Transient Designer
13
One of the most interesting applications of the T
RANSIENT
D
ESIGNER
is processing drum and percussion sounds, both from
samples to live drum sets:
• The attack of a bass drum or a loop can be emphasised to
increase the power and presence in the mix.
• The sustain period of a snare or a reverb-flag can be shortened
in a very musical way to obtain more transparency in the mix.
• Recording a live drum set, toms or overheads can be shortened
without physically damping them.
• Miking live drums is considerably faster and easier, because
the apparent 'distance' of the microphone can be corrected by
varying the ATTACK and SUSTAIN values.
• The T
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D
ESIGNER
is a perfect partner to noise gates in live
drum miking.
• Corresponding adaptively to the duration of the original
signal, the sustain can be shortened more musically than with
tightly adjusted release times, effectively reducing crosstalk.
• When recording live drums or other instruments on a HD
recording system, the T
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D
ESIGNER
prevents time-consu-
ming removing of crosstalk signals on the hard disk.
• It is possible to create unusual dynamic effects, including new
and interesting pan effects. If, for example, a mono loop is
patched through two channels of the T
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D
ESIGNER
panned
hard left and right in the mix, such that the left channel is
processed with increased ATTACK and reduced SUSTAIN while the
right channel is adjusted in the opposite way, a very special stereo
loop sound is created. You have to try this to appreciate what it
sounds like, but expect to hear a lot of unusual stereo movement.
• By reducing ATTACK and increasing SUSTAIN, signals that are
too up-front sounding can be moved back into the mix.
Additionally the FX parts of 'too dry' signals are strengthened.
• Drum sounds are easier to integrate into the mix. If the acou-
stic level of a snare is expanded to approxi4 dB by increa-
sing the attack value, the effective increase of peak levels in the
overall mix is merely about 0.5 dB to 1 dB.
• Used for processing guitar sounds, the T
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D
ESIGNER
softens the instrument by lowering the attack. Alternatively,
increasing the attack lets the sound jump to the front of the mix,
which works particularly well for picking guitars.
• Highly distorted electric guitars are already highly
compressed, leaving them with minimal dynamic range. This can
obscure the note attacks, but increasing the attack setting clari-
fies the individual notes.
• High distortion also prolongs the sustain, broadening the
sound. Reducing the SUSTAIN setting counteracts those effects.
Applications
Drums & Percussion
Guitars
