By Dave Crane
With the release of version 4.8 of the UAD drivers and software, UA again ups the ante with a two-plug-in release. The Precision Maximizer is the fourth in the expanding series of Precision Mastering plug-ins, and the Precision De-Esser is the first in a series of Precision Mixing plug-ins. Both plug-ins sport the same sleek, black appearance and impeccable quality as the rest of the Precision line of plug-ins. After watching the videos below, and then demo-ing the plug-ins themselves, I’m sure you’ll find these two plug-ins as indispensable as the Precision Limiter, Precision EQ, and Precision Multiband compressor. And talk about value! The Precision Maximizer sells for $199 and the Precision De-Esser for $99 in our online store. Compare that with other, similar plug-ins of the same quality from other manufacturers, and you’ll see what a great value they are. Then, factor in all the UA Love you get via UA vouchers and coupons and you’ve got a couple of unbeatable deals!
Let’s talk a little about the technology behind these two plug-ins, how to use them and why you need them.
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| UAD Precision De-Esser |
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| UAD Precision Maximizer |
De-Essing 101
A de-esser, simply put, is a compressor that is tuned to react to certain high frequencies, typically around 4-6k, which is the “s” consonant in human speech (and singing). You see, when a vocal track is processed, typically some high frequencies are boosted to give the track more “air” and presence, and the signal is compressed before or after (and in some cases both before and after) the EQ. What this does is accentuate the high-frequency content in the signal even more, and certain consonants can become much more pronounced. The vocal sounds unnatural, and in some cases the peaks can cause distortion. This is called sibilance.
This problem was typically solved using a compressor with a sidechain input (when audio is going into the sidechain of a compressor, the compressor reacts to that audio, not to the audio going into the compressor’s input). The processed and sibilant audio, a vocal for example, is sent to an EQ (called the sidechain EQ), where all the other frequencies around the sibilant frequency (let’s say 6 kHz, for example) are attenuated, so you are left with just 6k, which is then boosted. When an “s” hits the sidechain EQ, it creates quite a peak at 6 kHz. This sidechain-EQ’d vocal is then fed into the sidechain of the compressor, and the original processed vocal is going into the input of this compressor. So when the vocalist sings the line “Sam is Sitting in the Sun” each of those “s” consonants creates sibilant peaks in the sidechain EQ, and the compressor reacts to this signal in the sidechain and compresses the original vocal every time a loud “s” is sung. When there is little or no sibilance, the compressor does not compress at all. The end result is the perception that the sibilant frequencies are being reduced.
The drawback of this method is that you typically need two devices: an EQ and a compressor with a sidechain input. But the UAD Neve 88RS Channel Strip can be set up to do this, as shown in July's "Plug-In Power." It has an EQ and compressor in one plug-in, and a button enables the EQ to become a sidechain EQ, as well as enabling the compressor to react to the signal only after the EQ.
Another drawback is that the entire frequency spectrum is being compressed, not just the frequencies you want compressed. That is when multiple bands are handy. The UAD Precision Multiband compressor can behave as a de-esser, compressing only the band that you want compressed. While this is an improvement, the Precision Multiband takes quite a bit of DSP for use as a de-esser.
Enter the Precision De-Esser …
The Precision De-Esser plug-in offers simplicity, and at the same time provides enough features to handle many de-essing chores. The de-essing frequency is adjustable from 2k to 16k, and you can solo that frequency to listen to the sibilant range . The Width control adjust the width of the EQ, like a typical parameteric EQ, but can change to a high-pass filter, so everything above the de-essing frequency will trigger the compressor. So far, I have described how it works like most de-essers, compressing the entire signal, but if you turn on Split, the compression now applies only to the sibilant range, much like the Precision Multiband EQ, but without the high DSP load.
Watch the video below of the Precision De-Esser to see and hear it in action.
The Precision Maximizer is not only a level maximizer but also a harmonic maximizer, or enhancer. We like to call it a dynamic impact processor.
Maximizing for the Masses
The Precision Maximizer is not only a level maximizer but also a harmonic maximizer, or enhancer. We like to call it a dynamic impact processor. We like to call it a dynamic impact processor. The Precision Maximizer increases the energy of a track without increasing peak levels, and can generate significant and “musical” enhancements to the perceived impact, energy level and presence of a final mix. To learn the technology behind a maximizer, please read "Ask the Doctors" from this issue and the May, 2007 issue of the webzine.
The Shape control dials in how much maximizing you are applying to your track. A maximizer works by saturating, or enhancing the low amplitude content, while leaving the peaks and higher amplitude content alone. The more you enhance these low level signals, the fuller your track sounds. But you can get some distortion artifacts if you have a pretty busy mix, which might be OK if it sounds good to you. However you set the Shape control, you can dial in just how much of this effect you want with the Mix control.
Another nice feature that makes the Precision Maximizer very flexible is band selection. It can operate in single-band mode or three-band mode. In single-band mode, the entire frequency spectrum is processed as one. With some very busy and full mixes, frequencies start to compete with each other as they are maximized in the saturator circuit, causing phase cancellation, intermodulation distortion and other undesirable audio artifacts. In three-band mode, the audio spectrum is split into three equal bands, each band is processed separately and the frequency bands are added together after maximizing. This reduces the likelihood that frequencies will compete and work against each other in the saturator.
The Precision Maximizer also features a Limit mode so you can do some soft limiting. While this is not quite the limiter that the Precision Limiter is, it still can reduce overs if you want to add a little input gain and still maintain a reasonable output level.
Watch the Precision Maximizer video below to see and hear it in action!
| Precision De-Esser Movie | |||
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| Precision Maximizer Movie | |||
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If you’re in a hurry, you can watch the movie on our Universal Audio You Tube Channel.