User Manual
Contents
1. button to continue Check the Use License Card box and press the Next button figure 2 3 Note Although the Authorization Wizard may appear to allow authorization by challenge response that method is currently NOT SUPPORTED McDSP Plug Ins Separate the small punch out iLok License Chip the removable metal and plastic tab from the License Card by pushing the cutout up and out with your thumb Do not force your finger downward Omen The iLok License Chip may now be inserted into the key slot of the iLok USB Smart Key figure 2 6 If the iLok USB Smart Key does not appear to be present on the H m system ensure the iLok USB Smart Key is connected to a valid USB port and that the green LED is lit inside the iLok USB Smart Key To insert the License Chip into the iLok USB Smart Key orient the iLok USB Smart Key s USB end to the left and the loop end to the upper right Insert the metal chip end of the iLok License Chip the License Chip tab should have the metal chip side facing up towards you nat down You should be able to visually verify that the License Chip makes contact with the iLok USB Smart Key metal card reader The green LED in the iLok USB Smart Key will light when it is ready to receive and transmit data Upon inserting the iLok License Chip a message will be displayed srt ag aed indicating the authorization was installed successfully Click Ok in the message d2. futzed audio track Furthermore the low fidelity effect itself can change over time via control automation of any FutzBox controls including the selected SIM preset The interface for the McDSP FutzBox is easy to understand The signal flow travels from left to right top to bottom with consideration of the chosen SIM Each section can be engaged or bypassed with the button to left of the section title Sections are explained below Main Input Output and Mix of original and futz signal SIM Synthetic Lofi Impulse Response manipulate creates realistic sample rate models of filtering and audio gear in bit depth a adjustable algorithm with no latency Plots frequency response of audio filters EQ and noise filters Futz Tools audio filters distortion signal rectification EQ noise generation and gating McDSP FutzBox Controls Main The Main section provides input and output signal level adjustment plus the balance bewteen the input dry and output wet signals Input input signal level adjustment 24 to 24 dB Mix balance of processed wet and original dry signals Output output signal level adjustment 24 to 24 dB SIM The Synthetic Impulse Model SIM section accesses and adjusts the entire SIM library showing an image of the modeled device SIM Synthetic Impulse Model collection of sonic p
3. The disclaimers and limitations set forth above will apply regardless of whether you accept the Software U S Government Restricted Rights RESTRICTED RIGHTS LEGEND Use duplication or disclosure by the Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in subparagraph d 1 of the Rightsin Technical Data and Computer Software dause at DFARS 252 227 7013 or subparagraphs ot and Q of the Commercial Software Restricted Rights clause at 48 CFR 52 227 19 as applicable McDowell Signal Processing Limited Liability Company Mountain View CA 94043 nfoemeisp com General This Agreement will be governed by the laws of the State of California This Agreement may only be modified by a license addendum which accompanies this lenge or by a written document which has been signed bath by you and McDowell Signal Processing Limited Liability Company Should you have any questions concerning this Agreement or if you desire to contact McDowell Signal Processing Limited Liability Company for any reason please email legal medsp com By downloading using or copying this Binary Sofware Licensee grees to abide by the intellectual property laws and all other applicable laws of the US and the terms of this License Ownership ofthe software shall remain solely in McDowell Signal Processing Limited Liability Company Getting Started with the FutzBox Each McDSP plug in is delivered inside an installer application and uses the Interlok copy
4. demo upgrade and replacement authorizations only iLok com can be accessed from any Macintosh or PC with an Internet connection You can do this at home a friend s or at the office as long as there is an internet connection to access iLok com note that you don t have to use your ProTools system computer You simply use this computer to connect to iLok com and transfer authorizations to your iLok Smart Key The iLok Smart Key can then be moved to your ProTools system to complete authorization of your Plug In You will need A computer with an Internet connection Either a Macintosh running OS 9 2 to OS 10 3 or a PC running Windows 98 ME 2000 XP or Vista An iLok USB Smart Key A valid iLok com account Visit www iLok com and set up a free account if you have not already done so 1 Download and install the required client software from iLok com 2 Download the desired McDSP Plug In Installer fro httpy www medsp com support updating html 3 To receive an upgrade or replacement authorization send email your iLok com account information to support medsp com To receive a demo authorization email your iLok com account information to authorize mcdsp com Insert your iLok Smart Key into an available USB port and ensure that the indicator light is lit Once your demo upgrade or replacement authorization is available for transfer your iLok com account will display the notice saying You have licenses on the upper left Begi
5. f reaches zero at he maximum setting The city control operates independently rom the Distortion Amount and intent contrat MODE Various Selects different distortion algorithms adjustable by the Amount and intensity contrat Page 38 McDSP FutzBox Ey Gain 1210 1248 EQ Boost ora not ave when HPF or LPF iter types Freq 20Hz to nme EQ or finer a Ota 100 Equalizer shape parametric Q TPE HPR EQ DPF Equalizer Fiter ype NOISE GENERATOR ve DET Amount of noise added to input signal Her 20Hz to 20K High pass fiter frequency F 20Hz to 20K Low pass fiter frequency Duck to OB Input signal level at which noise level is reduced by Duck THRESHOLD control amount Duck ET Amount of noise level reduction once input signals above Duck Threshold level RECOVERY 2t0 200meec ate at which noise ducking action changes from fuli naise ducking to no noise level change CATE THRESHOLD oto ode Input evel at which signal eels reduced by Range RANGE ET Amount of signal level reduction when input signal below Threshold evel ATTACK 0 110 1OOmser Rate at which gate opens and no longer reduces signal level HOLD 0 1 100msec Amount of time gate remains open after input level initially exceeds Threshold level RELEASE 10 1000msec __ Rate at which gate doses and reduces signal level DSP Delay The delay incurred the FutzBox plug
6. had the authorizations transferred to That s it Dont forget to logout and move the iLok Smart Key to your ProTools System if you are using another computer for Internet access Also you may need to install a different version of the Plug In if you are upgrading or replacing View the contents of your ILoke Transferring Authorizations with iLok com You may freely transfer any authorization within your iLok com account between any of your registered iLok Smart Keys If you wish to transfer an authorization out of your iLok com account to a different user it will require additional support from PACE Anti Piracy Inc and may be subject to a service fee or limited by manufacturer restrictions Check the www ilok com website for updates and developments regarding iLok USB Smart Keys and the Pace Interlok Copy Protection system Authorizing Your McDSP Plug Ins Registe g your McDSP Plug In To register your McDSP Plug In fill out and return the product registration card enclosed with the boxed Plug In package by mail or fax 707 220 0994 Registering your product entitles you to future upgrades and advance information from McDSP Each individual product must be registered even if you have multiple copies and the product must be registered to an individual not an entity If you represent a company it is your company s responsibility to notify MeDSP in writing if the individual who registered the Plug In is no lo
7. information on starting ProTools and working with Plug Ins see Digidesign s ProTools Reference Guide FutzBox Overview The FutzBox plug in is design to quickly create distorted low fidelity signals from otherwise well recorded audio tracks A typical post production FutzBox application would be changing a perfectly good dialog track into a distorted phone call blaring radio broadcast or megaphone announcement Many music productions find creative and useful ways to make a project stand out using similar effects For example a female diva just might sound more convincing on the last chorus if she sounds as if she is leaving a message on an answering machine as she dumps her bonehead boy friend Using the library of SIMs Simulated Impulse Responses an overall sound derived from a phone television answering machine etc can be selected and scaled in realtime This technique aims to replicate sounds previously only available using impulse responses in a highly optimized format with no internal latency Other modules available in FutzBox include audio filters a flexible distortion section EQ a noise generator a hyper active gate and low fidelity effects including downsampling and bit depth reduction FutzBox also includes a wet dry mix so futzed and original audio signals can be combined or used in some alternating fashion to match what occurs on screen replacing the current practice of running a separate
8. like Sat and Sat2 increasing the Intensity affects dynamic character as well as increased distortion For modes like Nuke and Clip the harshness is increased by increasing the Intensity control EQ Filter Freq equalizer frequency Q equalizer bandwidth or filter resonance Gain equalizer boost or cut 12 dB Mode selects the type of EQ or Filter Options include high pass filter HPF parametric EQ and low pass filter LPF McDSP FutzBox Noise Generator The Noise Generator injects filtered noise into the audio stream to create background noise and other effects Level amount of noise added to input signal HPF high pass filter frequency LPF low pass filter frequency Duck Threshold input signal level at which noise level is reduced by Duck control amount Range amount of noise level reduction once input signal is above Duck Threshold level jecov rate at which noise ducking action changes from full noise ducking to no noise level change Gate The Gate section provides standard gate controls with control ranges for creating other CACY O O O effects such as static and signal drop out ae Thresh input level at which signal level is reduced by Range control amount Range amount of signal level reduction when input signal below Threshold level Attack rate at which gate starts to reduce signal level Hold amount of
9. protection software to authorize each plug in This section describes how to install and authorize a McDSP plug in General system requirements are also described System Requirements McDSP HD Native and LE plug ins are compatible with Pro Tools HD HD Accel TDM systems as well as Pro Tools LE and Pro Tools M Powered host based systems McDSP plug ins support Mac OS 10 4 x Tiger 10 5 x Leopard Windows XP and Vista and require Pro Tools 7 x 8 x or greater McDSP plug ins require an iLok USB Smart Key Configurations McDSP plug ins are available in TDM RTAS and AudioSuite configurations See individual products for specific available configuration sets Applications Pro Tools 7 x 8 x or higher is required for TDM LE and M Powered systems Additionally a third party software application that supports the Digidesign TDM RTAS or AudioSuite plug in standard may be supported See http www digidesign com developers plugin_info for more information McDSP plug ins are compatible with the entire Pro Tools 7 and 8 product line Hardware McDSP plug ins support any Digidesign or approved third party hardware supported in Pro Tools 7 x and 8 x This includes HD HD Accel 003 and Mbox host based systems All McDSP HD plug ins except Synthesizer One also support the Digidesign VENUE D SHOW systems See http www digidesign com compato for more specific information The MeDSP Mac versions are comp
10. time gate remains open after input level initially exceeds Threshold level Release rate at which gate starts to no longer reduce signal level Displays Meters The FutzBox has meters showing input signal output signal levels These meters are most useful for confirming audio levels of the original and futzed audio are relatively the same Note the output control affects only the futzed audio for this reason As the original and futzed audio is monitored with the Mix control the Output control can adjust the level of the futzed version such that the levels of both original and futzed can be nearly identical Response Plots Frequency responses for the audio filters and EQ are shown in the upper plot The lower plot contains the frequency response of the noise generator filters General Information To adjust any of the FutzBox controls the user can Hold the lt Command gt key while dragging the slider for fine control or Click on the text box to highlight and edit the numeric value to get precise control if a value outside the valid range is input the control will default to the nearest allowed value when enter is hit and hit lt Enter gt or Click on the text box to highlight the numeric value and then use the arrow keys to increase or decrease the numeric value or Use the lt Option gt key to bring all the controls to their default values or Use hard
11. FutzBox and other MeDSP products have a hold control The hold control sets the amount of time the gate remains open even after the signal level has fallen below the selected threshold This prevents the gate from opening closing repeatedly creating an unwanted buzzing affect on the output signal Attack and release times determine how quickly the gate stops and starts attenuating opens and closes Fast attack and release times are great for percussive tracks where the signal level is changing rapidly Slower settings are better for vocals and bass instruments For the purposes of sonic destruction the FutzBox gate has some other purposes including the reduction of noise output from the noise generator when no signal is coming into the FutzBox creating static or signal dropouts or for altering the attack and decay of the incoming audio Page 35 FutzBox Closer Look Separating Noise and Audio signals As covered in the previous section the audio signal and noise source have separate sets of filtering This is primarily useful for separating the audio from the noise so the two signals compete less with each other For example using the high pass filter the noise can be restricted to frequencies over 10 kHz Then the altered or futzed audio can be filtered and EQ d such that little of its main content exists over the 10 kHz frequency maybe that is not too difficult with ordinary dialog but you get the idea
12. FutzBox installer that will automatically install the FutzBox plug in and its presets on your system The authorization of the FutzBox plug in is still required after running the installer and those steps are detailed in the following sections Installing the FutzBox plug in and presets with the Installer The online version of the package has been prepared for Internet delivery and is transmitted as a compressed file in zip format zip In Mac OS X 10 4x or 10 5 x simply double click the zip file to unpack the installer The boxed plug in package purchased at your local dealer will be on CDROM As with the online version these physical versions of the FutzBox plug in package should be copied into a local folder on your system Insert the McDSP HD Disk Native Disk or LE Disk CDROM onto an available CDROM drive Navigate to the FutzBox plug in folder on the CDROM the installer application is contained therein Run the FutzBox plug in Installer application to install copy the FutzBox plug in presets and documentation to a local folder on your system The plug in will be placed in the Plug Ins folder and the presets will be placed in the Plug Ins Settings folder If a previous version of the FutzBox plug in or other HD Native or LE version was already in the plug ins folder it will automatically be updated or replaced by the installer Getting Started Re installing the Fu
13. Note the SIM sonic footprint is applied to the entire futzed signal so the incoming audio and noise generator output are further processed in such a way that they both appear to have come from the same source For example the background noise in a bad radio should have roughly the same overall sonic footprint of the audio coming out of it SIM Tuning Synthetic Impulse Models SIMs are efficient emulations of actual impulse response Furthermore they have no internal latency and can be manipulated in realtime The Tuning control located in the SIM control section adjusts various parameters of each SIM for various sonic results Each SIM has its own set of tuning parameters Using the SIM Tuning control can adjust a given SIM to better suit a specific application Many SIMs create interesting phasing effects when the Tune control is swept across its entire range This effect can be useful with automation the sonic experience is consistent during playback and the moving effect provides more futz realism Audio Signal EQ Using Resonant Filters The FutzBox first stage of audio processing is the high pass and low pass filters These filters include controllable resonance or filter Q The maximum boost is approximately 24dB These peaks are very effective at emphasizing portions of the signal spectrum McDSP FutzBox FutzBox Applications Dialog and Vocal Distortion Varied distortion effects are possibl
14. Q Using Resonant Filters 36 FutzBox Applications 37 Dialog and Vocal Distortion 37 Creating Low Fidelity Version of Music 37 Signal Dropout Effects 37 FutzBox Plug In Reference Guide 38 FutzBox 38 DSP Delay 40 DSP Usage 40 HD and HD Accel DSP hardware 40 Maximum instantiation Counts at 48kH2 40 Percentage of DSP used by one instantiation at 48kHz 40 McDSP License Agreement The software described in this manual is furnished under a license agreement and may be used only in accordance with the terms of the agreement McDowell Signal Processing Limited Liability Company License and Warranty The software which accompanies this license the Software s th property of McDowell signal Processing Limited Liability Company or its Icensers and is protected by copyright law While McDowell Signal Processing Limited Liability Company continues to own the Software you will have certain rights to ise the Software after your acceptance of this license Except as may be modified by a license addendum Which accompanies this license your rights and obligations with respect to the use of this Software are as Follows You May authorize 1 one copy of the Software on 1 one PACE Anti Piracy Lok USB Smart Key for use with no more than 1 one computer at any given time make copies of the Software tor archival purposes or copy the software onto the hard disk of your computer and retrain the original for archival purpos
15. able from an organized menu in the SIM section Unlike impulse responses a SIM uses significantly less CPU power has no internal latency and can be manipulated in real time Each SIM has a ungiue set of parameters that can adjusted via the Tune control These SIMs when combined with the other effects l l2 available in the FutzBox offer a wide pallete of sounds to mangle audio or create the illusion of dialog coming from a low fidelity communicaiton device for a scene in a feature film medsp com Page 33 High Pass Filter HPF High pass filters remove signal below the selected frequency and pass the signal above the selected frequency unaffected hence the term high pass High pass filters have a slope measured in the amount of signal reduction in dB per frequency octave Typically these values are in multiples of 6 dB Oct At the exact selected frequency of the high pass filter the signal reduction is usually 3dB however this can change based on filter design A high pass filter is useful for removing low frequency rumble unwanted vocal plosives and dc offsets For futzing applications the loss of low end frequency content is typical of many communication devices including phones walkie talkies radios megaphones etc Low Pass Filter LPF Low pass filters remove signal above the selected frequency and pass the signal below the selected frequency unaffected hence the term low pass Low pass
16. accessed from the ProTools Plug In Librarian and Plug In Settings pop up menus When auditioning presets there can be variations in audio levels due to the futz effects Use the Output control to adjust futzed signal levels as needed To make and save your own presets see the Plug In Librarian Functions section of Digidesign s DigiRack Plug Ins Guide A Word on Preset Compatibility Presets for the FutzBox configurations are interchangeable ProTools isa registered trademark of Digidesign Ine McDSP FutzBox Using the FutzBox Plug In The FutzBox plug in can create a variety of low fidelity sounds using the Filter Distortion EQ Noise and Gate sections The additional sonic palette added by using SIMs Synthetic Impulse Models is unprecedented in this type of processing for a digital audio workstation The following sections cover basic operation of the algorithms in the FutzBox plug in provide a more in depth description of some of the features of the FutzBox plug in and outline some applications of the FutzBox plug in Basics The FutzBox comes with a variety of Futz effects whose basic operation is described in the following paragraphs Synthetic Impulse Models SIMs The FutzBox includes a library of modeled sonic foot prints of a variety of devices commonly used in music and post production Devices such as radios telephones speakers televisions and many others are avail
17. atible with both Intel and PowerPC based computers The McDSP Windows versions require an Intel Pentium 4 or greater processor Getting Started McDSP Windows test machines are chosen to follow the Digidesign recommended systems guide which currently isthe Dell Precsion Workstation 670 with 2 79 GHz Xeon processor All products are guaranteed to run on that system Older Intl processors ie Pentium Il and predecessors and AMD Processors are not officially supported although some users have had limited success with newer AMD Processors Le Dual Opteron 1 79 GHZ Athlon 64 2 20 GHz and Athlon 64 XP 3700 None of McDSP Windows product ine will work with Pro Tool 5 x Also note the MeDSP Windows product line does not support MIX although RTAS versions will work if they exist and the rest of your system Le Pro Tools version and processor is compatible Please visit medsp com for the latest information about compatibility medsp com Page ix Installing the FutzBox Plug In Installation on Mac OS X The FutzBox plug in Package includes this manual ReadMe and Release Notes a folder of presets for the FutzBox plug in and the FutzBox plug in Two copies of the FutzBox Licensing Agreement are included one in this pdf manual and a second as a separate text file The FutzBox plug in manual requires that Adobe Acrobat reader or similar pdf reader is installed Both online and boxed version will come with a
18. ble computer Both online and boxed versions will come with a VENUE compatible installer that will automatically install the FutzBox plug in and its presets on your system The authorization of the FutzBox plug in is still required after running the installer and those steps are detailed in the following sections Note that all McDSP HD plug ins except Synthesizer One support the Digidesign VENUE D SHOW system Installing the FutzBox plug in and presets on VENUE with the HD Disk The boxed FutzBox plug in package purchased at your local dealer will contain a CDROM titled HD Disk that is specially formatted to work with your VENUE console The VENUE installers are also available online as a compressed zip file download however you will have to take additional steps to create your own VENUE installer CD R see additional instructions below before proceeding with these instructions Both the boxed and online versions of the FutzBox installer are the same and will install both the plug in and its presets on your system Note that after installing new versions of the PACE iLok drivers with the FutzBox plug in installer you will need to reboot your system You will not be prompted to reboot and if you don t you may see an error message saying TPkd driver required and a reboot Please reboot or reinstall the software If you see this message simply reboot the console and try again Insert the McDSP HD Disk CDROM ont
19. e iLok USB Smart Key To use the Authorization Wizard for the Plug in you purchase perform the following steps Insert your iLok USB Smart Key into an available USB port On a Mac Locate and launch the Authorizer application found in the Authorize folder in the Plug In package for the McDSP Plug In you purchased on the CD ROM On Windows XP or Vista just launch Pro Tools to authorize the individual McDSP Plug In you purchased Note When authorizing the Plug In on Windows XP or Vista with a new iLok USB Smart Key you must insert the iLok USB Smart Key and complete the Windows Found New Hardware Wizard before attempting to authorize the Plug in Select the Authorize button to be guided through the Authorization Wizard Note Selecting the Quit button at any time will not authorize the Plug in or allow it to be used for a trial period If Quit is selected the Plug In will not be available in the Pro Tools insert menu McDSP Plug ins require that the user personalize their copy of the Plug In A dialog is displayed soliciting this information Note that the product registration card enclosed with the Plug in MUST ALSO be filled out as well and returned to McDSP via mail or fax to 707 220 0994 This additional mail in registration will entitle the User to future upgrades and advance information from McDSP Once the Plug In is personalized click the Next
20. e using the FutzBox Some general tips on creating good distorted dialog and vocal tracks includ Roll off the low end of the audio using the high pass audio filter Audition Distortion Amount and Rectify control separately as well as combined using a variety of the available Distortion Modes Use the EQ to add presence to the distortion audio Experiment with the Scale control in the SIM section when a SIM preset is almost what you need Finally do not forget to balance out the level of the altered audio with the original using the Output control This will allow the transitions between the distorted and original audio to appear smoother an effect that is very desirable during scene perspective changes in post production Creating Low Fidelity Version of Music If the goal is to make the music production sound like itis being played on an old tube radio FutzBox is very capable of such effects Going further if the music is supposed to be timely ex a 1940 s big band sound a judicious use of the FutzBox can go a long way in making the otherwise pristine digital recording sound as retro as possible The use of audio drum loops in music production is common practice and the FutzBox is ideal for manipulting such audio sources If that two bar back beat breakout needs some extra crunch FutzBox can deliver a wide variety of sounds Signal Dropout Effects Any gate when set too aggressively thresh
21. es after written notice to McDowell Signal Processing Limited Liability Company transfer the Software on a permanent bass to another person or entity provided that you retain no copies of the Software and he transferee agrees to the terms of this agreement You may not copy duplicate or reproduce the documentation which accompanies the Software tor the purpose of resale sublicense rent or lease any portion of the Software to a third party without expressed written permision from MeDowell Signal Processing LLG reverse engineer de compile disassemble modify translate make any attempt to discover the source Tode of the Sofware or create derivative works from the Software make any attempt to circumvent any copy protection software use a previous version or copy of the Software after you have received a replacement set or an upgraded version as a replacement of the prior version unless you donate a previous version of an upgraded version to a charity of your choice and such charity agrees in writing that it will be the sole end user Df the product and that it wil abide by the terms of this agreement Unless you so donate a previous version of an upgraded version upon upgrading the Software all copies of the prior version must be destroyed Pag MeDsp Limited Warranty McDowell Signal Processing Limited Liability Company warrants that the media on which the Software is distributed will be free
22. ferent SIMs without a lot of other effects Crunchy Creates a gritty or harsh sometimes garbled effect Noisy Transforms clean tones into something a little or a lot dirtier than the original Also be sure to experiment with the Tune control when exploring SIM types Its effect varies with the type of content and from SIM to SIM You never know what it will do until you try medsp com Page Here are some specific suggestions about a few of the presets that help to highlight various capabilities of FutzBox Audition SIM Only Disables all controls except for the SIM to allow easy auditioning of the SIM by itself Tunes Solo Instruments 4 Guitar Automate Tune Just like it says try automating the Tune control for a great Wah like effect on guitar Tunes Solo Instruments One for the Suitcase Dust off that suitcase rhodes and dirty it up a little Tunes Solo Instruments Bass Lite Throw this one on a fat bass riff for a cheesy eighties breakdown Tunes Messed Up Twinkling with Mittens A mix of original audio plus an extremely aliased version try it on piano or organ Tunes Messed Up Distorted Marimba Use this on one percussive sounds to create an ugly marimba like quality Tunes Vintage I Can Hear Your Walkman Creates the annoying sound of a nearby headphone bleed Voice Crunchy Lousy Robot Feed some broadband signal through this preset and abuse the Tune control The presets can be
23. filters have a slope measured in the amount of signal reduction in dB per frequency octave Typically these values are in multiples of 6 dB Oct At the exact selected frequency of the low pass filter the signal reduction is usually 3dB however this can change based on filter design A low pass filter is useful for background noise such as tape hiss waterfalls general ambient background noise Parametric EQ Parametric EQ is used to add or subtract signals at the selected frequency at the selected amount gain over the selected bandwidth Q Distortion signal becomes distortion when its amplitude range is no longer linear Some range of the amplitude is limited and that limiting process produces a distorted sound In the digital domain this occurs when the signal level hits the 0 dB maximum In the analog domain this can occur at a variety of levels and can have varied sonic characteristics FutzBox provides several types of distortion emulating various degrees of sonic destruction An Intensity control varies this effect further in sublte and not so subtle ways depending on the type of distortion selected McDSP FutzBox Rectification A signal becomes rectified when the negative or positive portion of its waveform is reduced to zero This can be a problem in some communication devices under less than ideal conditions The FutzBox allows the user to control the amount of signal rectification by controlling the am
24. from defects Your sole remedy in the event of a breach of this warranty will be that McDowell Signal Processing Limited Liability Company will at ts option replace any defective media McDowell Signal Processing Limited Liability Company does not warrant that the Software will meet your requirements or that the operation of the Software wil be uninterrupted or that the Software will be error free THE ABOVE WARRANTY Is EXCLUSIVE AND IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON INFRINGEMENT THIS WARRANTY GIVES YOU SPECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS YOU MAY HAVE OTHER RIGHTS WHICH VARY FROM STATE TO STATE Disclaimer of Damages REGARDLESS OF WHETHER ANY REMEDY SET FORTH HEREIN FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE IN NO EVENT WILL McDowell Signal Processing Limited Liability Company BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY SPECIAL CONSEQUENTIAL INDIRECT OR SIMILAR DAMAGES INCLUDING ANY LOST PROFITS OR LOST DATA ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE EVEN IF McDowell Signal Processing Limited Liability Company HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU IN NO CASE SHALL McDowell Signal Processing Limited Liability Company s LIABILITY EXCEED THE PURCHASE PRICE FOR THE SOFTWARE
25. he following sections Installing the FutzBox plug in and presets with the Installer The FutzBox plug in package purchased at your local dealer will be on CDROM and contain a Windows self extracting executable exe similar to the online FutzBox plug in package prepared for Internet delivery Both the boxed and online versions the FutzBox plug in executable file will automatically install the plug in and its presets on your system Double click the file to launch the installer which will install the FutzBox plug in presets and documentation At any time after installation you may access the documentation from the Windows Start Menu under the McDSP group Authorization of the FutzBox plug in is still required after running the installer and those steps are detailed in the following sections Note that after installing new versions of the PACE iLok drivers with the FutzBox plug in installer you will be prompted by the FutzBox plug in installer to reboot your system If you are not prompted by the installer there is no need to reboot Insert the McDSP HD Disk Native Disk or LE Disk CDROM onto an available CDROM drive Navigate to the FutzBox plug in folder on the CDROM the installer application is contained therein Run the FutzBox plug in Installer application to install the FutzBox plug in presets and documentation to a local folder on your system The plug in will be placed in the Plug Ins f
26. i if U T T FutzBox Lo Fi Distortion Effects User Manual McDOWELL SIGNAL PROCESSING LLC McDSP FutzBox Plug In Manual McDsP McDowell Signal Processing LLC 1300 Crittenden Lane 401 Mountain View CA 94043 Support Email info medsp com Technical Support help mcdsp com World Wide Web www medsp com McDSP FutzBox Special Thanks to Rob Barrett Jr our 1 customer Crayonmaster Studios Stephen Hart Matt Dow amp Zamar Media Leff Lefferts Brett Chassen The Hipple Farms CB Museum LA Sammy and Jay Baumgardner at NRG Records Tac Yamamoto Thomas Edison Our level 5 Beta Testers from the entire McDSP development team Copyright Notice Copyright 1998 2009 McDowell Signal Processing Limited Liability Company Ali Rights Reserved The McDowell Signal Processing Limited Liability Company s FutzBox Plug in and corresponding Users Manual is copyrighted and all rights are reserved Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of McDowell Signal Processing Limited Liability Company This document may nat in whole or part be copied photocopied reproduced translated or reduced to any electronic medium or machine readable form for the purpose of resale without prior consent in writing fram MeDowell Signal Processing Limited Liability Company Trademarks McDowell Signal Processing Limited Liability Compan
27. ialog Authorizing Your McDSP Plug Ins Once the authorization is installed on the iLok USB Smart Key a dialog is displayed prompting the user to register their iLok USB Smart Key at the www ilok com website The iLok com website was created to allow users to manage the software authorizations on their iLok USB Smart Key THIS STEP IS NOT REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THE AUTHORIZATION OF MCDSP SOFTWARE The registration of the iLok USB Smart Key to an iLok com account can be bypassed by clearing the checkbox The user may also choose to not be asked to register again While iLok com is a great resource for the iLok USB Smart Key your iLok USB Smart Key may only be linked to one iLok com account That is an individual iLok USB Smart Key can only be registered to one account at a time but a single account can have multiple iLok USB Smart Keys If the iLok com account information is lost the iLok USB Smart Key cannot be registered to another account However an iLok USB Smart Key may be transferred between accounts if all the authorizations have been transferred off the iLok USB Smart Key Register the iLok USB Smart Key to an iLok com account only when you are ready to retain all the needed iLok com account information User ID and Password A Finished dialog is displayed showing what authorization method was used Click Finish to exit the Authorization Wizard Page xix Authorizing with iLok com Required for
28. in is 3 THREE samples on HD systems This is the absolute minimum number of delay samples a TDM plug in can have The McDSP plug ins are designed in this manner to provide the user with the closest analog mixing console experience possible analog inserts such as EQ and compression do not cause a processing delay when inserted into a track DSP Usage HD and HD Accel DSP hardware The TOM versions of the Futzbox plug in configurations use a varying amount of DSP resources for each Futzbox configuration The table below is a listing of these DSP usages DSP usage is shown in the Pro Tools System Usage window Maximum Instantiation Counts at 48kHz Configuration FutzBox Mono FutzBox Stereo FINSTANTIATIONS PER DSP ON HD SYSTEMS 3 1 7 INSTANTIATIONS PER DSP ON HD ACCEL SYSTEMS 0 3 Percentage of DSP used by one instantiation at 48kHz Configuration FutzBox Mono FutzBox Stereo OF DSP USED ON HD SYSTEMS 20 se Y OF DSP USED ON HD ACCEL SYSTEMS 15 EN The Futzbox supports some higher sample rates 88 2 kHz and 96 kHz An HD Accel card is required to run the Futzbox at 88 2 kHz or 96 kHz For 88 2 kHz and 96 kHz operation the dsp usage is roughly doubled 2x Page 40 www medsp com Copyright 2009 by McDowell Signal Processing LLC All trademarks are property of their respective owners MeDSP is a trademark of McDowell Signal Processing LLC
29. ing FutzBox to se less dsp power than conventional convolution based products Furthermore SIMs can be scaled in real time and changed on the fly In addition to the SIM library of sounds FutzBox also includes filtering and EQ distortion a noise generator a noise generator a hyper active gate and a variety of low fidelity lo fi effects including downsampling and bit depth reduction Original and distorted audio can be mixed in real time to accommodate scene changes or other automation requirements Features Library of Synthetic Impulse Models SIMs Configurable futz effects including filtering EQ distortion downsampling and bit depth reduction Flexible noise generator with ducking capability Hyper sensitive gate for signal dropout effects Double precision processing Ultra low latency Mono and stereo versions Supports up to 96 kHz sample rates McDSP FutzBox The Quick Start Tour The FutzBox Plug Start Protools and Instantiate the FutzBox plug in Launch Protools and Open a Protools Session Verify the Display gt Mix Window Shows gt Inserts View option is checked In one of the inserts of a stereo master fader select the FutzBox plug in Note the FutzBox plug in will operate on master or regular audio tracks in mono or stereo versions If the insert selection does not show the FutzBox plug In verify that the FutzBox plug in has been installed correctly For more
30. n by selecting that link Authorizing Your McDs The next page will display Penine Kanes aati evn the pending licenses oe available for download This page will also display en the name of the Plug In its manufacturer the type of authorization demo Not For Resale or License the date the authorization was deposited and the date when the authorization will no longer be available for download from the BO nr server Before any transfer of authorizations can take place you must synchonize your iLok Smart Key with iLok com This may take a moment to process depending on your internet connection uung i i i Once you have synchronized i your iLok you can select the authorization s you wish to a transfer to your iLok I tf you have multiple iLoks sep 2 neck an Ant ce th enn connected to your computer it is important to select the correct iLok you wish the authorizations to be transferred to Then click Download Licenses to begin the process Again this may take a moment depending on your internet Lok com Par connection When the transfer finishes you will be asked to confirm the compietition of the transaction thereby letting you know that the transfer was successful Page xxi If you wish to go back into iLolccom your account and visually confirm the transaction for yourself select View iloks Then select the iLok you
31. nger with the company The Company must also be able to supply matching registration information to successfully transfer ownership of the Plug In Using your McDSP Plug Ins Starting a McDSP Plug In Follow the installation authorization and registration instructions above Launch Pro Tools and the McDSP Plug In and its presets are ready for use Refer to the Digidesign Pro Tools Reference Guide for details on general Plug in operation such as automation Exiting a McDSP Plug In A MeDSP Plug In is exited by clicking on the desktop or other window in the DAE application running the Plug In closing the Plug In window or de instantiating the Plug In Pro Tools sessions will save instantiated Plug In configurations and their settings Refer to the Digidesign Pro Tools Reference Guide for details on general Plug In operation Digidesign and Pro Took are registered trademarks of Digidesign Inc FutzBox The FutzBox is a distortion and noise generator for creating low fidelity versions of audio signals Typical post productions require altered or futzed versions of dialog and other tracks that mimic the sounds of radios phones televisions and other devices often in distorted conditions Simulations of such sonic environments are now available in a single software product These simulations called SIMs Synthetic Impulse Models provide accurate modeling in an extremely optimized format allow
32. o the CD drive Note that neither the McDSP Native Disk nor the LE Disk contains VENUE compatible installers Ensure your system is in CONFIG mode you cannot install plug ins in SHOW mode Navigate to the OPTIONS page and then select the PLUG INS tab You should now see the FutzBox plug in available on the left hand side Select the FutzBox plug in and select INSTALL Ifa previous version of the FutzBox plug in was already installed it will be updated by the installer Getting Started Important note for FilterBank HD and CompressorBank HD on VENUE D SHOW consoles The first time you instantiate either of these plug ins a dialog box will appear asking you to choose a user interface preference Choose the Knobs interfaces as some of the Slider interfaces are too large for the VENUE display Creating a VENUE D SHOW Installer CD R from the online zip file If you do not have a boxed copy of FutzBox with the included HD Disk CDROM you can still obtain a copy of the VENUE compatible installers from the www medsp com website Once you have located and downloaded the latest VENUE compatible installers from the McDSP website you will have to take several additional steps to create a VENUE compatible Installer CD R For your convenience all VENUE compatible products are located in the same downloadable zip file so you will only have to create one CD R to install all compatible McDSP product
33. old too high attack hold and release times too fast can cause incoming audio not to pass to the output The FutzBox gate is especially suited for such applications The ranges of the attack hold and release controls are such that bad gate settings can be obtained When combined with the other effects in FutzBox the results can yield realistic emulations of signal dropout effects common in many communication devices medsp com Page 37 FutzBox Plug in Reference Guide FutzBox INPUT 24 t0 24 d8 input signal level adjustment M 0ta 100 Balance of processed wet and original dry signals OUTPUT ery output signal level adjustment SIM SYNTHETIC IMPULSE MODEL sm Various Colleton of sonic presets in a highly optimized algorithm Tune 5010200 Variation of SIM overall frequency response R RATE Downsample amount of Lo Fi effect COLOR 0ta 100 Amount of filtering applied to Lo Fi effect ans Om 22s Bi depth of Low effect PITERS FREQ 20Hz to 2062 Fiker frequency a Ota 100 Amount of resonant peak in each fiter SLOPE 128 70 Fiter slopes 24 dB oc DISTORTION AMOUNT 0t 100 Lavel of distortion introduced in the audia signal INTENSITY 0ta 100 Controls distortion tone Low settings create a soft distortion higher settings make the distortion sound brie RECTIFY 0ta 100 Reduces the amplitude ofthe negative partion of the audio wave oe until
34. older and the presets will be placed in the Plug Ins Settings folder If a previous version of the FutzBox plug in or other HD Native or LE version was already in the plug ins folder it will automatically be updated or replaced by the installer Getting Started Re installing the FutzBox plug in presets manually In you wish to restore the factory default presets it may be useful to know how to manually re install only the presets Go to the Plug In Settings folder CAProgram Files Common Files WDigidesign DAE Plug In Settings If Pro Tools has not already done so for you create a folder called FutzBox Place a copy of the folder from the FutzBox plug in package called Presets into the FutzBox folder The presets are now viewable after restarting Pro Tools from the settings popup menu from the FutzBox plug in Note it may be necessary to re start Pro Tools in order for the newly added Presets folder to be viewable from the Settings popup inside the FutzBox plug in window toolbar Page Installation on VENUE D SHOW systems The FutzBox plug in Package for VENUE D SHOW systems includes presets for the FutzBox plug in and the FutzBox plug in The FutzBox Licensing Agreement is displayed when installing the product on D SHOW The pdf manual can be obtained by running the Mac OS X or Windows XP Vista version of the FutzBox Pro Tools plug in installer on any availa
35. ount of signal reduction in the negative portion of the audio waveform A rectification setting of 50 will completely reduce the signal level of the negative waveform cycle to zero A rectification setting of 100 completely inverts the negative waveform cycle Rectification settings greater than 50 can introduce additional pitch distortion into the incoming signal Noise Generator The FutzBox comes with a basic noise generator that can add background noise to incoming audio High pass and low pass filters are applied to the noise so its sonic footprint can vary from that of the audio signal A noise ducking section can be Used to reduce the noise level once incoming audio exceeds a selected threshold The amount of noise reduction is controllable via a range control and the rate at which the noise returns to its original level is adjusted via a recovery control Gate A gate is used to remove unwanted background or low level noise by attenuating the input signal once it falls below a threshold In this state the gate status is commonly referred to as closed no audio is passing through it In some more advanced gates like in the FutzBox the amount of attenuation or range is also controllable A range control will allow some amount of signal to pass or none at all When the gate is no longer attenuating the signal passes unaffected In this state the gate status is commonly referred to as open Some gates like in the
36. resets in a highly optimized format Tune adjusts aspects of the SIM sonic character Lo Fi The Lo Fi section provides control over down sample rates filtering and bit depth values DownSample reduces sample rate of processed audio Filter reduces some aliasing artifacts creating by downsampling effect Bits selects bit depth or resolution of audio medsp com Filters The Filter section provides a high pass and low pass filter derived from the award winning FilterBank plug in Filters high pass HPF and low pass LPF filters Freq filter frequency Q amount of resonant peak in each filter Slope filter slopes are selectable 12 dB Oct 24 dB Oct Distortion The Distortion section controls the amount of distortion and the overall distortion character Amount level of distortion introduced in the audio signal Intensity controls distortion tone Low settings create a soft distortion higher settings make the distortion sound bright Rectify reduces the amplitude of the negative portion of the audio wave cycle until it reaches zero at the maximum setting The Rectify control operates independently from the Amount and Intensity controls Mode selects the type of distortion algorithm adjusted by the Amount and Intensity controls Note the changes caused by the Intensity control vary with each distortion mode For some modes
37. s Unzip the downloaded file and locate the folder named TDM Plug Ins inside the unpacked folder Using any CD R burning application burn this folder and its contents to an ISO format CD R It is recommended that you use a brand new CD R for this and do not rewrite an older CD R Once you have burned this folder to a CD R you should see it at the root level of the disk i e DATDM Plug Ins Important If the TDM Plug Ins folder is not located at the root level of the CD R or has been renamed the VENUE console may not properly recognize the installer disk At this point you can follow the HD Disk installation instructions above to complete the installation Autho ing your McDSP Plug Ins Authorizing with a pre programmed iLok Smart Key McDSP bundles such as the Emerald Pack come with a pre programmed iLok Smart Key Simply insert the iLok into any available USB port on your computer The iLok s a indicator light will illuminate when the iLok has a proper connection The Plug Ins included in the bundle require no further authorization steps As with any iLok on your system it is recommended that your iLok be registered and synchronized with iLok com Authorizing with an iLok License Card All McDSP Plug Ins require that a valid authorization is present on your iLok USB Smart Key McDSP Plug ins that are purchased individually provide this authorization on a plastic License Card about
38. the size of a credit card with a SompressorBank small punch out iLok License Chip After being separated from the License Card this iLok License Chip is to be inserted into the key slot of the iLok USB Smart Key in order to transfer the authorization from the License Card to the iLok USB Smart Key Note that each License Card holds ONE Plug In authorization The following instructions detail this process Important Note The Authorization Wizard will prompt the user to register their iLok USB Smart Key at iLok com iLok com is a service offered by PACE Anti Piracy Inc and this step is recommended but NOT REQUIRED by McDSP to complete the authorization of the Plug In If you choose to register your iLok USB Smart Key at iLok com care must be taken to record your ilok com account information i e write down your User ID and Password in a safe place If your iLok com account information is lost the iLok cannot be registered to another account and unfortunately there is nothing McDSP can do to help you See iLok com for more details about the benefits of using PACE s iLok com service Note Images in this section are for illustration only the actual product and screens will be the name of the product you are authorizing Authorizing Your McDSP Plug Ins Authorizing a McDSP Plug In from a License Card with the Authorization Wizard The Authorization Wizard is used to install an authorization from a License Card to th
39. tzBox plug in presets manually In you wish to restore the factory default presets it may be useful to know how to manually re install only the presets Go to the Plug in Settings folder Root gt Library gt Application Support gt Digidesign gt Plug in Settings If Pro Tools has not already done so for you create a folder called FutzBox Place a copy of the folder from the FutzBox plug in package called Presets into the FutzBox folder The presets are now viewable after restarting Pro Tools from the settings popup menu from the FutzBox plug in Note it may be necessary to re start Pro Tools in order for the newly added Presets folder to be viewable from the Settings popup inside the FutzBox plug in window toolbar Page xi Installation on Windows XP and Vista The FutzBox plug in Package includes this manual ReadMe and Release Notes a folder of presets for the FutzBox plug in and the FutzBox plug in Two copies of the FutzBox Licensing Agreement are included one in this pdf manual and a second as a separate text file The FutzBox manual requires that Adobe Acrobat reader or similar pdf reader is installed Both online and boxed version will come with a FutzBox installer that will automatically install the FutzBox plug in and its presets on your system The authorization of the FutzBox plug in is still required after running the installer and those steps are detailed in t
40. ware controller surfaces supported by the FitxBox plug in including the Mackie HUI and Digidesign s ICON ProContro and Control 24 McDSP FutzBox Control Linking There is no control linking capability in the FutzBox plug in at this time Automation All FutzBox controls are completely automatable See the Digidesign ProTools Reference Guide Automating Plug Ins section Presets Using the Presets and Making Your Own The FutzBox is mainly targeted toward Futzing vocal tracks for use in post production however its uses are not limited to dialog To get an idea of the full range of FutzBox s capabilities the included presets have been divided up by application and should provide ample inspiration for getting your own creativity flowing The categories of presets break down as follows General Equally applicable to either dialog or music Tunes Mainly intended for music Budget Evokes the tones common to low end devices we hear every day Messed Up Highlights the outer limits of Futzing available with this product Quirky Gives an unpredictable twist to incoming audio Solo Instruments Intended to give a richness to solos on guitar keyboards etc Sweet A subtle shaping without excessive distortion or other effects Vintage Harkening back to the golden age of distortion and warmth Voice Mainly intended for dialog or singing Character Gives the impression or character of the dif
41. y is a trademark of McDowell Signal Processing Limited Liability Company Other brands and their products are trademarks of their respective holders and should be nated as such Digidesign and Pro Tool are registered trademarks of Digidesign Inc Table of Contents McDSP FutzBox Plug In Manual McDSP License Agreement vi Getting Started with the FutzBox vill System Requirements vil Installing the FutzBox Plug in x Installation on Mac OS X x Installation on Windows XP and Vista xi Installation on VENUE D SHOW systems xiv Authorizing your McDSP Plug ins wi Authorizing with a pre programmed iLok Smart Key wi Authorizing with an iLok License Card wi Authorizing with iLok com x Registering your McDSP Plug in oo Using your MeDSP Plug Ins oo FutzBox 24 The Quick Start Tour The FutzBox Plug In 25 FutzBox Overview 25 Controls 27 Main 27 SIM 2 lofi 27 Filters 28 Distortion 28 EQ Miter 2B Noise Generator 29 Gate 29 Displays 30 Meters 30 Response Plots 30 General Information 30 Control Linking 3 Automation 3 McDSP FutzBox Presets Using the Presets and Making Your Own EJI A Word on Preset Compatibility 32 Using the FutzBox Plug In 33 Basics 33 Synthetic Impulse Models SIMs 33 High Pass Filter HPF 34 Low Pass Filter LPF 34 Parametric EQ 34 Distortion 34 Rectification 35 Noise Generator 35 Gate 35 FutzBox Closer Look 36 Separating Noise and Audio signals 36 SIM Tuning 36 Audio Signal E
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