User manual ANTARES MIC MOD EFX

[. . . ] Certified Isinglass-freeTM Antares®, Auto-Tune®, AVOX®, and Harmony Engine® are registered trademarks of Antares Audio Technologies. The "Don't Sue Us!" Disclaimer: All names of microphone manufacturers and microphone model designations appearing in this manual are used solely to identify the microphones analyzed in the development of our digital models and do not in any way imply any association with or endorsement by any of the named manufacturers. This product is not guaranteed to produce, and will not necessarily produce, audio results that are consistent with or match audio results that could be achieved using any of the referenced microphone models. www. antarestech. com Printed in USA Rev 1. 0 PN 41031-0910-M01 The Obligatory Legal Mumbo-Jumbo The Antares® Mic ModTM EFX software and this User's Manual are protected by copyright law. [. . . ] (If the selected mic does not have a low-cut filter, the menu will be grayed out. ) If the source mic does include a low-cut filter, select the low-cut setting that was (or will be) used when capturing your audio. 9 selection is to neutralize the varying frequency characteristics that result from each of the available pattern settings, with the assumption that the audio was recorded on axis (i. e. , from the front of the microphone). Since Mic Mod EFX has no way of knowing the actual placement of the signal source, it does not attempt to simulate off-axis performance. Proximity The Proximity knob in the Source Mic section should be used to set the average distance that separated the mic and the signal source during the recording of the audio. The purpose of this control is to allow the model to remove any Proximity Effect that may have been introduced by the source mic. that the purpose of this setting is to "undo" the effect of any low-cut filter that was used to capture your audio. If you play around with this setting, you may initially think that it's working "backwards. " That is, changing the menu selection from OFF to any filter setting will actually cause a bass boost in the monitored audio. However, once you think about it, you will realize that this is the way it's supposed to work. The purpose of all the controls in the Source Mic section is to neutralize the effects of the source mic. So, when you select a low-cut filter, you're telling the Mic Mod EFX that the source mic recorded the audio with that much bass attenuation and, therefore, the model must now boost the bass an equal amount to remove the source mic's sonic coloration. (Trust us, this fried our brains a bit at first, too. ) Pattern If the mic you select in the Source Mic menu is equipped with user-selectable pick-up patterns (i. e. , omni, cardioid, hypercardioid, etc. ), the Pattern pop-up menu will allow you to select from the actual pattern settings available on that mic. (If the source mic does not have selectable patterns, the menu will be grayed out. ) If the source mic does include multiple patterns, select the pattern that was (or will be) used when capturing your audio. NOTE: It is important to keep in mind NOTE: The purpose of the Pattern in bass frequencies resulting from placing a directional mic in close proximity to a signal source. The amount of the effect varies from mic to mic, and is inversely proportional to the distance from the mic to the source (i. e. , the smaller the distance, the greater the bass boost). Mics operating in omnidirectional mode do not exhibit a proximity effect. Consequently, if the source mic is an omni mic, or the source mic has selectable patterns and omni is chosen, the Proximity control will be disabled. described above, the Source Mic Proximity control may initially seem to be working backwards (i. e. , setting a shorter distance will result in an audible bass attenuation). Refer to the explanation back up in the Low-Cut section to understand why this is actually how it is supposed to work. Also note that the effect of the Proximity control is unique for each model of microphone. Mic Mod EFX does not use a generalized approximation of proximity effect. Each model reflects the specific physical properties that create the proximity effect for that individual mic. NOTE: Like the Low-Cut control NOTE: Proximity Effect is a boost 10 Modeled Mic Section Here's where the fun really starts. The Modeled Mic section is where you select the mic (and its settings) whose characteristics you want to apply to your audio. Modeled Mic Menu The Modeled Mic pop-up menu is used to select your desired mic. In some cases a mic will have a second listing with "(w)" appended to the mic's name. [. . . ] If a source mic has massive roll-off in a particular frequency range, there is no way Mic Mod EFX can produce the signal that would have been captured had the source mic had better response. Microphone Technique In getting the best possible recorded sound, mic technique and placement are at least as important as mic choice (if not more so). A good engineer can record a great track with an SM57 while a poor one can make a U47 sound like doo doo. If your audio is not well-recorded in the first place, Mic Mod EFX can to do very little to improve it. If you start with a poorly recorded track, all Mic Mod EFX will do is make it sound like a track that was poorly recorded with a great mic. Excessive Frequency Boost Although Mic Mod EFX's processing does not itself add noise to your signal, any noise in your original audio or noise added by intervening processes (e. g. , A/D conversion, pre-Mic Mod EFX dynamics processing, etc. ) will be accentuated by any large amount of frequency boost. [. . . ]