MIXING & EFFECTS

Emphasizer

Emphasizer Emphasizer implements the core single-band, multi-stage Emphasis' architecture in a more focused package. Emphasizer has a first clean limiting stage, and a second saturating stage, which can be changed to hard or soft clipping. The way the two stages cooperate allows for different degrees of shaping and loudness enhancement while retaining a transparent output.

Related plugins are Emphasis (on which Emphaszer is based), Soundgoodizer, Maximus, Fruity Limiter and Fruity Compressor.

Visualizations & Controls

  • Gain Reduction - Gain Reduction relative to the input caused by the Emphasizer effect.
  • Peak Meters - (L/R) - Output peak levels. Dark gray shows peak levels and light gray RMS (an averaged level).
  • LUFS-Integrated(Loudness Unit Full Scale) - It provides the loudness measure averaged over the entire signal length being analyzed. Reset on double-click of the meter. Disable via the cogwheel menu to save CPU when not needed. For a detailed explanation of LUFS see Emphasis' LUFS Measures section. TIP: (Double-Click) the LUFS meter to reset it after playback is stopped.

Controls

  • Input Gain - Input level in decibels. Input levels will have a significant impact on the processing of the effect. If there is no activity on the Gain Reduction meter, turn up the Gain.
  • Emphasis - This is a compound parameter that controls how the first and second stages operate. Lower values retain more of the source dynamics while subtly shaping louder peaks. Higher values increase both loudness and the extent of shaping through clipping. Note: The quality of the shaping also depends on the Soft clipping setting.
  • Soft clipping - Controls the transparency of the emphasis limiting stage, functioning similarly to the knee parameter in a compressor. When Off, the second stage is a hard-clipper. When On, the second stage is a soft-clipper with a fairly high activation threshold, meaning that it is transparent for almost all of the levels before hitting 0dB. A hard-clipper can be useful to make transients as impactful as possible. On the other hand, a soft clipper can reduce some of the saturation harshness.
  • Level Matching - Applies the inverse of the Input gain to the Output, preserving equivalent perceived loudness between Input and Output signals. This avoids the louder sounds better trap - can you handle the truth?
  • Bypass - Seamless bypass switch for A/B testing of the effected and original signal. This is most useful when combined with the Level Matching switch.

Plugin Credits

Code: Dario Sanfilippo: DSP algorithm and audio programming.

GUI: Miroslav Krajcovic (implementation and design) & Nenad Milosevic (design concepts).