Omnia Audio Omnia.9/XE - Manual (Page 97)

• Adjusting the Multiband AGC Targets can have a very significant effect on the spectral balance of
your sound as well but there are important factors to consider when adjusting these controls. For
example:
• Raising the target of a particular band can make the audio within that band louder (providing
increased gain) but this can also slow down the release rate if Progressive Release is
employed, as Progressive Release is driven by the current amount of gain in that band.
The opposite is true when lowering a target. Doing so can make a particular band softer
(providing decreased gain) but can result in an accelerated release rate when Progressive
Release is used.
• Since raising the target increases gain, doing so means that audio in a particular band may not
be increased sufficiently if the source material is lacking in that part of the spectrum. For
example, if the source material lacks brightness and the target of the top bands is raised too
much, there may not be enough “room” in those bands to sufficiently increase their output.
The result may be spectral inconsistencies from source-to-source. If creating a consistent
spectral signature is important, this may be problematic. If, on the other hand, your goals lean
more toward preserving the spectral balance of the original material, this could be
advantageous.
• Making adjustments to the Band Mix will also influence the spectral balance, but since this is the
final point in the processing chain before the Final Limiter, any peaks that result from adjustments
made here will be dealt with only by this aggressive processing stage. While it is not always a bad
idea to increase the output level of a particular band, depending upon the sound you are trying to
create, you may have better results by decreasing the output of the rest of the bands by that
amount instead. Or, you may instead wish to make the adjustments to suit your tastes and then
reduce the overall Band Mix level.
The Multiband AGC Target and Band Mix controls can be used together to help fine tune your sound.
For example, let’s say you are using a 6-band preset and you want to create a more dense-sounding mid-
range. By lowering the targets of bands 3 and 4, you will drive those bands further toward a state of gain
reduction (and increase their release rate when Progressive Release is utilized) but this can also cause
them to become softer in the mix if Progressive Release is not used or the source material doesn’t have
significant content in those bands. You can compensate for this loss by increasing the gain of those
bands in the Band Mix.
Or, let’s say you want an open and dynamic low end, and have raised the targets of Bands 1 and 2 to
achieve less compression but now find that the bass seems too prominent in the mix. You can decrease
the gain of these bands in the Band Mix section to restore a more balanced sound.
Getting the Sound You Want
97