ProAudio Review - March 2009 - (Page 23)

The compressor provides the standard controls as well as additional knobs (Freq, Gain, Q) that become available when the Sidechain monitor switch is selected. Also, when Sidechain is active, another box appears offering EQ types (Low Shelf, Band Pass, High Shelf) and the EQ Graph will display a green line to indicate your settings. There is an Input Level meter with associated Gain knob on the left side, and a Gain Reduction meter (down to -36 dB) for the Compressor aside the Compression EQ dropdown Graph. In the middle sits a Mid Meter that shows the level of the signal directly after the Compressor, before the EQ. However, when the Compressor Post EQ switch is active, it will display the signal directly after the EQ, before compression. On the far right sits an EQ/Output Meter that displays the overall level of the signal post EQ, even when the Compressor Post EQ is active. Down Below At the bottom of the GUI sits a row of switches that can be turned on or off. The Free switch can be used to activate all the compressor controls, whether they were available on the original emulation or not. The Compressor Post EQ switch does what it states, as does the Sidechain Monitor and Compressor On switches. The Link switch will allow for both sides to be compressed equally when using a stereo instance. Each of the seven bands of EQ must be turned on to be used, along with the master EQ On switch, which I found useful as a master On/Off to do instant comparative listening. The same applies for the Bypass On/Off, which disables all LMHD processing. Sometimes I would forget to turn the band on, and would wonder why I heard no effect — just something you quickly get used to. There are also Limit and Clip lights that indicate a hard limit overload and an output level clip. The small floppy disk icon above the Clip light is used for saving Snapshots, which are transferable settings files for LMHD. Up for the Count As you can see by the enclosed charts, LMHD is well engineered. Optimized specifically for Pro Tools|HD, users can get over 100 mono instances at once, depending on your system. For example, up to 59 stereo instances can be had on an HD3 (1 Core Accel and 2 Accel PCIe) at up to 48 kHz with 18 at up to 96 kHz. That’s a serious amount of power considering how good these things sound. While I didn’t use nearly that many, I found they barely put a dent into my cards, always a welcome thing on large, DSP intensive mixes. Control Surface Mapping LMHD is supported by a nice variety of control surfaces, includ- ing ProControl, Control24, Command8, C24, D-Control and D-Command, Venue (D-Show), Mackie HUI and Novation Automap. Final Thoughts Any convolution-based product is only as good as the software inside, and Focusrite has done an admirable job of sampling a decent selection here. While I can’t tell you I’ve used every piece of hardware they’ve modeled, the ones I have used (and can recognize!) seem accurately reflected. It’s nice that it’s also an open-ended platform with additional downloadable emulations. To me, the true indication of a useful product, though, is (continued on page 48) Fast Facts Applications Studio, project studio, post production, live Key Features TDM plug-in for Pro Tools|HD with 40 compressor and 20 equalizer emulations using Dynamic Convolution technology; low latency (12 samples) and high track counts due to optimization for HD; supports automation and full parameter recall Price $599 list Contact American Music & Sound | 800-431-2609 | www.focusrite.com Product Points Wide variety of choice EQs and compressors; low latency and light on the processor; full automation; comprehensive metering; open-ended platform. “Loose” controls with a mouse. The Score: LMHD is a flexible, good-sounding piece of TDM software for the money. www.proaudioreview.com March 2009 | ProAudioReview 23 http://www.focusrite.com http://www.proaudioreview.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ProAudio Review - March 2009

ProAudio Review - March 2009 Contents Technically Speaking New Studio Products Opinion: Studio Sense Gear Trends In Nashville Focusrite Liquid Mix HD TDM Plug-in Daking Mic-Pre One sE Electronics RNR1 Active Ribbon Microphone WAVES Tony Maserati Plug-in Collection KRK Systems Rokit 8 G2 Monitors and 10s Subwoofer JBL Control 2P Powered Desktop Monitors Neumann TLM 103D Digital Microphone System Violet Design “The Wedge” Condenser Microphone New Live Products Opinion: Worship Audio Fender Passport Deluxe PD-500 Portable PA PAR Contributor Of The Month Behringer 2442FX 10x4x2 Analog Mixer Single Slice

ProAudio Review - March 2009

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.