression results injustafewseconds.Through frequency-selec- smart:comp isauniquespectro-dynamic compressor; findingtheparametersfor welcome tosmart:comp 4 smart:comp install manual minimum requirements | Windows | OSX Operating systems RAM CPU System requirements install plug-in. successfully installthesmart:comp You willneedadminprivilegesto Mac OSX10.7+ Windows 10(32/64bit) Windows 7(32/64bit) 2GB Intel CoreDuo,i5 ..\Program Files(x86)\CommonFiles\VST3\ ..\Program Files(x86)\CommonFiles\Avid\Audio\Plug-Ins ..\Program Files\CommonFiles\Avid\Audio\Plug-Ins AAX (ona64bitoperatingsystem) VST3 (ona64bitoperatingsystem): Default folders: folders. automatically beinstalledintheirrespectivedefault The VST3andAAXversionsoftheplug-inwill installer. or simplyusethedefaultfoldersuggestedby select custominstallationfoldersfortheVSTversion of smart:compshouldbeinstalled.Youcanalso During installation,youcanselectwhichversion(s) steps toinstallsmart:componyourcomputer. The installer will now guide you through the necessary smartComp_installer.exe. on yourharddiskandruntheinstallationfile downloaded zip-filesonible_smartComp_win.zip To starttheinstallationprocess,extract Windows ..\Program Files\CommonFiles\VST3\ This application allowsustoensurethe integrityofourproductsfor abetteruserexperience. from Please notethatsmart:comp requiresthePACE iLok License Manager www.ilok.com andinstallitonyoursystem. Youdon’tneedaniLokoraccount.

after theinstallationhasfinished. corresponding file(s)manuallytothedesignated folder If you need to change the location of the plug-in, drag the /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/ VST /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/ Audio Unit Default folders: audio plug-ins. will automaticallybeinstalledatthedefaultlocationsfor steps toinstallsmart:componyourcomputer. The installerwillnowguideyouthroughthenecessary file smartComp_installer.mpkg. To installsmart:componyoursystem,runtheinstallation of theinstallationpackage. the image and open a finder window showing the content image To starttheinstallationprocess,pleaseopendisk Mac OSX sonible_smartComp_osx.dmg. Thiswillmount . Download thesoftware

5 smart:comp authorization manual licensing system | unlocking | trial version currently notsupported. Note: 1stgeniLokdongles andtheiLokCloudare follow theinstructions. to iLok“nexttheplug-in inyourDashboardand sonible useraccount.Click onthebutton„transfer just makesuretheplug-inisregisteredinyour If youwanttotransfer one activation to youriLok, iLok the Dashboardofyoursonibleuseraccount. the plug-innexttorespectivesystem-IDin ment oftheharddrive),youcanrevoke/activate In caseasystem-IDischanged(e.g.replace- of smart:compundertheiraccount. each userhastoindividuallyunlockthefullversion The samelicensecanbeusedbymultipleusers,but system IDsarecomputedduringlicenseactivation. on twocomputerswithuniquesystemIDs.These Each licensekeyallowsyoutoinstallsmart:comp Machine-based plug-in activations. visible in your Dashboard, you can manage your registering your products – if they are not already By creatingauseraccountonwww.sonible.comand machine-based oriLok(USBdongle). You canselectbetweentwolicensingsystems: Licensing system authorization support ([email protected]). check yourjunkfolderfi rstbeforecontactingour If youdon’treceivetheemailwithinminutesplease then beautomaticallyregistered–enjoy! attach theiLoktoyourcomputer.Theplug-inwill If youtransferredyourlicensetoaniLok,simply iLok • • smart:comp withavalidlicensekey. cation windowwillbedisplayedaskingyoutounlock When openingsmart:compforthefi rsttime,anotifi - Machine-based unlocking you receiveyourlicensekeyviaemail. If youpurchasedalicenseforsmart:componline, Unlocking check ifthelicenseisvalid.Ifit–enjoy!:) plug-in willnowcommunicatewithourserverto Enter yourlicensekeyandclick„register.“The registration process. connected totheinternetbeforestarting Please makesurethatyourcomputeris plug-in. purchase afulllicenseinordertocontinueusingthe When thedemoperiodexpires,youwillneedto demo periodofsmart:comp) to our website to fi nd out more about the current couple ofdayswithoutanylimitations.(Pleaserefer and youwillthenbeabletousesmart:comp for a To runsmart:compindemo-mode,simplyclick”try” Trial version 6 smart:comp user interface manual overview user interface -> seepage10formoredetails spectral compression. Activate, monitorandcontrolthe Spectral compression -> seepage7formoredetails time-domain compression. Control allparametersforthe Time-domain compression parameters. ->seepage9formoredetails learning andrecallingsmartcompression The learningsectionincludesallcontrolsfor Learning section -> seepage11for moredetails (frequency-dependent) ducking. Enable thesidechain mode for Sidechain ducking presets. -> presets. -> for easyA/Bcomparisonortostorepersonal Save differentstatesofparametersettings State handling see page12formoredetails -> seepage12for moredetails compression andcontrolof the (auto)gain. Set thewet/drymixfor easy parallel Mix &gain -> Access thesettingspage. Settings see page13formoredetails 7 smart:comp time-domain compression manual overview defi nedratioasthe signallevelincreases. knee, theslower thecompressionapproaches the knee) orratherabruptly(hard knee).Thesofterthe exceeded thethresholdlevel, eithergradually(soft commences gainreduction, afterthesignalhas Depending ontheknee shape,smart:comp Knee non-compressed state. recover fromitscompressedstatetooriginal Release defi nesthetimeittakes for thesignalto Release fully compressedafterexceedingthethresholdlevel. Attack defi nesthetimeittakesforsignaltobecome Attack to anysignalthatgoesoverthethreshold. Ratio determineshowmuchcompressionisapplied Ratio set belowthemaximumlevelofinputsignal. which thecompressioneffectisengaged.Itmustbe Threshold defi nesthelevelofinputsignalat Threshold (see imageontheright): most importantvaluesdirectlyfromthemainwindow To manuallysetparameters,youcanaccessthe settings withasingleclick(seepage9). appropriate threshold,ratio,attackandrelease ability ofsmart:comptolettheplug-infi ndthemost on thispageoryoucanusetheuniquelearning parameters manuallyusingthecontrolsoutlined compressor. Youcaneithersetallcompression At itscore,smart:compisahigh-quality time-domain time-domain compression signal areabovethethreshold. sure thatthepeak-levelsofinput compression, youhavetomake the compressor.Totrigger Visually setthethresholdfor Threshold line the compressor. Visually settheratiofor Ratio line (see page8). fi ne-tunethecharacteristics ofthecompressor (click thelittlearrowatlowerright ) tofurther You can expand the compressor parameter box Shape &detectionfocus compression values. Visual historyofrecent Gain reduction softer knee. the thresholdlineleadstoa Pulling thethumbawayfrom compressor transferfunction. Modify thekneeof Knee control the inputandoutputsignal. Listen tothedifferencebetween Listen todifference signal (foreground). processed outputsignal signal (background) and the Recent historyoftheinput Input &outputsignal 8 smart:comp time-domain compression manual shape & focus Shape &detectionfocus once thesignalgoesabove thethreshold. compressor waitsuntilthe compressionkicksin The attackholddefi nestheamountoftime Attack hold after exceedingthethreshold level. reach maximumcompressionduringtheattacktime The attackshapedefi neshowfastthesignalwill Attack shape and forsculptingtransients. and releasecharacteristicsisgreatforsounddesign shaper. Theabilitytofi ne-tunesmart:comp’sattack can be confi gured visually in theattack and release The attackandreleasebehaviorofsmart:comp Shape |attackandrelease shaper click toexpand threshold. from itscompressedstateafter falling belowthe compressor waitsuntilthesignalstartstorecover The releaseholddefi nestheamountoftime Release hold release time. recovers fromitscompressedstateduringthe The releaseshapedefi neshowfastthesignal Release shape the frequencyrangedisplay. detection fi lter,clickthelittleheadphone iconbelow To listentothefrequency region selected bythe region (e.g.justthelowbass). only betriggeredbysignalenergiesinthedefi ned specifi cfrequencyrange.Nowthecompressorwill detection fi lter.Dragthelinestosetfocusa In thefocustab, you canset the focusof Focus |detectionfocus 9 smart:comp time-domain compression manual automatic parametrization parameter sliderswillturn blue. and thesmartstatebutton aswellalllearned disable the”autoapply”feature onthesettingspage) will automaticallysetalllearned parameters(youcan When the learning process is fi nished, smart:comp 3. Done! dropdown indicatestheprogressionofprocess. While learning,aprogressbarinsidetheprofi le indicates thatsmart:compisactivelylearning. the bluerecordbutton.Now,apulsatingpauseicon learning process.Oncetheplaybackstarted,click smart:comp needsincomingaudiomaterialforthe 2. Starttheaudioplayback&startlearning specifi profi c later. les process withthe”default”profi leandswitchtomore Please notethatyoucanalwaysstartthelearning a specifi csoundsource. A profi lecalibratestheprocessingofsmart:compto 1. Selectaprofile (optional) The learningprocess for threshold,ratio,attackandrelease. the incomingaudiosignalandrecommendssettings While learningmodeisactivated,theplug-inanalyzes anced compressionresultsinjustafewseconds. feature thatfi ndstherightparametersforwell-bal- smart:comp isequippedwithauniquelearning Automatic parametrization your audiomaterial. select aprofi lethatbestmatches Expand thedropdownmenuto Profile dropdown set parameters. indicates automatically A blueslidercolor Smart parameter be displayedinsteadoftherecordbutton. learning. Whilelearning,apausesymbolwill Click therecordbuttontostartorpause Learning Spectral Compressionfor more details). spectral compression (seesection fi nished,smart:compalsoactivatesthe Hint: Whenthelearningprocess is modifi ed(thebuttonturnsBLACK). if oneormultipleparametershavebeenmanually ters aresettotheirautomaticallylearnedvalues)or state (the button is This buttonindicatesifyouarecurrentlyinasmart Smart statebutton BLUE, all compressor parame- modifi parameters. ed indicates manually A whiteslidercolor Modified parameter 10 smart:comp spectral compression manual overview dynamic balanceatalltimes. and thereforeensuresaconsistenttonalaswell It onlyappliescompressionwhereit’sreallyneeded sor thatdynamicallysmoothesouttonalimbalances. intelligent, ultra-high-resolutionmultibandcompres- more than2000bands,smart:comp acts likean By continuouslyanalyzingtheinputsignalacross best possibledefi nitionandmaximumtransparency. Spectral compressionisallaboutgivingatrackthe spectral compression broadband compression results. ing, lowervaluesleadto more ”classical“ guarantee amoreprecisespectral process- compression. Highersensitivity values Controls the sensitivity of the spectral Sensitivity compression. Click toenablespectral Enable/disable were made. the coloris,morenecessarychanges the spectral compressor: themore intense You canobservetheoptimizationsmadein Spectral compression display process. (seePage10). you needtofi rst fi nish thelearning Hint: Toenablespectralcompression are compressed equally. broadband compressor. That means that all frequencies sion meterturnsgrayandsmart:comp actslikea”classical” If spectral compression is turned off, thespectral compres- compression valueforeach frequency. The spectralcompression metershowsthecurrent Spectral compression meter color). broadband compressionwillbeapplied(gray (blue color).Outsidetheselectedregion,only compression toacertainfrequencyrange Use thefrequencydraglinestolimitspectral Frequency selection 11 smart:comp sidechain ducking manual overview will be controlled by the level of the sidechain signal. Now the(broadband)gain reductionofsmart:comp signal. the inputmeterwillshowlevelofsidechain turquoise intheinteractivecompressordisplayand As well,thesidechainsignalwillbedisplayedin processing mode. elements willnowturnturquoisetoindicatethenew sidechain ducking.Thecolor of all bluecontrol Click thesidechainduckingswitchtoenable 2. Enablesidechainducking control theduckingprocess. spectrum totheinputofsmart:comp.Thissignalwill Route thesignalyouwanttogivespacein 1. Routeasignaltothesidechaininput Sidechain ducking(broadband) (spectral duckingenabled). ducking disabled)orfrequency-dependent a sidechainsignal:broadbandducking(spectral smart:comp providestwowaysofworkingwith the sidechainofplug-in. is controlledbyanexternalsignalthatroutedto In sidechain mode, the gain reduction of smart:comp sidechain ducking process, pleaserefertopage9.) learning process(formoredetailsonthe outlined forbroadband ducking and(2) To enable spectral ducking, (1) sidechain signal. regions oftheinputsignal,itcreatesspacefor signals. Bydynamicallyduckingaffectedfrequency spectral clashesbetweentheinputandsidechain In thismode,smart:comp‘listens’forpotential cy-dependent sidechainmode. regions, smart:compprovidesauniquefrequen- competing for attention within the same spectral In ordertoseamlesslymergesignalsthatare Spectral ducking(frequency-dependent) ”classical“ broadband duckingeffect. input andthe sidechainsignal,lowervalues leadtoamore sensitivity values guarantee a very subtle merging of the Control thesensitivityof thespectralducking.Higher Sensitivity follow the steps start a frequency-selective. will becomemoreandbroadbandless sensitivity closeto0%,thespectralduckingprocess process, use the sensitivity dial. If you are using a To controltheimpactofspectralducking give spaceto the signalroutedto sidechain input. where smart:compcompressestheinputsignalto The spectralcompressordisplaywillnowshow Click toenable sidechainducking. Enable/disable 12 smart:comp user interface manual parameters & output Windows: OSX: extension ”.spr”tothefollowing folders: workstations. Allpresets are savedwiththefi le can alsoeasilyshareyour presetsamongdifferent to thepresetfolderwithyourlocalfi leexplorer.You If youwanttodeleteapresetorchangeitsname,go respective presetnamefromthedropdown. ﬂ oppy diskicon.Toload a savedpreset, choose the To saveapreset(allparametervalues),clickthe Presets more informationpleaserefertopage9). retains allautomaticallylearnedparameters(for After fi nishingthelearningprocess, smartstate Smart state state (e.g.A)totheotheroneB). Use to copy the parameter settings of the active Copy between twodifferentstatesoftheplug-in. By clicking on the A/B-button, you can switch A/B switch Parameter States State handling global parameters ~/Library/Audio/Presets/sonible/smartComp My Documents\Presets\sonible\smartComp output RMSlevels. that guaranteesaperfect matchingofinputand blue andtheautogainbecomes asmartautogain After fi nishing the learningprocess,buttonturns sate forthelevelreduction causedbycompression. cally setstheoutputgain(make-up gain)tocompen- Enable theautogainfunction. Autogainautomati- Auto gain enabled. ically set therightmake-up gain whenauto gain is that thesignalfi tsthemix.smart:compwillautomat- gain) helpsbringtheaverageoveralllevelbackupso compressed), theoutputgain(oftencalledmake-up signal (all signal components above the threshold are Since compressionreducesthemaximumlevelofa In/out (input/outputgain) sion techniqueswithoutanyadditionalrouting. This makesitveryeasytoapplyparallelcompres- of 50%compressedsignalanddryinputsignal. For example,atasettingof50%,youwillhearmix cally blendthewetanddrysignals. reducing thewetcontrol,plug-inwillautomati- you willonlyhearthewet(compressed)signal.By Control theratioofwetsignaltodrysignal.At100% Wet Output section 13 smart:comp user interface manual settings the spectralcompressionorducking. manually andonlyneedthelearningprocesstoenable want toparametrizethetime-domain compressor set newlylearnedparameters.Thismayhelp,ifyou Disable autoparametrizationifyouwanttomanually learning. compressor parameterstobeautomaticallysetafter Enable thisswitchifyouwantthenewlylearned Auto parametrization* settings the upperrightcornerofplug-in. To visitthesettingspage,clicklittlecogwheelin loaded. show theextendedcontrolswhenanewinstanceis release shaper.Ifenabled,theplug-inwill,bydefault, Enable this switch if youareafanof the attack and Default view* instances ofsmart:comp(in allyourprojects). This meansthat they willbeapplied to ALL * These parameters are global settings. licensed viaiLok). number (whennot license stateand This willdisplayyour License information 1.0.0 (updateavailable) 0000-0000- 0000- 0000 tutorial”. welcome tourbyclickingon”show sion ofyourplug-in.Youcanstartthe Here youcanfi ndthenameandver- Plug-in information version oftheplug-in. the bluelabeltodownloadlatest smart:comp settingspage.Clickon available, you‘llgetanotifi cationon If anewreleaseoftheplug-inis Update notice www.sonible.com/smartcomp

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