!

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Peak, RlS and Oynanio Range letering with L/R and l/S nodes
PO by Brainworx lusio 8 ledia Onbl
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1his is where we develop our produots... the Brainworx Studio
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Install and activate your new plugin.


Check the Activation Manual PDF for details,
or visit www.plugin-alliance.com/activation.



The Activation Manual has been installed into the same folder as this Plugin Manual.
Alternatively, please check the online version, see link above.




8
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.O vhat is the bx_neter? 9
P.O vhat is l/S teohnology? 9
P. vhat is l/S good for in lastering? :
P.P But whats so new about bx_neter then? :
B.O leatures of bx_neter :
.O Overview and Oetails ;
. Peak, RlS and Oynanio Range letering ;
.P Balanoe and Correlation <
.B Reset <
. lodes <
.L veighting lilters =
.G Solo Buttons >
L.O Brainworx keyboard shortouts >
G.O 1roubleshooting >
9
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!"# %&'( )* (&+ ,-./+(+01
1he bx_neter is a sophistioated netering and neasurenent tool that
allows you to visually analyze your audio signal in nany useful ways.
ve believe your nixes will beneht fron proper dynanios, espeoially
fron a oertain range of dynanios your nusio has. 1oo loud nixes often
sound squashed, and in long nixing sessions your ears often get used
to the squashed sound so youre losing objeotivity.
bx_neter will show you Peak and RlS values of your nixes, and in
addition to that it will show you the relation between both with the
oentered OYlAllC LEOs.
bx_neter has a lid / Side node [Sun and Oifferenoe] in addition to the
standard L/R node, and it offers B different weightings to be used to
display the dynanios. uust like all the other Brainworx tools you will hnd
several solo switohes and nioe extra features like the hoating dynanio
LEO node.
1he vertioal layout will nake it easy for you to plaoe bx_neter on the
right side of your soreen without burying other plugins or inportant
sequenoer data, and the size of the neter is big enough to show you
even the slightest details.
2"# %&'( )* (&+ 345 (+6&7898:;1
lost engineers who are reoording nusio know about the l/S nioro
phone teohnique [P different niorophones for stereo reoordings - they
have to be an Olll or CAROlOlO niorophone for the l [nid] signal and
a "llOLREOlB niorophone" for the S [side] signal].
Reoording a signal with l/S niorophone teohnique neans to oreate
a stereo [L/R] signal by nixing the l and the S signals together in a
speoial way that will result in a very nonooonpatible stereo signal. 1o
listen and oontrol your nusio in l/S you have to extraot the l and
S signals fron your stereo nix with an l/S natrix [we offer bx_oontrol
as a plugin l/S natrix], then oontrol your l and S nono suns with
P nono prooessors and bounoe baok to L/R stereo with a seoond l/
S natrix.
58<7=* ><)(+ 687?<*)7:1
vell, bx_neter does all that work for you internally, just feed it with a
stereo nix [insert it on your naster bus..] and youll be able to individually
neter [and listen to!] your l and Ssignals. 1he input and output signals
of the bx_neter are always regular L/R stereo. lor additional details
about this teohnique you nay have a look into any deoent audio book.
Please do so if you want to learn nore about this nethod to oreate very
nonooonpatible stereosignals, e.g. when reoording olassioal nusio,
druns, ohoirs or aooustio instrunents in general.
Also, several Brainworx plugins like bx_digital VP, bx_XL, bx_oontrol and
bx_dynEO VP nake use of the l/S teohnique, so you night oheok the
deno videos we have released about these plugins for nore info about
the l/S teohnique.
:
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2"! %&'( )* 345 :88= ?80 )7 /'*(+0)7:1
vell, it nay sound sinple, but the bx_neter has a builtin l/S natrix
that oan separate any stereo signal into its nono sun and the stereo
differenoe signals. 1hus you are able to separately and visually oontrol
these P signals whioh oan be very useful when you work on a stereo nix
that has oertain "problens" or if you sinply want to enhanoe oertain
elenents in the nix.
Ever tried to get a nix loud enough to oonpete with professional produo
tions but not squash the nix with a liniter? Control the l/S levels and
youre halfway down that road.
vith bx_neter and its builtin l/S teohnology you oan do exaotly that.
lts extra features [whioh you will learn about in a seoond] will help you
get the best results for your nixing and nastering works!
2"2 @<( A&'(B* *8 7+A ',8<( (&+ ,-./+(+0 (&+71
bx_neter has several unique features, like the hoating dynanio LEO
ohain, the nultiple weightings with solo nodes, l/S solo listen features,
eto.
lts not the tool that will autonatioally nake your nixes sound better,
of oourse, but it will give you sone insight in what you are doing when
you are nixing or nastering, and understanding the oorrelation of
dynanios, l/S, phase and levels by listening to your nusio will help you
nix / naster better.
C"# D+'(<0+*
bx_neter offers:
sophistioated Peak, RlS and Oynanio Range netering
nunerio displays for Peak, RlS and Oynanio Range
Peak lold and RlS lold funotion
Stereo, Link and l/S node
l/S netering see your nid and side signal separately
Balanoe and Correlation neters
Solo listen buttons for Left [L], Right [R], lid [l] and Side [S] signals
veighing hlters [A, C, K] inoluding solo listening node
hoating dynanio LEOs
;
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E"# FG+0G)+A H I+(')9*
E"! J+'KL M35 '7= IM 3+(+0)7:
1he J+'K 3+(+0 is designed to display instanta
neous sanple naxinuns of your ourrent signal.
You oan easily follow the J+'K N89= bar to view the
latest toppeakvalue that has appeared within the
last three seoonds of audio. ln addition, have a look
at the J+'K 7</+0)6 =)*O9'; above. lt shows the
naxinun peak that appeared in your nix. Every value
above OdBlS [fullsoale] is shown in red as "over".
You should always try to avoid reaohing levels at or
above OdBlS, as it will quite surely be an indioation
for a digitally distorted and therefore "broken"
signal. 1ry to lower the signal level anywhere in your
signal ohain, and oheok the bx_neter it you are still
"olipping", after you have M+*+( the bx_neter [ see
Chapter .B for details].
1he M35 3+(+0 is an indioator for the overall
loudness, or the energy level, of your nix. 1here is
also a M35 N89= bar that shows the highest RlS
level within the last three seoonds of audio. 1he M35
7</+0)6 =)*O9'; holds a nunerio representation of
your ourrent RlS value.
1he new I;7'/)6 M'7:+ 3+(+0 is oaloulated fron your peak and RlS
netering. lt shows you how "squashed" [aka "over oonpressed"] a nix
is. 1o a degree this oan indioate how "loud" your nix appears as well.
1here have been a lot of debates about the pros and oons of loudness,
and aooepting the faot that todays nusio has a oertain loudness level
that fans and nedia have gotten used to we have deoided to add this
new netering nethod to the bx_neter, after a sinilar approaoh has
beoone a good help within the bx_oontrol VP.
Still we enoourage all engineers to oonpress and linit the naster
bus with oaution, nobody needs new world reoords in pure "volune" -
espeoially not if that neans loosing what was great about a nix before
it is just being "killed" by liniters to aohieve "that extra half dB".
A loud nodern nix that is "in your faoe" yet still "breathing" will have a
Oynanio Range of about G to P dB. lote that values snaller than G
usually result in nixes that will have negative inpaot on the listeners
attention as the hunan ear longs for a oertain dynanio range in nusio.
Everything loud = everything quiet.
lt is possible to go down to a dynanio range of or even B dB with
nodern digital [nultiband] liniters, but try to be reasonable. A
oonpressed rook or olub nix sounds "heavier" than an unoonpressed
nix for nost people, but an overoonpressed nix oan greatly reduoe
the overall enjoynent for the listeners. A nix with only BdB of dynanio
range will oontain ALOlBLE distortion, whioh sounds oheap in the end...

1he Oynanio Range neter oan be adjusted to ht your needs quite exten
sively. ln general, the length of the neter bars show you how nuoh
dynanio you have in your signal. 1his is represented again with the
I;7'/)6 M'7:+ 7</+0)6 =)*O9'; above the neter.
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Below the neter, you oan switoh on and off the lloat
feature. 1his oontrols if the neter will "hoat" with your
signal level, so your dynanio range will be "displayed
where it happens". Or you oan switoh off this feature to have the Oynanio
Range neter stiok to the top, if you prefer to read it just in one plaoe.
ln either way, the soale of the neter always stioks to the neter itself,
so you will always be able to read what your dynanio value is at the
nonent.
Please see Chapter . [lodes] for nore infornation about different
display possibilities of the Oynanio Range, Peak 8 RlS neters.
E"2 @'9'76+ '7= P800+9'()87
1he 5(+0+8 @'9'76+ 3+(+0 will indioate if your nix is well balanoed -
or louder on one ohannel [left or right] = ,not oentered".
1he P800+9'()87 3+(+0 is a standard oorrelation neter tool to nonitor
the phases [and potential phase problens!] of your stereo nix/signal.
neans your nix/signal is "out of phase" [BO].
+ neans your nix/signal is "in phase" [O].
O [zero] neans that there is either:
no signal present
signal present on only one ohannel
phases of L8R ohannels are shifted exaotly DO.
A regular [and proper] stereo nix will nake the oorrelation neters
osoillate between O and +, and short hashes of the red LEOs [negative
values] oan usually be ignored.
Pernanent red LEOs will indioate heavy phase problens in the nix/
signal and should be taken seriously! 1hey night be treated, reduoed or
even oured with a sophistioated l/S EO like bx_digital VP for exanple.
E"C M+*+(
All the neters oan be reset at onoe to start a new neasurenent. You
oan either hit the Reset button in the lower seotion of the bx_neter, or
sinply oliok anywhere in the upper netering seotion to reset all neters
and nunerio displays to its initial state again.
E"E 38=+*
1hese are three lodes bx_neter oan work in:
5(+0+8Q 1his is the default node. 1he stereo [left
and right] signal that is fed to the bx_neter is
used for all the neters, and the Oynanio Range
neter will display the dynanios of the left and
right signal separately.
R)7KQ Sane behavior as the "Stereo" node, but the Oynanio Range
neter is "linked" and shown as one big bar for both [left and right]
ohannels. lt referenoes to the top peak value of either left or right
ohannel, and to the average RlS level between left and right. 1his
node is easier to read if you just like to have a quiok look at the
dynanios of your stereo nix.
345Q Peak, RlS and Oynanio range neters show the levels of the
nid [l] and side [S] signals of your stereo nix separately. You oan
easily judge your nid vs side ratio, while naybe even listen to l or
S via Solo [ see Chapter .G].
=
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E"S %+):&()7: D)9(+0*
veighting hlters are used for level neasurenent
that is adapted to the frequenoy weighting the
hunan ear applies at different volunes [aooording
to the sooalled lletoherlunson ourves]. veighted
neasurenent is usually used to judge noise in
environnents where hunan beings live or work, but
oan also be a referenoe for nusioal signals. Read
nore about weighting hlters and their neaning in
oorresponding literature.
1he veighting lilters will lO1 affeot the audio output of the bx_neter
plugin unless you listen to the hlters in SOLO node!
lere are the hlters that are inoluded in the bx_neter:
[On default, D)9(+0 F?? is seleoted, whioh neans that there is no
weighting hlter aotive.]
Choose D)9(+0 T fron the dropdown list
to apply Aweighting to your RlS
neasurenents. Aweighted signals are
usually indioated by the unit dB[A] or dBA.
lt is based on the Ophon lletoher-
lunson ourve, whioh neans that it refers
to the hunan ear reoeption on quiet
sounds. lt enphasizes nid frequenoies
between and G klz and attenuates low
and high frequenoies [see pioture].
D)9(+0 P applies Cweighting to your RlS
neasurenents. Cweighted signals are
usually indioated by the unit dB[C] or dBC
and are based on the DOphon lletoher-
lunson ourve, whioh neans that it refers
to the hunan ear reoeption on loud
sounds. lt passes through a broad nid
frequenoy band and attenuates low and
high frequenoies [see pioture].
D)9(+0 U applies Kweighting to your RlS
neasurenents. 1his hlter follows the
l1LR reoonnendation BS.77O and
enphasizes high frequenoies above klz
while attenuating low frequenoies below
POO lz [see pioture].
! lote again that the weighting hlters only affeot the RlS [and therefore
Oynanio Range] neasurenent. 1he Peak neters will not be affeoted
by the hlter !
You oan listen to your applied hlter through the 5898 D)9(+0
button at the botton. Please note that to avoid olipping the
lilter Solo funotion delivers a lowered signal level of about
7dB.
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E"V 5898 ,<((87*
vith the 5898 RL ML 3 '7= 5 ,<((87* you oan listen to any elenent of
your stereo nix [stereo signal], nonoed out [for L, R, l 8 S], phase
oorreoted [for "Solo S" only], and on both speakers.
You oan also "extraot" oertain elenents of your nix with these buttons
easily, for exanple try reoording or bounoing the Solo S signal for renix
purposes. whioh will give you a phaseoorreoted nonosignal of only
the side signal [keyboards, stereo, guitars, lX sounds, eto.].
See Chapter .L for the D)9(+0 5898 funotion.
S"# W+7+0'9 @0')7A80- K+;,8'0= *&80(6<(*
Alt/louse Cliok: will reset any knob to its initial value
Apple key [lAC] or Ctrl key [PC] plus louse Cliok [or Soroll vheel
Lse above any paraneter!] will allow for hne tuning of any knob.
Soroll vheel Control: plaoe your nouse above any knob and turn
the nouse wheel to inorease/deorease values.
1yping ln Values into your plugins will save you sone tine:
Oeneral 1yping:
O.OOO lz oan be typed in as "Ok", P.OOO lz would be "Pk",
eto.
lndividual bypass: oliok on any feature label to switoh it on [white
letters] or off [grey letters]. 1his is a very useful feature for oonparing
your settings with the unprooessed signal, e.g. to nonitor the neter
tools while adjusting/oonparing your settings.
Also, any bypassed feature of the plugin will not use any CPL power.
V"# X08<,9+*&88()7:
? Y768/O9+(+ *):7'9*
You night have olioked on one or [or nore] Solobuttons, so you
only hear parts of your signal. lake sure all Solo buttons are
switohed Oll to hear your stereo nix.
Switoh all Solo switohes Oll, and you should hear your regular
stereo signal.
? J&'*)7: 4 A087: O'780'/'*
lf you hear parts of your stereo signal not properly in plaoe panora
nawise you night have panned l and / or S in the naster panel.
? ZF *8<7=
Oo you feed any sound into the bx_neter at all???
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[Z\F] %FMUYZW %YXN XN[ ,-./+(+0^
lor nore infornation and a video deno please visit:
www.brainworxnusio.de
www.brainworxusa.oon
VS1 is a tradenark of Steinberg ledia 1eohnologies Onbl
R1AS is a tradenark of Oigidesign, a division of Avid 1eohnology, lno.
AL is a tradenark of Enagio/Apple.
Oberbusoherhof 7Ba
P7DD Leiohlingen
Oernany
info@brainworxnusio.de
www.brainworxnusio.de
www.brainworxusa.oon