Softube AAX DSP, User Manual, Page: 146 / 182

146 | VALLEY PEOPLE DYNA-MITE
PEAK MODE: Envelope Following Soft Keying with Faster
Attack (EXT, EXP, PEAK)
Signal gain is determined by level of the side chain
signal. A 1 dB increase of the side chain signal level
(over Threshold) causes a 1 dB increase in signal
gain.
The extremely fast attack time will assure that the
keyed signal has full gain when the attack of the
side chain signal arrives, but this can sometimes
cause the transient to “pop” or “crack” when the gate
opens. This is usually not a problem if your mix
consists of both the keyed and the side chain signal,
since the real transient from the side chain signal
will be audible at the same time as the (unwanted)
“pop” sound.
GATE MODE: Hard Keying (EXT, EXP, GATE)
Signal gain is determined by level of the side chain
signal. A 1 dB increase of the side chain signal level
(over Threshold) causes a 20 dB increase in signal
gain. PEAK detection.
Same fast attack times as the Soft Keying mode
with peak detection, but a much more aggressive
on/off type of gate. Before the age of the DAW,
it was very useful when you needed to tighten up
poorly performed background vocals or horn sec-
tions. Use the player with the best timing as key,
and use the Hard Keying mode on the other players
to assure that all off-time notes are being gated.
Today, it’s just a cool effect.
Keying Modes
Mode: Exp
Detector Type: avg/peak/gate
Detector Source: EXT
While most people are accustomed to ducking,
a.k.a side chain compression—for example ducking
a synth pad when the bass drum strikes, the art of
keying is still somewhat of a hidden secret for most
people. I mean, how many times have you heard
Oprah talk about the benefits of keying?
Keying is when you let your main track (say a bass
line) follow the envelope of the side chain track (for
example a bass drum). So with this example, the
bass line will be gated whenever the bass drum is
silent, and whenever the bass drum strikes, so will
the bass line.
AVG MODE: Envelope Following Soft Keying (EXT, EXP,
AVG)
Signal gain is determined by the level of the side
chain signal. A 1 dB increase of the side chain
signal level (over Threshold) causes a 1 dB increase
in signal gain.
AVG mode has (as usual) a more natural sound, but
will slow down the attack of the main signal. Use
when you don’t need a fast attack time when open-
ing the gate.