fader8's Flux Solera+ Hysteresis and Angel's Share page Back to fader8's audio blog Index
Flux Solera+ is an excellent sounding plug-in for dynamics processing within a digital audio workstation.
It's manufactured by Flux Sound and Picture Development in Orleans, France, and you can find them here: http://www.fluxhome.com/
Many thanks to Laurent at Flux for his efforts in enlightening me on these rather obscure, yet very useful features of this plug-in.
Flux Solera+
This dynamics processor is unique as it utilizes two different methods to analyze the signal as the basis for it's processing:
1. A simple detection process that generates an RMS Detection Value.
2. A more complex detection algorithm that generates a Dynamic Detection Value. It is based entirely on the signal's dynamic complexity and not on traditional peak or RMS detection schemes.
These two schemes can be used either exclusively or in combination to control the threshold and/or ratio settings of the processor.
OK, store that information away for a moment.
What is 0-100% Angel's Share and Hysteresis?
Just forget those words. Substitute them in your mind with Auto Ratio % and Auto Threshold %.
Angel's Share (Auto Ratio %)
With the Angel's Share (Auto Ratio) set to 100%, the ratio you've manually set is completely ignored. Dynamic influence is only applied by the processor when the signal content lacks significant dynamic complexity. So, on a passage containing sustained energy and lacking transient peaks, the ratio will set itself higher whenever the dynamic processing engages, based on your threshold, etc. settings.
A lower ratio is applied to complex signals and a higher ratio is applied to sustained signals.
The Knob:
The Dynamic Detection Value is used when the Angel's Share setting is 100% and your manual Ratio setting is ignored.
The RMS Detection Value is used when the Angel's Share setting is 0% and you can control the Ratio normally.
The Angel's Share control allows you to blend how much influence each of the two detection schemes have on what ratio will be applied when the dynamics processor engages.
This should help a bit in understanding the manuals definition and workflow example of Angel's Share:
"This setting literally opens the sound, increases the dynamic impression and keeps some crest by adjusting in real time the
ratio of every dynamic processing section regarding both their current settings about ratio and the signal content (mainly
dynamic range). To start understanding this setting and easily hear it, take a full mixed drum kit or a complete mix with
punchy drums, set the compression threshold, ratio to get something near pumping or an aggressive compression. Then
increase the output gain to compensate the gain lost and then toggle between 0 and 100% of Angel Share. At 100 % you
should hear more air in the sound, more transient and less compression impression; especially in terms of attack."
Hysteresis (Auto Threshold %)
(Note: The only relation to actual hysteresis, as we know it from various noise gates sporting this feature, is that it impacts the threshold setting. That's where it ends though, so just put away any previous understanding you have regarding traditional hysteresis controls. There's one caveat to this. If you use the dynamic detection, you could almost consider this an Auto Hysteresis function.)
With the Hysteresis (Auto Threshold) set to 100%, the Threshold you've manually set is completely ignored. Dynamic influence is only applied by the processor when the signal content lacks significant dynamic changes. So, on a passage containing sustained energy and lacking transient peaks, the threshold will set itself lower and will engage the dynamic control based on your ratio, etc. settings.
A higher threshold is applied to complex signals and a lower threshold is applied to sustained signals.
The Knob:
The Dynamic Detection is used when the Hysteresis setting is 100% and your manual Threshold setting is ignored.
The RMS Detection is used when the Hysteresis setting is 0% and you can control the Threshold normally.
The Hysteresis control allows you to blend how much influence each of the two detection schemes have on what signal level will determine when the dynamics processor engages.
So hopefully this should also help to understand the manual's entry on Hysteresis:
"Allows compressing and de-compressing independently of the sound level but regarding the signal dynamic range, and can
be mixed with the standard compression scheme. This setting doesn't affect the expander and the de-expander processing.
Firstly, to understand how it works, let's do some simple settings with compression.
Take a piece of full mixed music, set the ratio to 3-4 and the compression will start working. Now set the threshold of the
compressor to the maximum value, the compressor will stop working because the sound level will never reach the threshold.
Then increase the Hysteresis and you will see (and hear) the compression working again!!! Now decrease or increase the
input gain (in Solera or before, as you want) and you will see that the compression will continue to work equally; it's totally,
completely independent of the sound level and depends only on Ratio, Knee and sound content.
How can this be used? When you have too much dynamic in the sound, going for e.g. from -3, -6 dB Vu (or less) to +12 dB;
If you want to compress the low levels you will hear the sound "pumping" when the sound reaches the High levels and the
only thing to do with standard compressor will be to increase the threshold to rescue some airiness in the sound. But when
doing that the compressor will not work any more on the low levels and you will hear some sound differences (in term
density, live space, grain etc...) especially when the compressor starts working. With Solera Hysteresis, adjust the threshold
and ratio on the High levels to what you think OK, then increase the Hysteresis (from 20 to 50 %) and listen now the low
levels and especially the transition between Low and High levels. You can also start increasing the ratio to increase the
effect. You'll then notice that the compression will always be active but can still take care of High, loud levels (unless you set
100% hysteresis) and make the compression very smooth and no more pumping... In addition with the Angel Share function,
you'll be able to set a constant and very natural envelop that allows to increase low levels, low frequency and to keep
important transients."
OK, to really see what these settings do, I put together a sample comprised of a kick drum with three needle transients pasted in at the beginning.
(Sounds a bit like a kick whose beater has a static electricity problem!)
Test Signal, (Total Duration: 36mSec.):
Apply the following settings and bounce. (Settings are extreme to illustrate better what's happening.)
Ratio 10:1
Range: 48dB
Knee: 0dB
Attack: 1.5mSec
Hysteresis: 0%
And you get this, (not surprisingly):
Set the Hysteresis to 100% and you get this:
You'll notice the very first needle transient is barely affected.
This could be bloody useful at times. Almost like a transient designer, this has the potential to really clean up smeary transients on a track or final mix. With proper use of the sidechain filters, this could really be clever for vocals or horns.
If I remove the needle transients from the file, I get this:
Which seems to demonstrate the algorithm's adaptive nature based on surrounding dynamics. Pretty cool piece of dynamics trickery.
If I can devise a test that can portray how the Angel's Share function performs, I'll post it too.
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