Drive, EQ and metering effects

A pedal-style soft clipper, after Logic’s Overdrive.

• Drive (0 to 40 dB), Tone (a low-pass after the clipping, 500 Hz to 20 kHz) and Output.
• The clipping is slightly asymmetric for a little even-harmonic warmth, and a gentle low cut before it keeps the low end tight.
• Factory presets: Edge of Breakup, Classic Overdrive, Warm Bass, Bright Crunch, Thick Lead and Vocal Grit.

Distortion

Drive into a waveshaper, after Logic’s Distortion.

• Type: Soft (smooth), Hard (clips flat), Tube (asymmetric, adds even harmonics) or Fuzz (very asymmetric and hard). Changing it crossfades.
• Drive (0 to 60 dB), Tone (low-pass), Output and Mix (blend in the dry signal for parallel distortion; the two stay in time).
• Drive is level-compensated: a signal around −18 dBFS comes out at about that level however hard you drive it, so Drive changes the character more than the loudness. The panel’s curve is drawn to fit the box for the same reason: it shows how hard and how asymmetrically the signal clips.
• Both distortion effects run 4× oversampled so the harmonics they add don’t fold back as harsh aliasing. That adds 38 samples of latency, which delay compensation makes up for.
• Factory presets include Warm Saturation, Crunch, Hard Clip, Tube Grit, Fuzz Box and Parallel Drum Smash.

Linear Phase EQ

The Channel EQ’s eight bands with linear phase, after Logic’s Linear Phase EQ (in the EQ category of the slot menu and the Library). Every frequency is delayed by the same amount, so boosts and cuts change the tone without smearing transients or shifting the phase between tracks: useful on Stereo Out for mastering, or on parallel and multi-miked sources.

• The panel is the Channel EQ’s: drag a point for frequency and gain, scroll for Q, double-click a point to switch its band off, and the band controls below. A drag that moves frequency and gain together is one undo step. Every band parameter can be automated and learned.
• Quality sets the filter’s length: Low, Medium (the default) or High. Longer filters follow narrow and low-frequency bands more precisely (a low cut at 30 Hz needs High) and add more latency: about 21, 43 or 85 ms at 44.1 or 48 kHz, shown beside the pop-up. Delay compensation makes it up, so the track stays in time, but it isn’t suited to tracks you play live through (Low Latency Mode switches it off there).
• Changes are worked out in the background and crossfaded in over 20 ms, so moving a control never clicks. While automation sweeps a band, the filter follows in steps of about 25 ms; bounces follow it at the same points every time.
• With every band flat it is an exact delay: switching it in changes nothing but the timing, which compensation takes out.
• Factory presets: Flat, Gentle Mastering Lift, Low End Cleanup, Mid Scoop, Vocal Presence and Air.

Gain

Level, polarity and channel tools with no latency, after Logic’s Gain.

• Gain (−96 to +24 dB).
• Phase Invert Left and Right flip each side’s polarity.
• Swap L/R exchanges the sides; Mono is Off, L+R (the average of both on each side), Left or Right (that side on both).
• Balance turns the opposite side down, never boosting.
• In that order: invert, swap, mono, balance, then gain. So Phase Invert Right with Mono L+R plays only what differs between the sides (and cancels a centred source).
• Every switch glides for a few milliseconds instead of clicking; at its defaults Gain passes the signal bit for bit.

Tuner

A chromatic tuner for guitar, bass and voice. The audio passes through untouched.

• The panel shows the note, how many cents off it is (a needle, or a strobe with Display) and the frequency.
• Reference (400 to 480 Hz, default 440), Notation (sharps or flats), Transpose (±24 semitones, for transposing instruments) and Threshold (the level below which it stops detecting).
• Mute silences the track’s output while you tune.
• The level it gates on is measured after a DC blocker, so an interface’s DC offset alone doesn’t make it detect anything.
• Factory presets: Guitar (A440), Bass, Baroque A415, Orchestra A442, B♭ Instrument, E♭ Instrument, Mute While Tuning and Strobe.

Loudness Meter

EBU R128 / ITU-R BS.1770 loudness, after Logic’s Loudness Meter. The audio passes through untouched; put it last on Stereo Out to measure the mix.

• Momentary (400 ms), Short-term (3 s) and Integrated loudness in LUFS, Loudness Range (LU) and True Peak (dBTP), plus a scrolling short-term history.
• Target: -23 LUFS (EBU R128), -16 (Apple Music), -14 (Spotify, YouTube), -24 (ATSC A/85) or a custom value; Scale is EBU +9 or EBU +18.
• Integrated loudness and range are measured only while the transport plays. Reset clears them; Auto-Reset on Play (on by default) clears them each time playback starts.
• Factory presets for each delivery target, plus Podcast (-16) and CD Master (-9).