TC Electronic Finalizer Express - Manual (Page 16)

6. Use the ARROW keys to find the compressor setting
that you find suitable. Experiment with this.
The most subtle setting is in the lower left corner, and
the most aggressive setting is in the upper right corner.
At page 15 you’ll find the Finalizer Express Matrix,
showing settings of Ratio, Threshold, Attack and Release
for each “program” (field), in the Matrix.
7. Go back to the Normalizer gain, and use it to set the
amount of compression that you want.
It is recommendable to stay below 3dB of gain reduction.
8. Try experimenting with the spectral balance controls to
add some extra lows, mids or highs.
9. If additional compression in a specific area is needed try
the EMPHASIS keys. Compression will be applied in a
wider frequency band while adding “make-up” gain to
compensate for the loss of level caused by this
compression.
If your material is going to be re-mastered at a later date,
it is recommended to bring a copy of the original material
in order to be able to “go back” to the original sound.
Please see pages 20-21 for information on how to use
the Finalizer Express with external control.
Note: This short tutorial does not replace the experience you can
achieve by working with the Finalizer Express.
14
WORKING THE FINALIZER EXPRESS
Depending on your background you may, or may not
be completely on top of all technical terms presented
on the previous pages. DON’T WORRY!
The Finalizer Express is easy to use and you will soon
be confident operating this unit.
The Finalizer Express is an extremely powerful tool that allows
you to tighten up most material. Working intelligently on several
frequency areas the Finalizer Express will enhance the energy
and the level of your mix, making the sound punchier and louder
yet adding the feel of air when needed.
Be aware that processing your material with the Finalizer
Express can be rather addictive, in the sense that you might want
to add more and more and sometimes too much from the
Finalizer Express’ powerful tools. However, though you do not
notice at first, heavy multiband compression and soft-clipping
does generate “listening fatique” more easily than material where
more of the natural dynamic range is preserved.
So use your ears and and enjoy the features of the Finalizer
Express as so many already do, by applying the right amount of
processing in any given situation.
Though the Finalizer Express has a very user friendly interface
(almost Plug and Play) you will definitely get better results once
you understand how each section works.
Working the Express step by step
1. Connect the Finalizer Express in your setup. Be sure to
use the correct cables correctly soldered. Please see
soldering instructions on page 28.
2. Select the desired Input, for instance the analog Input.
3. Start your source material, and adjust the ANALOG IN
knob until the INPUT meter shows approximately
-6 to -3dB, with no clipping.
4. Turn on the Normalizer Softclipper, the Look Ahead
Delay and the Finalize Softclipper.
5. Adjust the Normalizer gain until you see the
GAIN REDUCTION meters moving.