Character Users Guide Metric Halo Revision: v1.0.5 Publication date Mon Jun 24 12:11:12 EDT 2013 Copyright © 2013 Metric Halo. MH Production Bundle, ChannelStrip 3, Character, HaloVerb, Multiband Dynamics, Multiband Expander, Precision DeEsser, and TransientControl are our trademarks. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Table of Contents I. Installation .................................................................................................................................... 6 1. System Requirements ............................................................................................................ 8 2. Installation ........................................................................................................................... 9 Macintosh .........................................................
List of Figures 2.1. MH Character.pkg ..................................................................................................................... 9 2.2. Opening Dialog ......................................................................................................................... 9 2.3. License Agreement ................................................................................................................... 10 2.4. Accepting the License Agreement ...............................
List of Tables 6.1. Pro Tools Key Commands ........................................................................................................ A.1. Tooltip Control ........................................................................................................................ A.2. Control Knob Modifiers ............................................................................................................ A.3. Numeric Field Modifiers ........................................................
Part I.
Table of Contents 1. System Requirements .................................................................................................................... 8 2. Installation ................................................................................................................................... 9 Macintosh ................................................................................................................................ 9 Windows .....................................................
1. System Requirements • Pro Tools™ (Macintosh): Pro Tools 10 or higher running on a Macintosh computer. This software supports Native and AAX DSP operation. • Pro Tools™ (Windows): Pro Tools 10 or higher running on a Windows computer. This software supports Native and AAX DSP operation. • Native: Any Macintosh DAW that supports Audio Unit plug-ins. • An iLok copy protection key and account. Please note that one Production Bundle license authorizes the software on any platform.
2. Installation Screenshots to illustrate the installation process are from the Production Bundle, but the process is the same for individual plug-ins. Macintosh Please note – The following graphics show installation on an OS 10.7 system; the process may be slightly different in other versions of the OS, but the basic concepts are the same. Small details such as file sizes shown may vary with subsequent releases. • Double-click the “MH Character.pkg” application Figure 2.1: MH Character.
Installation Figure 2.3: License Agreement After you have read it, click “Continue”… • Next click “Agree” to accept the License Agreement: Figure 2.
Installation Figure 2.5: Selecting the Installation Disk We recommend installing for all users unless you have a specific reason not to. Select the drive and click “Continue”… • Next, you have the option to select the location on the disk you would like the software to be installed to: Figure 2.6: Selecting the Installation Location We recommend that you use the standard installation location unless you have a specific reason not to.
Installation • Plug-ins – (drivename)/Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins/MH Plug-Ins • Presets – (drivename)/Library/Application Support/Digidesign/Plug-In Settings Click “Install”… • You must now enter the name and password you use to log in to your computer, to give the Installer permission to write the software: Figure 2.7: Giving the Installer Permission Enter your credentials and click “Install Software”… • Once the installer has finished, you'll see this dialog: Figure 2.
Installation Windows There are two versions of each Windows installer: • Installers that end in .msi are intended for 32 bit versions of Windows, and install the 32 bit version of the plug-in(s). • Installers that end in _x64.msi are intended for 64 bit versions of Windows, and install the 32 bit and 64 bit versions of the plug-in(s). This allows you to run Pro Tools 10 or 11 on a 64 bit machine.
Installation Figure 2.11: Permission to Write Files Click “Yes” to begin the installation. • Once the files have been written you will see the completion dialog: Figure 2.12: Installation Complete Click “Finish” to close the installer. If you do not see the “Installation Successful” message, contact MH Support. • The final step is to go to http://www.ilok.com/ and install the software license to your iLok key.
Part II.
Table of Contents 3. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 4. Operation .................................................................................................................................. Character Model Menu ........................................................................................................... Tooltip Control .............................................................
3. Introduction Character is a modeling plug-in for digital audio workstations. We measured a number of our customers' favorite analog signal processors to determine what they did to the audio signal being run through them. By measuring the harmonic distortion fingerprint of each device, we have been able to recreate their unique properties in Character. Figure 3.
4. Operation The Character user interface uses a few different control elements to control its processing. These elements are: Character Model Menu Figure 4.1: Character Model Menu This pop-up menu selects Character's model. There are over 20 models available, which are detailed in the Processing chapter. Tooltip Control Figure 4.2: Tooltip Control This button toggles the tooltip display. When enabled, tooltips wil be shown when the mouse hovers over a control.
Operation For the main output stage of Character we have provided meters driven with SpectraFoo metering technology. These meters show, in addition to the peak metering provided for the input stages, RMS level and VU level. The peak level is represented by the floating colored bar, the RMS level by the solid colored bar and the VU level by the overlaid gray bar. Both the Peak and RMS level are represented with fast PPM ballistics. The VU meter shows IEEE standard 300 ms RMS average level.
5. Processing A Detailed Description In this chapter we discuss what each parameter does and how the controls work. While Character has a fixed number of model types, there are an infinite number of combinations in conjunction with the Drive control. Drive Gain link Input Output MAGIC! (Modeling) Inverse Drive Gain Drive Gain Output Gain Figure 5.1: Character Block Diagram The block diagram above illustrates the overall structure of the processing system provided by Character.
Processing • • • • • • • • • • • • • • California Tube Line: American designed tube line input. Modern Tube DI: Mastering quality tube DI. Modern Tube EQ: Mastering quality EQ. Modern Tube Soft Sat: Mastering quality EQ with saturation. Modern Tube LG: A tube mic pre with a low gain setting. Modern Tube MG: A tube mic pre with a medium gain setting. Modern Tube HG: A tube mic pre with a high gain setting.
Part III.
Table of Contents 6. Pro Tools (Mac/Win) ................................................................................................................... Plug-in Window ..................................................................................................................... Key Commands ...................................................................................................................... 7. AU Hosts (Mac) ........................................................................
6. Pro Tools (Mac/Win) Your Pro Tools software provides a standard interface for controlling various aspects of AAX plug-ins. While you should refer to your Pro Tools documentation for a complete description, we will summarize the most important points here. If you wish to use a plug-in on multiple channels in your mix, you should Mac ⌥ (Option) or Windows Alt insert the plug-in on the desired channels and ensure that the plug-in is inserted on the same insert point on every channel (e.g.
Pro Tools (Mac/Win) Figure 6.3: Automation Window, Showing Character's Parameters This dialog box allows you to enable any or all of the processing parameters for automation. When a parameter is enabled for automation you will be able to record and play-back automated parameter changes directly from your Pro Tools session.
7. AU Hosts (Mac) The Production Bundle is compatible with any Core Audio compatible host. Support for features like sidechains differ between hosts; please check your host's documentation for more info. As an example, we'll look at using the Production Bundle in Logic. Logic Logic provides a standard interface for controlling various aspects of AU plug-ins. While you should refer to your Logic documentation for a complete description, we will summarize the most important points here.
Part IV.
Table of Contents A. Key Commands .......................................................................................................................... 29 B. Service and Support .................................................................................................................... 30 C. Changelog .................................................................................................................................
A. Key Commands There are several key commands used as modifiers combined with mouse actions: Command Table A.1. Tooltip Control Mac Key Sequence Windows Key Sequence Show tooltips Hold ? down Hold ? down Command Table A.2. Control Knob Modifiers Mac Key Sequence Windows Key Sequence Fine control ⌘ (Command)-click and drag Reset to default value Command ⌥ (Option)-click or double-click Control-click and drag Alt-click or double-click Table A.3.
B. Service and Support Metric Halo takes great pride in the reputation for customer service and support that we have built. If you have any problems, questions, or suggestions please get in touch with us at: • http://mhsecure.com/support • support@mhsecure.com • (727) 725-9555 Please keep us informed about your successes and projects.
C. Changelog Please note that this changelog incorporates changes for all plug-ins across all supported formats. 1.0.
Changelog • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Soft Interpolation of band Bypass in ChannelStrip EQ Fix slight transparency on some controls Fixed problem with tool-tip tracking Fixed problem with phantom mouse clicks after dragging beyond UI boundary Fixed problem with silent output from CS2/CS3 on some hosts with disconnected sidechain input Fixed problem with compressor gain state on instantiation ChannelStrip: removed recall of Bypass from preset state (to match standard PT behavior) Add support fo
Changelog • Signed installer for Mountain Lion compatibility 1.